Although it was the eighth time someone had reached the underground labyrinth, challenging the Sword Saint Ralilie meant being the fastest.
Her heart began to beat a little faster.
âI couldnât obtain the Dragonâs Soul from the Labyrinth Merchant, but I will definitely conquer Ralilie.â
Rumors are indeed unreliable.
She had thoroughly searched the Labyrinth Merchant who appeared in the underground labyrinth, but there was no Dragonâs Soul.
However, she was determined to conquer Ralilie.
Gracia touched the door.
In an instant.
ăEntering the room of âSword Saint Ralilieâ.ă
ăPlease enter the name of the challenger.ă
ăThe name of the challenger will be announced to all entrants.ă
Name. A name.
Gracia immediately decided on the name to input.
*
The player chat became noisy again.
It was due to the message that appeared before those who had entered.
-Sword Saint vs Sword Saint? What is this?
-Isnât Gracia already challenging?
-My heart swells with pride.
-Who will win?
-Sword Saint Ralilie is an old hero, and Gracia is the current hero.
-Gracia will win.
People predicted Graciaâs victory.
Since Gracia had never failed in a challenge.
He was a perfectionist. He wouldnât challenge unless he was sure of victory.
But challenging meant he was confident he would win.
-Oh, so the Labyrinth will finally fall into the hands of the Seven Heroes?
-At least itâs Gracia, which is a relief.
-LOL, donât you know that crabs favor crabs? Youâre seeing the world too simply.
-Even if Gracia has the cleanest image, he still has his own interests.
-From the silence so far, it seems Randolph isnât challenging this time.
-If he had, someone would have noticed and posted about it.
-How many cities does Gracia own now that the Labyrinth has fallen?
-Officially, four? If you combine all the Seven Heroes, they could found a kingdom, right? Haha.
-Is this really about building a nation?
-Ha, sure. You guys can have it!
In Pangea, there was still no kingdom composed solely of players.
Each had control over a few cities, but to found a kingdom, ten cities were needed, and only one king could exist.
If this Abyss Labyrinth fell to Gracia, officially, he would control four cities.
Combined with the other heroes, it would be enough to found a kingdom.
Even if not, Gracia was steadily preparing to become a king.
-Oh? Already Phase 2?
-Amazing...
-Gracia is amazing.
-At this pace, there wonât be any surprises, right?
-Wow
*
Greed placed his hand on his waist and laughed loudly.
2 million!
Greedâs value was displayed as 2 million.
It was more than eight times the 230,000 he had accumulated through gambling so far.
-Hahaha! Donât be too disheartened. Who knows?
Who knows.
There were no surprises.
There was no way anything could surpass the value of 2 million.
Many had challenged, putting their own value on the line. Greed had never put himself on the line, but many had.
And none had surpassed 100,000.
2 million?
His victory was already certain.
With a confident air, Greed looked at the human.
Now that his turn was over, it was time to judge the humanâs value.
â100,000? No, maybe 200,000?â
Even so, with this level of pressure, the result might be different from previous challengers.
But probably around 200,000.
1 million!
Honestly, it was surprising. A human with a value of 1 million!
But it still couldnât match his own value of 2 million.
-What a pity. If you had just tried a little harder, you could have won...
At that moment.
The leading digit suddenly changed.
...The same as mine?
No, itâs still being judged.
There are too many factors to consider.
His power couldnât calculate everything at once.
This happens sometimes.
The number could still go down.
So itâs not final.
Final.
Why is it still rising?
...?
...Is it broken?
Why is it doubling continuously?
What is this?
Itâs time to end this.
But it doesnât end.
...Could it be?
Is it still going up?
*
Greed prostrated himself.
His body trembled.
He was terrified, feeling fear.
At the âvalueâ he had never seen or experienced before.
At the overwhelming presence before him!
âHow do I challenge Sword Saint Ralilie?â
-If you collect a thousand tickets, you can.
âTickets? The tickets that drop from event monsters?â
-Yes. But I donât recommend that method. You might end up facing the worst âSword Saint Ralilie,â with all kinds of âintimidation.â
âThen what method do you recommend?â
-Insert this ticket into the Labyrinth Merchant!
Zing!
Greed shattered his crown.
A golden ticket appeared inside.
He was to insert this golden ticket into the Labyrinth Merchant... in other words, the vending machine.
Greed, trembling, barely managed to hand the ticket to the human.
He couldnât meet the humanâs eyes.
âHow could such a value...â
It wasnât wrong.
His power had functioned normally.
The value of the human.
It was astronomically high.
Numbers that even a god might not achieve.
Just thinking about it made Greed shudder with fear.
Golden Ticket
Sword Saint Ralilie.
He was a muscular old man with white hair, dragging a half-broken iron sword along the ground, bound by four chains on his wrists and ankles.
The moment he appeared, countless messages appeared before Gracia.
