Challenge's End
The challenge had reached its conclusion. “So that mantis was the third strongest…” Most summons gained a class after evolving into humanoid form. My zombies that consumed the Fruit of Good and Evil had all acquired classes as well, so it appeared to be part of the same progression tree. In that sense, any user who possessed a summon with a class in Stage 4 was considered high-ranking. Of course, with my abundance of classed zombies, the distinction hardly felt impressive. “Objectively excellent, but still beneath my standards. The rest might be better?”
The challenge had entered the round of sixteen. By this point, most users knew one another. Just like my current opponent.
This time my opponent was Mingming.
The chat exploded.
Mingming’s strategy resembled mine. Yu Seonho was an extremely powerful zombie, yet his body was being eroded by aura. However, due to the nature of the challenge, summons recovered to perfect condition once a battle ended. That was why he could perform at his best in every fight. Mingming had built her strategy around the same principle. The golem she fielded was a motorcycle, each side fitted with three missiles. The moment combat began, the missiles launched. No Stage 4 entity could withstand her miniature missiles. If she won, the missiles were returned in “perfect condition,” ready for the next round.
“Hmm…” I didn’t bother replying. The missiles in the challenge were from the past, but I had already seen them instantly kill a giant fish. Combat began and the missiles fired. Yu Seonho poured aura into his feet, lightly evading the explosions, then closed in on the motorcycle. The machine never moved—perhaps its programming forbade retreat once the missiles failed. The fight ended.
Swish—
Mingming was not the type to speak needlessly. Her disappointment was genuine, yet the fact that she kept messaging clearly carried intent. The only thing she could gain by contacting me now was one thing.
“Does she need public attention?”
I decided to grant her wish. It was only right to repay her for what she had done for No. 100. I composed a message with suitably attention-grabbing words and hit send.
The moment a returnee officially confirmed to the users that they could return to Earth, the chat surged at a paralyzing speed.
***
Perhaps because I had spread the information, the spectator chat vanished. Contestants could still chat, but the audience channel had disappeared. With the spectator chat gone, the bold text also vanished, yet the restriction requiring truthful statements remained.
“Did they just close it because of the flood of messages?”
My opponent in the quarterfinals was Han Yua. She, too, messaged me before the fight began.
Was she conscious of Mingming? Her lines felt deliberately crafted.
“What, does she want me to say ‘let’s meet on Earth’ too?”
I had no desire to join their pointless display of influence. I steered the conversation back to the fight.
Han Yua’s creature was not one of her summons. Instead, a bizarre six-winged frost wyvern appeared on screen.
She asked the question everyone had been wondering. I had already prepared a suitable answer just in case.
She seemed to accept the explanation. Park Gibeom had deserved to die, but that was from my perspective. Among third parties, there were surely those who would ignore the details and brand me a murderer. I decided to move on.
The mutated frost wyvern was the first creature Yu Seonho could not cut down in a single strike. Even when his aura-infused blade struck, the wyvern sacrificed a wing to create distance. Still, it was only a matter of time. One by one its wings, arms, and legs were severed until the wyvern collapsed, head buried in the ground.
“As expected, the number-one server is different.”
Winning wasn’t the important part. What was remarkable was that she already possessed such a force in Stage 4. She had combined creatures from a restricted zone into a higher entity—probably by throwing the wyvern into a witch’s cauldron. Regardless of method, with that kind of power she could roam all of Stage 4 and gather Fruit of Good and Evil without issue. I spoke with genuine feeling.
The remaining matches soon concluded and the semifinals began. My next opponent was the fifth-ranked player from the Dream Island server, a wolf summoner. The moment the chat opened, he poured out words.
Dream Island was the stronghold of the Returnee Anti-Club. The “Queen” he referred to was undoubtedly the tiger summoner, Kim Seolhwa. After listening to him, I spoke a single line.
“It reminds me of Altos.”
In a room where only the truth could be spoken, there was no reason to hold a long conversation with someone I disliked. My knight drew his sword. Alberto’s summon was a massive gray wolf. Though it had not undergone beastman transformation, its size rivaled a large truck.
