Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 020
Chapter Title: The End of the Tutorial (7)
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Alice had said that Stage 5 existed to deliver 'despair.'
But who was it meant to despair? The challengers entering Stage 5? Those trapped inside? Or perhaps both?
"......"
Lee Sang-hyun stood atop a sticky, viscous pool of black blood, quietly drawing in a breath.
His mind was eerily serene. Like a lake untouched by wind, perfectly still, as if nothing had happened at all.
Yet the cold glint in his eyes was utterly unlike him. It felt chilling, like staring at a complete stranger.
Thump. Thump.
Lee Sang-hyun drew in deep breaths for a long while. Then he snapped back to his senses and scanned his surroundings.
Thump. Thump.
Beneath the dim torchlight lay only pools of black blood. Nothing lived. All were dead—the inhabitants of this ruined world tortured by demons, the demons themselves rotted to pieces. Not a single one had escaped.
"......"
Lee Sang-hyun gazed up at the sky for a moment. The sky... or rather, the ceiling was high. But it was sealed tight, pitch black. Even the faint torchlight couldn't reach it.
...How long had they been imprisoned?
...How much had they suffered?
...Had they found release?
Such thoughts flickered through his mind.
But his heart remained unshaken, like a reed in still water. He simply stood there, rooted in place.
'...I need to move.'
He didn't know how much further he had to go, but one thing was clear: he couldn't afford to stop here.
And so Lee Sang-hyun waded through the black blood pool.
Splash. Splash.
The raucous footsteps were met only by suffocating silence.
Before one of the Strongest 7 chose Stage 4, he had asked Alice a question.
"You said Stage 5 brings despair. What exactly causes it? Some special monster or something?"
Alice had answered.
"Should I call it a fool? Or perhaps the unforgiven? There's someone clinging to vain hopes like an idiot. Stage 5 is where that fool is imprisoned forever."
The Strongest 7 scoffed at her words. They were simply ridiculous.
"The unforgiven clinging to vain hopes! What a stupid setup. Isn't it a bit outdated?"
"Ufufu! Isn't that what makes it fun? And that's what justifies calling it a 'place of despair'—whether for the challengers or the fool inside."
The Strongest 7 ignored Alice's words, dismissing them as nonsense.
"Guess it's time to go."
With that, the Strongest 7 chose Stage 4 and departed for the dungeon. Alice watched them go, then murmured to herself.
"Take care out there, new Strongest 7."
Giggle. Giggle.
A candle fashioned from fat burned quietly. Black smoke twisted in the draft, belching a foul stench.
Crackle. Crackle.
"......"
Beneath the faint candlelight gleamed bones, stark white. Countless bones, stacked in layers, too mangled to identify their owners—shattered and splintered from agonizing deaths.
And there, someone knelt.
'...A skeleton?'
The kneeling figure was undoubtedly dead. Its ribs jutted out starkly, and its skull was half-crushed, hollow inside.
Not that it mattered—there wasn't a scrap of flesh left on the bare bones. No chance it was alive.
'...Bound by chains.'
The skeleton knelt in penance, its left hand wrapped in iron chains.
Rusted from age, they gleamed red. Yet they seemed unbreakable, like a cursed bond.
'...A sword.'
In its unchained right hand was a sword.
Half-broken, yet beautiful enough to hint at its former glory.
Lee Sang-hyun pondered the skeleton's past.
'Maybe a great knight. Or...'
At that moment, Nameless's voice rang out.
Short and succinct, the voice revealed the skeleton's identity.
'Hero...'
Incredibly, the skeleton was a Hero.
The Hero of a destroyed world.
It was a blue star.
Blue oceans lapped at green continents, white clouds showered pure rain upon a pristine world.
A beautiful planet.
But the eternal blue crumbled in an instant.
War scorched the bountiful lands. Like wildfire, it spread, charring the green earth black.
Where plenty once reigned, only black ash and agony remained. Not a speck of hope lingered.
Ash and suffering alone.
Despair filled every corner.
Eventually, the war that devoured the lands reached the blue seas.
They believed the oceans would shine forever, restoring the ravaged earth.
But it took little time for the blue waters to rot black, reeking of decay.
A heartbreakingly brief span.
Too short for even tears to flow.
The blue star was blue no more.
It turned red, then black.
Everyone realized something was wrong.
Too late.
Ruin descended.
'Wh-what...?'
Caught off guard by the unidentified memory, Lee Sang-hyun couldn't hide his bewilderment. Dizzy with confusion, he staggered.
