The Stone of Omnipotence

The Stone of Omnipotence. Socket it into an item, and it granted an extra option—precious for that alone. And because that bonus swelled to monstrous proportions according to the item's own performance, what you affixed it to mattered enormously.

Armor would be fine, but a necklace ought to give the best return by far.

The decision was swift. The Silver Dragon Necklace was the one he chose.

This is insane.

It really was the Silver Dragon Necklace. The effect pouring off the Stone of Omnipotence was no joke. A single Fireball of his might now hit with the destructive force of a high-tier spell, or worse. Looking at the multipliers already stacking across his gear, it was more than possible.

That was when the Abyss King approached.

"I shall give you this."

Yujun checked the item at once.

Yujun's eyes went wide. An elixir that multiplied the experience earned in every situation by one and a half. He's giving me this? An item he had obtained only once, even on his No-Pay Casual Gamer character. He had never imagined the Abyss King would part with something so rare. Back during War of the Gods, nothing of the sort had been offered.

Sim Sanghoon didn't exist in the game.

Yujun smiled.

"Thank you. I didn't think you'd hand over an Experience Elixir."

"Did I not say I would give you something finer than jewels? A word, once spoken, I keep."

"I'm grateful either way. I wasn't hoping for a gift on this scale."

Everything was satisfying. He downed the Experience Elixir in a single swallow.

Staying at a low level to milk achievement corrections is about to get difficult. If that's the case, the smarter play is to push my level as high as I can, as fast as I can.

Now that the reward he had wanted so badly was finally his, a few questions remained.

"There's something I'm curious about. Mind if I ask?"

"Ask as you like."

"Why did Sim Sanghoon wipe out an entire village on the 7th Realm? He didn't strike me as someone who was simply mad."

Arrogant, maybe—but he hadn't looked like the sort to slaughter hundreds, or thousands, for no reason at all. Not that Sim Sanghoon was a good person. Absolutely not.

"You want his reason? Hmm. By his own account, the villagers looked down on him from the very start. They saw his face, scorned him, and treated him as a joke."

"That was all?"

"That is all I know. Which is precisely why Sim Sanghoon still needs to be interrogated."

Yujun turned it over for a moment, then spoke.

"When I took part in the Species Tournament on the Continent, I found a gate that opened into the Abyss. A gatekeeper stood in front of it. Horidan."

"......If Horidan was there, then it is certain."

"The goal back then was to rescue Sim Sanghoon. Only at the very end did the System announce that an Irregular had occurred."

"You mean Sim Sanghoon was the Irregular?"

"More or less."

"Then he was certainly scheming something."

"Yeah. Something big enough that the System itself had to intervene. Not an ordinary scale."

"I will keep that in mind when I question him. Thank you for telling me."

"Don't let your guard down."

"Should things go awry, I will ask for your help again."

"......I'd rather arrange it so I never have to come back here. Wouldn't that be better?"

"Matters rarely flow exactly as one wishes."

The Abyss King smiled, the look heavy with meaning.

"Well, I know what I needed to know. I'll be going."

"Very well."

Yujun said his farewells to the Abyss King and to his daughter, Sena, then set out for the exit that led out of the Abyss.

Hong Yeji, her face bright with excitement, spoke up.

"Once we're outside, that's when we can claim the rewards for the 2nd Layer and the 1st Layer, right?"

"Yes."

Taken all at once, those rewards would be enormous.

"I never even imagined we could pick up rewards in a place like this and walk out in one piece."

Hong Yeji was overjoyed. She had brushed against the Abyss indirectly through War of the Gods, and she knew its dangers well.

"But the 1st Layer doesn't seem to have a mission of its own? Originally you had to clear a mission before you could move to the next floor."

"The mission hasn't been issued yet."

"What......?"

"It will be given once we get near the exit."

"Oh, so the 1st Layer mission is still left?"

"Mm. No. We've already completed it."

"Completed it? Does it have something to do with the Abyss King?"

Yujun smiled and nodded.

"The 1st Layer's mission is to fulfill a request received from someone of High Envoy rank or higher. We took a request from the Abyss King, the highest authority on the Abyss's 1st Layer, and in the end we succeeded."

In short, they had cleared the mission before it was ever assigned.

"Huh? That's a little strange. Shouldn't we go back and formally accept the request?"

"No. If that were necessary, we wouldn't have come this way. The moment the mission is issued, it will be marked complete. You'll see."

And indeed, as they drew near the exit from the Abyss, the mission appeared—and in the same instant, a completion message rose with it.

"......It's real."

"I told you. Let's go."

They had not been in the Abyss long, and yet it felt as though they had been there for ages.

Probably because we gained so much.

A portal of blue light. Yujun and his companions stepped into it.

Fwaaa—!

Yujun's party appeared at the place where they had fought Coordination. The three Coordination members were, as expected, gone.

Hong Yeji startled.

"All stats up by forty? Is that even possible?"

"Are you asking me?"

"Yes."

"See for yourself. Your stats actually went up."

"......"

Ju Donghyeon looked quite shaken as well. All stats rising by forty meant a total of one hundred and sixty points—a figure you could not reach without climbing past level fifty. They had stumbled onto a windfall. Simply by having been with Yujun.

