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Chapter 306




Chapter 306
Chapter 306: Game-Changer (3)
Chapter 306 Game-Changer (3)
Lee Su-yeon said the other day. A month later, a half year later, and a year later. A total of three upheavals would come in the future, and the key was how to overcome them.
[The Dimensional Store will be integrated.]
[The system for suppressing aggression in all dimensions is greatly weakened.]
The first upheaval was the closure of the Tower’s mission. The ranking system for mission challengers was activated, and items from other stores were made available for purchase. According to the original history, from this point on, the Earth, which lacked rankers, was attacked by Taklan, but…
That was avoided thanks to their efforts in Seheranbad. Therefore, Yoon-seok didn’t understand.
‘Why is this already…?’
It should be about a month later in terms of time. The second upheaval that Lee Su-yeon spoke of began with the closure of the Tower’s exploration. And beyond that chaos, the third change arrived, just like the one he was now seeing.
—Oppa.
—Oh, I saw it.
It wasn’t weakened; the suppression system was extinguished. Also, the Last Bastion was now available to use now despite the remaining time they had. What would happen after at least half a year had come much earlier.
‘…I don’t know for sure, but it must be because of me.’
The butterfly effect. It was a little weird to say so. The man who should have died while being treated like a slave in the square on the 6th floor climbed the Tower and took 1st place in the duel rankings. That was a little more than the flap of a butterfly’s wings.
Yoon-seok let out the long breath he had been holding back.
“…”
It was only two months away. After the duel on the 24th floor, Yoon-seok immediately proceeded with his plan. However…
‘Are you saying that you’re not going to wait until we’re ready?’
The Queen moved one step ahead.
—What are we going to do?
As soon as the message came to his mind, Yoon-seok paused. And he made a decision.
—We still have to wait. It’s too early.
—But will it be okay? We’re under attack now.
—…I’ll find out.
It was too early to challenge the Queen; they had to prepare more.
* * *
“Are you here?”
After contacting Lee Su-yeon, Yoon-seok headed straight to Elle’s hut. As usual, the table was lined with refreshments, but Elle wasn’t pushing him to eat, and Yoon-seok didn’t sit down. They both knew they had more urgent business at hand.
“How are things going now?”
“The Tower has been attacked. We’re trying to stop them even by disabling the System that used to protect each dimension.”
“Is it dangerous?”
When the Tower disappeared, the world was erased. Therefore, it was necessary to prevent the Tower from being destroyed by the Queen somehow.
“Can I answer that question?”
“…?”
The voice of an unfamiliar man came from behind. Yoon-seok spun around and saw a mysterious man covering himself with a robe. Aside from the fact that there wasn’t even a little bit of his presence leaking out…
“How did you get here?”
“It seems that your habit of asking meaningless questions is still there.”
He didn’t know the man’s name. Yoon-seok knew that he was the first administrator and the Tower’s puppet. In the past, Rick was tricked by this guy and killed the Soul Keeper.
“Long time no see.”
Despite the casual greeting, Yoon-seok glared at him without relaxing his guard.
“For what purpose did you come here?”
“Don’t be so wary. As I said earlier, it’s just to answer your question. It’s a kind of consideration for honor students.”
Consideration? Yoon-seok barely held back a snort. It couldn’t be for that reason. The fact that this puppet came here meant a benefit for the Tower. However…
“Consideration, huh? Great. Then tell me. How are things going now?”
There was no need to leave without hearing anything from him. The man grinned.
“The Queen moved one step ahead.”
That was a fact Yoon-seok had already guessed.
“It’s rare for them to finish their preparations so quickly… well, what can we do? We’ll try our best to hang in there.”
“You look more relaxed than I thought.”
“If it were a fight that would have ended with just a few months of preparation, you wouldn’t have been dragged to the Tower. It’s not so urgent as to worry, so let’s relax a bit.”
Was it because he’d gone through countless wars like this? There was no sense of urgency in his expression.
‘I don’t think he’s acting…’
For now, Yoon-seok was relieved.
“Why are you telling me this? It’s not like you’re going to all the other challengers like this.”
“Didn’t I tell you before? It’s only natural to be so considerate of an honor student like you.”
“An honor student, huh…?”
Yoon-seok laughed. He didn’t think he climbed the Tower well enough to be treated like that.
“Hmm, you don’t look happy about it. Was honor student an inappropriate term? I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I expressed it that way because you’re the closest challenger to the goal.”
“…I see.”
Yoon-seok carefully kept his face blank.
“So, is this the end of that consideration?”
“No way. If you have any questions, please ask. I’ll try to answer you.”
He was curious. First of all, what did the time bomb that Henigus, the pawn of the Tower, mean? What was it? After all, Yoon-seok visited Elle to get clues about it in the first place. However…
“I don’t think I have one right now.”
“…You don’t have any?”
“No.”
Yoon-seok feared he would be swayed if he obediently asked after that man told him to.
“Then why are you making that face? As if you have a question to ask.”
“…”
To tell him that the Tower was safe. Yoon-seok’s guess was correct that this high-position man couldn’t have come all the way here just for that reason.
“…Aren’t you curious about what’s going on in your body?”
This man already knew everything. He tried to give information while pretending not to. But if he just told Yoon-seok, he would be suspicious.
‘It’s interesting.’
Yoon-seok’s eyes twinkled.
“So, that was your real purpose.”
“…”
Yoon-seok now understood. It wasn’t a coincidence. Originally, this information was what Henigus, who had a similar relationship with the Tower, should have told him. That was definitely…
—So, Mr. Predator, Ms. Grape Jam. I will repay you, so can you help me?
