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The darkness that appeared from the magic circle returned to it as if it were natural. It was a vain exit compared to the spectacular appearance.

“What was that?” Hochi asked, bewildered.

Humans, affected by the darkness that had just appeared, stood frozen.

Instead of answering Hochi’s question, Yong-yong focused on untying the box he had on his neck. He handed it to Hochi.

“Why me?”

“Take care of it, Uncle.”

“Yes, well, that’s not difficult.”

Hochi felt somewhat dubious. Yong-yong acted as if he was ignoring his question. Of course, Yong-yong wouldn’t have done that usually, so Hochi thought he was distracted.

Hochi didn’t see the mantis in the box Yong-yong gave him. Hochi peered inside, wondering if he could spot it, but he couldn’t find it anywhere. He shook the box lightly.

The door of the mini closet burst open, and the mantis rolled out.

“AH!”

“...Why were you hiding there?”

The mantis turned to Hochi, shouting, “I was scared!” It didn’t feel ashamed in admitting that.

The mantis, who had explained his behavior, crawled back into the closet.[1] Hochi shook his head and hung the bag around his neck.

“I’ll be right back, Uncle.”

“Oh, okay. But where are you going?”

For now, he was going to allow Yong-yong to go wherever he went, but he didn’t know where Yong-yong wanted to visit. Yong-yong didn’t answer Hochi’s question again.

Instead, Yong-yong flew toward the magic circle that had just summoned the darkness. As Yong-yong approached, the magic circle flashed and disappeared along with Yong-yong.

“...Where did he go all of a sudden?” Bewildered, Lee Joon-suk asked about Yong-yong with a more perplexing expression than Hochi.

“I think he went after the darkness using the magic circle that was just summoned.”

“Will it be all right?”

Hochi was confused, but he was sure it’d be okay because Yong-yong was a dragon.

If Lee Ho-jae had disappeared that way, Hochi would have been worried—worried for the unfortunate people who would encounter Lee Ho-jae. And Hochi wouldn’t know what kind of accident Lee Ho-jae would have caused and when he would return.

But if it was Yong-yong, Hochi wasn’t worried.

“We’re done dealing with the wave, so it’ll be okay if Yong-yong goes out for a while...”

“Gwuaah!” At that moment, a huge monster rose from the sea and roared.

Their surroundings began to change rapidly.

When the darkness appeared, the sky changed, and the air became heavy. A forest appeared where the coast had once stood.

But now, a forest appeared where the coast was. The middle of the ocean where the monster was seen became a lake.

No, it wouldn’t be accurate to say their surroundings were changing. To be precise, somebody summoned Hochi, Lee Joon-suk, and the other Awakened people from Japan’s eastern coast to a different place.

“Well!”

They were in the fictitious world that the monster had created. That monster, located in the lake’s center, had tentacles flying in all directions; it was a monster Hochi knew well.

The 40th floor of the Tutorial Hell Difficulty Level was a monster that seemed impossible to deal with without the help of a Hundred Gods Temple’s apostle.

This monster seemed like a carbon copy of the beast from the Tutorial.

Yong-yong’s absence didn’t matter. The mere fact that it brought Hochi into the world of its mind meant that it was different from the copy on the 40th floor.

“It’s kind of weird.” Hochi couldn’t believe this happened as soon as Yong-yong went somewhere. It was also strange that Yong-yong was not aware of that monster. Of course, Hochi himself didn’t notice until the monster summoned him to this world, but Yong-yong’s case was different.

Hochi, who had been pondering for a while, decided to call for the strongest reinforcements to cope with the existing problem.

“Seregia.” Unfortunately, there was no reply.

“Seregia? Seregia! Oh, crap.” There was no response.

Hochi scratched his head and said, “Hey, I think we’re screwed,” to Lee Jun-seok, who was looking at him desperately.

* * *

[POV: Lee Ho-Jae]

[Please.]

[Please.]

I was so sick of this. It was not easy to ignore the countless pleas.

[Please.]

It had been quite a while since I had absorbed the God of Evil. His ability and strength were insignificant, but fortunately, he knew a lot of useful information.

I was pleased, but there was one fatal side effect.

[Please.]

