England, Buckingham Palace.
Rachel sighed as she watched the ocean from England’s coast.
Entry to beaches became prohibited recently due to the explosion of monsters entering England from the waters. Although the arrival of ‘Essence Barrier’ prevented civilian casualty, the situation wasn’t over yet.
In fact, it had only started.
[Dear My Precious Princess]
Rachel stared at the letter in her hands and clenched her teeth. It was from England’s greatest enemy, Lancaster.
“What’s up? You don’t look all that good.”
Ah Hae-In walked over to her and asked. Rachel quickly hid the letter and turned back to Ah Hae-In nonchalantly.
“…Um, it’s nothing… Is Evandel doing okay?”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’m not making her do anything that will burden her.”
“Really? But Evandel’s summons are—”
“Don’t worry.”
Evandel’s army, which now numbered close to 3000, spread out across Europe to help humanity. As a result, Evandel’s creations were all called ‘mystical animals’, referring to beasts that helped humans.
“I made Evandel create a chain of command in her army. For that, she needed an especially intelligent creation.”
“…Ah, I heard she made a monkey last time.”
“A monkey wasn’t enough.”
Ah Hae-In continued with a smile.
“So she made a unicorn.”
“…Pardon?”
Unicorn. Perhaps the most famous mystical animal in the world, a winged horse with a white horn.
“Evandel’s unicorn is the commander in charge of her army. So you don’t have to worry. Evandel is having fun by herself without participating in anything complicated.”
Ah Hae-In showed Rachel a crystal ball showing Evandel running around and having fun. She seemed to be playing tag with Hayang.
Rachel smiled, just as she always did when she saw Evandel. Then, she suddenly remembered something important.
“Ah, Duchess Ah Hae-In, the Association sent us a message asking for the source of the mystical animals. I’d like to ask you for adv…”
“Don’t trust the Association.”
Ah Hae-In immediately answered.
When Rachel tilted her head, Ah Hae-In looked back at her with a slightly serious expression.
“Orden’s spies might be among them.”
“…Pardon?”
At Rachel’s bewilderment, Ah Hae-In continued seriously.
“Djinns are easy to spot, but humans persuaded by the Monster King aren’t. The Monster King should have convinced many from the Association to join his cause.”
“…How can that be? The Association carries the will of Hero Shin Myungchul-nim. It’s hard to believe that….”
“A servant of the Monster King also came to me.”
Ah Hae-In faced Rachel.
“He knew what I wanted, what I lacked. He said he’d give it to me.”
“…What do you mean?”
“He said he would give me a body that can birth a child. I’m unable to have one because of a side-effect of magic.”
Rachel didn’t know how to react, so she kept quiet. Ah Hae-In gave her a small smile.
“But they didn’t know me well enough. Even if I could have a child, what use would it be if the world belonged to monsters?”
“….”
Rachel nodded. Her admiration for Ah Hae-In grew another level. At the same time, she fixed her eyes on Evandel inside the crystal ball.
Ah Hae-In spoke once again, “Knowing the weakness of his target’s heart. That must be Orden’s Gift.”
“…Gift?”
“Yes, who said only humans can have Gifts? …,Ah, it’s time for the news broadcast.”
Ah Hae-In turned the TV on, and the 6 p.m. news came on.
—Orden’s kingdom has been found in Africa. While it stayed underground all this time, it was somehow able to move itself above ground in a single night. Experts… Tzzzzt
But before the reporter could finish the first piece of news, the screen flickered. The morphed screen became grey then black. While Rachel and Ah Hae-In were wondering what happened, a new image popped up on the screen.
—…Greetings, Humans. I am Orden, the Monster King.
Rachel and Ah Hae-In’s faces immediately stiffened.
On the screen, a huge giant was sitting on a throne. His outer appearance resembled a human’s, but he was much bigger, and his facial features were both human and non-human. His huge eyes flashed with a sharp blade-like light.
—Today, I intend to give humanity a warning and an offer.
Orden had easily hijacked the broadcast signal. All channels in England were showing the same screen.
—Now… Tzzzzt.
