Chapter 439

Chapter 439: Outside the Standard (2)

The time of the square dyed in ash-gray completely stopped.

The fluttering flags, the survivors gulping down elixirs, and even Cedric standing nearby stiffened like stone statues.

Leaving only Kim Minwoo alone.

Right in front of Kim Minwoo's vision.

A pitch-black window like the abyss, qualitatively different from the bright red hologram windows the system had been popping up so far, floated in the empty air.

[System General Manager No.1 has opened a chat room.]

[Would you like to enter the chat room?]

An unfamiliar UI in the format of a chat window.

Kim Minwoo's pupils gleamed peculiarly.

'No.1. Number 1.'

A very long time ago, around the time when he first possessed this rotten physical body and went through the tutorial, there were unidentified chat logs that had floated dizzily in the empty air.

<1. It is surprising. To think someone who has accumulated karma surpassing the limits of their species would appear.>

<1. He has shown potential. Should we raise the growth limit of humanity?>

<1. There is no time for idle chatter. We must resolve this agenda before that person wakes up. I am in favor.>

The unknown administrator who had watched him from beyond the veil, lifted the system's restrictions, and supported him the most actively.

That Number 1, full of nothing but mysteries, had finally revealed their identity on their own two feet.

While his vigilance bristled, a strange curiosity stealthily reared its head.

'How will they approach this.'

It was clear that they were the mastermind who had thrown him into this damn situation.

However, looking back, it was also that person who had unlatched the system's bolts and sneakily pushed his back at every crossroads of growth.

It felt like facing a sponsor in a constellation genre story.

Kim Minwoo briefly caught his breath.

Rather than mental preparation, it was closer to the sensation of readjusting his grip on a sword hilt.

[You have accepted.]

[Entering the chat room.]

Simultaneously with entering, messages popped up.

[No.1: The feeble soul that dwelled in an unfamiliar physical body has finally reached here.]

[No.1: I express my sincere respect for your struggle to overcome numerous adversities and surpass the limits of your species. You have truly worked hard.]

It was a quite polite and friendly greeting.

Kim Minwoo brought up a thought in his mind.

Since saying nice words would lead to bigger rewards returning.

[Kim Minwoo: Hello! I didn't know you were the big-shot chairman who's been shooting sweet sponsorships all this time. You're the Number 1 I saw back then, right? Did they call you an existence inside the veil?]

[No.1: ……]

A momentary silence continued in the dignified pitch-black window.

Number 1 quickly collected their emotions and got to the main point.

[No.1: It is a convenient communication method since thoughts are translated into conversation, but I do not have the leeway to accept jokes.]

[No.1: I will speak straightforwardly. The Ascension Ritual is a cradle prepared to help the growth of lower gods. It is not a stage for you, who have already reached an essential divine status, to enjoy as a plaything.]

[No.1: A stay without justification will cause the collapse of this stage. Therefore, I would like you to voluntarily exit at this point.]

Kim Minwoo's brow twitched.

'Voluntarily exit, huh.'

It was more moderate than he thought.

No, perhaps they had no choice but to be moderate. Dragging him out by force might pose a considerable burden on their end as well.

Because of that, he had absolutely no intention of obediently packing his bags and leaving.

It is the way of the world to give one more rice cake to a crying child. If you act nice, all you get in your hands are empty shells.

[Kim Minwoo: No, Chairman. Do you know how much I suffered outside just to pierce through the admission ticket for this area, and now you're telling me to leave.]

[No.1: You were not the target of this ritual in the first place.]

[Kim Minwoo: Now that I've entered, leaving is up to my own volition. Even if I just lie still, points pour in and believers from all dimensions are duplicated, so why should I leave? I want to pitch a tent here and just grill meat for the rest of my life.]

[No.1: ……]

[Kim Minwoo: Well, if you insist on sending me out…… shouldn't there be a convincing benefit for me to move. I can't leave empty-handed.]

A long silence continued in the chat room.

Eventually, text popped up.

[No.1: What do you want. If you exit completely, I will compensate you through an agreement.]

[Kim Minwoo: First, the guarantee of my believers' safety. Please promise me.]

[No.1: If you wish, I will allow them to exit together with you.]

[Kim Minwoo: And what are you going to do about my points?]

[No.1: I will convert them into items possessing the value of those points. Something you might need.]

An answer without hesitation.

But the real bill started now.

[Kim Minwoo: Don't tell me, is that all?]

[No.1: ……]

[Kim Minwoo: If it's difficult to provide more in-kind goods, then at least take my questions. You can do that much, right?]

[No.1: Ask.]

[Kim Minwoo: The reason you possessed me into reality. The reason you put weird shackles on my physical body. And even the reason you specifically handed Hero party armaments to my comrades. I have quite a few things I'm curious about, you know?]

[No.1: Because we needed a variable to flip the board, we called your soul, which had gone through the most perfect struggle, to this world. However, the vessel of a mortal cannot fully contain your massive soul. It is a restriction placed to prevent the dissociation between your soul and physical body.]