The pleas of the God of Evil rang in my heart. It was quite annoying.

Recently, it has become more frequent. It seemed that his absorption was almost over.

The God of Evil knew his remaining presence would soon disappear, and hence, he had been pleading even more desperately than before.

Someone came into the temple; it wasn’t an intruder. He came in too defenselessly to be an intruder. No barriers were invoked.

The time flow inside and outside the temple was completely different due to time acceleration.

Only three beings could come in here at will without touching the barrier: Yong-Yong, who could make a hole in the time axis I created, and Hochi and Seregia, who were not affected by the time axis at all.

“Seregia.”

“I’m bored.”

Seregia, can you please make an effort to at least attempt to be interested or perhaps pretend? This is the only thing I ask of you.

I prayed earnestly for it but didn’t say it out loud. I knew Seregia would simply ignore me.

“Other gods have intervened on this planet.”

I know.

Three on the Japanese side and one in Korea. Among them, the one in Korea was the God of Hope. They had been quite busy for a few days.

“Don’t I have to deal with it?”

“It’s alright.”

The gods’ intentions were apparent. It was like they were keeping a watch on Hochi or Yong-yong while I was building a passageway between the 60th floor and Earth.

That was all. It would be ambiguous to target me directly.

There were too few things on Earth that could bind me to the earth in the first place. My whole family was dead, and Kim Min-hyuk had the Old Man and Grandma.

Lee Joon-suk was sent with Hochi and Yong-yong.

“Why are the gods suddenly coming out like this?”

“Are you annoyed?” I asked Seregia.

She snorted expressionlessly.

“The gods behind this are, of course, not from the Hundred Gods Temple or the Pantheon. If they were, they wouldn’t be able to move like this.”

And the gods not affiliated with the temples, were usually from the Rulers’ side.

This was important.

“Let’s put ourselves in their shoes. Suddenly, a new god came out of the Tutorial they had made to keep the Rulers in check. And that god decided to do one favor each in return for the Tutorial. Of course, they’ll think that the god is going to attack them.”

It was true that opinions were divided within the temples, and there were signs that it would be a mess.

The mainstream opinion of the Hundred Gods Temple was “Anti-Rulers.”

Otherwise, the gods wouldn’t have made the Tutorial and try to nurture apostles.

“But one of those Rulers, the God of Evil, approached me to compromise, and it worked in vain.”

“Did you get any useful information?”

“I did.” I gained information about the relationship between the Ruler and gods, the gods’ ability and power, and their territory’s location.

The last one was the most important.

If I knew the Rulers’ planets and dimensions’ exact location, I could always go there and try to attack. My base of support, the 60th and 61st floors, ironically, were protected by the Tutorial.

Attacks were impossible on me, but the Rulers must defend themselves without knowing when and where I would appear. In the end, the Rulers had no choice but to take out the option of striking first.

A strike against Yong-yong and Hochi, not my floors.

“You must have known there would be an attack then.”

“Of course.”

Seregia stared at me for a moment.

I uttered the title that I hadn’t used for forever. “Soldier.”

“Oh my Lord, Warrior. I feel like it’s been hundreds of years since I heard that.”

It may have been more than that. Unlike me, who had a strange feeling, Seregia was quite serious.

“Warrior, that’s a dangerous way of thinking.”

I felt a little sorry because of Seregia’s harsh way of speaking. She was still worried about me.

“It’s alright. It’s not what you think.”

“Can I hear the explanation?”

“This is a trap for Yong-yong to lure his enemies... It’s not what you think. It’s to drive dumb pigs who don’t recognize tigers into the cage of the tiger.”

Unfortunately, this easy and convenient method was only possible when the pigs didn’t recognize tigers.

I couldn’t use it twice, so I needed to get out of the way so that the pigs could run more excitedly. Until the pigs enter the cage, they won’t recognize the tiger.

“So, we just have to wait and see what Yong-yong will catch.”

“I see. So you both know the plan?”

“Of course.”

I explained the plan to both Yong-yong and Hochi. I explained to them in a message to go on a trip to deceive the God of Hope, who was hiding in Seoul’s corner. Both would have understood.

