Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Savior of Seoul (14)
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Kang Mu-hyuk reached the summit of the tower. At the pinnacle of the white tower, heralding the emergence of the Strongest 7 and the dawn of a new era.
Huff! Heave! Huff!
Kang Mu-hyuk gasped for breath, his eyes wide open.
He had no idea how many times he had brushed against death's door just to climb this far. His patience had long since run dry, and the physical and mental agony had far surpassed human limits.
There were moments when he thought it might be better to just die, pushing his body and mind to the brink like that.
Yet Kang Mu-hyuk overcame it all and stood atop the white tower.
"I'm...! I'm number one...!!"
His goal went without saying: the first-ever tower conquest. It was one of the greatest player achievements, a means to quell the monster waves, and the key to reclaiming the stolen ranking one spot—the first tower conquest.
Thump...! Thump...!!
A brilliant light, incomparable to anything else, shimmered before Kang Mu-hyuk's eyes.
He was certain of it. If he opened that door ahead and stepped through, he could claim the first conquest of the tower and take back the top rank.
Kang Mu-hyuk wasn't the only one to reach the white tower's summit.
Ryu O-shin, chosen by the 6th-rank constellation Great Sage Equal to Heaven, had also arrived.
"I... This seat is the Heavenly Horse. The one and only supreme ruler of the Central Plains, the strongest being who can make even the heavens kneel...! The ultimate strongest is none other than I, Ryu O-shin!!"
Reaching the 2-star level of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art had awakened Ryu O-shin's true nature.
He harbored not a shred of doubt. He was the true supreme ruler, the absolute one.
"This seat is the heavens."
Arhim, chosen by the 6th-rank constellation Ark of Death, silently stared at the door.
"......"
He still seemed largely uninterested in the first tower conquest. But he didn't refuse it either.
If it meant gaining even greater power to sweep away worthless pests, then it had value.
Thus, Arhim reached out toward the door.
Kaguya, chosen by the 6th-rank constellation Yamata no Orochi, had climbed to the white tower's summit at Orochi's command.
"All as you will it."
Her body was far from normal.
Having pushed herself to heed Orochi's command, she was a total mess. Her left arm had been torn off and would need to be regenerated or reattached.
But Kaguya didn't care in the slightest. She lived only to obey Orochi's orders.
"As you command, noble one."
Vladimir, chosen by the 6th-rank constellation Akasha, gazed at the door with sleepy eyes.
Yawn.
Climbing to the white tower's summit hadn't been easy. The effort to fight off drowsiness... His eyes were even crusted over.
"Guess I can finally get some proper sleep."
For Vladimir, the first tower conquest was secondary. Important, sure—almost as much as sleep—but still just an annoying chore.
"Hope this satisfies you."
Vladimir said that to his constellation Akasha and opened the door.
Aria, chosen by the 6th-rank constellation Maria, looked at the door on the white tower summit with emotion.
"That's the door! The one that can save the world!"
Maria had told her that conquering the white tower would weaken the monster wave ravaging Italy, so Aria's face lit up with joy.
"You have no idea how tough it was. It started off super easy, but the higher you go, the harder it gets... Man, nothing's ever straightforward!"
Aria grumbled playfully as she walked toward the door.
"Anyway, mission cleared!"
Jack Roar, the player chosen by the 6th-rank constellation Eve and humanity's strongest hero, stared at the door.
"We've finally made it."
The journey to the white tower's summit had been nothing short of reckless.
No, practically impossible. The difficulty was so absurd that the word "give up" never left his side.
"To think we'd actually reach it."
Yet Jack Roar stood tall atop the white tower, having bulldozed through every obstacle like a true hero and bent the impossible to his will.
Jack Roar gave a wry smile at Eve's response but didn't deny it.
After all, it was something only a hero could pull off.
"Well then, shall we?"
Jack Roar headed to the "door" with Eve. Whether he was first or not, he couldn't say.
But it wouldn't be strange if he claimed the first tower conquest achievement.
Beyond the Strongest 7, other players had reached the white tower summit: the Thousand Knights.
Though backed by 5th-rank constellations rather than 6th, they too had ascended.
To Neptune, who had once occupied a sacred rank, defeat was inconceivable.
Especially against mere plaything players. Losing his life to toys? Impossible. Unthinkable.
Regardless of strength or weakness, the sheer difference in stature made it impossible.
The absurdity made Neptune unable to hold back his laughter. It wasn't even anger-inducing—just like watching a ridiculous clown.
Neptune even set down his trident and clapped. Clap. Clap. Clap. Mockery that wasn't even funny.
Where the laughter faded, only darkness remained.
The demon—Neptune—had never once imagined his own "death." Because it was impossible.
Slash.
It was the Ailbern Swordsmanship. The sword crafted by a hero from a fallen world to slay demons.
First Form—Sever.
It wasn't an attack exploiting a gap. Neptune had never let his guard down.
But it shattered his consciousness, his commonsense that dismissed death.
Crack. Cra-crack...
In truth, Neptune had anticipated allowing some attacks.
He couldn't admit it and denied it to the end, but Lee Sang-hyun defeating the three sisters was fact.
