Turns Out To Be a Genius Duelist

‘MAX in a normal state without anything like that…’

In terms of basic stats, excluding all plus effects, Yoon-seok’s highest was Magic at SS+. Even King of Steel, who invested all of the AP he earned while climbing the Tower only on his stats, had no basic stat reach the MAX level. But all her stats were MAX?

‘It’s impossible in a normal way.’

Yoon-seok smiled without realizing it. Still, she was Cheon-ma. Already at her peak among the challengers, how much stronger had she become now?

“It’s too bad. Still, it was fun to raise it one level at a time.”

“…I-is that so?”

Yoon-seok laughed awkwardly. Compared to his envy, Cheon-ma thought it was nothing special. Indeed, it wasn’t something she could understand. Her stats were only a fraction of her strength.

“So you said it seems like more time has passed? What did that mean?”

“Oh, we’ll have to check that out first.”

Yoon-seok returned to his senses at Cheon-ma’s next question.

‘What date is it today?’

They spent about twenty minutes down there, so how much time had passed? To confirm it, they had no choice but to go to the headquarters of the Demon Sect.

“Then let’s go.”

“Okay.”

Yoon-seok returned via the path he had taken with Cheon-ma. It didn’t take long to reach the headquarters, and nothing happened along the way. However.

“…?”

There was nothing there when they arrived. Not even a single root of grass. Nothing.

* * *

The valley that flowed through those once proud mountains was nowhere to be found. As if the judgment had descended from the sky, only a huge hole remained.

“…Did the Tower do this?”

Cheon-ma asked. She always complained about it being annoying, but was it a special place for her? Yoon-seok felt a rage unlike any he had heard before in her voice.

“Probably not…”

The Tower wasn’t the one who did this. Why would they give her power only to make her an enemy? There was absolutely no reason for them to do so.

“Then who the hell did this?”

As soon as Yoon-seok examined the straight-cut surface of the borders around the hole, the first thing that came to mind was the Last Ark.

“… It’s probably me.”

“…You did all of this? What kind of weird thing are you saying?”

What should he say about this? Yoon-seok honestly explained what had happened before he came to Moorim one by one.

“I don’t know why the power was used, but the ultimate responsibility rests with me.”

He didn’t know the details. However, he would take responsibility even if this incident caused Cheon-ma to hate him.

“Hmm, then everyone is still alive?”

Cheon-ma wasn’t angry.

“But something is strange. No matter how senile that old Demon Brain is, he’s not the kind of guy who would accept this without my permission.”

“That’s what I was thinking, too. I’ll have to check what happened.

Yoon-seok asked to go to Earth together, and Cheon-ma agreed without hesitation.

“It’s your first visit, so go back to the Tower and register the dimension first…”

“It’s unnecessary.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve been there once before.”

To Earth? It was something that neither Ashton nor Yoon-seok knew. Half of the Earth would have already been devastated if she bore them ill-will.

“…When was it?”

Yoon-seok asked for a specific time, and Cheon-ma answered with a bit of embarrassment.

“It was when the 21st Floor mission was completed. Didn’t you tell me many things about the Earth back then…? I was a little interested in it.”

When the first Queen Battle ended, Yoon-seok had returned to Earth, met Lee Su-yeon for the first time, and found out about the Planet Guardian. That was when Cheon-ma secretly visited.

“…So, do you remember where you were last?”

“It was your hometown, Korea. There was a palace under the mountain, and in front of it was a statue of a general holding a sword.”

Yoon-seok thought he knew roughly where she was talking about. He couldn’t imagine what she would have done in Korea, though.

“All right. Then I will send someone there, so please stay still.”

“Okay.”

Yoon-seok handed Cheon-ma a few Tickets and returned to Earth. But this place was a bit strange too.

“…Why is no one here?”

The place where Yoon-seok returned to was the Ark. So; it was the control room of the underground bunker that Ashton had been overseeing things from. The last time he was here, this place was noisy with constant transmissions.

But what about now? The lights were on, but all other electronic devices were turned off.

‘…What? Did things get worse?’

However, if that was the case, the surroundings were too neat. It would’ve been messy if people had to run away in a hurry.

Yoon-seok took out his smartphone and stiffened.

“That’s crazy…”

He arrived in Moorim to investigate Heavenly Sword Cave was February 9th. But what was this?

“Today is March 26th…?”

There were no words to describe how ridiculous it was. More than a month passed instantly, and it was the day before the Duel.

‘…It would be hard to turn back time.’

With Eltas’s help, he could go back up to a day before using the watch once. But where was Yoon-seok a day ago? He was in the Heavenly Sword Cave. Calculating with simple math, this meant one minute equaled about two days. In other words, it meant he had to leave within at least ten seconds to travel even a little further back.

And that wasn’t the only problem. Cheon-ma’s Awakening Ceremony must be completed for the exit portal to open.

‘Is it possible to break it down and come out in ten seconds as soon as I return?’

It would be difficult.

