One of the Demon God Worshippers...

One of the Demon God Worshippers shouted.

"There's nothing here!"

"Good. We're going in."

At Woo Changgyun's word, the Demon God Worshippers moved with drilled precision. They had barely stepped inside before they came upon the corpses of their own.

"...They were killed surprisingly cleanly."

"Means the gap in skill was that wide. Looks like they died without even getting a chance to fight back."

Woo Changgyun looked over the already-dead Demon God Worshippers with open contempt. Most of them had been cut down from behind—the wretched remains of men who had tried to run and failed. There were limits, surely, to how thoroughly one could drag an organization's name through the mud.

He brought his foot down on one corpse's head.

Crack.

Fury took him. It was absurd. To be done in like this by a single first-year player?

He seems strong, I'll grant him that... but he is no match for me.

Since being summoned to the Tower of Infinity, Woo Changgyun had never once tasted defeat. Part of it was genuine talent. The rest was simpler: in the early days, he had never met an enemy overwhelmingly stronger than himself. He had ridden victory after victory and lived without ever learning what it meant to lose, and so he found it difficult to believe that a mere first-year had grown this far. He had seen the footage—proof of the man overwhelming other players—and still he refused to acknowledge him. No. He could not. To do so would be to let an inferiority take root that he could not bear.

He may have more talent than I do, but the bastard hasn't even been a player for half a year. I am the stronger one.

Woo Changgyun, who had been scanning the surroundings, opened his mouth.

"Doesn't look like they're here, and there's no sign they escaped, so they must be farther in. Search every inch. The moment you find them, report."

"Yes, sir."

"Understood."

Boom. Boom.

The collision sounds they had heard before entering the laboratory rang out again.

"What in the world is that?"

Irritation gathered on Woo Changgyun's face. It grated. It grated badly.

"Best to deal with that first."

He closed on the source of the sound at speed, and the Demon God Worshippers followed at his back. What they found was an undead monster hurling its body against a wall that looked solid as stone.

"..."

"...An undead?"

"Shin Yujun's summon, sir. Quite famous these days. Strong, they say, for an undead..."

"How strong can an undead be."

A sneer touched the corner of Woo Changgyun's mouth. Paranet, was it? Large, yes, but nothing remarkable beside a medium or large monster. He had watched footage of the thing in combat once, and its movements had been sloppy beyond belief. A child with nothing but brute strength. That was Paranet's level, as Woo Changgyun judged it. And so he walked up without a moment's hesitation.

"Hey."

"Hm? And what are you, wretch?"

Paranet, deep in his practice of skill combinations, made his displeasure plain.

"A human? How dare a human interrupt this one's training?"

"Your master, Shin Yujun, is human too."

Woo Changgyun said it as if the absurdity were self-evident, and Paranet flinched.

"...K-khm. You heard nothing just now. Understood?"

"Awful lot of pride for a nobody."

"N-nobody? Are you addressing me?"

"Who else is here besides you?"

"Human. You are truly without fear."

"That's my line. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I don't know why a mere summon is this insolent."

Woo Changgyun made no effort to hide how absurd he found it. He had known Paranet was full of empty bluster, but not to this degree. That kind of confidence, with Demon God Worshippers standing right in front of him?

"You intend to fight me? Heh heh. Do not stake a match unless you are certain. Were you never taught this? What are you doing—not even kissing your big brother's hand?"

Paranet drew his sword with a perfectly serious face as he spoke. Woo Changgyun turned his head.

"...What is he even saying?"

"No idea, sir."

"Watched a few movies, this one."

Then Paranet moved.

"Body Slam, Thousand-Pound— wh-whoa!"

He had closed the distance in an instant, and his feet tangled beneath him.

Thud!

Paranet went down face-first in a thoroughly undignified sprawl. Even the Demon God Worshippers were thrown. They had weathered every kind of situation the Tower of Infinity could produce, and never once this. Charging in with all that momentum, only to trip over his own feet? It was a mistake no player would ever make, because in a fight between players it led straight to death. And Paranet had just committed it.

"..."

"Shall we finish him quickly?"

"We should. Wasn't even worth facing."

Woo Changgyun drove his knuckle-dustered fist down toward where Paranet's head lay.

Whoosh— crash!

Paranet proved his survival instinct was no empty thing. He used Space Movement and slipped the blow Woo Changgyun had aimed at the back of his skull.

"...Tsk."

"...My timing was off. There will be no mercy next time."

Paranet straightened, as if to hide his shame. The Demon God Worshippers, of course, could only find him ridiculous.

"Not even ashamed, are you?"

"Hey, cut him some slack. He's undead. They're not bright."

Unable to endure the mockery, Paranet kicked off the ground. A faint smile touched Woo Changgyun's lips as he poured thick, clinging dark demonic energy into his knuckle-dusters.

I'll smash that skull in a single blow.

In that instant, Paranet charged.

"Body Slam Thousand-Pound Drop!"

KRA-BOOOOM—!

Woo Changgyun collided with Paranet's body.

"Guhk—!"

The impact was tremendous. Woo Changgyun's body was flung far back. Before overwhelming destructive force, the difference in their caliber meant very little.

"Uh...?"

"What?"

The Demon God Worshippers' eyes went wide. Had Woo Changgyun just been hit? Impossible. It couldn't be. No matter how careless he grew, Woo Changgyun had never once allowed an enemy to catch him by surprise. His sensory abilities were exceptional, and he was cautious in all things besides. And yet just now he had been struck without response or defense of any kind. The fact shook them to the core.

While they stood reeling, Paranet moved first.

"Body Slam... Thousand-Pound Drooop!"

