Second Life Ranker

It hadn’t been too difficult to seize the vestige space since Yeon-woo had already absorbed a part of the creature’s mind with Bathory’s Vampiric Sword. He’d used the newest feature of his Extrasensory Perception to imitate the space, then with Sword Purification and Goddess’ Spearsword, he amplified his fighting aura.

Yeon-woo spread his Fire Wings and soared down. Boom! Fire burst all around them. 

The copies were shocked that the ownership of the vestige space had changed, and they scrambled to reclaim it, not realizing that it was too late. They were already in Yeon-woo’s palm. 

Instantly, they were hit with an intense debuff. Their movements became heavy, as though gravity was weighing them down, and they fell into a state of confusion. Yeon-woo cut them down easily, absorbing the pieces into his left hand.

[You have succeeded in acquiring the Demonic Factors.]

[Your Draconic Factors are affecting the absorption of the Demonic Factors. Your cells are undergoing a change.]

[You have acquired the Demonic Factors.]

[You have acquired the Demonic Factors.]

....

They were all absorbed in the vestige space, and Yeon-woo could already feel small changes in his body, just as his bones and veins had been prepared when his Draconic Factors had first been awakened. The Demonic Factors stimulated him, slowly changing what he was made of. 

He had to combine the Factors with the purple Devil Flowers, the heart of the Ceratopsian Dinosaur, and the heart of the Kraken, but first, he had to build up an immunity.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Shanon, Hanryeong, and the Guai followed Yeon-woo quickly. He’d grown stronger when he learned the Demonic Factors, and moving became a breeze. The heart of the Ceratopsian Dinosaur felt threatened for the first time. It had been greedily looking Yeon-woo over just a few moments ago, ready to eat him for disturbing its sleep, but not it was afraid of being eaten itself. It realized that it was feeling a new emotion: fear.

It seemed impossible that an entity that evolved into a demon would feel fear since it lived off others’ fear and confusion. It felt as though it were denying its own purpose. But the creature simply wasn’t sure that it could defeat Yeon-woo. It couldn’t even bring itself to continue fighting. Although the imitations were running towards Yeon-woo tenaciously, Yeon-woo continued chasing after the creature. The creature began to run away without looking back even once, hoping to escape somewhere Yeon-woo wouldn’t be able to find it.

It didn’t know where it would go since the vestige space’s ownership had changed, but its priority was to escape safely. Even if it had to give up its Ceratopsian Dinosaur form and waste all of its efforts, at least it would be alive. It could just continue eating more Demonic species. 

However, before it could even move, Yeon-woo was already right before it with a cold smile. “Where are you going?” The black mask looked like the face of a devil, and it could see its trembling reflection in Yeon-woo’s eyes. . 

Yeon-woo quickly grabbed its head and sent out Wave of Fire through his Magic Circuit. 

***

“What’s happening?” Lao looked at the Ceratopsian Dinosaur with a stiff expression. He thought something had gone horribly wrong when Yeon-woo, Phante, and Edora had been swallowed by the Ceratopsian Dinosaur, and his first reaction was to join the raid with his subordinates.

It wasn’t because he cared about Yeon-woo, but he needed to know Brahm and the little Dragon Human’s location. Just like the Elohim, the Blood Land wanted them, too. The Gluttony Emperor was very interested in them, and as a faithful subordinate, Lao couldn’t disappoint his king.

However, when the Ceratopsian Dinosaur started acting strangely, Lao made his subordinates pause. The monster twisted and landed headfirst into the ground nearby, looking as though it were trying to force something out. 

At that moment, Lao realized that Yeon-woo and his friends were doing something inside the body of the Ceratopsian Dinosaur. He didn’t know what it was, but the dinosaur seemed to be in intense pain. 

Lao felt regret that he couldn’t observe Yeon-woo’s skills. However, even more than that, he was very curious about what was going on. It was a method he’d never heard of anyone trying before because of its danger, but Yeon-woo had jumped into it without any hesitation. 

So Lao decided to wait and observe a little longer. If things got too rough for Yeon-woo, Lao could step in and help any time. However, a bunch of unfamiliar presences suddenly appeared, and Lao had to stop watching.

The newcomers were emanating a strange but holy energy—it was the Elohim. They soon showed themselves, accompanied by the sound of cracking branches. “I didn’t know that the Blood Land and the One-horned tribe have joined hands?” The High Elf, Runt, crossed his arms and glared at Lao and the Blood Land players. The players of the Elohim continued to pop up and surround them. 

