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Realizing the situation, he thought it would be best to avoid Murim whenever possible. If he needed a procedure, it seemed better to come alone. On the way to the 6th floor. Sitting in the car, Suhyuk fiddled with the innocent kit.

“It seems to be taking quite some time.”

There had been no contact from Greg. It wasn’t likely that Dark Map was committing fraud, so it appeared that the process was understandably taking a considerable amount of time.

There was no need to feel disappointed. As long as it took time, he could make use of it by doing what he needed to do. As they sat facing each other, both playing with the kit, Un Hyang brought up a new topic.

“Which side do you think will win the upcoming competition?”

The competition.

A grand festival where representatives from various worlds gathered to compete. The party of opulence and despair, organized by the Tower, was a major event that drew the attention of all players.

“Murim? Runeterra? Or maybe, could it be the Elves this time?”

The worlds listed by Un Hyang were strong contenders for victory. Although players from dozens of different worlds were mixed in this Tower, only a few of those worlds had ever claimed the victory.

Curious, Suhyuk asked as he listened to the conversation.

“Which world won the most recent competition?”

“You don’t know?”

Un Hyang widened her eyes in surprise. Suhyuk just shrugged his shoulders.

“I haven’t been very interested.”

“Well, Earth’s not going to be in the lower ranks, anyway…”

With a faint hope, Un Hyang asked.

“Suhyuk, have you ever considered participating in the competition?”

The competition was a festival for rankers. Suhyuk still had quite some time left, but judging by his skills alone, it wasn’t far off.

Suhyuk had already reached a level where he could handle multiple rankers by himself.

“I’ll participate.”

In response to Un Hyang’s question, Suhyuk nodded his head.

“Absolutely.”

Even in his previous life, Suhyuk had been earnest about the competition.

“Seriously, that wretched game.”

The competition always sacrificed numerous players. Players from the world that lost the competition would die one by one based on their lower rank. To fill the spots of those who had died, the Tower would pull people from other worlds.

In a world with the power of the upper ranks, this might be a festival, but in the lower-ranked worlds, it was a desperate struggle for survival. It was like someone was playing with human lives for their amusement.

The competition was undeniably a horrifyingly cruel system.

“And what’s more…”

A thought floated in Suhyuk’s mind.

“The competition.”

Greg.

The head of the Dark Map branch had given him a hint.

“The thing about these so-called giant guilds is that they’re all the same. They’re all rotten to the core. Greedy too.”

He spoke as if he knew something. To be precise, there was a high probability this was internal information from the Dark Map. It likely had some connection with his betrayal and the counter-fight.

Was monopolizing the victory the issue?

However, if that was the entire reason, Kim Ilsoo’s betrayal did not make sense.

‘To find out, I have no choice but to dive in myself.’

By participating in the Counter-Fight, he would likely discover something.

However, his current skill level was insufficient for that.

The Counter-Fight was a tournament where representatives from each world competed. He could handle rankers, but they were nothing compared to the stars of the worlds.

Far beyond his current level. Only when he could fully wield lightning as his own would he truly make a mark in the Counter-Fight.

“The winner last time was Panthera.”

It was Cheon Ryang who responded to Suhyuk’s question about who the winner was.

“As long as the Archmage stands firm, Panthera will probably keep winning for a while.”

“Hailz, you mean?”

Archmage Hailz.

She was someone even Suhyuk knew. Twenty years ago, she was a ranker with exceptional skills and was considered the greatest talent in Panthera.

“As expected, even if you aren’t interested in the Counter-Fight, you know the Archmage.”

Panthera’s dominance was nothing new. More than half of that dominance was thanks to Hailz.

“Is there no one who can match Hailz?”

“Unless Heavenly Demon joins the Counter-Fight on the side of Murim or Lee Suhyuk is alive, it’s hard to find anyone to match Hailz.”

Heavenly Demon. Lee Suhyuk.

The names mentioned from his mouth were people who made the Tower tremble.

It was merely his personal view, but to even dare to mention their names alongside each other was telling of how formidable Hailz had become.

“The odds on Panthera are 1.1. Even if you bet on them to win, you only get a 10% return.”

The Counter-Fight had become the Tower’s biggest festival, partly due to the betting system.

With bets on the winner, runner-up, and third place, the Counter-Fight was a gambling paradise where many players focused their attention.

“You bastard, are you really not going to quit gambling?”

Un Hyang started nagging again at the talk of gambling. Cheon Ryang flinched momentarily but once again tried to persuade her.

“Oh, I’m certain about this. Panthera will absolutely win.”

“There’s no such thing as ‘absolute’ in this world.”

“Trust me. I’ll score that 10% and even get the runner-up right.”

“Are you betting on the runner-up too?”

“Ah…”

Cheon Ryang clamped his mouth shut, realizing he had misspoken. As always, Un Hyang grabbed Cheon Ryang by the collar, and he tapped her arm in surrender.

Suhyuk, who had been listening to their conversation, asked.

“What about Earth?”

Of the contenders mentioned by the two, Earth was excluded.

Clearly, during his own time, Earth had always been the champion of the Counter-Fight.