Yoon-seok cleared away his regrets. Of course, there was an option to return three months ago at once when receiving Eltas’s enhancement, but then the watch would be destroyed.

“Haah…”

Yoon-seok sighed. After all, he couldn’t see the future. All his plans became useless. However, it would be right to do his best even in this situation.

‘…Let’s find out what the hell is going on first.’

Fortunately, Yoon-seok confirmed that the transmission was working and dialed the number stored in shortcut key one. After a short ring, a familiar voice came over the receiver.

—Yoon-seok! Are you okay?

What did he mean, okay? That’s what Yoon-seok wanted to ask him.

“Yes. I couldn’t contact you because I had something to do. But what happened here? There’s no one…”

—What do you mean there’s no one? I’m sure they had someone on standby over there.

Yoon-seok widened his mana wavelength. He could feel someone’s presence from afar. Hearing the sound of running water, they must be washing up.

“Looks like he’s washing. Ashton, could you explain for me? Why is this place empty?”

Ashton simply answered with pride.

—Yes, because now there is no need for that.

“You mean…”

—Yes. It is probably faster to come up and see it in person rather than explain.

Yoon-seok didn’t dig deeper. It seemed that a lot had changed in this month and a half. And it was definitely in a very positive direction.

—Then I’ll be waiting for you out front.

“Ah, can you send a mobile person to Gwanghwamun Square?”

—Gwanghwamun Square?

Yoon-seok explained that he came with Cheon-ma.

—Surely, she must have been surprised. All right. I’ll try to get her back as soon as possible.

“Yes, please.”

Yoon-seok walked slowly to the elevator. What in the world did Ashton achieve in a month and a half?

‘…It’s a worthy feat if he eliminated the need for these bunkers.’

Yoon-seok was stunned as he reached the surface. The entrance to the Ark was located outside the city, but even from this distance, he could tell it was intact and safe.

‘Is it like a barrier?’

The sky was still dark, and monsters still rained down. However, a translucent veil over the city protected the citizens from them.

“Was there a Challenger with such skill?”

Yoon-seok muttered without taking his eyes off the city. Suddenly, Ashton was standing behind him with the mobile challenger who usually followed him like a secretary.

“That’s not a Skill from the Tower.”

“It’s not a Skill?”

“To be precise, it would be fair to say that it is something new based on things from the Tower. We call it Mystic Engineering.”

“Mystic Engineering?”

Was this the official name from the Dimensional Industry? Ashton briefly explained as Yoon-seok expressed his doubts. That barrier resulted from combining the Earth’s engineering prowess with the various mysteries that emerged from the Tower.

“I would say it is the first mechanical device to use mana. It was developed by a Russian challenger-turned-scientist.”

“What is it called?”

“Noah.”

There was no need to ask where the name was derived from, but Yoon-seok was curious about the other part.

“How does it work?”

Ashton smiled awkwardly when Yoon-seok asked.

“I don’t know about that either. I’ve read it several times from the reports, but I didn’t understand at all.”

Ashton was a liberal arts person. He liked sci-fi movies and animation.

“Anyway, thousands of challengers are in shifts every day to maintain the barrier. Thanks to that, many complain about how they’re suffering, but… it is mostly worth it. At least no one has to die anymore.”

Yoon-seok was on Earth during the most urgent time, so he knew well just how much they had lost to reach this point.

“…That’s great.”

In that sense, wasn’t it amazing? This side, too, had chosen to go one step further to protect what they have.

“…By the way, where is Su-yeon?”

Yoon-seok changed the topic. He had an idea about the situation on Earth, but how was she doing?

“Su-yeon is going to Ehwin with Peter now.”

“Ehwin, are you talking about the Beast Country of Seheranbad?”

“Yes. We’ve been negotiating for a while now.”

Yoon-seok realized the Union was still not satisfied and was gathering forces by going in and out of all dimensions. Even if it was okay for now, they were going ahead with the assumption there may be a greater risk someday.

“Oh right. So, how did you persuade the Demon Sect?

Yoon-seok belatedly asked the important question. Even now, he still didn’t understand why. Far from giving permission, Cheon-ma, the supreme leader of the Demon Sect, didn’t even hear this news. Could it be that the second in charge, Demon Brain, carried things out independently?

“Ah, about that…”

Ashton tried to answer the question, but unfortunately, he was interrupted.

Whoosh-!

One more person arrived without hiding their overwhelming presence.

“Ah, I get to finally meet you!”

Knowing who she was through her accompanying mobile challenger, Ashton approached her with a welcoming look. However…

“I’ve heard a lot from Yoon-seok. I am…”

“Are you Ashton or something?”

“…Yes?”

Ashton, who was about to introduce himself, hardened into stone. Then…

“Ye-yes…!”

He nodded as if possessed. Yoon-seok could understand. He had heard a lot about it, but it was completely different from seeing it in person.

“Now, tell me everything that happened while I was away.”

Everyone becomes honest when standing in front of her.