Mission tickets were sold for 500 LP in achievement stores, but she acquired these by chance? Two of them? Yoon-seok was tactful enough to know she was implying that she owed him once for saving her life.
That was probably why she was doing this.
‘She doesn’t have to do this because of what happened then…’
Yoon-seok smiled bitterly inside. He thought he was the one indebted. He had received so much from her, and if he hadn’t gone to Moorim, she likely wouldn’t have been in danger anyway. Plus, he wouldn’t have gotten Demon Body and Soul Cleanse.
‘But does she think that she can’t repay me with that?’
Values were subjective, depending on the situation and person. And she was a person with great pride. That was why though he had a lot to say; he swallowed all of it.
“Thank you.”
His remaining time until the next duel was 23 days. Only difficulty missions usually ended in about 15 days, so if he was going, now was the right time. Also, missions were one of his options to utilize his remaining time, and there was no reason to refuse free tickets.
When Yoon-seok accepted the ticket with a nod, Cheon-ma smiled softly.
“Thank you? Did you want to go there so badly?”
“What? Well, that’s right.”
“Haha. All right.”
“…?”
Yoon-seok felt like something was off. But-
“Forget it. Strike while the iron is hot. Let’s go.”
Cheon-ma urged him to rip his ticket right away. It was only then that he remembered he had received a call from Elle earlier. He was going to stay for a while and go back, so he came here first…
‘Seeing how she didn’t call again, it’s probably not urgent.’
It was highly likely that Elle was watching now with her authority as an admin. Nevertheless, her not calling was probably a silent sign that it would be better for him to go.
“It’s better to tear it up at the same time, or else the missions may be divided.”
“Let’s do that.”
Cheon-ma and Yoon-seok held their tickets and looked at each other. And…
Rippppppppp-!
They tore the tickets in unison.
「Mission Order is used.」
「The mission on the 21st floor is Dimensional War.」
「Difficulty level can be chosen.」
His vision went dark as he floated through space. Moments later, a difficulty selection page popped up.
[Proficiency] ◁
[Expert] ◁
[Only] ◀
Did this place change as the floor increased? The [Probation] and [General] difficulty level options disappeared.
‘Come to think of it; we didn’t discuss the difficulty level.’
He suddenly started worrying about that, but it disappeared quickly. Everything was already set as a matter of course.
「Moving to the mission site.」
His vision was gradually restored. The inn was the starting point on the 8th-floor mission, and it was the barracks on the 14th floor. However, there was no guarantee that they would start in a safe place this time. Yoon-seok raised his senses as he read the phrases that followed.
「Only difficulty level is chosen.」
「Blessing: the effect of the last expedition cannot be obtained.」
「The overcoming effect of mental correction cannot be obtained.」
「Special challenges will be activated.」
「The away period will be fixed at 30 days regardless of the difficulty level. Work with your expedition members during this period to achieve the expedition’s goals.」
The start was already a little different. For now, the number of mission days was fixed regardless of the difficulty level, and if he chose the level of difficulty below Only, he would get the added abilities…
「The reward for the mission increases depending on your contribution.」
「Don’t be afraid of sacrificing for the expedition. The goal of the mission is victory in the expedition.」
The goal of the mission was a victory, not survival. Although there was a lot of room for interpretation, he had a rough feeling of what it meant. Even if they died early, but the team won, it would be considered a success.
「A large penalty is applied for killing an expedition member.」
「The level of participating challengers is too high.」
「The invaders appearing in the mission will be stronger.」
The trial began after that.
‘I guess it’s not in the middle of the battlefield.’
Dense fog surrounded him. Beyond that, hundreds of figures blurred as they moved. They were the challengers who became expedition members on this mission.
‘This is the mission on the 21st floor?’
Yoon-seok was a little surprised. The energy he felt from each of them was unusual. To exaggerate a little, it was safe to say that they felt like challengers from the duel track, not missions. That was all he could guess.
‘Ah, is it because of that?’
As the Duel Tower was crushed, all challengers below the 20th floor went to other trials, and it was highly likely most of them chose to go the mission route. Come to think of it, unlike the 14th-floor mission, there was no message saying insufficient members.
‘It means there are too many people. Maybe there is a ranker who used a mission ticket like us.’
“What are you thinking about?”
Cheon-ma approached from behind.
“I was thinking about this mission.”
“Tsk. Just relax and feel comfortable with each other….”
For Cheon-ma, this mission seemed to be nothing more than a trip. Still, that was understandable. In general, the mission trial’s difficulty level was at least several times lower than the duels. However…
‘The problem is that it seems to have changed a lot…’
The mission on the 21st floor was somewhat different: he felt it intuitively. So until he knew what had changed, Yoon-seok decided to keep his senses sharp.
“Listen! Demon of Killian! Warriors of Moorim! Soldiers of Seheranbad!”
The energy contained in that brave cry drove away the fog, revealing the various challengers.
“…Freaking insects.”
