[368:54:08_59]

[368:54:68_58]

A-Aaack! What is this!

M-monster!

Shit! Run away!

How can such a thing exist in the Tutorial?

Disaster struck the Tutorial stage as the mammoth snake that emerged from the orc village ate everything in its path. The novices clearing the sections ran away, sure that they wouldnt remain in one piece if the creature got hold of them.

Kieeeek! Kiek! Kiek! Compounding the situation was that other monsters were also leaving their territories, and the sight of thousands of monsters and more than a thousand novices stumbling over each other seemed to come straight from hell.

From far away, Yeon-woo watched the situation in mid-air.

[Warning! You are interfering in the Tutorial beyond what is allowed. You are advised to stop immediately.]

[Warning! This is a gate that tests challengers. You are causing a grave disruption to their challenge. Stop immediately.]

[Warning! You are]

[You do not qualify to participate in the Tutorial.]

[You do not qualify to participate in the Tutorial.]

[Your level of intervention in the Tutorial stage is extreme.]

Messages popped up endlessly, warning him to leave. Of course, Yeon-woo didnt even blink an eye. If messages like this could make him retreat, he wouldnt have messed up the different floors in the Tower in the first place.

Some messages warned that he would receive a penalty, but since he could control his thoughts separate from the system, it wouldnt affect him too much. However, Yeon-woos expression was grave. He had been hoping for a situation like this to happen, but things werent going the way he expected. Did Akashas Snake always grow like that?

The snake was growing too fast. When first entered the Tutorial, he had fed Akashas Snake tons of monsters to help it grow, but its current growth rate was unbelievable. Although it had only eaten a third of the monsters in Section E, it had already reached the size it had been when it fought Yeon-woo. He couldnt even imagine how large it would be once it finished eating all the monsters he was offering it. Did it drink an elixir or something?

If that wasnt the reason, he didnt know what else it could be. From what he knew, Akashas Snake didnt have a hidden piece. The rulers of the Lizardmen, King Hargan and Queen Taragan, would help him grow the snake even more, but they hadnt even arrived yet, and Akashas Snake was finishing off the goblin, kobold, orc, and ogre territories first.

It was possible that there was a hidden piece that Jeong-woo hadnt discovered, but the speed of its growth was still impossible. Orhas its limits been removed because Yvlke isnt here? That was the only guess he could make since Yvlke hadnt shown up even though he was making a mess of the Tutorial. The pandemonium Laplace was causing was a bigger incident than hed thought. For now, I should still keep moving it around like I planned.

Yeon-woo was planning to get Akashas Snake to devour not only the monsters in Section E, but also the entire stage. It would reach its maximum soon enough. In the meantime, there was a pretty good harvest for Yeon-woo. His Soul Collection was steadily accumulating souls. The collections capacity had grown so much that hed wondered if he would ever fill it, and now he was finally taking care of it.

Keekeekeekeek! Keekeek! The Spirit Guai giggled giddily at their growing numbers. Yeon-woos shadow shook. So, what I have to do here,his gaze focused on the escaping novices, is separate the good from the bad?

* * *

[359:43:21_69]

[359:43:21_68]

Twelve hours had passed since he let the snake loose. Chomp, chomp. Akashas Snake ate the monsters in Sections E and F, even sticking its head into crevices to get to the territories below ground.

In the meantime, Yeon-woo watched the novices. Some moved cleverly amid the chaos and dealt with the situation well, and his Spirit Guai kidnapped them so that he could use them in Arthia. The rest were just food for the snake. Some might look at Yeon-woo with contempt and say that he was cruel. But thats how the Tower is. Theres nothing glorious about it. The weak will always die and no one will blink an eye. He didnt particularly feel any remorse even though Jeong-woo had been betrayed by people who shared the same view.

They say people are hypocritical, but you

[Many demons agree with Shanon.]

[A few demons observe your next actions.]

[A message from Agares has arrived.]

[Message: Haha! Youre definitely different from Jeong-woo in this aspect. Its a wonder that youre identical twins.]

[A message from Agares has arrived.]

[Message: So, come to me now]

[Agares messages have temporarily been blocked with the users authorization.]

Still, at least, I gave them a chance. Those who knew their place would retire and safely leave the Tower. Those who didnt know what was good for them would just end up being swallowed down.

Ah, yes. Sounds like a choice between being a canary tossed to a cat or thrown in a cold river, but if you say so.

Have you ever considered that you might be a canary, too? If I give you to that snake over there, Im sure itll be quite happy.

Hehehe. How can a small worm like me understand the vast depths of your mind?

As Yeon-woo and Shanon bantered with each other, Akashas Snake finished eating and raised its head. Kiaaak! Kiak! It was already hundreds of meters long. Its eyes flashed as it looked for more prey. It required a significant amount of energy in order to maintain its size, but apart from the hidden Yeon-woo, there was no food left in the stage.

The snake couldnt endure its hunger any longer and began to eat everything it saw, even rocks, mountains, and dirt.

A snake that eats a stage. A bit scary, eh? Shanon sounded alarmed. The snakes loss of control over its hunger was a bit scary, and the sections disappeared one after the other as the snakes eating speed increased. Finally, the last section, Section G, completely vanished.

The entire stage was gone. And what remained

Thats a bit

Interesting.

Everything was black.

