Chapter 223 Last Mission (3)
“Please call me Lorwen.”
“Alright.”
He’d met the reproduced Elle several times, but it was the first time he called her by her surname. Feeling a little awkward, Yoon-seok wondered.
‘If this happened, who saved her back then?’
This mission was based on their original history. And in that history, Elle somehow survived and became an admin.
‘Did they only save Elle?’
Soon, Yoon-seok reached a fundamental question. All the bodies around them were terrible, as if they were torn apart by beasts, but Elle was relatively fine. Although she was bleeding out, she dodged immediate death, unlike the others.
‘Is this a coincidence?’
Yoon-seok shook his head. Probably not. It was none other than Rick Gerssey who led the invaders. Even if he hid his identity, there was no way Elle would die under his watch.
‘Huh?’
“…What’s wrong?”
When Yoon-seok stopped, Elle asked with an anxious look. Yoon-seok turned around to check with Lee Su-yeon. Was it just his imagination? There seemed to be a secret sign nearby, but Lee Su-yeon looked like she noticed nothing.
“It’s nothing.”
Following that, Yoon-seok resumed walking with Asura. Though they walked for a long time, they found no signs of enemies.
—Oppa, this is kind of weird. They should’ve swarmed us by now…
Lee Su-yeon used the Communication function. If the presence he felt earlier was Rick, he might have left Elle for him to save and send her back safely.
‘No way, is he still watching? Then I think they’ll appear if we suddenly change and try to hurt her….’
Yoon-seok came up with an idea to lure Rick out, but he quickly dismissed it. Even if it was just a reproduced alter ego of Elle, he didn’t want to go that far. Wasn’t the real Elle watching? If this mission continued, he would face Rick someday, even if he didn’t want to.
“Which floor are you on, Lorwen?”
“22nd floor…”
“Duel?”
“Yes…”
“Wow! That means you’re an amazing person.”
“N-not really! I’m just lucky…”
Lee Su-yeon began investigating Elle’s situation. He didn’t know if her personality was that soft or because she had no choice but to rely on them, but Elle answered the questions sincerely.
“Do you have a lover?”
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“N-not a lover, but a crush….”
Rather than digging up information, the conversation leaned more toward satisfying her curiosity. However, Yoon-seok confirmed one thing through this.
‘Time goes backward.’
This mission happened before the 21st-floor mission. As evidence, Dracar, whom he met then, was a 25th-floor challenger, but now Elle was only on the 22nd floor. There was a roughly eight to ten-month difference in terms of time.
‘Were most of the rankers murdered and put into that situation in the interim?’
Yoon-seok recalled the 21st-floor mission again. At that time, the situation of Moorim, Seheranbad, and Killian was at its worst. All the rankers had been killed, and the last expedition was sent to kill the Queen.
‘Hang on. That means Elle and the Heavenly Warrior all died before that, right? Then how did they manage to become admins?’
—I didn’t say I overcame the last trial. Admins are all those who failed.
When they first met, Elle said this. Admins were those who challenged the final trial but failed in the end. However, Elle had died 500 years ago before the 25th-floor duel due to circumstances. So how did they reach the final floor? There was no way a consolation match would take place.
‘There must be something I don’t know. Let’s think calmly.’
The purpose of the Tower was to kill the Queen. Therefore, the Tower gave trials to the gathered challengers and power in return. Yoon-seok guessed that the last trial would not be a battle between challengers but murdering the Queen.
‘…Maybe the final floor has two meanings.’
Yoon-seok abandoned his preconceived notions. If what the Tower wanted was to kill the Queen… after a few more months, Yoon-seok could challenge this regardless of his floor number.
*Last Fortress (Rank EX) – When the ticket is torn, you will move to the palace where the Queen of Death resides with your colleague. Up to 12 people can enter together.
Yoon-seok, taking the ticket out of his bag to check the information, rubbed his chin. His intuition hinted that the final floor Elle mentioned might not be about floor numbers but this.
‘If that’s the case, then it would make sense….’
Yoon-seok established his hypothesis. The final floor referred to the Last Fortress. But 500 years ago, the rankers here couldn’t afford to endure the Queen’s attacks anymore. So they challenged the final floor earlier than the other dimensions and failed. Elle and the Heavenly Warrior had been among them.
‘…Am I overdoing it?’
“Oppa?”
Yoon-seok came to his senses at Lee Su-yeon’s call.
“Did you hear what I said?”
“No, what did you say?”
“Look ahead.”