But only for a moment. He realized the memory stemmed from the Hero before him.
'A destroyed world...'
Seeing it with his own eyes made the vague horror visceral. An unpleasant weight crushed his heart.
Gulp.
Dry saliva slid down his throat. His limbs felt frozen cold.
'...Horrible.'
Gasping for air to ease the suffocation, nothing improved.
If anything, the anxiety swelled, stabbing at his heart.
Thump...
Clack.
The eerie sound came from bones. From the skeleton that shouldn't move.
Rattle clack.
'It's moving? That means...'
The skeleton— the long-dead Hero—reflected in Lee Sang-hyun's eyes.
Clack clack.
Red glow filled its empty sockets.
"......"
Brimming with venomous hatred, blood-red and suffocating to behold. Just looking at it tore at the heart.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Black droplets fell from the broken sword—blood from who knew where.
'It's coming...!'
And the Hero moved.
KWAAANG!!
The broken sword slammed down like a massive iron club smashing the ground.
'Insane!'
The sheer power shattered his composure, curses spilling out unbidden.
Lee Sang-hyun hurriedly widened the distance, observing the skeleton Hero's movements to the end.
KWAAANG!!
Fortunately, the skeleton Hero's attacks were simple. Raising the sword overhead and smashing down—that was it.
A childish motion any kid could mimic, barely worthy of the name 'technique.'
But the downward swing was absurdly fast.
Whoosh!
Dozens of meters closed in a blink, the sword already plunging into the earth.
KWAAANG!!
A deafening roar echoed. The destructive force was terrifying enough to draw cold sweat.
Barely dodging, Lee Sang-hyun halted his retreat and shifted sideways.
'Too fast to react to, but way too linear. If I read the wind-up right, it's dodgeable.'
As he thought, the skeleton Hero's attacks were straightforward. Raise sword to head height, close distance in a flash, smash down. Simple as that.
Observed closely, it was fully avoidable.
KWAAANG!!
The ground cratered again. Getting hit would have pulped him. Yet Lee Sang-hyun was unscathed.
'Simple, as expected. The chains?'
Clank.
The chains reflected in his eyes—rusted links coated in what looked like dried blood, binding the skeleton Hero's left hand tight.
And...
Clank!!
The charging skeleton Hero was yanked backward, as if grabbed by an invisible hand. The taut chain was to blame.
Stagger!
The Hero's body lurched wildly. But Lee Sang-hyun held back, retreating to gauge the chain's length instead.
Clank!
'Up to here.'
The skeleton Hero stopped, standing at the chain's limit, staring at Lee Sang-hyun.
Hoo.
After testing the chain's 'reach' several times, Lee Sang-hyun boldly stepped inside it.
The halted skeleton Hero sprang to life.
Rattle clack.
Lee Sang-hyun tracked every motion: sword raised overhead, twisted torso, bent knees, glowing red eyes.
'Here it comes!!'
The skeleton Hero lunged. Lightning-fast. Too quick to dodge head-on.
KWAAANG!!
The ground caved with monstrous force, like a giant's hammer strike.
'Got it!!'
But Lee Sang-hyun was gone. A close call, but he evaded successfully.
The counterattack came instantly.
From beyond the chain's reach, where the Hero couldn't follow, he swung his sword.
Swish!!
Perfect timing. Momentum enough to cleave the Hero in two.
Yet impossibly, it was blocked.
Clang!!
Even chained and twisted awkwardly, the Hero gripped its sword with both hands and parried the full-force overhead strike using only its right arm.
Lee Sang-hyun didn't falter, launching a second strike at once.
Clang!!
Blocked again by the Hero's sword, missing its mark.
He flowed into the third.
"?!!"
The Hero was faster this time. But the taut chain sapped its power, limiting it to slicing his left arm.
Slash!!
Lee Sang-hyun retracted immediately after the graze.
'Nearly lost my head there.'
If the chain had been a handspan longer, his neck would've been severed.
'Still, progress.'
Clank clank!
His left arm bled, but he'd gleaned valuable intel: how it countered up close, its reaction speed.
Lee Sang-hyun breathed steadily. His heart pumped cool blood, unflinching.
'As long as I don't panic... I win.'
Not baseless confidence.
With predictable moves and limited range, victory was within reach.
Clank clank!
It wouldn't be easy, but far from impossible.
'Let's do this.'
Lee Sang-hyun stepped into the chain's grasp once more.
KWAAANG!!