Chapter 549

Side Story 25

In Son OhGong’s eyes, the figure of the Administrator resembled that of a medieval knight.

Even an idiot like Son OhGong could tell that this guy was not the Administrator of Floor 50.

Normally, an Administrator’s appearance would resemble the landscape of their respective world.

However, the Administrator that appeared before him didn’t fit at all with the Floor 50 ruled by the Celestial Realm.

Khihihihihing-!

The horse the Administrator rode raised its front hooves and roared.

The Arcane Power in the atmosphere resonated strongly, shaking Son OhGong’s eardrums.

However, Son OhGong was not easily surprised by something like that.

“Are you threatening me now?”

Kiiiiiiing-.

His eyes opened in a long vertical slit.

“A mere horse?”

Hwaaah-!

The aura emanating from Son OhGong enveloped the Administrator’s horse.

In an instant, the horse that had been threatening Son OhGong froze.

If it were Arcane Power, it wouldn’t have been intimidated by the Administrator’s horse, but Son OhGong’s aura was different from Arcane Power.

Because the aura Son OhGong exuded was Yokai Energy (妖刀), not Arcane Power.

The Administrator patted the horse’s head for a moment and then looked at Son OhGong.

He didn’t seem to have any intention of wielding the long spear in his hand.

“Are you alone?”

“I don’t usually walk with anyone.”

“What’s the reason you’ve done this?”

“Because you guys killed Vishnu first.”

“I didn’t know that The Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal, and Vishnu were so close.”

The eyes hidden behind the helmet glowed red.

Son OhGong had an unpleasant feeling, thinking that there must be some dirty thoughts in those eyes.

“What are you thinking so much about?”

“I was wondering if your presence here at this moment is a coincidence or if there’s some plan behind it.”

The eyebrows of the Administrator, seen through the Golden Cinder Eyes, visibly moved.

He seemed to be lost in thought.

It was strange that Son OhGong had attacked the Administration Bureau just when the Administrator of Floor 50 wasn’t there.

“I’m not one to believe in coincidences, but I can’t think of anything else. The Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal, we know, wasn’t that smart.”

Paht-.

A vein throbbed on Son OhGong’s forehead.

With that statement, Son OhGong couldn’t help but feel that two people had ignored him at the same time.

“Why not? I also want to participate in that Great Celestial War! Don’t they say that an Administrator will also appear there?”

“I’m not sure. That’s why I need you.”

“Why?”

“If there’s still an Administrator in the Administration Bureau of Floor 50, it means the Great Celestial War is not their objective.”

The Great Celestial War was a grand tournament involving numerous High-Rankers.

Being the competition to choose the next General Chief, it was an event that attracted the attention of various Guilds and High-Rankers.

The Administrator of Floor 50 wouldn’t have missed that opportunity.

“Observe from afar with the Golden Cinder Eyes. Whether there’s an Administrator in the Administration Bureau or not. If the Administrator doesn’t move, just come back.”

“And if there isn’t one?”

“Do as you please. You can wreak havoc or join us. Of course, consider the possibility that other Administrators may join if you cause a commotion there.”

“I’m not saying I’m going, right? I don’t feel like it much…”

Son OhGong’s goal was to fight Administrators.

Therefore, he was inevitably more drawn to the Great Celestial War, where the possibility of fighting an Administrator was higher.

“Destroying the Administration Bureau can blind and cut off the hands and feet of Administrators scattered on each floor. This is also important. And you are the right person to do it.”

“Why?”

“So that the Administrators also consider it a coincidence. They wouldn’t think that you entered taking advantage of the moment when the Administrator wasn’t there, right?”

…Are you ignoring me now?

“Does it seem like you’re a bit smarter than before?”

This was the conversation he had with YuWon.

Son OhGong’s eyes narrowed, thinking that the guy’s prediction was correct.

Boooooom!

Zheeeeng!

Son OhGong stepped on the corpses of the Envoys and flew upwards, wielding his Ru Yi Bang.

Looking at the Administrator who had raised his long spear to block the Ru Yi Bang, Son OhGong growled:

“Do you want to die?”

“I’m just stating the truth. If your intelligence had been at the level of a criminal, you wouldn’t have been surpassed in the Ranking by Hercules.”

“This damn…!”

Boooooom!

The Ru Yi Bang flew towards the Administrator’s head from dozens of directions.

The Administrator, dodging all the attacks of the Ru Yi Bang with a slight movement of his spear, aimed at Son OhGong’s throat.

Clang!

Sparks flew as the spear tip and the Ru Yi Bang clashed.

In that instant, the atmosphere stirred, and the sky seemed to distort.

Thus, the spear and the staff clashed several times at great speed.

Son OhGong, who propelled himself upward to create distance, balanced himself and looked at the Administrator for a moment.

“Hmm.”

His anger quickly subsided.

The weight sensation in the Ru Yi Bang.

Crack!

“You’re a guy worth fighting.”

Fighting with just a spear, without any flashy technique.

He only used his magic to enhance his physical ability and the power of the spear.

A fighting style that was familiar to him.

The Floor ruled by the “Round Table” Guild and known as the world of Knights.

“Are you the Administrator of Floor 25?”

