Yeon-woo never thought that he would come face-to-face with the head of the Sea of Time in this place. ‘Why is she here?’ Considering how difficult it was to come to this place, her sudden appearance out of nowhere seemed on the verge of absurdity. However, his bewilderment didn’t make him hesitate to begin an onslaught of attacks.

Clang! Clang! Clash! Yeon-woo’s opponent gently pushed away his bayonet attacks with ease, and they exchanged moves in a short time. Although she was small in stature, her attacks showed that she had immense power.

Suddenly, her cute teddy bear jumped from her embrace and threw its paws at Yeon-woo’s head and feet. The punches did not look very menacing, but the strikes were filled with tremendous magic power. Yeon-woo could even see space tremble from the disturbance that the magic power caused.

Through his Illusory Change, Yeon-woo summoned a sword that resembled Vigrid and raised it high. Clang! Yeon-woo rode the impact of the strike to get some distance away from his opponent. He braced his Sky Wings against the ground to regain his balance. Yeon-woo’s eyes glowed with a golden light as he looked at his two attackers.

The teddy bear did a somersault in the air and landed next to its master. For some reason, its unnecessarily cute appearance irked Yeon-woo.

『Attacking all out at our first meeting? You truly live up to your reputation as a rude, uncouth person.』 The head of the Sea of Time looked at Yeon-woo and smiled, holding her teddy bear. She looked like a young girl in a gothic lolita costume. Yeon-woo thought that she probably had a terrible personality and an even more terrible hobby.

Vroom! Zing! However, Yeon-woo’s attention was focused on something else: the Casts she had on her neck, left wrist, and right ankle. She even had chains around her forearm, all in the opposite location that he had.

“So, you’re not human.” Yeon-woo recognized right away that she was a different species. She had used an advanced form of polymorph magic to create her current form, imbuing her will into an incarnation.

Using his Draconic Divine Eyes with his Fiery Golden Eyes, Yeon-woo could see an enormous figure crouching behind the blurry gothic lolita incarnation. Although the figure was shrouded in darkness and he couldn’t see its exact shape, its dragon scales shimmered with a reddish light, as large as those of Kalatus. In an instant, the little girl’s pupils turned vertical—the Draconic Eyes of the dragon race.

『My, my, what good eyesight you have. Now I’m starting to see why you gained his favor.』

Yeon-woo did not answer her. He was trying to narrow down the potential candidates for his opponent’s true identity. ‘The dragon species definitely went extinct when the Summer Queen…no.’ Yeon-woo realized that there was still one dragon left. One that was not publicly known.

“I also have a twin.” The Summer Queen had said in passing when they were talking about Jeong-woo. She didn’t go into any details, so Yeon-woo didn’t know what the circumstances were. However, if she was telling the truth, that meant his current opponent was either the Summer Queen’s twin or someone affiliated with the Summer Queen.

Yeon-woo remembered something: ‘Didn’t Brahm also mention that he once had a relationship with a dragon?’

It was the reason Brahm had fallen from grace and descended to the lower floors in a relatively powerless incarnation. It had started out as a small game, but a dragon had made Brahm realize the feeling of true love. The dragon would later become Ananta’s mother. ‘No. Brahm said that his lover had already perished and left this world.’

However, Brahm had only heard the news of her death, and there was something fishy about the timing when considering the mass extinction of the dragons from the Dragon Massacre. Something felt off. There was no way such a powerful entity would have no effect on the world until now.

『 Where are my manners? I’m the only one speaking.』 As if she knew what Yeon-woo was thinking and was trying to stop him from thinking further, she wryly smiled and continued, 『Anyway, I commend you for coming this far. In the Tower’s long history, many people have tried to come here, but very few have come as close as you. However, you are not ready to go any further.』

“Ready? What does that mean?” Yeon-woo frowned. However, his opponent just smiled quietly and did not offer an answer.

Crank! At that moment, Yeon-woo heard something turning. Creak! Creak! Boom! Suddenly, dozens of large chains protruded from the bottom of the huge door and started winding around it to completely enclose it.

Thinking that he had to do something before it was too late, Yeon-woo prepared to spread his Sky Wings. Whoosh! Suddenly, the calm current flowing through the abyss fluctuated and forced Yeon-woo out of the area. He tried to hold on with all his might, but the current was much too strong.

『More.』

From afar, Yeon-woo could feel her will like a fading echo.

『Come back when you’re more qualified, when you have the qualifications to face the Black King’s darkness head-on. He hates it when someone unworthy visits him.』

Yeon-woo lost consciousness.

***

Rumble…! 『Huh?』 As he discussed something with the Summer Queen, the Monkey King’s exuviae suddenly opened his eyes wide when the abyss beneath him began to shake.

『He’s coming back.』 the Summer Queen said in a dry voice while observing the sight. As soon as she spoke… Bam!

A huge column of water rose from the abyss with an explosion. They could see Yeon-woo’s lifeless body helplessly bouncing on top of the column. The Monkey King’s exuviae quickly stretched his hand to Yeon-woo and quickly pulled Yeon-woo down with his magic power. 『Whoa! This bastard is no joke. I was wondering what he was doing inside the abyss for such a long time. I guess he did reach the bottom.』

The Monkey King’s exuviae exclaimed after sensing the strong thoughts and will that had followed Yeon-woo from the bottom of the abyss. Though he taught Yeon-woo the Eight Extremes of Sword Thunder, the Monkey King’s exuviae thought that Yeon-woo would come back sooner than he actually did. It was impossible even for someone with a reasonably strong mind and willpower to dive in a place whose depth could not be measured. No matter how great a person was and how strong their sense of self, it was too difficult to survive alone for more than a year in a world where there was nothing.

