Second Life Ranker

“Roar! What about Roar?”

“No. Didn’t you see his majestic appearance? He’s totally a Bellow. Bellow! Or maybe Screech.”

“I vote for Snarl!”

For a while, the One-horned tribe was stirred up after hearing the name that the Demonic Dragon had so harshly rejected. They were having a good time trying to name him.

“Tsk-tsk. Fighting twenty-four-seven has left all your wits in the trash.”

“Huh? What about you? Do you have a good name?”

“Of course!”

“What is it?”

“Butterfly!”

There was a moment of silence.

“These names should make a big impression right away. Hey! Don’t laugh!”

The tribe members couldn’t agree on a single name.

“Naming is so hard. When I hatched my Mythical Beast on the eleventh floor, I struggled for a long time to name it, too.”

“But it’s a Demonic Dragon! Not a Mythical Dragon, or anything like that! We should give it a name that suits it!”

The appearance of a Demonic Dragon was a first for the One-horned tribe, despite their long history. This creature with the rank of a Legendary Beast and the strength of a Magical Beast reminded them of Akasha’s Snake from the Tutorial, although he was much stronger. To give the Demonic Dragon a suitable name, everyone in the tribe put their heads together. Unfortunately, they were only interested in fighting and becoming stronger, and so they had great difficulty with the name.

“What about Grunt? Although to be honest, I like Roar.”

“Hm, you too? Yeah, nothing comes close to it.”

“Everyone agrees.”

“Should we ask Cain to offer the name again? There’s no way anyone can come up with a better name than that.”

Edora put her hand on her forehead as she listened to them. She sighed, thinking that these were the people who were called the strongest tribe in a Tower filled with brains and muscle. It was an embarrassing day.

***

Eventually, after more thought, they decided on a name, but the Demonic Dragon only replied with a sigh each time. 『At first, I thought you were just teasing me, but you must really like these names. Hah, think harder. Master, how would you feel if I called you “Goo-goo Gaga” or “Cha Guy”? That’s exactly how I feel. Think harder!』 The Demonic Dragon complained as though he didn’t’ have the energy to be annoyed anymore, and he fell asleep in the stone.

Was it because he had just hatched? The Demonic Dragon needed time to digest the power of the Four Legendary Beasts. As he napped, Yeon-woo thought of more names, gripping his head and almost giving up. It was obvious that the Demonic Dragon would brush off whatever he came up with, so he needed time to think about it.  

He’d suggested using the name he’d had as a Mythical Dragon, but the Demonic Dragon didn’t like it. Yeon-woo had never had a pet before, so he found this task difficult, even though the Demonic Dragon wasn’t exactly a pet. Yeon-woo decided to move on to the next item on his list: ‘Finding the successor of the Abyss Turtle.’

Yeon-woo popped open the quest the Abyss Turtle had left him in the quest category.

[Hidden Quest / The Abyss Turtle’s Test][Content: The Abyss Turtle is watching you carry out the test of the Phoenix and the Void Dragon with interest. They wish to give you a test. The Abyss Turtle wants someone to carry out their revenge. Please look for a Mythical Beast worthy of becoming his successor and turn it into a Legendary Beast.][Rewards:1. A piece of the Turtle Head’s shell2. Molted skin of the Snake Tail3. ???]

The hybrid Abyss Turtle had always regretted not being able to leave a descendant, and so they made this quest for him. However, it had the difficulty level of trials from the thirtieth to the fortieth floors. ‘If it was that easy to make a Legendary Beast, everyone would have one.’

The Legendary Beast was the symbol of the Tower, and it was nearly impossible to create one. The quest wasn’t to create a Legendary Beast just like the Abyss Turtle, but it was also difficult to find a creature that met its qualifications. Yeon-woo had Chirpy and the Demonic Dragon, and either one could easily solve his problem. ‘However, if I tell them to leave me, they’ll try to eat me up first. No, I can’t even consider that.’

In the end, there was only one option: ‘I need to make one from scratch.’ Thankfully, there was a way to do this, which he shared with Phante and Edora. The two agreed to help.

“So what you’re trying to say is that you want to turn our Mythical Beasts into a Legendary Beast?”

“Right. If it’s a Mythical Beast that’s been nurtured with your dreams, it will have a lot of potential. And if I share the Legendary Beasts’ power, it’ll definitely meet the qualifications.” Yeon-woo was planning on sharing the combined power of the Legendary Beasts as he had with the Demonic Dragon. ‘I can also give the Bead of Abyss and Legendary Beast Conjunctiva as well.’

The Bead of Abyss was a reward he had received after completing the Void Dragon’s quest, and the Legendary Beast Conjunctiva was a reward the Head Elder had given him along with the Seed of the Moon. Both were excellent materials. The Bead of Abyss was excellent for making artifacts, and the Legendary Beast Conjunctiva helped Chirpy and Demonic Dragon to grow. However, Yeon-woo decided to give them up. He’d already absorbed the power of the Legendary Beasts, so he didn’t really need the Bead of Abyss anymore. Using the Wrath of the Void Dragon for protection was more useful.