Gray Fang’s enormous claws lunged at Yu Seonho. The foreleg that met his aura crumpled and was flung aside. Challenging an opponent who had awakened a special ability to close-quarters combat had been a mistake from the start. The wolf lacked the power to pierce aura. “How absurd, thinking that would work.” Gray Fang was quickly reduced to wolf meat. I saw no reason to speak further with “Alberto-whatever” and left the room immediately.
Outside, the other matches had already finished. That was to be expected. Even among the monsters gathered here, one entity stood out as unreasonably powerful.
“Was it called Hohan?”
It was difficult to even call it a living creature. It was clearly a spiritual entity, yet it wielded both ghostly and spiritual energy, along with hundreds of spear ghosts. Even if it had entered the Stage 5 challenge, it would have been a strong contender for the championship. The finals began. My opponent was the number-one player of Dream Island, president of the Anti-Club—Kim Seolhwa. Just as I was about to start the fight, she spoke.
The battle was fierce. Because Hohan lacked physical form, Yu Seonho struggled simply to locate it. Ghosts touched by aura vanished one after another, yet the zombie knight’s blade could not cut Hohan either. The sky filled with ghostly energy while spear ghosts endlessly swarmed from every direction. Tiger roars, ghostly sobs, the sound of skin tearing on sharp points, blood spraying, flesh being chewed—attacks that shook both mind and body repeated, yet the power of aura proved stronger still. Then Kim Seolhwa messaged me again.
Of course I did. If the entry died, it was revived. If it survived, it received a reward suited to its nature.
“Can she see the dead?”
Upon reaching Stage 6 and beyond, users awakened powers suited to their individual traits. The master of a summon like Hohan that handled ghostly energy might indeed perceive death. She had realized both Yu Seonho and Park Gibeom were already dead, and that I held no attachment to them. Yet through her words, I could also infer several things. The challenge reward was given only if the entry was alive, and it was tailored to that entry. It was not an attractive reward. After all, this was merely the Stage 4 challenge. For users of Stage 6 and above, the event was nothing more than a contest of pride. If Kim Seolhwa was willing to make such an offer just to win, there could be only one reason. She had lost Hohan for some reason and wanted it back.
“Not a bad proposal, but…”
Honestly, I wanted neither reward. I had no desire to see Park Gibeom revived, nor to watch Ju Giju swagger around in that body. “Still, that method won’t do.”
At my words, Yu Seonho shot toward Hohan’s core. Kim Seolhwa had made her offer because she had anticipated that Yu Seonho would soon discover the core. Dense aura pierced through Hohan. Kim Seolhwa’s scream echoed through the chat.
The ghostly energy that had pressed down on the arena slowly faded. Kim Seolhwa’s lips trembled as she watched Hohan vanish.
The challenge ended. I addressed the organizer watching us from beyond the heights. Given how the event had been conducted and its timing, I was certain the being was the sponsor I suspected.
“Hey, organizer. I made a promise with the Cat. You agreed to manipulate all rewards given to me. Apply that this time as well. I’ll use my challenge reward to revive Kim Seolhwa’s Hohan.”
It was close to an unreasonable demand. Yet considering their relationship, it would likely be granted. At the very least, the chance of refusal after I invoked the Cat’s name was extremely low.
“As expected…”
I sent a private message instead of using the challenge chat.
I had not helped Kim Seolhwa without reason. Among the current user factions, the two largest were the “Returnee Supporters” and the “Returnee Anti-Club.” My appearance today had threatened the Anti-Club’s very existence. Therefore, I needed to give them a reason to dislike me. The action I had taken would become the catalyst that allowed them to unite even more tightly. At the same time, I had obtained a card that let me control their central figure—the club president. If one tried to stand alone and aloof, rivals would appear. But if one created two great powers and placed them both beneath one’s feet, no true adversary would emerge. The world after returning to Earth. I had merely sown the necessary seeds in advance for that time.