'A restriction, huh.'

It wasn't that he didn't have any guesses.

When he first carried out the first arrangement with Kim Minwoo's physical body.

He met Mutakta there.

The ability he awakened at that time was precisely the Indomitable Soul.

'It was a title related to the soul.'

An ability that extends the time right before the moment of death.

It was definitely an ability the original Kim Minwoo couldn't obtain even if he died and woke up.

[Kim Minwoo: But you know. Is my soul that amazing? Honestly, I have zero self-awareness of it.]

Kim Minwoo, no, the human named Kim Woojin who breathed and lived in reality was not that extraordinary.

He was quite good at sports and had lived without hearing that he was bad at anything anywhere he went.

But that was exactly it.

He wasn't an Olympic athlete with a national team title, nor had his physical abilities ever surpassed the limits of a human.

He had also never experienced a single event in his life that would make him feel his soul was exceptionally extraordinary.

If he had to pick one thing, it was gaming.

The virtual reality game .

Ranked No. 1 worldwide.

Thanks to that, his memories of making a living through broadcasting were still vivid.

[No.1: What you thought was a game is a kind of simulation. You were selected there. As a mercenary.]

'A mercenary…….'

[Kim Minwoo: My younger sister Kim Naye. What is your scheme in placing a system's highest security level lock on her awakening condition?]

[No.1: It is not a causality to reach yet. Anyway…… someone is looking for you.]

Jijijik―!

Jjigigigik! One corner of the frozen dark vision split wide open, and a deep blue noise tore into the chat room.

An external communication had forcefully squeezed into Number 1's controlled area.

― Death Lord. Are you listening.

A thought striking his ears. The usually haughty tone of voice had a crack in it.

Kim Minwoo's pupils wavered minutely.

[Kim Minwoo: Ananke?]

― The board is messed up. The lizards were one step faster.

Beyond Ananke's voice, massive explosion sounds and beasts' roars flowed in tangled together.

― The main force of the Eastern Witch Coven has been bitten by the Dragon Legion's maw. We can't immediately escape…….

Ttuk.

The communication cut off there.

"……."

Kim Minwoo slowly stroked his chin.

The Coven had finished preparing to attack the Dragon Legion.

But of all times, while striking a deal with Number 1, the Coven side was ambushed.

Too coincidental a timing to call it a coincidence.

He stared intently at the chat window.

'……It doesn't seem like they'll answer even if I ask more…….'

Number 1's attitude was clear.

They answered parts they thought were of low importance, but appeared to hide the core.

It didn't seem like he could get an answer by forcing them.

The reason to linger on this stage had completely disappeared.

[Kim Minwoo: Let me ask just one last thing. By any chance, in the attack on the Coven…… did the Dragon Lord come too?]

[No.1: He came.]

Besides, he had secured the export of his believers, trial rewards, and part of the truth under the guise of settlement money.

There was no reason to have lingering attachments.

Kim Minwoo tapped Hell Rhapsody on the floor with a tuk and chuckled.

[Kim Minwoo: Good. The deal is established. Deposit the settlement cleanly as promised. I'm leaving.]

[No.1: I approve your exit from the stage of the ritual. I wish you good luck.]

Along with Number 1's last text, the world that had been stopped in black and white shattered to pieces.

Paaaaat―!

From the ash-gray sky, a massive golden portal poured down like a waterfall.

It was that moment.

[You have completely exited the stage of the ritual!]

[According to the agreed conditions, all rewards accumulated up to the 3rd trial are settled.]

[The held points 12,500,000 P will be converted into equivalent in-kind goods.]

[The 20,812 believers have safely returned to their respective dimensions.]

The number of believers that had somehow far surpassed 20,000.

'This is absolutely a massive jackpot.'

They were guys dragged from different dimensions. If they had all been gathered in one place, just sending them back to their hometowns one by one would have been a huge suffering.

'They handled the delivery on their own, so that's one less job for me.'

Kim Minwoo looked around.

Paaaat―!

Huk―!

The first thing that pierced his nose was the thick smell of blood and the disgusting stench of burning flesh.

"Keuaaaaaang―!"

The roars of massive reptiles that seemed to tear his eardrums vibrated from all directions.

The place where Kim Minwoo set foot.

It was the main base of the Eastern Witch Coven, the place where he had been waiting before entering the stage of the Ascension Ritual in the first place.

However, the mysterious and massive sanctuary of the witches was nowhere to be found.

More than half of the hundreds of floating islands that had embroidered the sky were burning and falling, and massive dragons the size of mountain ranges could be seen covering the sky and spewing breaths.

Even the sight of witches covering and defending against it with all sorts of magic.

A literal living hell.

It was exactly that.

"……I came right on the most perfectly amazing timing."

Kim Minwoo squeezed the hilt of Hell Rhapsody and twisted the corners of his mouth up viciously.

Behind his back, Cedric, Merhen, Vulcan, and Olivia.

The four Legion Commanders lined up silently piercing through the shadow.