I ran to the packed colosseum. Various events would take place today on top of the martial tournament’s final match. Finding Boss among the crowd wasn’t easy even for me.

My vision transformed the moment stigma’s magic power flowed into my eyes. Like a satellite, I observed the entire colosseum from the sky. I finally found Boss heading towards her waiting room and chased after her. I ran like crazy and grabbed her shoulder. She turned around in surprise.

“…”

“…”

We blankly stared at each other. Boss didn’t say anything and I didn’t know what to say either. I calmly collected my thoughts. Boss might go crazy again if she went up against Bell.

Would she be able to beat him? I doubted it after seeing Bell’s gift with my own eyes.

He most likely had the Magic Power Body gift. A gift I wrote in my settings book, but never implemented in the original story because it was simply too powerful.

Boss would never be able to defeat him because of his gift.

“Boss, I…”

After much thought, I decided to try using the [Demon’s Cunning Speech]. It probably wouldn’t work on someone as strong as her, but how much the target trusted me also affected the skill. To my knowledge, Boss trusted me quite a lot.

“Why don’t you just forfeit and go to the 15th floor with me? We need to do something there.”

Unfortunately, the magic power in my words scattered before entering her ears.

“What are you doing?”

Her face froze as she felt what I attempted to do.

“Pardon?”

“What did you try to do just now?”

“Oh…”

I smiled bitterly and scratched my head. What should I say in this situation? Just let her fight and cause a scene? No, the colosseum had heavy security, especially during a fight. Princess Araha attended too, so I might get banned from Crevon if I interfered.

“Ah, well, it’s nothing much. Just something I learned recently.”

I decided to stay with Boss.

“I was going to use a hypnotic suggestion if it worked on you.”

“Hypnotic suggestion?”

“Yes, to tell you to do your best.”

I made up a poor excuse, but it didn’t sound that strange considering our relationship. A subordinate could worry about their boss.

“I guess it doesn’t work. Alright, let’s go to the waiting room together.”

“Okay.”

I walked to the waiting room with Boss. We sat on the couch in the large room. I bit my nails while thinking, This battle likely won’t end until one of them dies…

“Ah!”

I suddenly thought of a good method. Stigma’s magic power could last for 30-40 minutes after leaving my body. If I gave Boss an item with the anti-magic attribute… No, Boss wouldn’t take it given her personality.

“Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue. Then Boss’ black glove caught my attention.

“Boshy, the final will be in 5 minutes.”

“Got it.”

“Wait, Boss.”

I gently held her gloved hand before she got up.

“…?”

Boss widened her eyes at me as I secretly infused stigma’s magic power into her glove. Obviously, I gave it the anti-magic attribute.

“W-What are you doing so suddenly?”

“…”

“Kim Hajin?”

I needed some time while gradually transferring it.

“I’m cheering you on so you don’t lose,” I murmured to the flustered Boss.

“What?”

“Don’t lose.”

— Ah… We’d like to apologize to all the guests. We’ve just been notified that participant Yeokma would like to forfeit. Instead, an exhibition match between Boshy and Lü Bu will take place.

“Eh?”

I blankly stared at the speaker on the ceiling.

“What?”

“You can let go now.”

“Ah, y-yes.”

I hurriedly let go of Boss’ hand.

***

[13F, Area of Rest, 49:03:02] [49:03:01] [49:03:00]

A familiar clock ticked above. Aileen’s party resumed climbing as soon as they took care of Crevon’s calamities. They quickly reached the 13th floor with the theme of rest. The quick-witted Jin Seyeon noticed that the challenge was to not fall asleep on this floor. Currently, they hadn’t slept for over 50 hours.

“Is Desolate Moon doing okay?”

Jin Seyeon asked Shin Jonghak. Everyone forced themselves to talk so they would remain awake.

“Of course, they wouldn’t be one of the world’s best guilds if they couldn’t do well without me.”

“Yeah, you sure are great. So… great…”

Aileen mocked Shin Jonghak’s proud reply. She became oversensitive from the lack of sleep, but also hated heroes from guilds. Individuals or countries owned guilds and they primarily existed for profit.