At least...I knew Yong-yong would have. Hochi also usually acted like he didn’t listen to me, but he listened to me closely.

On that day, he looked at me like a barking dog and started reading again, but that was just how he usually was.

* * *

[POV: Lee Hochi]

It has been strange since a while ago. Is this what Ho-jae was rambling about before?

It was strange to see a mighty monster wave as a coincidence. Powerful beings were also appearing one after another.

He couldn’t think of this happening when Hochi and his party came to Japan by accident. On the contrary, when Hochi and his party came to Japan, this had happened.

After finishing organizing his thoughts, Hochi decided to explain the monster to Lee Joon-suk.

“It’s the monster that appeared on the 40th floor of Hell Difficulty.”

“...Isn’t it easy to defeat then?”

“On the 40th floor, two more Hundred Gods Temple’s apostles followed, plus the apostles of the God of Nature as well.”

Considering that, the power of that monster was not as strong as the 40th floor.

Lee Ho-jae, who had been clearing the stages between the 30th and 40th floors, could not even think of killing the monster alone.

When that monster first appeared, he ran away first.

“Ho-jae ran away...?”

“Of course.”

Lee Ho-jae didn’t care about his pride or how people viewed him; he only cared about winning. He would retreat or even lie and beg as if it were second nature, as long as he comes out on top.

Hochi went on to explain.

“It’s the kind of monster who drags the opponent into its world without the opponent noticing. In that world, the opponent undergoes the fear effect.”

There were many monstrous animals and plants in the forest. Some of them were so strong that the victims didn’t want to go in, but were still chased by them.

The one who was strong enough to survive the entire day would meet with the Spirit king. That monster looked twice as strong as the copy that had appeared in the Tutorial.

“...Is there any way? Weakness or anything?”

“I don’t know its weakness, but I have a master plan for victory.”

“What is it?”

“To hold out until Yong-yong returns,” Hochi said with a grin.

It was actually a perfect plan. Hochi was confident enough to avoid it and buy time. Upon hearing the plan, Lee Joon-suk staggered, rather than being relieved.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes...No, suddenly...”

Lee Joon-suk’s eyelids twitched. His breathing was so ragged that his chest hurt, and an uncomfortable feeling suffocating him.

Hochi had to hurry from the side to see if his arms and legs were shaking.

It was because of the monster’s mental attack. When faced with unbearable fear, the human body pushed itself to death to escape from the fear.

Lee Joon-suk and the other Awakened, who had been summoned along with the two, were facing the same predicament.

Most of them had already lost their sanity and passed out. In the meantime, some would occasionally have seizures or start screaming.

Hochi looked at them with pity for a moment and used his skill.

“Wings of Talaria.”

This rare fraud skill, presented by the God of Adventure to Lee Ho-jae, gave tremendous amounts of buffs to himself and his companions.

In addition, Lee Ho-jae’s had made some modifications to it that made it become a near-perfect all-rounder skill.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Yes...” Lee Joon-suk answered breathlessly.

The fallen Awakened also stopped screaming and having seizures as if the burden had been relieved a bit.

“Hyung... if there’s nothing else you can do but stall, can I try my hand?”

“You?” Hochi asked back in a worried voice.

“Yes, thanks to you, I don’t think I have any problems moving around.”

He was quite confident compared to before when he had been struggling. The plan was simple. Lee Joon-suk would attack the monster, and Hochi would assist.

“I’d like to ask you a question, can you protect people so that I can attack as much as I want?”

“Of course.”

“Because my ability extends in all directions, people can get hurt. So...”

“Oh, I can help with it.”

Hochi was confident that even the other Awakened’s hairs wouldn’t be hurt no matter what Lee Joon-suk did.

And even if Lee Joon-suk failed, Hochi actively supported Lee Joon-suk’s plan because he could wait for Yong-yong as initially planned.

“Don’t mind about the people; just focus on that monster. It won’t be easy. The monster’s body is so strong that it’ll be hard to cut through.”

“I can cut through,” replied Lee Joon-suk.

The excited voice made him feel surprised beyond expectations.

“I’m good at slicing.”

Note:

I know that someone in the comments had theorized that Ho-Jae would be the god of victory looks like he/she might be right.