Chapter 51 : Shattered Schemes of the Seryu Group and the Fragment of God

“Damn it. Damn it!”

Takehiko, staring at the monitor, couldn’t hold back his anger and cursed out loud.

Everything had fallen apart.

Just yesterday, after ascending the 50th floor using the player awakening drug, a press conference was held.

The undisputed star of the day was Takashi.

However, the congratulatory ceremony quickly turned into an unforgettable nightmare.

In front of the reporters, Takashi went berserk due to the drug’s side effects.

Everything went exactly as planned.

The more exposure to the public, the better.

The first goal was to let the whole world realize just how dangerous a player who climbed above the 50th floor truly was.

Takashi, having killed all the reporters in the conference room, then stormed out and started ruthlessly threatening the people.

Yeah, up to this point, it was smooth sailing.

All they had to do was wait.

Takashi had used all his strength and ended his own life.

Soon after, the police and reporters swarmed in to investigate the tragic reality of what had happened in the conference room.

If everything went as planned, the world would become polarized.

Countries with fifth-tier players above the 50th floor and those without would check and balance each other, leading to escalating conflicts.

As global political turmoil worsened, these countries would absorb high-level players, using parasites and drugs to build player armies!

Everything was a stepping stone for a new world.

People dying innocently?

If it was for the greater good, it was unavoidable.

As long as the Azure Dragon could flourish, hundreds or even thousands of insignificant lives could be sacrificed.

But all of this was completely ruined by a single person.

An unidentified man who stopped the berserk Takashi.

Like the Spider-Man from the movies, he shot out white spiderweb-like threads and took down the rampaging Takashi.

Moreover, another fact that all the witnesses on site unanimously testified to:

The Red Bird.

The Phoenix.

He wasn’t in Korea?

Why was he in the exact same place on that day?

It didn’t make sense unless he had prior knowledge.

Could this also be the power of the Phoenix?

But the problem didn’t end there.

Soon after, the Japanese Player Association released evidence.

Originally, the parasite inside Takashi’s body should have disappeared.

The incompetent Japanese association didn’t know about this.

It was obvious the Korean association had interfered.

Eventually, the association abandoned the Seryu Group.

They cut off the tail.

Along with an official apology for the unresolved assassination case in Korea, they announced the seizure and investigation of the Seryu Group.

In the end, the Seryu Group was cornered.

All the plans collapsed.

And on top of that, they became the ones being hunted.

Takehiko boarded a plane to Korea, disguising his identity.

His boiling emotions hardened into a vow of revenge.

The unidentified player and the Phoenix.

He would definitely find them and make them his own!

***

Dalkurak. Dalkurak.

Today, too, the skeleton farmers worked diligently.

They tirelessly dug into the barren soil without rest.

It was already the second day of silently tilling the infertile land.

They worked day and night without pause.

Now, the ground had somewhat softened.

Thanks to the habits of their past lives, the work wasn’t difficult.

Though they didn’t feel emotions, a faint sense of pride crossed their faces.

Why?

It was simply habit.

The image of the farmer remained vivid even in death.

After a brief break, the skeleton farmers resumed their tilling.

Then, suddenly.

Clink—

Something caught on the rusty hoe’s edge.

Something harder than dirt.

Could it be a stone?

The youngest skeleton farmer tilted his head and began to dig around with his hands.

Untended soil often hid many problems like this.

Large stones, weeds, or deeply rooted tree roots.

Most of the time, they had to spend time digging these out.

Dalkurak. Dalkurak.

Their bony hands moved rhythmically.

The sound oddly resembled a labor song.

After some effort, they uncovered something.

An ancient stone slab.

Strange characters were engraved on it.

Dalkurak?

The youngest skeleton tilted his head.

Curious, he touched it.

Crack.

Sacred sparks flew out.

Startled, the youngest fell backward.

Soon, other skeletons gathered around the circle.

Heads together, they exchanged serious looks.

Dalkurak?

Dalkurak dalkurak!

What decision had been made?

One of the largest skeletons stepped forward.

Then—

Thump.

He grabbed both ends of the stone slab to pull it out.

At that moment, white energy spread throughout his body.

Sacred power.

The holy energy was rejecting the undead skeleton.

Startled, he tried to let go, but the slab wouldn’t fall.

As if bonded by adhesive, the slab burned the skeleton.

In the end—

Dalkurak!

The skeleton disappeared in white light.

***

[Skeleton Farmer #3 has been destroyed]

[Can be resurrected after 24 hours.]

“Huh.”

After climbing the 29th floor early in the morning, the system message greeted him.

Suddenly, a skeleton farmer was destroyed?

Had another monster appeared?

He headed straight to the Burial Mound.

Not that he was worried about the skeleton, but he needed to check.

Because it was near the plains, he thought the damage might be minor.

When he arrived at the mound with the execution squad, skeletons rushed out to greet him.

Dalkurak. Dalkurak.