Nevertheless, Yeon-woo had done it. He had gone down without knowing how much time it would take, and the Monkey King’s exuviae could only exclaim at Yeon-woo’s perseverance and achievement in reaching the depths of the abyss. ‘Was he that desperate? Well, that’s also why I like him.’

In fact, if Yeon-woo had been a wishy-washy type of guy, the Monkey King’s exuviae would not have been so proactive in helping Yeon-woo out. ‘If it’s this guy…yeah. He might be worth betting on.’ The Monkey King exuviae’s eyes lost focus as he considered his options. ‘I might be able to free that poor guy from the curse left by his father’s spirit.’

「Did he meet Harmonia?」 The Summer Queen sniffed a familiar scent from Yeon-woo and quietly asked.

『Harmonia?』

「Yeah. There’s someone with that name.」 The Summer Queen said nothing more.

The Monkey King’s exuviae also did not inquire further. He knew she wouldn’t provide any more information. 『Anyway, what should we do about this guy?』 The Monkey King’s exuviae wrinkled his brow as he looked at the unconscious Yeon-woo’s. Although he liked Yeon-woo, he did not want to take care of an invalid.

「What else can we do?」 The Summer Queen looked at the Monkey King’s exuviae as if he were asking something obvious. She then coolly added, 「Throw him.」

***

Yeon-woo forced his eyes open. He felt as if he had been stuck in deep, murky water and had just surfaced to take his first sharp breath of air.

『Have you regained consciousness?』 Valdebich looked down at Yeon-woo with blank eyes. Yeon-woo looked around while pressing his index fingers on his throbbing temples. It seemed he had returned to the outside world—to reality.

However, the hidden stage looked completely different from when he’d first left. “How much time has passed?”

『Two months.』

‘Fortunately, not much time has passed.’ The difference in the passage of time was the result of a completely different time flow between the world of unconscious and the real world.

『In the meantime, we’ve completed the new temple and repaired the existing one that was already here. Right now, I’m working on purifying the traces of Crawling Chaos that have been left behind.』

Yeon-woo checked the messages piled up in a corner of his retina after hearing Valdebich’s words.

[A sacred temple has been built in your holy territory to honor you!]

[Your will is being transmitted through your temples. The ominous auras that rejected you in your holy territories are being purified one after another.]

[Your faithful believers are giving prayers and offerings to you in your temples.]

[Secure more followers and lead them to your temples. The more followers you have and the more widely your temples are known, the larger your prestige will be.]

…

[The Sacred Temple has been completed.]

[The Sacred Temple is the place where you can convey your will. From now on, it will be possible to issue oracles!]

…

[You have successfully accomplished all conditions of the scenario quest (Proof of Gods and Kings V).]

[You have made an achievement that is not easily accomplished. Additional karma will be provided.]

[You have acquired 150,000 karma.]

[You have acquired 200,000 additional karma.]

…

[You have been rewarded with...]

…

[All conditions of the scenario quest (Proof of Gods and Kings) have been completed.]

[Now that you have been reborn as a new giant god and king, many look at you with either admiration or vigilance.]

[Your holy territory has been stabilized.]

As Yeon-woo read the messages, the faith transmitted through the temples in various places was automatically converted into divine power, washing away his throbbing headache.

『Did something happen? Your expression looks bad. I ran over because there was a large disturbance in our magic defensive field.』

In response to Valdebich’s cautious questions, Yeon-woo solemnly nodded. “Valdebich.”

『Yeah?』

“You seem to have managed the holy territory well while I was away. Can I leave this place under your care?” Through the temples built across his territory, Yeon-woo could now look at the situation arising in various places as if he were looking at the back of his hand.

The changes in his holy territory were not limited to temple construction. The ruins of the ancient giants, which had been torn down thousands of years ago, were restored. The wild foliage that almost covered the entire hidden stage had also been cleared. Yeon-woo could see newly developed farmland here and there. The villages where the otherworld gods once stayed had been enlarged and various buildings such as smitheries and storage facilities now stood there. In addition, each household seemed to possess a special aura of life.

All of this meant that Valdebich had led the other giants to transform the holy territory. The giants could now nurture this place, their hometown, and finally call it their home. Yeon-woo felt his help was not needed. Valdebich’s eyes slightly fluttered after hearing Yeon-woo’s words, but his eyes grew determined, and he nodded confidently. 『If you believe in me.』

“I do. I believe in you.”

Thud! Valdebich bowed as he went down on one knee. How could it not be thrilling to hear that his god and king believed in him?

“Then I’ll leave this place to you. There are some urgent matters I need to attend to.” Yeon-woo opened a blue portal that led to the Tower’s floors. “Also, make sure to take time and advance through the Tower’s floors from time to time. I don’t know when we might need to head up to the seventy-seventh floor.”

『Alright.』 Valdebich nodded heavily.

[Do you want to go to the 61st floor?]

Checking his Channel, Yeon-woo found that Laputa was currently on the sixty-sixth floor. Yeon-woo was planning to catch up with Doyle first and discuss the countermeasures for the Sea of Time. ‘I have to speak with Brahm as well.’

Swish!