In the form of self-discovery, without a doubt. However, when the Heavenly Buddha’s intervention misled him, the first administrator had no choice but to appear. This was the conclusion Yoon-seok reached through a brief conversation.
“You’ve… never been easy to deal with.”
“If you were in my shoes, you would have been the same.”
Whether it was the Tower or the Queen, didn’t they always just try to use him? As Yoon-seok stared at him with such a gaze, the man sighed with relief.
“I’m just going to tell you what happened. If you try to fight the Queen as you are now, you will be in a lot of trouble.”
“Somehow, when that happens, I don’t think it’s me who’ll have the most trouble, but the Tower.”
“I will not deny that. We want you to kill her.”
“Regardless of whatever I do after that?”
“Yeah, whatever choice you make.”
Yoon-seok clenched his fists at the answer that came out too easily.
“Does that mean that there are countermeasures whatever choice I make?”
“You can think as you please.”
“Then I’ll assume there are ones, so I’ll prepare hard.”
Yoon-seok nodded, and the man grinned as if it was ridiculous.
“You’re completely different from back then.”
“Okay, let’s get to the point. So, what information do I need to know?”
At Yoon-seok’s question, the man glanced at Elle, and she carefully opened her mouth.
“Rick Gerssey. It has to do with your previous life.”
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“I knew it.”
“You mean you already guessed?”
“To some extent.”
Yoon-seok nodded frankly. If you thought about it, it was simple. If there was a time bomb in his body and you don’t want the Queen to know that, what would it be? There was only one thing to point out.
—Wake up. Then you will know everything.
The arrangement that Rick, who was frustrated by the fact that he could not achieve his goal, passed on his dream to the next life.
—She said this was the only way, but maybe there was another way. Isn’t she someone who always cleverly mixes her tricks?
Some kind of plan that was finally carried out despite the disapproval of his only close friend in his previous life, Disaster.
“If you guessed it, I’ll speak more frankly. The moment you meet the Queen, Rick Gerssey will wake up.”
Yoon-seok unconsciously glanced at Elle. Was it because they were talking about Rick? Her body, which had been restless for a while, began to tremble as soon as she mentioned that man. What was she thinking right now?
Yoon-seok was curious about her psychological state, but that’s probably not what was important right now.
“…Wake up? What exactly does it mean?”
Yoon-seok looked at the man again, and he started talking as if he had been waiting.
“It means that the preparations to take your body and resurrect him are ready.”
The same went for the Heavenly Warrior, with whom Yoon-seok was entangled in a bad relationship. Why were so many people coveting his body?
* * *
“How do I stop it?”
Yoon-seok asked after a moment of silence. This man wouldn’t have shown up without any countermeasures.
“I guess you haven’t checked the reward from the Spacetime World yet.”
“…There are so many things to do.”
“Check it out right after you get back. It is a gift for you.”
A gift… giving a sword to a slave gladiator would still be a gift. Yoon-seok was amazed again.
“You must have prepared a lot.”
“Well, it was useless, after all.”
After hearing some information from Henigus, Yoon-seok would ‘accidentally’ solve it independently with the reward. Perhaps this was the scenario the Tower had devised to make Yoon-seok use what they gave him without a doubt.
“…It’s up to you to decide whether to use it.”
Should he call it an unnecessary prescription? Certainly, if he accepted the ‘gift’ the Tower gave him, they would be able to avoid Rick and the Queen’s arrangement for now. But no one knew what the side effects would be.
“Considering that sincerity, I will keep it for now.”
“I know. Anyway, my business is done here. I’ll leave now, so please feel free to talk.”
With the main discussion over, the man disappeared. Yoon-seok exhaled a sigh, feeling exhausted.
‘But it’s a relief. After all, I don’t get attacked while knowing nothing.’
If it had gone according to the original scenario, Yoon-seok might have used the reward without knowing what it was.
“Hey, Yoon-seok… I hope you don’t have a strange idea.”
As he was organizing his thoughts, Elle’s anxious voice caught his attention.
“A strange idea?”
“Something like I’m happy that Rick might come back alive… such a thought…”
Honestly, it would be a lie if he didn’t consider it. From the time they first met until now, thanks to Rick that Elle was so devoted to him. If she could meet the real Rick, there would be no better ending for her. However, was that kind of feeling shown clearly?
“I am not. Really, I mean it.”
Even before Yoon-seok could affirm or deny, Elle spoke up as if she was wrongly accused.
“He and Yoon-seok are different…”
“But then…”
“I won’t deny it. I might have thought that way before. But not now.”
Not now, she said.
“What does that mean?”
“You’ve become so strong. But, Yoon-seok, why are you still not confident in yourself?”
What sort of situation was this? When Yoon-seok tilted his head, Elle took one step forward and grabbed his sleeve. As if she wouldn’t let him run away this time.
“Trust me. Who I said I wanted to be with that day… my heart was pounding for days and days after hearing that you would make me happy…”
Perhaps because of their close contact, Yoon-seok could smell a sweet scent wafting off her.
Was that so?
“It’s all because of you, Yoon-seok, not anyone else.”
Denying wouldn’t work any longer. Deep down, Yoon-seok might have expected these words to leave her mouth.
“S-so what you’re saying is…”
“I’m not going to say it anymore. Because you can’t believe it no matter how much I say it.”
“Huh?”
What else did this mean? What did she mean that she would give up on their conversation? His mind went blank for a moment.
And Elle, a former ranker, had the agility to not miss that moment.
Tap.
Her heels lifted high to make up for her lack of height.
Whoosh—
As if that was not enough, her soft arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him down to prevent escape.
“Uh, huh…”
Their distance narrowed quickly. Only then did Yoon-seok realize this was obviously…
Whoops-!
“Ah, ah!”
It was an impeccably clean lip bump.