The Monarch's Intervention

The road back to Irkutsk.

Dust clouds billowed thickly from the opposite direction.

Several vehicles were moving along the roadside.

“It’s Sergey,” Thomas muttered.

The Russian exploration team must have spotted us too, because they began slowing down.

“The Korean team? Already back?”

Sergey stepped out of the jeep.

Han Suchang spoke up, sounding slightly aggrieved.

“We spent two full days inside the Demon Realm.”

“Two days? It hasn’t even been half a day since you left.”

“Time flows differently there.”

Sergey scratched the back of his head at my additional explanation.

“Time flows differently?”

“Yeah. In Dreamland, time moves slower than in reality.”

“So you’ve already gathered information.”

“I was just about to report our exploration results anyway. Perfect timing.”

“Everyone, stop. We’ll take a short break here.”

The vehicles following behind came to a halt as well.

The road leading to the Demon Realm had grown quiet, so there was no risk of blocking anyone’s path.

I carefully mixed the results of our two-day exploration with knowledge from before my regression and laid it all out for Sergey.

He listened in silence.

“……Incredible.”

“What is?”

“While we were still just preparing, you’ve already grasped this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠much information.”

“Well, our team is pretty capable.”

“Truly. I feel ashamed.”

“You’re not going to doubt what I said?”

“No need to doubt. We can just cross-verify it later.”

I pulled out the Dreamland map from the Pocket of Desire and unfolded it.

An item that recorded information about the Demon Realm.

Sergey’s eyes trembled faintly.

“You’ve obtained something far too valuable.”

“Hey. Who said I was giving this away?”

“Are you bragging?!”

“I’ll give you a copy. A copy.”

Sergey scratched his cheek.

An awkward silence settled between us.

“Still, thanks to Korea’s assistance, the beginning has ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠become much easier.”

“It’s a dangerous and mysterious place. Explore carefully and don’t take unnecessary risks.”

“Heh. I’ll have to return safely if I want to repay this debt.”

Sergey. The debt I owed him before ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my regression has now been repaid.

Back then, when I was trying to use the unproven method of regression, he had supported me more than anyone else.

Without Sergey, the plan to gather the essences of time-related constellations and regress would never have even gotten off the ground.

Well, the man himself would never know that.

Still, it felt like one of the burdens I had carried in my heart had finally been lifted.

After handing over the copy of the Dreamland map, I immediately returned home.

“Ah, it’s warm here,” Thomas said, his face brightening.

He looked like he had suffered quite a bit in Siberia’s harsh environment.

“How was it?”

“It made me want to stay by Mr. Yu’s side and observe him even more.”

“There are plenty of other people you can observe besides me.”

“I look forward to it.”

Thomas’s sincere tone.

I had already reached completion once before, but the guild members hadn’t.

You won’t be disappointed, Mr. Analyst.

The Yeokcheon Guild members are all raw gems brimming with brilliant light.

With guild member training left in Thomas’s hands,

“Time to climb the Tower of Babel.”

-Weren’t you planning to clear the Silver rank with the guild members?

“That was the original plan. But I’m not alone, am I?”

Nyx.

And Lexy.

The two of them alone would have been a bit difficult, but once Lexy was added through Void Projection, our odds of victory shot up dramatically.

“If I’m going to move anyway, it’s better to eat everything alone.”

-Such a wicked mindset. You really never change.

I fiddled with my phone while chuckling.

The Tower of Babel app.

Maybe because I had just returned from Dreamland, it felt like it had been a long time since I last logged in.

The 36th floor mission matched players on a global scale.

The numbers filled up quickly.

The moment it reached 100, my vision was dyed pure white.

I had already reached the Silver rank maximum of level 200, so I planned to clear this quickly and prepare for the promotion match.

At that moment.

Letters were etched across my pure white vision.

An increase in difficulty.

It was a similar situation to the 26th floor.

The difference was that, unlike the 26th floor where the structure itself changed, this allowed intervention in content related to the constellations currently spectating?

If I had to compare it, it was similar to when Baal had possessed the Demon King of the Swamp during the tutorial.

An unexpected proposal.

What is Odin thinking?

-It doesn’t seem like it would harm you.

“The difficulty is increasing, though.”

-If you are the contractor of Yeo, you should be able to overcome any hardship or trial.

She says that so casually.

I stroked my chin.

With combat ability strong enough to fight on equal footing with America’s top ranker, Ellen.

There probably wouldn’t be any major crises until the Platinum section.

Even if constellations intervened, as long as the mission’s core framework didn’t change, I should be able to clear it.

However.

There was one problem.

Before turning back time, I had collected as many hidden elements scattered throughout the Tower as possible.

Secrets and rewards unknown to the current era.