KRA-BOOOOM!

Unlike Woo Changgyun, the slender Demon God Worshipper did not even manage a scream before he died. The corner of Paranet's mouth hooked toward his ear.

"Insane..."

"What is that thing?"

"Kill it, now!"

The Demon God Worshippers attacked, each unleashing a different ability. Paranet moved quickly and slipped most of the magic, but a few spells were bound to land. Their trajectories were that exquisite. The Demon God Worshippers who had come with Woo Changgyun this time were strong enough to be called elites—by no means an enemy to take lightly. For Paranet, the situation could fairly be called a crisis of life and death.

And yet Paranet, famous above all for his cowardice, did not tremble, and he did not fear. He could already taste victory. It was not confidence without grounds. He had already dealt with two of them, and the rest did not frighten him.

Thanks to the armor Master gave me, their attacks are hardly a threat.

Horidan's ring had left Paranet's stats on the very high side. On top of that, he wore Mythic-rank weapons and armor, and he had gained a powerful technique with a rather peculiar name—Body Slam Thousand-Pound Drop, the fusion of Body Slam and Thousand-Pound Drop. The flaw, such as it was, was that the ability had nothing whatsoever to do with a sword.

What of it? So long as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the force was there, nothing else mattered.

KRA-BOOM!

Another Demon God Worshipper collided with Paranet. This time the body did not go flying. It simply came apart. The force of the Thousand-Pound Drop and Body Slam combination was growing sharper by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the moment, and the reason was simple: Paranet's mastery of the technique was climbing at a brutal pace.

Once Thousand-Pound Drop multiplied his weight, following it with Body Slam made it nearly impossible to generate real force. He could not even reach his opponent. He had to lead with Body Slam and trigger Thousand-Pound Drop after, and the timing was everything. Now he could hit it. Against a Paranet who had finally made the new technique his own, the Demon God Worshippers had no answer at all.

In a flash, four of them were out of the fight. Setting aside Woo Changgyun, whose whereabouts ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were unknown, they might as well all have been dead.

"This can't be. Not even Shin Yujun—just a summon..."

"Isn't there some way?"

The remaining Demon God Worshippers wore hollow expressions. Small wonder. Their opponent was an undead summon—somewhat lacking beside a giant golem, a summon notorious for being all bluster and no substance. And already four of them had fallen to that thing, without so much as getting a proper hit in.

KRA-BOOOOM!

"Kgh—!"

One Demon God Worshipper managed to withstand Paranet's Body Slam. He had raised a shield, set his stance, and braced ahead of time. Even so, the situation was far from hopeful.

"Kagh—!"

He was not dead. He had only lost consciousness.

The Demon God Worshippers were not merely taking the beating. The instant Paranet finished his technique, two of them swung their swords at his back. The strike was so perfectly coordinated that the thought crossed their minds.

Even Shin Yujun couldn't dodge this.

Paranet, as if he had been waiting for it, used Space Movement and slipped both attacks.

"..."

And then, inevitably, the Body Slam.

KRA-BOOM!

"Guhk—!"

Not even a Demon God Worshipper with a high Constitution stat could come through unharmed. Body Slam fused with Thousand-Pound Drop was simply too powerful. This was not a matter of attack power being high or low. The moment of impact stole the breath and sent the mind reeling. Worse, Paranet had begun using Space Movement even over short distances, until it was nearly impossible to predict where the next attack would come from. Fleeing meant nothing. Paranet had a Space Movement skill.

The Demon God Worshippers sank into despair. Then a voice from Paranet pricked their ears upright.

"Dear me. My mana has run dry."

"...!"

They did not let the opening pass. Without mana, he would be unable to use that terrifying Body Slam, or Space Movement. They kicked off the ground and rushed him—and in that very instant, Paranet drew a mana potion from within his robes, popped the stopper, and poured it straight down his throat.

"Kuheh~ Sweet as honey, it is!"

"..."

A sword cut through the air before his eyes. Paranet took it as his cue and unleashed Body Slam.

KRA-BOOM!

Another life vanished, empty and abrupt. Once Paranet had replenished his mana, the outcome of the battle was already decided.

Woo Changgyun opened his eyes.

"Huk— hah! What was that?"

He dragged up his memories of the moment just before he lost consciousness. He was certain of it. He had been drawing up dark demonic energy to finish Shin Yujun's summon, the Death Knight. After that, nothing. Nothing at all.

"Don't tell me I was the one who got hit?"

He shook his head hard. Impossible. His opponent had not even been Shin Yujun, the one he had been wary of. It had been the man's summon. A thoroughly worthless Death Knight, at that. Woo Changgyun kept turning it over, and then his eyes went wide.

"So he laid some kind of trick in the laboratory."

Shin Yujun.

A frightening man.

Woo Changgyun possessed an ability tied to mental barriers, and he had confidence in that domain as well. And yet he had been taken in completely. He had not noticed a thing until Shin Yujun's trick had already landed.

A barrier that shows illusions? They said a pure-blooded Witch follows him around. She is no ordinary thing, indeed.

An illusion that made it appear as though he—he, of all people—had been beaten by a mere summon. The shock to the mind had been enormous.

He knows exactly how to break a man from the inside.

A truly fearsome scheme. If such a thing had actually happened, he would have ended his own life under the weight of self-loathing and despair.

Fortunate that I recognized it for an illusion. A hair closer, and I would have fallen for the bastard's trick.

Woo Changgyun let out a sigh of relief. His head was injured, and it never occurred to him to wonder why he had been flung all this way.

Just you wait.

He only trudged on, vowing revenge, putting the laboratory farther and farther behind him.