“Ah, I’m dying to sleep. I can’t just sit here anymore. I’m going to work out.”

Aileen shot up and skipped over to the room next door. Jin Seyeon turned to her.

“Don’t fall asleep, Lady Aileen.”

“I won’t. Don’t worry.”

“Keep the door open.”

“…”

Aileen glared at Jin Seyeon and left the door half-open. Jin Seyeon carefully observed her through the gap. Not long afterwards, Aileen began to do push-ups with her small body.

“One, two, three… uk, eighty-six, eighty-seven… uk, one hundred forty, one hundred forty-one…”

“Guess I don’t have to worry about her.” Jin Seyeon muttered and faced Shin Jonghak again. Was it because her brain seemed half asleep? She suddenly thought she should tell him her true feelings after looking at him. After all, they’d been in the same party for a long time now.

“Shin Jonghak, what do you think about your grandfather?”

She already knew he felt proud of him. Shin Jonghak was the type to brag about his family background.

“My grandfather?”

“Yes, hero Shin Myungchul. Many people still honor him for his part in stopping that calamity.”

“If you’re asking about the twilight of his life… I can only say I still don’t understand it.”

His reaction surprised her. “Pardon?”

Shin Jonghak closed his eyes and recalled the faint memory of his grandfather.

With great power comes great responsibility.

Apparently, his grandfather’s words came from a comic book about heroes in a time when heroes didn’t exist yet. His grandfather, Shin Myungchul, deeply carved those words in his heart. In the end, he saved humanity by sacrificing his life. However, he had abandoned his grandson who loved and respected him.

“The calamity would’ve been stopped even if my grandfather didn’t sacrifice his life. After all, the world contains many strong people.”

The hero who tried to carry everything by himself died and the heroes who didn’t lived. The young Shin Jonghak resented that. If his grandfather sacrificed his life to save the world, then why did the Nine Stars exist? Where were the other eight?

“Grandfather should’ve lived. He should’ve stayed in this world to do far greater things.”

His grandfather, Shin Myungchul, was a true hero to him.

“I see.”

Jin Seyeon didn’t ask any further. Shin Jonghak didn’t say anymore either. Silence filled the air between them.

“Can I ask a more sensitive question this time?”

“Are we playing a truth game or something?”

Shin Jonghak defaulted to his usual sarcastic tone out of fatigue. He quickly realized his mistake, but didn’t correct himself. Thankfully, Jin Seyeon didn’t mind.

“I guess you can say so. I can answer your questions too if you’d like.”

“Then you can start.”

“What is Nayun to you?”

Jin Seyeon went straight to the point. Shin Jonghak frowned, but that name made him recall fond memories.

At first, he thought Chae Nayun was the only girl worthy of him. The only family that suited Jinsung was Daehyun. That was the worthless belief he used to have.

He stopped caring about such things as time went on and learned more about her. He simply enjoyed the time they spent together and felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. The world that always seemed grey turned colorful when she smiled. Everything became brighter.

“She’s just someone I like.”

Because of this, he hated the damned wolf who took away her smile.

“I see.”

“Then it’s my turn next. Do you have family?”

Shin Jonghak asked a sensitive question on purpose. Jin Seyeon hated revealing anything about her family.

“Of course. My father was also an excellent hero.”

She spoke with a perfectly calm face.

“My mother passed away while giving birth to my younger brother. Then my younger brother died of an illness at the age of 3.”

“Uh, you don’t have to go that far…”

Shin Jonghak averted his gaze and felt apologetic. Jin Seyeon only gently smiled.

“Oh right, take this.”

She took out a small bead from her pocket.

“What’s this?”

“An effective good. Hold onto this orb and set a goal. The greater the goal, the greater the reward when you achieve it.”

Shin Jonghak checked the item’s description.

[Lv.??? Orb of Hope] Lv.??? Set Goal: Set a goal you wish to achieve. Lv.??? Achieve Goal: When you achieve the goal you set, this orb will change into an item befitting the goal. (Effective Good)

“I obtained two, so I figured I should give you one.”

Shin Jonghak glanced at her, then cheerfully put away the orb. After all, effective goods were quite rare.

