Nicholas Wants to Become Stronger
In the heart of the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France, countless bones and the corpses of dead Awakened lay scattered about. Nearby, the remnants of a collapsed Ghost Gate stood, with the survivors catching their breath in its shadow. They had just cleared their tenth Ghost Gate of the day. And finally, they had reached level 20.
It had been four days since Jang Jojun entered the Infinite Hell, and they had finally secured the rights to enter it themselves. "Good work, Nicholas." A witch wearing a wide-brimmed hat approached Nicholas, who was slumped in front of a shattered fountain. She was Charlotte, the leader of Paris and a Great Mage. She had stepped in to assist Nicholas in place of the deceased Great Sage, acting as both a new comrade and a player belonging to the Manma-jeon, tasked with fostering his growth.
"Uh... you worked hard too." Nicholas looked up at Charlotte, who seemed completely unfazed, and replied in a weary voice. He forced his eyes away from the corpses of his fallen comrades. Staring at them wouldn't bring them back to life. Instead, he looked up at the pitch-black night sky. It was filled with stars. It felt as if there was a star for every person who had died.
"Well, you've rested enough, so please get up now. We don't have any more time to sit around and rest."
"Yeah, I know." At Charlotte's urging, Nicholas struggled to his feet. Ever since his defeat in the Abyss, he had been subjected to brutal training, hounded day and night by the benevolent gods. He was spending his days trying to regain the prowess he had lost along with his memories, all to take revenge on the Apostle of the Manma-jeon.
"I told you the news that Cultist Jang entered the Infinite Hell, right?"
"Yeah. I heard. Did he go in last Friday...?"
"That's right. We only just reached level 20 today... but he entered the Infinite Hell four days earlier than us. I don't know what kind of creature that human is... I wonder if he even sleeps properly."
At Charlotte's words, Nicholas just nodded silently. The gap that had opened up was now so large that it felt impossible to bridge; he couldn't help but wonder if he would ever be able to catch up, no matter how hard he tried. Nicholas was in a state of near-despair. The news of Jang Jojun that reached him from time to time pushed him to the edge of a cliff. No matter how hard he worked, no matter how much he suffered, the gap between them wouldn't close. When he heard the news that he was about to swallow half of the Black Market, he felt like crying. The news that he had gobbled up the US Eastern survivor camp after the Abyss, and now even the Neutral Zone, was hard to believe, yet somehow, it made sense.
'That thorough bastard... can I really kill him?'
Nicholas wiped the blood and sweat from his forehead. No matter how much he thought about it, it didn't seem like he could win. Not only Jang Jojun's army, but the man himself had become an insurmountable wall to Nick.
"Hey, Nick. Are you listening to me?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry. I was thinking about something else for a moment..."
"Whew... Nick. Get a grip."
"I'm sorry..."
"If you're going to be that out of it, what happens to the people who are pinning their hopes on you?"
"Sorry..."
Nick apologized to Charlotte repeatedly. The coercive Charlotte always urged and pushed Nicholas. She was strict with Nicholas, just as she was strict with herself.
"Anyway, the updates will start again from next week. According to the information broker, the new update will establish the egos of evolved entities and allow them to build legions. Also, more Ghost Gates will appear."
"Yeah. Ghost Gates..."
"We need to get more people to level 20 and take them to the Infinite Hell. There is a 99.9 percent chance that the Apostle of the Manma-jeon has turned that hell into an even worse hell over the last four days... so we have to be fully prepared before we go in."
"That's true..."
They knew quite a lot of information about Jang Jojun. It was information handed over by Vister, the God of Wisdom, one of the three main gods of the Pantheon. Vister, the adversary of Botamilli, the God of Void, was currently in seclusion. As the God of Void was resurrected, observing Jang Jojun directly had become virtually impossible, and they were only just managing to guess his movements through the lines of causality. And even then, several pieces of incorrect or omitted information had been mixed in due to Sataniel's traps, causing them a headache.
However, because they could grasp Jang Jojun's achievement records through the authority Vister possessed, they could estimate Jang Jojun's approximate location and actions. It was the authority of Vister, the God of Wisdom, to secretly peek into the knowledge of all things. In any case, most of the information Vister gave to Nick and his party were guesses that were close to the truth.
"Then, for now... should we just go into the Infinite Hell right away?"
"No. Nick, you are still weaker than the Apostle of the Manma-jeon."