ăAll stats decrease by 5 due to the âSword Saintâs Intimidationâ effect.ă
ăVision narrows due to the âSword Saintâs Intimidation (2)â effect.ă
ăBecomes untreatable due to the âSword Saintâs Intimidation (3)â effect.ă
ăFever state due to the âSword Saintâs Intimidation (4)â effect...ă
A continuous barrage of debuffs.
Gracia smiled.
âSword Saint Ralilie, the âGreat Swordâ of the fallen kingdom.â
The Great Sword. A title given to Ralilie in the history of the fallen kingdom.
But the Great Sword had fallen. Buried alive in this abyss, along with the many knights who followed him.
âI wanted to converse with you, as one who carries on the lineage of the Sword Saint. With your sword.â
Whoosh!
A sword emitting a brilliant light appeared in the air.
A blue radiance, giving the impression of something not of this world.
The Unique-grade weapon, the âBlue Radiance,â once wielded by Sword Saint Ralilie.
One who carries on the lineage of the Sword Saint. One of the reasons Gracia inherited the title of Sword Saint was for this Blue Radiance.
What would be his reaction?
Seeing his old sword, seeing it used by another.
Sword Saint Ralilie stopped abruptly upon seeing the sword.
Did he recognize his own sword?
-You... No.
Ralilie spoke.
But what is not?
His reaction was strange. His whole body was trembling as if from a chill.
-You are not...!
Pwoah!
Black flames erupted from Ralilieâs body.
Like wings.
His pupils turned red.
Clearly not normal. A madman.
âSeems youâre not in a state to converse.â
Tsk. Gracia clicked his tongue and opened the space of all swords.
A thousand swords appeared in the air.
Kaboom!!
They shot out like a machine gun.
Each sword, upon impact, exploded with a loud noise.
Attacks that no one could withstand.
When about 300 swords reached Ralilie, Gracia raised one hand.
Snap!
The rain of swords ended.
The fog cleared, and Ralilieâs body was unharmed.
Clank!
Instead, the chain on his left foot was broken.
âPhase 2.â
So there are phases up to 5?
It seems that absorbing damage to the point of breaking a chain advances to the next phase.
No matter how much damage is dealt, it must be done in stages.
This pattern is more common than one might think.
âInteresting.â
Then, how far can he endure?
The thousand swords grow stronger as they progress.
Whether Ralilie can endure until all the chains are broken.
Gracia extended his hand again.
*
-Are you planning to challenge Sword Saint Ralilie?
Just as he was about to leave after collecting all the treasures.
Greed asked.
âIâm considering it.â
Honestly, a 1-on-1 with Sword Saint Ralilie in the current situation is impossible.
Even if the debuffs were removed with the golden ticket, creating a better situation for the fight, predicting victory in a normal duel would be difficult.
Of course, with Greedâs help, it would be a bit easier.
Being level 12 and a ruler of the abyss, Greed could make a difference.
If he tried to conquer with other party members...
âThe chance of winning would be about 10%.â
Thatâs why he was hesitating.
The value obtained from Greed was not inferior to what could be obtained from conquering Ralilie.
He was busy processing the treasures he had just obtained.
Betting on a low probability might not be the best choice.
At that moment, Greed said with a serious expression.
-I have observed Sword Saint Ralilie for a long time in this abyss. He is so powerful that he sealed himself with four seals.
âSealed himself? After sinking into the abyss?â
-Do you know the structure of the abyss?
âI donât know much.â
The abyss is unknown.
Opportunities to enter the abyss were limited, and the rulers were always aggressive, leaving little time for proper exploration.
-There are four types of rulers in the abyss. Those who have always lived in the abyss, those who sank into the abyss, those who invaded the abyss, and those who are the abyss itself.
Greed was the third type.
A ruler who invaded the abyss.
The ruler of the Overlapping Abyss, the Lower Abyss!
-Sword Saint Ralilie is âone who sank into the abyss.â The problem is that occasionally, among those who sank, some become âthe abyss itself.â
âWhatâs the difference?â
-If one becomes the abyss itself, they forcibly corrupt one of the floating cities.
â...Terrifying.â
I have seen âforced corruptionâ happen only once.
A city that was fine suddenly sank into the abyss.
At first, it was thought to be a warp issue.
Later, it was revealed that the corruption occurred even though the warp was still active, causing a major incident.
It seems this was related to the birth of âone who is the abyss itself.â
-If all the seals are broken, Ralilie will become âone who is the abyss itself.â He knows this, which is why he sealed himself. Is it really okay?
It was unusual for Greed to worry about a human.
But the human had an âastronomical value.â
A being of a different caliber, to the point of doubting if it was even human.
If he started to conquer Ralilie, the four seals would be broken, and another floating city, a human city, would be forcibly corrupted.
Those in the corrupted city would be annihilated. Not a single person would survive.
Thatâs why he was asking if it was okay.
âDo you know what determines the âforced corruptionâ?â
-One of the cities connected to this âlabyrinth.â