However, the video was cut off shortly afterwards.
Tzzzzt…
Static noises rang out, and Rachel and Ah Hae-In frowned. To figure out what the Monster King was planning, they focused their attention on the screen.
“…?”
However, Orden’s voice discontinued, and a strange symbol appeared on the grey screen. To Players of the Tower of Wish, this symbol was all too familiar.
Ah Hae-In jumped in surprise.
“…Rachel, this symbol.”
“Yes, you’re right.”
Rachel nodded. A beautifully embroidered black lotus.
“It’s Black Lotus.”
The moment Rachel said so, subtitles appeared beneath the symbol.
[Humanity will not listen to the words of a mere monster.]
[Monster, who dares to declare himself King, and his foolish underlings.]
[And the dogs who bit the meat offered by this fool.]
[I will come to kill you all.]
After the four sentences popped up, the screen blacked out.
Rachel and Ah Hae-In stood blankly for a moment. Chills ran down their back. They clearly understood what just happened.
—Holy… the hell was that? Orden and Black Lotus just…
Soon, the original news broadcast came back on.
The reporter was in a daze, clearing engrossed by the broadcast battle between the Monster King and Black Lotus.
—Huh? We’re back?
Startled, the reporter fixed his posture and sat up straight.
—E-Ehem, our broadcast seemed to have been hijacked…
Seeing this, Ah Hae-In let out a small smile.
“Looks like Black Lotus and the Monster King don’t get along.”
Rachel nodded right away. As someone of her generation would, she quickly went on the internet.
“Looks like England isn’t the only country that saw that.”
**
[Pandemonium – Chameleon Troupe’s Hideout]
“Wow, how did you hack into the broadcast stream without even moving a finger~?”
I smiled at Jain’s question.
Orden’s broadcast hijacking was part of the original story, which I just stopped by using my hacking ability.
“He shouldn’t try to hijack broadcast streams again now that he knows it won’t work.”
Orden tried to deliver a message to the whole world, but I shut him down completely. Of course, he might not give up. But I was in a much more advantageous position in this case, since I could counter-hack just by looking.
There was a good reason for me to stop him. Orden was one of the few characters that could infuse magic power into his words. Although his words weren’t as powerful as Aileen’s, it still would have been effective against defenseless civilians.
“You’re getting more and more popular, Hajin~ Look, your name is trending again~”
Jain clasped her hands together and showed me a social media trending chart.
[1. Black Lotus]
[2. Orden]
[3. Black Lotus vs Orden]
Black Lotus and Orden’s names were topping the trending chart. I glanced at my smartwatch. My SP had gone up by 407 points.
“…Anyways, Jain.”
I asked while I massaged my eyes. They were sore because I didn’t blink while hacking into the broadcast stream.
“Don’t we have better artifacts?”
“Hm? Ah~ The ones here are only presents, or offerings I should say~”
The floor I was in was filled with artifacts. They were all given to us by Pandemonium’s Djinns.
“None of them are particularly useful… Is it normally like this?”
“Yep~”
It was then.
Ding—!
The elevator stopped on our floor, and two members of the Chameleon Troupe showed up.
“Oh~ Hey, Arashi~”
Hirano Arashi, the Seat of Brown.
Arashi was a woman with long hair who liked to wear silk robes. She walked past Jain without saying anything. I let her be and turned my gaze to the giant who came with her.
“Cheok Jungyeong, I heard you lost to Aileen.”
“W-Whaaaat!?”
Cheok Jungyeong immediately let out a roar. The building shook slightly, and Jain furrowed her brows.
“You crazy buffoon….”
“Lost!? What! Who lost!? Who told you that!?”
“…Okay.”
Cheok Jungyeong began to make excuses.
“I was about to win. I only had to punch her one last time. I was this close to doing it, but she looked too much like a kid up front! Who’s going to believe she’s an adult? Not me, that’s for sure. I missed my timing to hit her because of it, and that wench used this opening to….”
I ignored his flurry of words and turned to Jain.
“So we don’t have better artifacts? We have to go meet Wicked soon.”