Emptiness. It was emptiness; there was nothing there at all, like black paint had been spilled over a colorful painting. It was impossible to even recognize time or space. However, it wasnt like regular emptiness, which swallowed everything. Yeon-woo could still hold his existence together, and it was probably more accurate to call it a world of nothingness.

Akashas Snake was now an extraordinary length of over hundreds of kilometers. The Giants in Tartarus couldnt even compare.

[A demon of Niflheim, Jrmungandr, observes Akashas Snake.]

[Apophis carefully examines Akashas Snake.]

Akashas Snake bared its fangs now that there was nothing left of the stage. It was angry because it couldnt eat the emptiness. Its hunger only grew worse. Then, the snake bit its tail, forced to eat its own body out of hunger. Crunch, crunch.

Dang. Its eating itself now? Even the greediest animals dont do thathas it reached its limits?

It was almost horrifying to watch the snake eat itself. Black scales scattered and blood flowed like a fountain. Its eyes turned bloody from the pain, but it didnt stop. Then, when only its head remained, the light disappeared from its eyes.

Its starting. Yeon-woo noticed how the snakes head trembled. When he;d first cleared the Tutorial, the orc shaman had extracted the snakes brain to resurrect it. That means the snakes true body is in the brain. Since it had grown to an exponential size, its true body had definitely realized holiness.

Everyone, get ready. At Yeon-woos orders, his shadow spread out and Shanon, Hanryeong, Rebecca, and Dis Pluto appeared, all heavily armed. They surrounded the snakes head, prepared to attack at any time. No one knew what its true body looked like. If it had gained transcendence, they needed to subdue it immediately.

Fwoosh! Just then, the snakes forehead split and something popped out. The army of death tightened their hold on their weapons, but astounded expressions appeared on everyones faces.

Whats that?

Theyd been expecting the true body to break out from the head and wreak havoc.

Is it dead?

However, the small snake lay still without moving. It was unexpected, and Yeon-woo wondered if it was a trick. However, the tiny snake wasnt even breathing.

Yeon-woo spread his Fire Wings and approached it. Shanon and the others were about to warn him of the danger, but they stopped when nothing happened. The snake was really dead.

Are we fucked? Shanon couldnt hide his disbelief. How could the snake die after that monstrous display of violence? How was it possible? If he had known, he would have captured it as soon as it had grown big enough.

Was everything theyd endured to get to the Tutorial all for nothing? There was no guarantee they could find a ticket for the next round, and since the stage was so ruined, it might not even have another round for a while.

The other subordinates were all silent as well, but Yeon-woo stroked the corpse of the snakes true body. Unlike the dejected subordinates, he had another take on the situation. It occurred to him that there might be another clue in the death of Akashas Snake. He was about to pull out its soul when Nemesis suddenly appeared through the emptiness.

Master. He hadnt shown himself ever since Jeong-woos vestige body had fallen asleep. Without even finishing their greeting, Nemesis turned to the snake. Please give it to me.

Yeon-woo looked at Nemesis with a questioning expression. Nemesis continued in a low voice. I was born from Jeong-woos special benefit and grew by eating his dreams. I used to be a dragon who lived in fantasies, but now Im a dragon sleeping in dreams. If I eat death, Im sure I will gain something.

Yeon-woo realized that it was an obvious answer for Nemesis to eat Akashas Snake. Nemesis and the snake looked extremely similar, and just as Akashas Snake was the Black Kings familiar, Nemesis was his. Akashas Snake had waited for the Black King, and Nemesis had waited for him. Now that Akashas Snake was dead, it wouldnt be strange for Nemesis to be reborn in its place.

It was possible that the shedding of the snakes skin meant this. In fact, he was sure of it, even though he wasnt sure why. He nodded in permission, and Nemesis swallowed the true body of Akashas Snake without any hesitation.

Urrrng. Crack! Nemesis body began to glow, and he twisted as though he were shedding. The light expanded and swallowed Yeon-woo. Whoosh! When he came to his senses, he saw two gigantic eyes meeting his gaze. Yeon-woo instinctively knew that they belonged to the vestige of Akashas Snake. But it was filled with a clear energy that was devoid of the crazed violence it displayed earlier.

Master It spoke sadly to Yeon-woo. Youve come back. Finally. It was said Akashas Snake resurrected endlessly as it waited for its master to return. It seemed it had confused Yeon-woo for the Black King. Ive been waiting for your return.

Yeon-woo couldnt bring himself to tell the snake it was wrong. The longing in its eyes was too familiar, like his brothers eyes as he waited all alone in an empty house for him and their mother to return. Before he knew it, he was rubbing the creatures snout. His hands were tiny next to its massive size, but the gesture seemed to satisfy the snake.

It closed its eyes with a smile, as though it were a puppy being held in its owners embrace. Jiiiing.The Cast of the Black King shook as though in response, and the vestige scattered into the Cast. At the same time, messages popped up in front of him.

Ding. Ding.

[Nemesis has been upgraded to a Legendary Beast, Akashas Dragon.]

[You have made an achievement that is not easily accomplished. Additional karma will be provided.]

[You have acquired 300,000 karma.]

[You have acquired an additional 500,000 karma.]

[You have been awarded a piece of holiness.]

[You have been awarded a hint of transcendence.]

[You have attained the fifth element, Akasha. From now, you will be able to use the element of nothingness.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

[You have gained the authority to use the Akashic Records three times now that you have acquired the hidden piece in Akashas Snake.]

[Will you access the Akashic Records?]