Changing of the Guard

Light shone down.

It fell upon the ten who had achieved the highest accomplishments, who had proven their worth. One hundred thousand challengers—and of them, a mere ten had earned the right to approach the Holy Star.

People gazed up at them with faces full of awe. Every step those ten had taken had been nothing short of extraordinary. They were leaders of the next generation, fundamentally different from Earth's existing Dimension Warriors. The world would be transformed by these ten.

"Ah…"

Manager Kim let out a bitter sigh as he looked up above his own head. There was no light there. Only a hollow, cold wind passed indifferently by.

His ambition to stand at the center of this trial, to surge ahead of everyone else, had ended as nothing more than ambition. After his right arm had been shattered, he had been able to do nothing. Far from the center, he was barely clinging to the edge of a thousand-foot cliff by his toes.

I should have been standing up there…

With eyes thick with envy, Manager Kim stared at the ten lights floating in the air. He knew it instinctively. Those people were the protagonists of the next generation. Every spotlight would be trained on those ten.

It could have been me…!

He had clearly had his chances. Opportunities to lead a group and leap to a higher position had presented themselves more than once. But a single mistake had rendered all of it worthless.

"Move it, you fat bastard. You're in the way."

Thud!

A massive man kicked Manager Kim. Sprawled pathetically on the ground, Manager Kim's body trembled.

"Got a problem? Then come at me. I'll bury you right here."

But he couldn't even lift his head. Ever since his right arm had been crushed and others had begun catching up to his early growth one by one, this had become his reality. Because he had monopolized every growth resource for the first two days, plenty of people harbored resentment toward him. He had sacrificed others to climb above them—so no one felt any sympathy. Most, looking at him now, simply thought he had it coming.

Karma. He was reaping exactly what he had sown.

Crunch!

The massive man stomped down on Manager Kim's head. There was no humiliation quite like this. Still, Manager Kim kept his eyes on the dirt. Though the big man hadn't made the top ten, he was a powerhouse who had come very close. One wrong move and Manager Kim could actually die.

"By the way, what's that guy's name again?"

The massive man spoke, his gaze full of longing as he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠looked in one direction. Where his eyes landed, a pillar of light was descending. The one receiving the radiance. The man who was heading toward the angel—the man who had reduced Manager Kim to this state!

"P-Park Hyunmyung…"

Crrrunch!

In that instant, the massive man pressed down harder with the foot planted on Manager Kim's head.

"Aaagh!"

"Add the honorific. Is he your buddy?"

"P-Park Hyunmyung-nim…!"

"That's right, you fat bastard. Without Park Hyunmyung-nim, you'd be dead. I'd be dead too. We'd all be dead. So from now on, you make damn sure you add that honorific."

"Y-yes…! I will!"

"Tch."

The massive man clicked his tongue softly. A worm not even worth killing. But that man was different.

Park Hyunmyung.

The miracles he had displayed over the past six days were something the big man would never forget for the rest of his life. Ten monsters. But even if you combined the other nine, he was certain they still couldn't match Park Hyunmyung alone. He was a rule-breaker who shattered and overturned every existing convention.

Those so-called followers were overwhelmed by his presence alone.

The followers of the Cheonsan Divine Cult who had appeared one after another had taken their own lives the moment they encountered Park Hyunmyung. And yet every one of those followers had been an overwhelmingly powerful being. Fully realized powerhouses who could chew up most Dimension Warriors—the idea that freshly awakened rookies could face them was pure fantasy, not even worth dreaming about. Facing a single one of them would have cost hundreds of lives at the very least.

And yet those same powerhouses, the moment they stood before Park Hyunmyung, had all shown the same attitude. They had even ended it by taking their own lives. How to describe that sight?

…Awe. That's what it was.

They had been stunned, awestruck, and offered up their own lives as tribute. Offered them—to Park Hyunmyung. To the man now advancing with the light of radiance upon him! Like humans making offerings to a god.

At first the onlookers had been bewildered… but after the same thing repeated itself several times, everyone couldn't help but realize it. That man, Park Hyunmyung, was no ordinary human. He could never be an ordinary human.

…A supreme being akin to the god those followers worshipped. Perhaps he was a god himself. With a single stomp of his foot, a single flash of his eyes, he had brought the followers to their knees. Who would believe it if he told them what he had seen?

That was why it was a miracle. They had witnessed a miracle.

And it wasn't just his presence.

But the truly terrifying thing about Park Hyunmyung wasn't merely the presence that drove the followers to suicide. On the sixth day, during the final trial… the sight Park Hyunmyung had shown them—

"Nngh!"

Recalling that moment, the massive man's body shuddered.

The Holy Star.

The star granted as a reward alongside God's Island. At last, I stood before it. And I understood.

The star that drinks nebulae…!