The strongest member of the Nine Evils, ‘Wicked’, requested to meet the Chameleon Troupe.
The goal of the meeting was to discuss assassinating Orden. Now, even Djinns were planning on forming an assassination team.
For this specific task, Djinns were more trustworthy than Heroes. It was because Orden’s persuasion didn’t work against Djinns, who already sold their souls to devils.
“Mm…. Boss keeps all the good ones to herself~”
“Oh, I see.”
“She doesn’t want to give any to me, so you should go ask her~”
“Okay, I’ll take it from her and give some to you too.”
To effectively utilize my special skill, [Four-colored Enchant], I needed pinnacle-grade artifacts. Otherwise, I could just use items I crafted.
“Okay~ Good luck~ I’ll be cheering for you~”
I began to walk over to Boss’ room.
**
[Pandemonium – Fallen Ghost-rank Gladiator’s Waiting Room]
On the other hand, Jin Sahyuk returned to her home. It wasn’t her home, technically speaking, but Pandemonium’s fighting arena. Since she never purchased a house, she had no other choice.
“Lord Jin Sahyuk, Lord Jin Sahyuk, will you begin fighting in the arena again?”
An employee of the fighting arena followed after her. Jin Sahyuk unpacked without answering him. She didn’t carry much with her, only effective goods she brought from the Tower.
“Lord Jin Sahyuk, can we schedule a fight for you…?”
A leather armor giving off a cold, dark-blue light, and a coat made from a special fabric enchanted with magic.
The two pieces of equipment were [Lv.8 Deep Dark Leather Armor (J – RedOrder)] and [Lv.8 Battle Armor Coat (J – RedOrder)], respectively. She had no clue what the words in parenthesis meant, but Lv.8 items were the highest-level items that Players could turn into effective goods, making them among the best items brought outside the Tower.
She had spent three-months worth of her salary to purchase them from the auction house.
“Um… Lord Sahyuk?”
“Geez.”
Jin Sahyuk glared at the arena employee before changing her clothes.
“Stop bothering me. Do you wanna die?”
“No… not at all….”
“Tsk.”
Jin Sahyuk furrowed her brows and shooed him away.
“Alright, do whatever you want, but the opponent better be interesting.”
“Y-Yes, thank you!”
Only then did the employee run out with a smile on his face.
“Ehew, these worms.”
From the looks of it, the fighting arena business wasn’t going so well. It wasn’t surprising considering that Pandemonium became split into two between Satan’s Servants and the Chameleon Troupe. Jin Sahyuk wasn’t too happy about her hobby being disturbed.
Jin Sahyuk took off her clothes and changed into her armor.
The combination of the leather armor and the coat was more than satisfactory. Jin Sahyuk smiled and nodded.
—Knock, knock.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
‘…Since when was the Fallen Ghost-rank waiting room so noisy?’ Jin Sahyuk felt her stomach boil from annoyance as she opened the door.
Thud—!
“…Who the hell are you?”
Beyond the door was a strange-looking creature.
It was a skeleton, wearing a robe to disguise its non-human appearance.
He seemed to be a lich.
Jin Sahyuk stared at his glowing eyes and smirked.
“You’re here for revenge?”
—Not at all.
The lich’s voice echoed as though they were in a cave.
“Then why are you here? You came to die too?”
—I am here to pass on my King’s message. He wishes to make a trade with you.
“Trade?”
—Yes.
This time, Jin Sahyuk laughed out loud.
“Ha! Interesting lot, aren’t you? Didn’t I say I didn’t want to talk to mere beasts?”
The lich didn’t show any sign of displeasure at Jin Sahyuk’s provocation. He seemed incapable of it in the first place. The lich continued.
—The King’s message is as follows, ‘I will let you return to your home world.’
“…What?”
In that instant, the atmosphere changed. Sharp magic power surged out from Jin Sahyuk’s body.
Jin Sahyuk grabbed the lich by the collar of his robe and threw him into the room.
KWANG—!
The lich let out an odd scream as he flew through the air and struck the room’s wall.