"The title effect is insane too. Thanks to you, Yujun, I actually got my hands on a Legendary title."

Yujun smiled brightly.

"I did you a favor, didn't I? When I need you later, you'll have to help me."

"I did come this time because you called, but you're not wrong. Oh, and......"

Hong Yeji put on a mischievous look.

"Yujun. Sena, was it? You exchanged messengers with the Abyss King's daughter, didn't you?"

"Me?"

"Yes."

"I did."

"The way she was looking at you earlier was not ordinary."

"What?"

Yujun's eyes went round. What was she talking about all of a sudden?

"Who?"

"Sena."

"......"

"It makes sense, though. You saved her life. You let her form a contract with a Spirit King, and you resolved what the Abyss King asked in a single stroke. There isn't a single thing you're lacking."

Catching her meaning, Yujun frowned.

"How does that follow?"

"Playing dumb? She was staring at you so openly. Donghyeon felt it too, right?"

"Yes. That's right."

"Honestly, she's a dark elf, so her looks don't fall short either. You don't happen to have feelings, do you?"

"Don't corner me."

"Tch. No fun."

Hong Yeji smiled, full of mischief.

"Then what about me?"

"......"

"I'm joking. Joking. Don't glare just because I teased you once."

"That's a relief."

"And why is that a relief?"

"Because it is."

Hong Yeji pouted, as if disappointed.

"Anyway, where are you headed now, Yujun?"

"Hard to say. There are a few bastards I'd like to look in on right away. I just don't know where they are."

"There are people you want to see?"

"Yes."

"Who......"

"Later."

"We're splitting up?"

"Yes."

Yujun took his leave without lingering.

A gathering of most of Coordination. A brief silence passed through the wide banquet hall.

"He got away?"

"Yes. He was strong."

Ban Soyeon answered Ji Gyutae.

"Didn't I send three of you? How could you let him slip? It does not fit my understanding."

"Uncle Gyutae, can I be straight with you? If one of us had gone, or even two, we'd have been dead already. We only made it back alive because all three of us fought together."

At Ban Soyeon's words, the other Coordination ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠members present were startled.

"That strong? This target?"

"I can't believe it."

"Wasn't he some nobody who wasn't even famous?"

"A prospect who only just started rising really has that kind of power?"

Faced with the reaction she had expected, Ban Soyeon gave a bitter smile.

"Something about him was strange. A type of player I'd never seen. I don't think he even has a real weakness. We just brute-forced it with level. If our levels had been close, we wouldn't have stood a chance."

"......That's a bit of a shock."

"Right? And it was worse for me, Sihyeon, and Gangmin. Honestly, it was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠humiliating."

"At that level, isn't he basically leader-class?"

At someone's remark, Ban Soyeon let out an empty laugh.

"No. Uncle Gyutae is in a class of his own. You know that. A monster beyond measure."

"However strong someone is, comparing them to the leader is a bit much."

"Yeah. That's not it."

Then Ji Gyutae's voice flowed from the projection again.

"Then we had better cut the sprout quickly."

"We're still going through with it?"

"Hearing you, Soyeon, I cannot leave him alone any longer. He must be dealt with."

"What if he's even stronger than before? Three won't be enough. He might run again, like last time."

"See it through. I cannot go there myself right now, so this falls to all of you."

"And the reward you mentioned before?"

"That stands. Whoever kills him gets an item on top of it. Mythic-grade armor."

"......Mythic grade?"

"You're putting that up?"

"Leader, isn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that overdoing it?"

"You still don't know Uncle Gyutae, do you? If you saw the items hanging off that man, you'd be shocked. We don't need to worry."

Ban Soyeon went on, a smile on her lips.

"Can I join this time too?"

"I don't mind. But you will likely need more people. Would two more suffice?"

"Five should be enough. Sihyeon, Choe Gangmin—you two going?"

"If you're going, of course I'm going."

Cheon Sihyeon said it with a wide grin.

"Choe Gangmin. You?"

"I......"

Choe Gangmin hesitated. He had nearly lost his life facing Shin Yujun, and the trauma from that still felt like a hand around his throat.

"If I run now, I think I'll regret it for the rest of my life. I'll go too."

"Good. Two more to come with us?"

At Ban Soyeon's call, exactly two hands went up: the older Song Taeyeong, and Grand Mage Han Jiyun.

"Oh. What's this? I can see Uncle Taeyeong going, but even you, Jiyun?"

At Ban Soyeon's words, pale-skinned Han Jiyun smiled.

"I'm curious. What kind of man he is."

"Wait. Unni, don't tell me you're playing that ideal-type hunt again?"

"Mm."

"Ha......"

"Mm. Finding someone stronger than me. You know that's my wish."

"Uncle Gyutae is right there."

"The leader doesn't count. He isn't a person."

"......"

"I'm telling you, we have to kill him."

"Wouldn't it be better to bring someone like that onto our side? Coordination would only get stronger."

"Ha. Do whatever you want. It won't go your way anyway."

Ban Soyeon let out a sigh.