“Thank you. By the way, what goal did you set?”

“…”

Jin Seyeon didn’t answer. He tilted his head at her as she took out her own Orb of Hope and squeezed it tightly.

“Revenge.”

“…?”

“To take revenge. That’s it.”

Shin Jonghak didn’t expect that. It didn’t suit her at all. Someone who devoted herself to volunteer work wanted to take revenge?

“I have to meet someone no matter what.”

She would meet that person one day as long as she kept earnestly wishing. Of course, no one could guarantee a happy ending to their meeting.

“Mmm.”

Koong! Koong! Koong! Koong! A loud noise rang from the room next door. They turned around at the shocking scene before them. Jin Seyeon muttered with a sigh.

“She must’ve fallen asleep while we weren't looking.”

Of course, Aileen had caused the commotion. She quietly wailed while pulling her beautiful, white hair. The magic power from her sadness devastated the cabin.

“Um, Lady Aileen?”

Aileen didn’t reply to Jin Seyeon.

“Uaaang…”

She began to cry and her tiny hands slammed into the floor. What could she be dreaming about? Jin Seyeon ran up to her and held her like a child. Aileen clung to her arm and cried even louder.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry… Jonghak, do you have anything sweet?”

Jin Seyeon continued patting Aileen’s back. Shin Jonghak took out a half-eaten piece of chocolate from his pocket.

***

[15F, Genkelope’s Abandoned Vessel]

I returned to the 15th floor alone. A dark, eerie scene greeted me. The empty passageway resembled darkness itself and a water puddle splashed every time I took a step. Honestly, I felt too scared alone, so I summoned Spartan and Sannuri.

— Hiing.

— Pururu.

“Good. Keep chatting.”

I continued walking while listening to them chat. The 15th floor divided into 6 parts like hopscotch. I had to complete several quests and expend a huge amount of TP just to conquer one part. In the original story, I summarized everything by saying Kim Suho transferred his authority over to an NPC.

“Let’s see…”

I identified the most important part of the vessel using the Book of Truth. [Area 3] on the right side contained hibernation capsules with NPCs sleeping inside. I could easily wake them up and order them around.

“Let’s go.”

I ran forward with Sannuri and Spartan. Meanwhile, we sensed several eerie auras that caused goosebumps to rise on my arms, but I did my best to ignore them.

— Kieeeek!

An alien creature suddenly blocked our path. [Lv.12 Alien Host] Its black carapace contained holes all over it and venomous fluid dripped from its large claws and tail. No other word could describe this creature other than grotesque.

“Geez!”

I immediately fired my shotgun. Kwang! The alien turned into several chunks of meat. Its blood and venom splattered towards me, but aether formed a barrier in time.

“Collect the venom.”

[You have obtained Alien Host’s Venom Crystal.]

I continued running through the vessel designed like a maze. It didn’t take long to arrive at [Area 3]. I opened the tightly shut door and walked inside. The alien creatures outside couldn’t follow me anymore.

“Whew…”

I sighed in relief and wiped my sweat.

— Hiing.

— Pururu.

“What.”

Spartan and Sannuri also entered and seemingly made fun of me.

[Turning on power…] [Activating spatial defense and isolation…] [Only 3% fuel remaining.] [Fuel may be purchased with TP.]

“Oh…”

This scenery far surpassed modern technology. The floor consisted of some sort of carbon alloy. Complicated machines for controlling the vessel sat in the center and oval hibernation chambers lined up around the walls. First, I checked the NPCs sleeping inside the chambers.

[Grade 5 Navigator Liole] [Unlocking Condition – 15000TP or Quest Key] [This NPC will follow the player who wakes him up.]

“Mm, it’s the same.”

Thankfully, nothing changed from my original settings. Of course, I didn’t plan on paying any TP. I took out the [Mystic Key] from my inventory with a smile.

***

[Mystic Key] Lv.7 Unlocking

The Mystic Key became level 7 thanks to all the item experience coupons from Tomer. I inserted the key into the hibernation chamber and twisted it. As expected, it immediately opened.

“Huaaak.”

I ignored the navigator who just woke up and continued waking up the other NPCs. Altogether, I awakened 8 navigators of various grades.