Jin Sahyuk ran up to the lich and stepped on his neck.
“…How do you know about that?”
—Do not… underestimate… the memory of monsters. There are monsters… who remember your home world.
“…What?”
—Monsters… are not the enemy of humanity. The King wants to open people’s eyes…. Humans should join hands with us to defeat the devil…
Jin Sahyuk loosened the strength in her leg. It seemed worth it to hear him out.
—Africa contains a fragment of the continent you once lived in. Furthermore, some of the monsters that gained intelligence came over from that continent.
“….”
—The King wishes to be with you.
The lich took out a small crystal from his pocket. It was a blue crystal that looked like a Tower Crystal.
—This is his sign of good will.
“…Good will?”
Jin Sahyuk stared at the item presented to her. As someone who hated being scammed, she had learned the [Appraisal] skill from the Tower of Wish.
===
[Continental Fragment]
—You can use this fragment to return to the Recorded Past – Akatrina during the time of Continental Year 555.
===
“…W-What? I can go back to Akatrina?”
Jin Sahyuk’s voice flickered with hope.
—Yes, but you cannot stay there forever. This is only a ‘recorded past’. Changing the past does not change the future. You will only be experiencing the world of the past.
The lich explained, and Jin Sahyuk’s excitement subsided.
“Then what use is it? I don’t need it.”
Jin Sahyuk clicked her tongue and threw the crystal. No, she tried to throw it. However, her hand refused to let go.
—…Do you really not need it?
The lich stared at Jin Sahyuk with a soft smile.
—You can take it. It is a gift from the King. There’s no need to pay anything, and you do not need to become our ally either. It is just a token of our good will.
“….”
The blue crystal glowed with a silvery light. Returning to Akatrina… Jin Sahyuk stared at the crystal for a long time before tightening her grip on it.
—Great decision.
The lich got up with a smile.
—Then I will be off. Feel free to visit us if you change your mind.
The lich slowly backed out of the room. However, Jin Sahyuk still had one question for him.
“Oi, wait.”
—Yes?
“…Can this bring other people with me?”
The lich immediately nodded.
—If you’d like. The power of the crystal is boundless.
“Mm, is that so?”
Jin Sahyuk grinned.
“That’s good.”
Then, in the next moment…
—…!
Magic power shot out from her hand towards the lich. It then spread out like a spider web, cutting the lich apart into five pieces.
**
A dark night.
I came back home for the first time in a long, long time. Now that Evandel had fallen asleep, I was sitting on the couch, contemplating about my next Gift.
“Hmm….”
===
[Buster Call]
—Using Stigma’s magic power, summon from the Tower of Wish vassals who swore loyalty to Kim Hajin or his possessions.
===
Buster Call.
Inspired by a manhwa I used to enjoy, I came up with this Gift to summon my aids and [Genkelope’s Vessel] from the Tower of Wish.
With this, I would be able to deploy the 16th floor’s NPCs as well as my almighty battleship… There was just one problem.
[You do not have enough SP. You need a total of 30,000 SP.]
The SP I had was nowhere close to being enough.
It was the same no matter how many restrictions I put on it.
“It should go down once Suho clears the Tower.”
I speculated that it was probably because the Tower of Wish hadn’t fallen. Once Kim Suho killed the Demon King, the Tower’s outer shell would fall and the Tower would meld together with the outside world. The required SP should drastically fall then.
Of course, I predicted I would need at least 5000 SP at the very least.
Even if the Tower’s outer shell fell, the world inside and outside the Tower were vastly different. To materialize something from the Tower, a huge amount of energy would be needed.
“Ah… what to do… what to do….”
Should I go with the other Gift I thought of before? Or should I wait a bit more and go with [Buster Call]?
As I was contemplating…
Sssk, sssk—
The sound of words being written rang out.
I turned my head to the side and saw words being written on the Communication Letter I gave to Jin Sahyuk.
“…Oh?”
I didn’t think she would write back so quickly.
I looked at what she wrote.
[I’m also participating in Pandemonium’s Orden Assassination Team.]
[Let’s meet and settle this once and for all.]
