The Monarch's Return
The time remaining until the tutorial ended was three days.
I didn't waste a single second of it.
“Kweeeit!”
A thorned boar charged straight at me.
The moment it entered within ten meters—
Activating Shadow Dominion.
Several blades of darkness erupted from beneath my feet and stabbed into the boar’s belly.
“Kweeeit?!”
The boar’s squeal twisted into a cry of agony.
With a flick of my finger, the thorned boar—impaled on the dark blades—was dragged toward me.
Schlick.
My elongated claws unleashed the first form of the Blood Claw Technique: Fierce Tiger Blood Rend.
My hand, infused with inner energy, shattered the creature’s spines and tore the boar into several bloody pieces.
“Still a long way to go,” I muttered.
Nyx’s authority, Polar Night, was incredibly difficult to control.
Having devoured numerous essences before my regression, I was already familiar with all kinds of combat techniques—martial arts, magic, you name it.
But the difficulty of Polar Night rivaled that of a peak-level martial art.
“That’s just relative evaluation.”
I never expected to wield Polar Night as skillfully as Nyx herself.
My real specialty was the Devour ability.
I would climb the Tower and consume every essence I could get my hands on.
While Nyx’s power was certainly useful, I had no intention of making it my main focus.
Still, I need to master the basics.
If I kept at it, I felt like I could soon use Polar Night effectively in actual combat.
For now, it was only useful against simple-minded monsters like these thorned boars.
“I’m not doing this to please you, Goddess.”
Polar Night training.
Experience points.
And tutorial points on top of that.
I was trying to catch three rabbits at once, even skimping on sleep.
“By the way, I wrecked my clothes again.”
I frowned.
The outfit Oh Jiwon had given me was torn in several places.
They were scars left behind from failing to dodge every monster attack while training with Polar Night.
“No. It’s just… we’re about to return to the real world, and I look like this…”
By now, reporters from various media outlets and guild representatives would be camped outside the Tower.
I wasn’t exactly shy, but walking out in rags still felt embarrassing.
“What for?”
I had never lost anything by listening to Nyx, so I reluctantly wrapped my body in Polar Night using Shadow Dominion.
Shaaaa—!
The darkness I had summoned with Polar Night transformed into the shape of a long coat and wrapped around my body.
It was a style that had been trending recently.
It looked almost identical to something I had seen by chance before entering the Babel Tower.
“Whoa?!”
“Of course! It’s awesome! This is sick!!”
Maintaining clothes created from Polar Night required constant use of Shadow Dominion.
If I lost focus, the power would lose its form and return to the top of my head.
That would be…
Disastrous.
After regressing, there weren’t many things that embarrassed me anymore.
But stepping out in front of people completely naked? I’d have to politely decline.
“Guess I’ll have to work hard to preserve my dignity as a human being.”
Nyx let out a strange laugh.
She seemed to be imagining something weird again.
Don’t worry, Goddess. Your delusions will never become reality.
“Alright. Found another one.”
I hurled a spear of twisted darkness at the charging silver fang. The moment the spear left my hand, the silver fang turned pure white.
Then, one by one, the colors that had painted the island began to disappear.
“The tutorial’s over.”
“We return to my world.”
Above the pure white space, a translucent status window appeared.
14 days have passed.
Terminating the Survival Mission.
Tutorial Stage - Korea Channel
Final Score Tally
1st - Yu Jinho (5,316 points)
2nd - Oh Jiwon (1,479 points)
3rd - Park Jongwon (1,438 points)
......
108th - Seo Susik (151 points)
*Survivors - 108/109
Player Yu Jinho has achieved 1st place in this batch.
You have broken the highest record across all Tutorial Stages.
Will you engrave your name upon the Tower?
“Engrave it.”
I nodded.
Engraving one’s name on the Babel Tower might seem like nothing more than a show of vanity at first glance.
But later on, Tower rankings would play a massive role.
That’s something I’ll find out when the time comes.
I waited for the tutorial stage rewards.
◈ A pocket said to devour items like a glutton.
◈ Spatial magic has been applied.
◈ Can store up to 1 ton.
“Wow.” I let out a whistle of admiration.
“Just what I needed.”
Equipment with spatial magic was expensive.
It was rare even inside the Tower, and while modern versions existed that used magic circuits, their performance was inferior.
But look at this pocket!
It was small enough to fit in one hand, yet it could hold an entire ton.
“Why? I think it’s cute.”
A smiling face was engraved on the green leather.
It looked a bit like it was sneering, but as long as the performance was good, who cared?
I had received a reward befitting the number one spot in the tutorial.
“Might as well put it to use right away.”
I tossed the makeshift bag I had made from swamp lizard leather into the pocket.
Since I hadn’t used Devour, the monster byproducts had been lying all over the ground.
I had gathered as many as I could because it felt like a waste to leave them behind.
Thanks to the spatial pocket, things were much more convenient now.
“There’ll be plenty of interesting things. You can look forward to it.”
Nyx let out a mysterious chuckle.
Beyond the white space, a massive door came into view.
A door made of marble.
It was the same scenery as when I had entered the tutorial.
“Goddess, get ready to sightsee the outside world.”
I stepped into the darkness shimmering beyond the door.
* * *
My five senses grew blurry.
The floating sensation throughout my body was the same as when I had entered the Tower.
How long had I been floating like that?
Click! Click!
Along with the sound of camera shutters ringing in my ears, my senses slowly returned one by one.