Even among the stars Wilhelm had possessed, this one had been the most exceptional. The star I had believed could only be found upon reaching Level 10 was right before my eyes. But at the same time, the Angel of Blessing dwelled within this star.

Sizzle!

The moment I brought my hand close, searing pain flared and my skin began to burn.

I can't claim it yet.

Only then did I understand. Why this star had never reached me. It was something that could only be obtained upon hitting Level 10. Because I had not yet reached Level 10, I could not have it.

"So this is the 'Holy Star'?"

"There's an angel inside this thing?"

Besides me, nine other figures stood around the star. The ten who had scored highest in Main Quest 1: Survival. But I couldn't figure out why we had all been gathered here. Everyone was wondering the same thing—and then it happened.

A voice resonated inside our heads. A voice so ambiguous it was impossible to tell whether it belonged to a man or a woman, an adult or a child.

Struggle? All of a sudden? Did that mean the ten of us gathered here were supposed to fight each other?

…So that was it.

The moment Angel Gabriel finished speaking, everyone backed away from one another. Those gathered here were the ten most exceptional among one hundred thousand. Their skill went without saying. And this was the stage to determine the strongest among even them.

"Sorry, but you're all just going to be my stepping stones."

"Come at me, you bastards!"

A few people shouted boldly, their voices brimming with confidence.

The greatest warrior, huh.

I alone had not taken a single step away from the Holy Star's side. The final reckoning. With this battle, all of "Survival" would likely come to an end. I thought it over carefully, then reached my conclusion.

I'd better put on a proper show.

I was going to see this through to the very end.

"God's Island. Just what on earth is happening over there?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"At least tens of thousands of people have gone missing!"

"The most widely accepted theory right now is that all the missing people were forcibly summoned by 'God's Island.'"

"Several experts are raising their voices, arguing that 'Awakening' is likely taking place on that island."

Mass media outlets across the entire world were in an uproar. Ever since God's Island had appeared, they had flooded the airwaves with every kind of story about the vanished people. Because every one of them had seen a "message" that originally only Players could see—the announcement that the tutorial had begun. The selection window asking whether they would enter God's Island.

"If ordinary people can awaken as well, could the current Dimension Warriors end up being replaced?"

"…I believe it's possible. Looking at the fact that only the unawakened—in other words, that Dimension Warriors cannot enter 'God's Island'—it seems a complete generational overhaul could take place."

"Then the standing of Dimension Warriors could become quite precarious!"

"The truth is, we've turned a blind eye to the abuses they've committed, knowingly or not. But the awakening of ordinary Earthlings is going to bring about a great many changes going forward."

"Couldn't this just be a one-off event?"

"Either way, if Second Generation Awakened appear, that alone represents enormous potential. We'll also need to reexamine the privileges First Generation Awakened have enjoyed until now."

So-called "experts" appeared and traded remarks without pause, as if venting every grievance they had bottled up. Dimension Warriors. They were already being labeled First Generation Awakened, while those who had entered God's Island were being classified as Second Generation Awakened.

One thing was certain: not a single First Generation Awakened had entered God's Island. And what did that signify? Was it not a divine revelation commanding a changing of the guard?

Perhaps that was why almost no one had anything kind to say about the First Generation Awakened—the Dimension Warriors. Naturally, from the Players' perspective, those who had challenged God's Island had become a thorn in their side.

What can a bunch of freshly awakened nobodies even do?

They're still going to be weaker than us, who've experienced Pangenia.

Replace the Players? Come on, at least make some sense. Tsk tsk.

Even if they truly did awaken, they would only be beginners just getting started. The gap between them—who had never set foot in Pangenia—and the Players themselves would only stand out more clearly. Plenty of Players laughed them off for that reason.

Then, on the seventh day since God's Island had appeared, another change began.

God's Island. The moment the tutorial there ended, a message announcing its completion appeared before every Player.

The people who had vanished without a trace began reappearing one by one. But they were not the same as before.

Awakening.

They returned possessing monstrous power on par with Dimension Warriors. And unlike the First Generation Awakened, who gained their strength through transformation, these people had awakened as themselves.

But that wasn't the only astonishing development.

The rankings of the Hall had shifted. And not just one or two names—a massive upheaval.

Why? The Players were thrown into confusion. They had no idea why those who had only just endured the trials of God's Island were suddenly sharing the same Hall of Fame as themselves.

But that confusion soon transformed into an even greater shock. Something happened that made sharing the Hall of Fame and shifting rankings seem like nothing at all.

"Wh-what?"

"Holy shit!"

"Randolph's record has been broken…?!"

From Main Quest 1 all the way through 11. Randolph, who had claimed first place in every single Hall. The name that, ever since its appearance, had never once surrendered the top spot—had, for the first time, been pushed down to second.