For example, feeding Adamantium to Grand Duke Nashan to obtain the Void Jewel.

“It’s a shame to give up the advantage of information.”

-That’s true. Up to Platinum, quite a bit is already known, isn’t it?

The nuance was different, but Nyx had hit the core of the matter.

What the hell.

I have no idea why Odin is so desperate.

The ruler of the Aesir gods.

His only interest was examining the possibility of ‘doom’ to prevent the coming end times.

Even before my regression, he had been a constellation who barely paid attention to anything except gathering players as Einherjar.

Anyway.

“Then there’s no reason to refuse.”

The reinforced mission difficulty.

A situation that hadn’t existed before my regression brought a smile to my face.

-You truly possess the qualities of a hero.

“Why?”

-Because you smile in the face of greater hardship.

It’s not the hardship. It’s the rewards that will come after clearing the mission.

Instead of correcting her, I simply opened my eyes.

* * *

Barkan and Areon.

The Barkan and Areon Empires had fought across the Tuscany Bridge for hundreds of years.

Except for the Tuscany Bridge spanning the Fran River, there was no way to enter each other’s territory. Because of this, instead of moving large armies, they only engaged in occasional small-scale skirmishes.

The time had come to decide the owner of the bridge.

Defeat the enemy gatekeeper on the other side of the bridge.

A river even wider than the Han River.

A long bridge revealed its majestic form above the sea-like current.

Players began entering the mission one after another.

Soon, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠question marks floated above the players’ heads.

“Constellation intervention?”

“What does ‘another dimension’ even mean?”

“If that’s the case… doesn’t that mean the orcs who defeated the American ranker team might show up?”

The crowd buzzed with confusion.

It was understandable. This was the first time something like this had happened, both before and after my regression.

There had been cases where constellations intervened in specific missions, like on the 26th floor, but never like this.

-Everyone looks confused.

“Well, that makes sense.”

I replied casually and pushed through the crowd, walking out onto the bridge.

Eyes began pouring toward my sudden action.

Some muttered my name in surprise or let out cheers.

Fame really is convenient at times like this.

Rather than trying to persuade them with words, it was better to show them through action.

“If you want the rewards enhanced by the constellations’ blessings, follow me on your own.”

“Kaaaaaaaawr!”

The moment she was summoned, Lexy stretched her neck out and let out a deafening roar.

It reminded me of a famous scene from a well-known movie.

I lightly leaped up and landed on Lexy’s back.

“Let’s go forward.”

“Kao!”

Lexy strode forward with heavy steps.

A moment later.

“C-charge!”

“Follow Sir Yu Jinho!”

Nearly a hundred players shouted as they followed behind Lexy.

-Hmm, they have quite the spirit, don’t they?

“I wonder how long they’ll last.”

-I don’t know who the opponents are, but they have my pity.

“No, I was talking about our side.”

The players of Earth were weak.

That was why they couldn’t avoid the destruction that eventually came.

Even Ellen had been defeated by an orc warrior.

When looking purely at racial base stats, humans weren’t a particularly strong species.

They had simply gained extraordinary power thanks to the Tower System’s corrections.

“Still, if they survive, the rewards will be enormous.”

-You speak as if it has nothing to do with you.

“Kekeke, as if I would lose?”

The system had reviewed it and judged there were no fairness issues.

In other words,

Even if we were matched against another race this time, the balance was considered fair.

“I wonder which race we’ll face.”

When we were about halfway across the bridge.

The figures of the opposing players began to appear on the other side.

“Nagas.”

Those who worshipped the Deva gods from Indian mythology.

A race of demi-humans with human upper bodies and snake lower bodies.

Both men and women wore absolutely nothing, making it rather uncomfortable to look straight at them.

The nagas approached, sweeping the ground with their long tails.

“Are those the frail-looking Earthlings?”

“The species that joined dimensional competition most recently.”

“They were weak overall. Ssssh.”

“Let’s finish this quickly.”

Oh ho.

They already think they’ve won.

“Lexy.”

“Kaaaaaaaawr!”

When I lightly tapped her back, Lexy charged straight forward.

Her stats were pitiful compared to her size.

She couldn’t properly use a tyrannosaurus’s characteristic bite force or tail attacks.

But she could still crush things beneath her massive body.

“Ssssh. It’s just an Earthling’s summon. It’s probably only big and nothing el—”

BOOM!

One naga crushed beneath Lexy’s foot turned into powder.

“Huh? What did you say?”

You idiot.

You should’ve finished talking before you died.

“Kaaaaaaaawr!”

“That’s right. Let’s just trample them all and keep going.”

With her eyes blazing, Lexy stomped on every naga that tried to cling to her, one by one.