He spread his senses out at Lee Su-yeon’s prompting, but there was nothing around him, let alone an enemy. However, the moment he questioned this, he saw a notification.
「Your colleague died.」
It was a notification that one of the challengers participating in the mission died.
“No way. It’s not her, is it?”
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It wasn’t difficult to realize that Lee Su-yeon meant Cheon-ma, whom she now called unnie. Yoon-seok smiled and lowered his head. Cheon-ma dead? He didn’t know much, but that wouldn’t happen. However, Yoon-seok and Lee Su-yeon moved fast, thinking they might battle.
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Before long, an additional notification appeared.
「Cheonma-zl Zone destroyed the rift stone.」
「You have completed your mission much faster than the average completion time. The reward increases significantly.」
「The current information collection rate is 8/100.」
「Special challenges in progress will continue to the next mission.」
Somehow, the first mission was over.
「Group Mission (2/15).」
「Closing the rift will tie down the enemy army, but you will be trapped here together with them. Find a way out of here in time and gather information.」
「If you fail, major restrictions might appear on your next mission.」
The moment the second mission started, a gust of wind swept through the space around them.
—But if this is our second mission, what happens if we fail the first?
—I heard it changes to blocking them from outside. The difficulty level is much harder.
—What if we can’t find a way out of this mission?
—No reinforcements will come for the war part later.
—In short, the more you fail, the harder it gets?
—That’s right. Anyway, let’s get ready.
—Ready?
“Kyak! Kyakkkkk!”
Right after, Yoon-seok tilted his head as the scream left Elle. The world around them cracked and shifted.
“Please stay still.”
Yoon-seok grabbed Elle and held her tight. Thinking they might be separated like before, he pulled Lee Su-yeon to him as well.
“You don’t have to do that…”
Lee Su-yeon said so but stepped into Yoon-seok’s arms anyway as they fell. It was hard to tell how long it took, but eventually, Yoon-seok landed on the floor and let down Elle and Lee Su-yeon.
“W-where are we…?”
Was this how the deep sea without a single ray of sunlight felt? No matter where he looked, there was only darkness, and every time he moved his body, he felt a greater pressure than usual. Of course, he had no problem breathing, and although it was dark, he could at least distinguish between objects around him.
“I think it’s a problem caused by our colleagues closing the rift. We need to find out where it is.”
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“…Do you mean we’re trapped inside?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Instead of Lee Su-yeon, Yoon-seok replied to Elle. At the same time, a dignified voice cut through the void.
“What are you discussing? Next to you is…? W-who is that girl…?”
Yoon-seok turned his head up. Cheon-ma, riding Yong-yong, was slowly descending toward them. Behind her were the other challengers.
“We found her injured in the rift after her colleagues died. Our purpose is similar, so we decided to cooperate until we leave.”
“Special challenge!”
The other challengers rumbled loudly at Yoon-seok’s words. Fortunately, they were still far, and Elle, flustered by the current situation, seemed to have missed it. They realized their mistake when Yoon-seok sent them a warning look and nodded quietly.
“It’s a pity that you lost all your colleagues. So, what was your name?
Elle replied, anxious about the aura Cheon-ma exuded.
“M-my name is Elizabeth Lorwen.”
“Elizabeth Lorwen? Your name sounds familiar….”
Cheon-ma hit Yong-yong in the back of the head as she remembered.
“Ah, I’m sure your admin has that name-”
—That’s right, but please keep it a secret here. Many are listening, and she’s just a reproduced being anyway. It’s not her.
Yoon-seok hurriedly sent sonic casting to interrupt Cheon-ma. Cheon-ma rubbed her chin and scanned Elle from head to toe as she pondered.
“Hmm.”
Elle trembled like a rabbit in front of a tiger. She didn’t do anything wrong, but Yoon-seok was nervous. Soon after, Cheon-ma quietly responded.
“You look dull.”
“…What?”
“Tsk, tsk. I can’t even see your eyes. Besides, can you run properly with those?”
“I’m sorry…”
Elle blushed and apologized. Yoon-seok couldn’t keep up with their conversation’s flow, so he looked to Lee Su-yeon. For some reason, Lee Su-yeon nodded slowly as if she could relate with Cheon-ma.
“Yeah. This is so unfair.”
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“…Oho! They’re starting again.”
When Yoon-seok came to his senses, the other challengers watched them with interest.
“…”
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Yoon-seok quietly closed his eyes. For some reason, his head was hurting again.