As for the Legendary Beast Conjunctiva, Chirpy and the Demonic Dragon hadn’t completely absorbed their own powers yet and giving them too much power might harm them. Also, Yeon-woo had a special consideration. ‘If I make a successor for each of the Legendary Beasts, how many rewards and karma will I get?’

The Four Legendary Beasts guarding the eleventh floor were gone, along with the stronger Mythical Beasts. It would take a long time for the Legendary Beasts to resurrect, and during that time, the eleventh floor would descend into chaos since they were responsible for keeping order.

Yeon-woo planned on giving on the roles of the Four Legendary Beasts to the Legendary Beasts waiting to hatch, and he would be able to accomplish something no one else had. ‘From what I’ve seen about new accomplishments, the rewards correspond with the amount of effort. It won’t be different this time, as well.’ Yeon-woo stroked his chin. He couldn’t even imagine what kind of reward he would get, but he was sure of one thing: ‘The reward will be at least as powerful as the ones offered to me when I entered the Olympus' Treasury.'

Yeon-woo could barely hold back his excitement. He also wouldn’t just receive rewards and karma, having the Legendary Beast of the eleventh floor in his hands was the same thing as owning the eleventh floor—the world of dreams where Mythical Beasts, Demonic Beasts, and Legendary Beasts lived.

He couldn’t fully comprehend it yet, but being able to control an entire floor would be hugely beneficial to him. Yeon-woo only told a part of his plans to the siblings, but it was enough. They hadn’t yet finished their trial on the eleventh floor, and since they would earn a lot of karma, they had no reason to refuse.

Even the One-horned tribe showed a lot of interest, especially the Head Elder, who liked having something new to research. He said it had been incredible watching the Demonic Dragon hatch, and watching the creation of a Legendary Beast would be overwhelming.

It became so loud and chaotic that it seemed as though the Council of Elders would relocate to the eleventh floor. A few of them even tried coming up with names for the new Legendary Beast.

Yeon-woo chuckled at the noisy village and moved onto the next item on his list.

***

Yeon-woo made up an excuse and said that he had to leave the village to go training. The next item on his agenda had to be done as secretly and carefully as possible. It was the moment he’d been anticipating the most. “Now all that’s left is to grill Leonte and Bahal.”

Yeon-woo wondered how they were faring in his collection of about 1,000 souls. They probably still had some consciousness left since they were outstanding high rankers, which meant that they were likely feeling frustrated at being trapped in the world of souls. Maybe they were even fighting each other, although they wouldn’t be able to do any harm.  

Yeon-woo waved his hand in the air. An ashy fog rose, and two Spirit Familiars appeared. Because they were high rankers, they evolved quickly with just a little bit of dark energy.

「What is this place?」

「Outside?」

Bahal and Leonte looked around after regaining their awareness. Swoosh! Shadows from the ground wrapped around them like vines so they couldn’t move. It was the Guai, who had been waiting for them to appear.

「Ugh!」

「Shit! What’s going on?」

The two shouted after finding out that they couldn’t escape, no matter how much they struggled. They emitted vestiges as they tried to resist, especially Bahal, who sparked out fire that tried to burn the Guai. The shadows shook along with his struggling.

「How dare these useless things…!」

Yeon-woo clucked his tongue looking at the Guai, who looked tired. ‘As I expected. This isn’t enough.’ High rankers were at the top of the Tower, which meant their souls were extraordinary.  

Yeon-woo had only managed to get Bahal because of Bahal’s exhaustion, and it was obvious the Guai wouldn’t be able to handle him. They’d only managed to hang on so far because of the gap in strength between Spirit Familiars and Guai. If this situation continued, the Guai would be worn out.

However, Yeon-woo wanted to check how strong Bahal was, and the result was not to his advantage. It would be difficult to speak with him like this, and so, left with no options, Yeon-woo flicked his finger to summon all of the Guai. A large number of shadows wrapped around Bahal, making him look like a mummy.

「Ahh! Cha Jeong-woo! Cha Jeong-woo! How dare…you treat…me…like this!」 Bahal spit out his anger as he struggled on the ground. Sparks seemed to fly from his furious eyes, but the terror of death hadn’t fully disappeared from them.

「What? Cha Jeong-woo?」 Leonte, who hadn’t seen Yeon-woo’s face, looked at him in surprise. His vestige shook, uncertain of what was happening. Yeon-woo slowly took off his mask, and Leonte’s face filled with shock.

Bahal summoned up more anger to forget his fear, but Leonte only hugged his trembling self, wheezing lightly.

“You guys,” Yeon-woo said in a cold tone. “Tell me about the stone and the reason why Red Dragon attacked the Cheonghwado. Don’t leave anything out. Tell me everything.”