Now, not only was Earth not the favorite, it wasn’t even being mentioned as a contender.

“They’re usually mid to upper tier, urk-.”

The one more knowledgeable about Counter-Fight was, unsurprisingly, Cheon Ryang, who was passionate about gambling.

Once the conversation with Suhyuk resumed, Un Hyang let go of Cheon Ryang’s collar.

“Earth hovers around 10th place. Recently, they’ve been 11th or 12th.”

“12th…?”

Suhyuk furrowed his brows.

Their rank was falling. No matter how much his absence might affect things, this was too drastic a change.

“It can’t be helped. Not only did Lee Suhyuk leave, but the guild that represented Earth vanished entirely.”

The guild Un Hyang referred to was, of course, Blue Eyes.

On that day 20 years ago, Blue Eyes had ceased to exist. Some members might still be alive, but for whatever reason, they had disappeared without a trace.

But even though he knew this in his head, accepting it as the truth was difficult.

“12th place…”

It wasn’t an extremely dangerous rank.

But it wasn’t a comforting one either.

“Are you very concerned about the Counter-Fight?”

Un Hyang had a puzzled expression.

He wanted to participate in the Counter-Fight despite not knowing Earth’s rank or the current champion.

It was hard to tell if he was indifferent or not.

“The Tower has three major systems.”

It wasn’t difficult to think of two out of the three Suhyuk mentioned.

“The Trials and the Counter-Fight.”

“Yes. We take the Trials to raise our ranking, and in the Counter-Fight, we sacrifice the lower-ranked players.”

On the surface, it seemed stable, but that was a peace only the strong could enjoy.

The players from the weaker worlds were risking their lives right at that moment, taking the Trials and preparing for the Counter-Fight to improve their rankings.

The peace in this world was built upon the corpses of others.

“This world is, in the grand scheme, one big trial. To live and survive. The Trials and the Counter-Fight are connected in that way.”

This was a long-standing thought.

The Trials, the rankings, and the Counter-Fight.

The system created by the Tower seemed like one big trial.

“And if this is a trial, there must be an end.”

The three things prepared by the Tower.

That final one.

“Something that will start someday.”

Un Hyang finally recalled the last piece.

The message he heard when he was first chosen as a player.

A word buried deep in his memory, as if it would never come to pass.

“Right.”

Suhyuk had been consciously thinking about it for a long time, so he wouldn’t forget.

“Everything will be connected. The Trials, the Counter-Fight, and that thing that will start someday.”

As if he was living for that day.

* * *

Once he reached the 6th floor, the first place Suhyuk headed to was Kindre’s workshop.

According to Kindre’s prediction, it would take a total of five days to complete the item.

Descending to the fourth floor and undergoing Jinwoon’s procedure took well over five days, close to eight in total.

It was more than enough time for the production to be completed.

“I wonder what has been made. I’m so excited”, said Un Hyang, reacting like she was about to visit an amusement park.

The Heart of Thunder was an item associated with thunderbolts. Its value was so precious that it was considered a treasure in Asgard.

Suhyuk felt the same anticipation. Naturally, his steps quickened.

They finally arrived at Kindre’s workshop located underground.

As they descended the stairs, Suhyuk sensed a colder chill than before.

‘It feels chilly.’

The temperature was so cold that an average player would feel as if their heart would freeze. Cheon Ryang, who had followed along, began to shiver and halted her steps.

“I, I, I’ll just stay here…”

“Get upstairs, now”, Un Hyang said without a second thought, swiftly sending Cheon Ryang back up.

What on Earth was going on down there?

Ignoring the escaping Cheon Ryang, Suhyuk continued down the stairs.

“Are you alright?”

Un Hyang asked.

“I have great stamina”, Suhyuk shrugged.

“This is nothing.”

It wasn’t an empty boast.

In fact, Suhyuk’s stamina surpassed that of most rankers.

He wasn’t stepping into a flame, after all. This cold was nothing to him.

But what was strange was…

‘What could be happening down there?’

He had come to collect the commissioned item, yet the unusual chill made him feel both anxious and expectant.

As they descended the final step…

“So, you must be the owner of this item”, Kindre’s voice greeted Suhyuk and Un Hyang.

“Just in time, I completed it as soon as you arrived.”

Kindre had scattered various tools like hammers, awls, and knitting needles across the workshop floor.

Her eyes looked hollow as if she had not rested. Suhyuk dared to ask, “Did you not sleep at all?”

“Of course not. I took a short nap for about four hours in between”, she replied.

No wonder her dark circles seemed to touch the ground. Suhyuk focused on the gloves next to her that emitted a faint blue light. An item created from the Star Fragment and the Heart of Thunder.

“Is it complete now?” he asked.

“Yes. It took a bit longer than expected”, Kindre admitted.

The initial expectation was five days.

However, the item wasn’t completed until moments before Suhyuk’s arrival, taking much longer.

‘It must have been a tough job.’

There were two possibilities. Either Kindre lacked the skills compared to her reputation. Or the materials were harder to handle than she initially anticipated.

The reason became apparent quickly. Kindre, who couldn’t seem to contain herself, asked with eyes gleaming despite the sleepless nights, “What exactly does this item do?”