They tapped their jaws repeatedly and spoke.

What on earth were they saying?

“Speak one by one.”

He asked the 14 remaining skeletons sitting in a row, especially the one in front of the group.

“Yeah, what’s going on?”

Dalkurak!

The first skeleton pointed somewhere with his finger bone.

Was there something over there?

Looking over, nothing was visible.

Just the dug-up earth.

Then the skeleton, clearly frustrated, pounded his chest and grabbed Woo Min’s wrist.

“The stone slab?”

Following the directions, they arrived at the old stone slab.

It was buried, covered in moss and with many broken parts.

But what was the problem with it?

Looking around at the skeletons, they were trembling.

Scared of something despite being undead?

Why?

“Could it be that something happened when we tried to pull this out?”

Nodding, the skeleton finally responded to the question.

It didn’t look special, but it could destroy undead.

Even Woo Min felt uneasy.

Was it radiation or something?

What if he touched it and got poisoned?

Ugh, just thinking about it made him shiver.

“Let’s just bury it again.”

It didn’t seem useful anyway.

While hesitating, Choco suddenly jumped into the hole.

Bow Bow!

Bright expression.

Before anyone could stop him, he was already covered in dirt.

His worried heart reacted first.

Quickly, Woo Min lifted Choco out of the hole.

Then—

[First trace of the God has been discovered.]

[If all fragments are collected, the language of the God can be deciphered.]

[Divine energy dwells in the hidden plains.]

[The authority of the world increases.]

[You can send messages up to 12 characters.]

[Translates languages from other dimensions.]

Sacred power filled the entire plain.

Now that he thought about it, his body felt lighter.

No fatigue, and his mind was as clear as glass.

Was it all thanks to the divine power?

What about the skeletons?

Dalkurak?

Just smiling.

Since they were under his command, luckily there was no problem.

More importantly, the trace of the God?

An almost shattered slab had such immense power?

For now, it seemed useless.

Though the tower was filled with divine power, nothing else had drastically changed.

The number of characters allowed to send messages increased, and it could translate languages, but it required a reply to use.

A grand name for somewhat underwhelming abilities.

It seemed all fragments had to be collected to unlock its full potential.

But when would they gather them all?

…..!

At that moment, a good idea came to mind.

It was still one slab after all.

So?

“Choco, smell this.”

Their rear genius.

He entrusted it to Choco.

Bringing the slab closer, Choco sniffed it eagerly.

Wagging his fluffy tail in circles.

Then—

Bow Bow!

Had he found something?

He started running somewhere!

***

[Entered Floor 51.]

Mission: Defeat 20 Zombie Warriors

Time limit: 12 hours

After several days, he was challenging the 51st floor again.

Seolha closed his eyes and focused his mind.

From the 50th floor onward, ruins became the main stage.

In other words, undead monsters started appearing.

Actually, undead monsters were not particularly rare.

Among the monsters that appeared during gate overloads, after goblins and orcs, zombies, skeletons, and specters were quite common.

They were tough creatures, with relentless regeneration and debuffs that slowed mana regeneration.

Without adequate preparation, even a fifth-tier player could struggle.

But these monsters were different from the ones Seolha met at the gate.

Whereas those could be taken down by chopping off their heads, these monsters on the tower immediately recovered and attacked again.

There was only one way to kill them completely: turn them to ash.

“Ice Edge!”

He unleashed dozens of golden shards.

About a third of his mana.

He planned to obliterate them without a trace.

Kwahkakang—

Among the shower of golden shards, there was no chance for zombies to survive.

Even if they revived, the monster’s core would be destroyed, halting regeneration.

Only one remained.

Nineteen more to go.

Then suddenly.

One buried in the ground grabbed Seolha’s foot.

Despite the surprise, Seolha calmly chanted a spell.

He planned to flick it off by its wrist.

However—

Grrr—

Zombies swarmed in, making casting magic difficult.

Being surrounded like this was dangerous.

Undead attacks were deadly to living beings.

Was there no other way?

Just as he was about to give up on the climb today,

While swinging his arm to shake off the one clinging to him, he accidentally touched its head.

Then, it started burning in red flames on its own!

The zombie turned to ash instantly.

Could this also be the power of the bracelet?

If it weren’t for the bracelet Woo Min and Somi had made, it would have been a truly dangerous situation.

Moreover, thanks to this, they had a method to tackle these troublesome monsters.

What was it?

It wasn’t difficult.

First, freeze the entire room, stealing their mobility.

Then touch.

In an instant, twenty zombie warriors turned to a handful of ashes.

Victory achieved in an instant.

A variety of rewards poured down.

All thanks to Woo Min.

He hadn’t seen him much lately, so he decided to visit the plains once more.

To both check the plains and see Woo Min’s face.

After exiting the tower, he entered the Pyeongya Entry.

Then—

Bow Bow!

From afar, a brown puppy ran toward him.

It was Woo Min’s fourth sibling, Choco!