The Administrator’s eyes lit up with a red gleam.

And at that moment…

Kiiiiiing!

The magic of the sunset-colored aura swirled and gathered at the tip of the Administrator’s spear.

Distorted and amplified magic.

Seeing this phenomenon, an item came to Son OhGong’s mind.

‘…Gungnir?’

The item symbolizing the great King of Asgard, releasing the strongest power in this Tower when activated.

The phenomenon occurring on the Administrator’s spear was similar to the activation of Gungnir.

And at that moment…

Flash!

The attack launched from the Administrator’s spear pierced the sky along with Son OhGong.

———————–

YuWon stored the Player Kit back into his inventory.

Lee Ye looked at YuWon, who suddenly stopped talking and averted his gaze, with a displeased expression.

He began to doubt even more if he could really trust YuWon.

‘For now… Is he asking me to wait?’

His heart burned with impatience.

If he didn’t obtain the Elixir on time this time, he didn’t know what would happen to his daughter.

He wanted to grab YuWon and force him to spit out the information.

“You’ve arrived.”

Tap, tap.

Then, footsteps broke the clamor of the noisy crowd.

The host of this Great Celestial War and the highest general in the history of the Celestial Realm.

“Lee Rangjin-gun.”

In the Celestial Realm’s Sky.

Footsteps echoed in the emptiness where there was nothing.

And above it was Lee Rangjin, with his green hair waving in the wind.

“I won’t talk for long.”

As soon as he opened his mouth, the noisy stands fell silent.

The Chief General representing the Celestial Realm and a High-Ranker at rank 20.

The future Jade Emperor of the Celestial Realm. He continued speaking while looking at the 64 participants on the battlefield.

“The Chief General of the Celestial Realm must always fight on the front lines on any battlefield.”

[The final phase of the Great Celestial War begins.]

With Lee Rangjin’s words, a message announcing the start of the game resonated.

“The rules are simple. Anyone who wishes to, step forward. Fight and win, over and over. The one who survives until the end will be the winner of this tournament.”

Woosh!

In the center of the battlefield.

A massive circle made of a translucent barrier formed.

[Those who wish to participate in combat, enter the circle.]

[If a challenging participant is defeated, there will be an opportunity to challenge participants outside the circle.]

[The challenge time is 5 minutes.]

[If no next challenger appears in 5 minutes, the fight will end.]

The rules were simple.

Fight inside the circle and survive.

However, simplicity in rules didn’t mean simplicity in content.

‘If you participate at the beginning, you’ll be at a physical disadvantage. But if you wait and the 5 minutes run out, the tournament will end just like that.’

Tap, tap.

YuWon’s gaze turned to the first participant who started moving.

‘Does that mean if you participate at the beginning, you have to show an overwhelming difference in power.’

Asura, whose body was already starting to turn red, entered the circle with two swords in his hands.

“A participant has appeared faster than expected.”

In the face of Asura’s challenge, Lee Rangjin nodded as if he had expected it.

“As you know, the winner will be able to obtain the position of Chief General. If you decline, I promise you an equivalent reward.”

There were people with various purposes here.

Some sought the position of Chief General.

Others sought fame.

And others had completely different objectives, such as the Elixir or the Three Sacred Treasures.

Before the eyes of the participants who had those diverse purposes was Asura, a massive wall that showed no sign of tension.

“So, let the final phase of this Great Celestial War begin.”

The moment those words left his mouth…

“Uwaaaaaaah-!”

“Asura! Asura!”

“Fight-!”

The cheers of the spectators who had been silent erupted.

But…

It wasn’t easy to find a participant who responded to those cheers.

Swish, swish.

One by one, the participants began to take a step back.

They looked at each other and began passing the ball.

Most of them, even if not to win, had the clear goal of leaving a good impression in the tournament to increase their ranking and value.

However…

How could they leave a good impression if they had to fight against Asura from the first match?

‘I don’t…’

‘Someone else…’

‘All the better. If the High-Rankers fight and eliminate each other…’

Sneak, sneak.

They observed each other like that.

Time passed quickly.

[3:03]

Almost two minutes had already passed.

There were three minutes left.

“If this continues, Asura will win without even fighting.”

“But to be the first to challenge him…”

It wasn’t surprising that no one volunteered to be the first.

No one in this place could defeat Asura, and it was evident that the first to challenge him would be the first to be eliminated.

Tick-tock.

Time didn’t stop.

Now there was only one minute left.

Is this really what’s going to happen?

Hargan, who like the other participants hesitated to participate, glanced at YuWon.

It seemed that YuWon didn’t care much about this tournament.

From the beginning until now, his eyes hadn’t been on the circle but in a completely different place.

Golden pupils that shone.

Hargan was surprised to notice those eyes.

What is that?

There weren’t many types of abilities that changed the color of the eyes.

The most famous one was the Golden Cinder Eyes, but that was a unique ability of The Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal.

However, there was no way to know what ability he was using now.

What is he thinking?

If things continued like this, Asura would win the tournament.

There was no way to know if that was what YuWon really wanted.

Instead of letting it end like this, I myself…

And then.

Tap, tap.

“I’ll do it.”

The first challenger stepped forward into the circle where Asura was.

[0:03]