[Grade 1 Captain – Honer] [Unlocking condition – 300,000 TP, Calamity Core, or Clearing a Specific Quest] [This NPC will follow the player who wakes him up.]

As expected, the captain of the ship couldn’t be woken with just the mystic key.

“Hmm.”

Can you withstand this? I imbued the mystic key with 2 streaks of stigma and jammed it into the hibernation chamber again. I’ll acknowledge you if you can withstand this. —Click. The hibernation chamber opened this time.

“Huuaak.”

After Captain Honer, I unlocked the [Chief Technician], [Chief Scientist], [Elite Doctor], [Army Commander], and many more.

“It’s going to take an entire day to get through everyone.”

I murmured with a sigh and looked around. The NPCs that woke up all stared at each other in confusion.

***

The Essence of the Strait team looked around their surroundings and waited on standby inside a state-of-the-art building constructed by numerous magicians and agents. They constructed their outpost near a Central Asian grassland.

— The association only set four guidelines. First, guilds can only enter with their permission. Second, guilds are prohibited from fighting each other. Third, guilds must select their own areas. Fourth, guilds are not to drag out any fight.

Currently, 13 core members gathered inside the outpost’s conference room as Yoo Yeonha briefed them from a holographic screen.

— Essence of the Strait sent 35 members. Three of them learned a skill called [Mass Teleport] from the tower, so in case anyone is injured or in danger…

The briefing continued, but Chae Nayun couldn’t focus. She rummaged through her pockets and didn’t pay attention to Yoo Yeonha.

— Oh right, the highest quality potions have been prepared for all of you, so feel free to use them however you want. Good luck, everyone.

“What are you fiddling with?”

Kim Youngjin asked Chae Nayun as soon as Chief Strategic Officer Yoo Yeonha finished speaking.

“Huh?”

“You don’t have to hold it in if it’s a withdrawal symptom from not smoking. Just go smoke outside.”

“No, it’s not that…”

Chae Nayun scratched her neck and didn’t explain any further. She kept fiddling with a certain ticket. Kim Youngjin stared at her with an odd look before asking in a nice tone.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes? Um, what’s up all of a sudden?”

“The 13th floor. I heard you gave up midway.”

Last week, Chae Nayun and the rest of Kim Suho’s party challenged the 13th floor. However, they had to quit halfway because of Chae Nayun. She couldn’t handle the happy memories she experienced.

“I heard you cried a lot—”

“B-Bullshit!” Chae Nayun interrupted him.

“W-What? Bull what? You know I’m your superior—”

“I-It’s because you keep saying weird things!” Chae Nayun shouted and shot up.

“Wait, you…”

“I’m going to the toilet!” Chae Nayun quickly ran away.

“Sigh…”

Chae Nayun looked at herself in the bathroom mirror.

“I bet that bastard Yi Yeonghan told everyone again.”

What happened on the 13th floor became one of her darkest recent memories. She had lounged around until she accidentally fell asleep. It didn’t take long for her to have a nightmare.

Could she really call that a nightmare? A happy future she never dreamt of unfolded before her. She cried after waking up because of the harsh reality. Her tears wouldn’t stop and her trembling body wanted to reject the truth. In the end, Kim Suho took it upon himself to give up halfway.

“Haa…”

Chae Nayun turned on the faucet and doused her head in cold water. Then she murmured in a teary voice.

“Why did Kim Hajin appear there?”

— Huup! A gasp sounded from one of the stalls. Chae Nayun flinched. Was someone else here?

“Who is it?”

Chae Nayun quickly ran to the stall with water dripping from her hair and kicked open the door.

“Hiik!”

She knew the girl inside quite well.

“H-Hi, Nayun…”

Chae Nayun knew she slipped up after seeing Yi Jiyoon. She must’ve heard what I just said. Should I smack her head real hard and make her lose her memories? However, doing so wouldn’t solve the problem this time.

— Hey, Nayun.

A familiar voice came from Yi Jiyoon’s smartwatch. She was on the phone with Essence of the Strait’s Chief Strategic Officer, Yoo Yeonha.