"Ah... right..."
"Yes. It's a clear fact. Furthermore, the Apostle of the Manma-jeon has already half-transcended humanity."
"Half-transcended humanity?"
"Yes. It seems he ate the dragons that raided the Black Market to his heart's content. According to the information broker, some of his stats have surpassed 200."
"Surpassed 200...? Isn't the limit for humans 200..."
"It means he's already half-not-human. According to the information coming in, they say he's like a half-man, half-serpent."
"So he's a snake-man..."
Nick was still human. That was why all his stats, excluding magic power, were stuck at 200.
"Do I have to transcend humanity too..."
"That's why I prepared this." Charlotte took out a small leaf.
"This is..."
"An invitation to the Man-gwi-jeon. It's a leaf of the World Tree. Go there and break through the limits of humanity."
"What about the Infinite Hell..."
"The difficulty must have already become absurd. It's already too late to go in now. So let's prepare a bit more instead. We can't win if we just keep following behind him forever. The goal this time is to overtake him."
"Overtake him..."
"Yes. For that, we have also prepared a trial in the style of the Manma-jeon."
"A trial in the style of the Manma-jeon?"
"Yes. Investigations show that the Cultist was always thrown into crisis situations and became stronger by gaining causality through surviving them. It must have been thanks to his unique luck. They say it's a luck value set by the Master of the Void for him to grow in that way from the beginning."
"666..."
"However, you were born with 777 luck from the start. It's innate luck. Whatever you do, a beneficial result is derived. As long as you don't run into 666."
"Uh... so what are you going to do in the end?"
"To put it simply, since the 666 Cultist gained immense power due to the immutable cosmic law of high risk, high return... we decided to throw you into crisis situations just the same."
"Throw me into a crisis situation...?"
"Yes. With your 777, which turns into a situation where you always gain a benefit no matter what you do... our calculations showed that the more extreme the crisis situation, the more power you would gain, provided you don't run into your adversary, 666."
"W-wait a minute...! Whose calculation is that..."
"It's the result that came out of the Giant God's massive brain. Roll in the dirt. There's no other way to follow the Cultist. If you want to even try to compete with the Cultist, you'll have to roll like a dog."
Nick was not at all pleased with the idea of rolling like a dog, but there was nothing he could do. He had to make a big decision to catch up with the one who was ahead. "Fine... I'll do it..."
"Then I wish you good luck."
Nicholas grabbed the leaf Charlotte handed him. In an instant, his body disappeared as if it were being sucked into a whirlpool. "Then... I'll have to go meet the Martial Saint." Charlotte moved. She had to recruit a new hero party.
"Ugh..."
The place where Nicholas regained consciousness was a pitch-black space. A pitch-black space where nothing could be seen and not even a sound could be heard. Nicholas, who had become the only existence there, looked around and waited for someone to approach. Soon, a voice was heard along with the presence of someone.
"It's you. You foolish loser."
The voice could be heard, but no form could be seen. Nicholas frowned at the deep, masculine voice. Since he couldn't see the opponent, he didn't know what they looked like, and since the voice echoed as if in a cave, it came from all directions, making it impossible to distinguish the location.
"Do not try to find us. You are still far too lacking to face us."
Nick opened his mouth to answer. However, he was in a state where he could not speak. Only then did he realize that he could not walk or move properly.
"You are given 10 years. Within that time, you must escape from this darkness. This is your first trial."
Nicholas thought. If he spent ten years here, everything would already be over. Then, the mysterious voice laughed and said.
"Time flows differently here. Time flows even faster than in the Abyss. This is... your mental world."
Mental world. Nicholas was trapped in his own mind. And what spoke to him were the memories of those who had been sealed in the Holy Sword.
"Wake up. If you don't wake up within the given 10 years, you are finished. The given time is 10 years. If you don't wake up within that time, your self-consciousness will begin to collapse. It's 10 years. If you fail, you will never be able to step on the path of transcendence again."
In a state where he could see nothing, touch nothing, and move nothing properly, Nicholas focused only on his sense of hearing. Soon, the man's voice gave the final warning.
"Do not exceed 10 years."
Soon, everything disappeared. Nicholas struggled. To escape from the shackles of his mind. And currently, Nicholas's body was entangled in the roots of the World Tree. While he was trapped in his mind and floundering, his body was slowly changing. Into something that was not human.