“Player Yu Jinho! You’ve just broken the highest record in this tutorial!”
“Please give us a word about becoming the number one player in this tutorial!”
“This is Park Joo-tae from the Kyungin Daily! Do you have any particular guild in mind…?”
“Player Yu Jinho…!”
Reporters swarming the entrance of the Tower.
The sound of camera shutters filled my eardrums, and the constant white flashes relentlessly assaulted my retinas.
“I told you. There would be plenty of things happening.”
Nyx trailed off.
Someone spotted Nyx floating beside me and thrust a microphone forward.
“Is that doll your summoned creature, Player Yu Jinho?”
She sure catches on quick when it comes to insults directed at herself.
If I left her alone, Nyx would definitely fly into a rage. Time to change the mood.
“I’ll take one question only.”
I raised my right hand.
The gathered reporters began murmuring among themselves.
“Is he some chaebol heir or celebrity?”
“He looks so composed. Not intimidated by the press at all.”
“When we investigated, he was just an ordinary twenty-something…”
That’s right. Before my regression, I had done hundreds of interviews.
I wasn’t so weak that this kind of atmosphere would rattle me.
I picked one reporter.
“This is Yang Seok-jin from the Korea Daily. First of all, congratulations on breaking the tutorial record for first place.”
“Skip the pleasantries. Get to the point.”
The reporter’s face stiffened slightly.
Well, the Korea Daily was one of the top media outlets in the country. He probably wasn’t used to being treated like this.
Just as I intended.
“Have you considered joining Hwarang, Phoenix, or perhaps Baekho? I understand Baekho Guild did not participate in this tutorial.”
The three major guilds of Korea.
All the guilds the reporter mentioned were among the top in the country.
Come to think of it, two of them had entered this batch.
He’s asking exactly what I expected.
I swallowed a laugh.
The Korea Daily was one of the companies sponsoring the Baekho Guild.
The question he had just thrown out was clearly meant to bait me into saying the name “Baekho.”
“Not really?”
“Pardon? What do you…”
A flash of bewilderment crossed the reporter’s eyes.
And he wasn’t the only one.
The reporters camped near the Tower all wore similarly stunned expressions.
They must have expected me to name at least one of the three major guilds.
“I’m not joining any guild. Are we done with questions?”
“Uh, um, well…”
“I’m quite tired, so I’ll be going now.”
I brushed past the swarm of media camped around the Tower.
“Player Yu Jinho!”
“Please tell us about your future goals…!”
“At least give us your thoughts on taking first place!!”
The reporters rushed after me, practically screaming.
Even the guild representatives who had been waiting at a distance spotted me.
“It’s Yu Jinho.”
“The first-place guy?”
“We have to recruit him for our guild!”
The guild scouts began closing in.
“This is the sorrow of someone with too much talent.”
It was nice to hear compliments, but at this rate, I wouldn’t make it home even if I stayed up all night.
“One hundred billion.”
I casually dropped the number.
But the moment those words spread, not only the guild representatives but even the reporters froze in place.
“If any of you are willing to offer one hundred billion, I’ll consider it.”
The guild scouts stared at each other with wide, blinking eyes, completely at a loss for words.
The reporters, instead of asking questions, frantically snapped photos of the frozen scene.
* * *
“One hundred billion?”
“Yes, Guild Master.”
A loud, booming laugh filled the office.
One of Korea’s three major guilds.
Seo Hyun-min, the player who founded the Baekho Guild, laughed heartily before wiping the smile from his face.
“What an amusing fellow.”
“It was too big a matter for me to decide on my own…”
“How much was Ellen Taylor’s signing bonus again?”
“Ten million dollars.”
“Roughly a little over ten billion won.”
“Correct.”
“Considering player values have risen a bit since then, and factoring in the record-breaking performance… wouldn’t four hundred billion be the appropriate amount?”
“Y-yes, Guild Master.”
The Baekho Guild scout broke into a cold sweat.
Seo Hyun-min’s calculation matched exactly what he had arrived at after hours of punching numbers into a calculator.
“What do you think?”
“Five hundred billion. That would be the maximum, considering his future potential.”
“I think the same.”
“I see.”
“No, that’s why I find it interesting. Actually—”
“Yes?”
Seo Hyun-min tapped the armrest of his chair.
“What if it wasn’t just a ridiculous number thrown out at random, but exactly twice that five hundred billion?”
“No way. He must have accurately assessed his own value…”
“Just keep it in mind. It’s nothing more than my own speculation.”
Seo Hyun-min spoke playfully.
However, the Baekho Guild scout could not simply brush those words aside.
Because Seo Hyun-min’s “instinct” was famous throughout the player industry.
“I will look for evidence supporting the one hundred billion figure.”
“Good. Report even the smallest detail directly to me.”
“Understood.”
“By the way, you said he gave the press a hard time?”
“Yes. Both the Korea Daily and the Kyungin Daily are probably grinding their teeth right now.”
The Korea Daily had a close relationship with the Baekho Guild.
On the other hand, the Kyungin Daily was heavily influenced by their rival, the Phoenix Guild.
“Give the Korea Daily a call.”
“Understood.”
Seo Hyun-min glanced at the photo displayed on his phone screen.
A young man surrounded by reporters, wearing a bored expression.
Yu Jinho’s face stared back at him from beyond the screen.
“I’m curious what the source of that confidence is.”
Seo Hyun-min’s eyes lingered on the photo for a long time.