For inferiors, their skill was decent.
So he knew he might take "wounds"...
His body was dying. Crumbling because it couldn't heal such a trivial wound.
Cra-crack. Crack.
This was impossible.
This couldn't exist.
This defied possibility.
Setting aside strength or weakness—it violated the hierarchy.
Neptune's commonsense couldn't comprehend it. He could only deny the facts.
Thud.
Finally, Neptune dropped to his knees.
The "wound" in his chest rapidly devoured his body, ushering in death.
Lee Sang-hyun offered no answer to that question. Instead, he unleashed a sword beam from afar, severing Neptune's head.
Slash!!
Neptune's head fell pathetically. But true to demonic form, he didn't die immediately.
His eyes glared at Lee Sang-hyun until his body fully rotted away.
"......"
Lee Sang-hyun watched the vanishing demon—Neptune—and exhaled the breath he'd been holding.
'It's over.'
And with that, everything ended.
[System Error!]
[System Error!]
[System Error!]
[System......]
[S......]
[......]
Demon—Neptune defeated.Tower of Envy (★★★★★) conquered.First player to conquer a tower.First player to conquer a black tower.One of the Seven Deadly Sins—Envy—flows into a holy constellation.[????][????]No constellation present.
[System Error!]
[System Error!]
[System......]
[......]
One of the Seven Deadly Sins—Envy—eternally eradicated. This is utterly impossible! Yet you have achieved the impossible.The number of towers in South Korea (Nation) decreases. Erosion levels of towers in South Korea (Nation) drastically reduce. Monster waves halt. Temporary peace descends upon South Korea (Nation).The Tower of Envy (★★★★★) will collapse shortly.Stairs to the Heavens appear.
Vwwwing!!
A rectangular door etched a line of light into the darkness. A truly miraculous, mystical sight.
Nameless said nothing. He simply gazed quietly.
'Let's go.'
Lee Sang-hyun walked toward the door.
And climbed the stairs.
What awaited Kang Mu-hyuk upon opening the door wasn't the glorious honor of first tower conquest.
"What...?"
Just a trivial artifact. Something he could acquire anytime in the future... That was it.
"I'm... not first...?"
The shock was immense because he'd believed he was first. He wavered because he'd given his all to be the best.
Kang Mu-hyuk screamed in denial. It couldn't be, no way.
"No way...! No way!! Not first? Me... Me...? What the hell...!!"
But no matter how much he yelled, he wasn't first. Second, or dozens behind at best.
And the others were the same.
"How dare you...!!"
Ryu O-shin unleashed terrifying rage toward whoever had stepped over him.
"Uwaaaaaaaaah!!"
The humiliation of failing to ascend to the heavens again was beyond words.
"......"
Arhim showed no outward anger. But the fact that he wasn't first filled him with irritation and disgust.
"Annoying."
Honestly, it made him nauseous. He wanted to brutally kill whoever it was.
"Kuh... Kuhuhu."
Kaguya felt no disappointment. Instead, she lamented her own shortcomings for failing Yamata no Orochi's expectations.
"Please forgive this lowly one's mistake... with the magnanimity of the heavens, noble one."
To the fanatic Kaguya, failing Orochi's command was a sin unforgivable even by death.
"I shall serve with my life to ensure no such error repeats."
Vladimir frowned, Aria felt various regrets, but that was all.
"Well, we saved the world anyway, so who cares!"
Humanity's strongest hero, Jack Roar, felt no disappointment or jealousy at not being first. Instead, he saw it as motivation to strive harder.
"Means I'm still immature. As a player and as a hero."
His innate competitive spirit guided him higher, toward the path a hero must walk.
Even the 6th-rank constellations who chose the Strongest 7 felt slightly miffed.
After all, every one of the Strongest 7 possessed the "talent" to be the absolute best.
So they viewed it as one "rival" claiming the first conquest.
At least until just now.
Eve, Edge of the Sword, Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Ark of Death, Yamata no Orochi, Akasha, Maria—all doubted their ears.
Because something impossible had happened.
Something utterly inconceivable.
Something that shouldn't exist had come to pass.
Even they, perched at the highest 6th-rank seats, were thrown into disarray.
Especially the Ark of Death—the shock was indescribable.
The Ark of Death flatly denied the facts despite hearing them clearly, voice thick with disbelief.
Bloodshot-eyed, it tried to verify—even breaking the "non-interference principle."
Led by the Ark of Death, Eve, Edge of the Sword, Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Yamata no Orochi, Akasha, and Maria all interfered with Earth.
They checked if the Tower of Envy had truly collapsed.
And if it had—impossibly—who did it, risking future penalties.
But it was gone.
Not just in South Korea—nowhere on Earth.
Ranking one was still Kang Mu-hyuk of the Strongest 7.
Yet the Tower of Envy had collapsed.
Impossible.
Unthinkable.
But collapsed nonetheless.
One of the Seven Deadly Sins.
The eternal, immortal Envy.
Even from their lofty 6th-rank perch, they couldn't comprehend it.
If there were gods...
Would they know what happened?