“What are demons doing here? Are they not enemies but colleagues?”
There were challengers of all kinds gathered. As soon as the fog faded, the man in the center shouted again, looking at the challengers who were now on guard.
“I know how you feel! But let’s leave any long-term resentment for the future! From now on, we are the same expedition members with one mission!”
Both the demons and the humans grew noisy. In that surging chaos, one challenger spoke up.
“What year is it now?”
“…It’s 526.”
Both of them appeared to be from Seheranbad, so it was probably based on that. Yoon-seok frowned. The 8th-floor mission was 517, and the 14th floor was 523. So this was three years later?
“Does it mean we came into a part of history that wasn’t recorded? Interesting.”
“Unrecorded history? What does that mean?”
“I wasn’t sure because you looked like a challenger, so the expedition leader is a recreated being?”
A being recreated by the Tower, or an NPC as some of those from Earth called them.
“Recreated being…?”
“No, it’s fine. We can’t have an important person collapse. So, what’s the goal of our expedition?”
The man cleared his throat and shouted again.
“My name is Adam Zrayburn! I’m the Kartan Empire’s Dragon Palace Knight, a 33rd-floor mission challenger, and I was officially awarded the role of expedition captain by the Dimensions Alliance.”
Mission challenger from the 33rd floor? He opened up with a dignified voice. Then the challenger, who was asking one question after another in a shallow manner, flinched.
“Is it rebellion against authority to ask me again when you know what the goal of this expedition is?”
“No, it’s not that. I don’t know, so I asked…”
It was quite unfair for him, but it was undeniable that he didn’t follow the implicit rules in this mission. Perhaps because he talked about him being an NPC, the other challengers were eyeing the leader with looks of disapproval.
“Go! Are you trying to play with me? Participation in the expedition is not compulsory but of free choice. If there was any coercion in your choice, it is not too late. Go back. It’s not helpful to have someone like you.”
“…I’m sorry.”
As the situation turned south, the challenger abandoned his pride and bowed his head. But as if he was unsatisfied, the expedition leader Zrayburn continued to threaten the crowd.
“If anyone else suspects the authority of a captain of the Alliance, tell me now! As you all know, I have the power to send you back anytime.”
The challengers’ complexion changed. Sending them back? Those deported wouldn’t fail their mission immediately, but they had to contribute, or it would be a definite loss. If the expedition failed, that would be the end of their lives.
“He’s quite an interesting fellow.”
Yoon-seok nodded at Cheon-ma’s murmuring. The challengers, who were hostile to the demon challengers, lifted their guard, and the demons matched them, satisfying Zrayburn. They were coming to understand there was no reason to argue with each other in this mission.
‘Well, if he was weak, there might have been another commotion.’
Yoon-seok also watched Zrayburn with interest. It was only based on his presence, but he was indeed a strong opponent that couldn’t be ignored.
Yoon-seok scanned the changes in the other challengers’ expressions. Seeing that everyone appeared flustered by Zrayburn’s stubborn response, it appeared that the only recreated being here was the expedition leader.
“As you know, beyond the gate is an unknown dimension. Don’t let your guard down; we don’t know what enemies will come out!”
Zrayburn, his dignity as an expedition leader established, naturally lowered and ordered them around. No one retaliated; everyone was interested in this new bit of information.
‘If it’s a gate, he’s talking about the cracks.’
Expedition, mission, an alliance of three dimensions, and rifts. Yoon-seok analyzed the mission based on this given information.
‘I think this place is in a rift….’
He was a little surprised. He didn’t know that he could move through one.
‘Anyway, since I’ve come this far, is it a situation where all the dimensions are already united? To the point where they have to come in and achieve something?’
Just in case, he listened in on those conversing around him, but most of them seemed to think the same. Perhaps they were now indirectly experiencing what would come shortly. And if that guess was right…
The information he obtained here could be immeasurably helpful.
“There must be some of you who are new to the gate, so I’ll give you time to adapt or prepare.”
Zrayburn gave them five minutes. In the meantime, the challengers read each other’s faces and began to find colleagues or gather information. Yoon-seok tried to be included in their ranks. He didn’t need a colleague, but he was curious about their situation.
But when he was about to move-
“Do you need to do that?”
“…?”
Cheon-ma caught him.
“This is the job of people who can think. There was someone like that in our sect.”
“…But I have never thought I was lagging in judgment or analysis.”
“I’m not implying anything. I meant that there is no need to do that for those like us.”
He wanted to ask what she meant, but Cheon-ma shrugged as if to say to trust her.
“There’s still a lot to teach you. Watch.”
When she said that, she scanned the crowd for a moment before approaching a man with shining eyes.
“You seem to know a lot.”
“…What? Are you looking for a colleague?”
“I’ll give you a chance to confess everything to me.”
Yoon-seok quickly realized that this was Cheon-ma’s way of socializing.
“Now, tell me.”
The moment she raised her Demonic Energy to the fullest-
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