This was the location where they had been humiliated by Yeon-woo, and the memories filled Runt’s eyes with fire. Lao clucked his tongue. He hadn’t expected them to appear at this moment, and they were emanating a murderous aura.

Lao quickly nodded his chin at his subordinates. All of the Blood Land players lifted their swords and blocked the Elohim. “Why wouldn’t we want to hold hands with the One-horned tribe? However, we haven’t succeeded yet, but we grabbed the Hoarder’s hand instead.”

“What?” At the unexpected response, Runt’s face hardened in a way that wasn’t befitting of a High Elf.  Whenever he heard the Hoarder’s name, the scar on his face, which he’d received from Yeon-woo, seemed to throb even more. “Do you understand what that means?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Lao laughed coldly. “I heard he defeated all of you by himself.”

A cold wind that was piercing enough to slice skin started to blow around Lao, and the ground froze. Runt slammed the spear he was holding onto the ground. “I’m warning you again. If you don’t leave this place, the Elohim will hold the Blood Land responsible for what will come next.”

Runt wanted to lift his spear and attack right away, but he had to be careful not to trigger a war between two Large Clans. He wanted to use threats first to get rid of the Blood Land, but it only served to make him seem as though he were afraid to challenge them.

“Do you know how annoying the Elohim are? You all just babble on about everything.” Boom! Lao hit the ground even harder than Runt. The ice splintered, and hundreds of icicles popped up like a forest of thorns. 

<Ice Thorn Forest>

Runt and the rest of the Elohim players scattered to avoid Lao’s signature skill, with the Blood Land players in hot pursuit as they sang the War Song of Victory. Magic circles appeared below their feet, and they began to move even faster. 

The Blood Land players had a violent fighting style as though they were showing the Elohim why they were considered fierce beasts by the other clans. Each time they swung their swords, Devil Trees and icicles exploded. The Elohim players had to defend themselves from every swing. 

Lao moved within the icy thorn forest like a snake. Each time he lifted his hand, whatever his ice touched froze and exploded. Anyone who was even touched by the ice lost a limb. Runt was pushed back. He drew a circle with his spear, and the light that exploded from the tip flew towards Lao. The pieces of ice shattered powerlessly.

Lao clasped his hands together and gathered the pieces of ice in mid-air into a vortex.

<Ice Storm>

It was a skill that locked the opponent in a storm of sharp, icy air, and Lao was sure that he’d caught Runt in it. No one had ever escaped Ice Storm before, and when it finally settled, he was stunned by what he saw. There was no frozen, bloodied corpse. Runt had disappeared.  

There was a cold feeling along his back, and Lao instinctively moved aside. However, it was too late. He felt a jolt of burning pain, and his left arm flew in the air. He saw Runt by the fountain of blood and realized that he’d been tricked. Runt had used an illusion with light. ‘How?’ Runt had managed to trick his Nine Snakes’ Eyes, leaving Lao confused. 

The other Blood Land players had been fooled by the same trick, and their screams erupted, ending the War Song of Victory’s connection.  

Runt laughed at Lao’s expression and immediately ran to the lake. Behind him, the players of the Elohim appeared within the Ice Thorn Forest. Their goal was to get Yeon-woo. Since more than half of the Blood Land’s players were injured, there was no need to worry about them anymore. 

“Everyone, head to the lake!” Lao quickly pressed down on his injury. Yeon-woo’s life didn’t really matter to him, but he didn’t want to risk the humiliation of failing in his mission for the Blood Land.

His subordinates quickly chased after the Elohim. But Runt and the Elohim had already reached the Ceratopsian Dinosaur, and they were already preparing to blast out a destructive skill: One Point Attack. They were planning to destroy the Ceratopsian Dinosaur, since Yeon-woo would be killed, as well.  

Suddenly. “Grahh!” The Ceratopsian Dinosaur that had been twisting left and right suddenly froze with a horrifying scream. It created a wave in the lake that messed up the Elohim’s magic power, injuring the players. They coughed up blood, some of them looking up at the Ceratopsian Dinosaur with shocked eyes. 

At that moment, they saw the flesh of the Ceratopsian Dinosaur rupture, releasing a heat that could boil all of De Roy Lake in an instant. An explosion blasted out of the Ceratopsian Dinosaur, swallowing everything around it: the Elohim, Lao, the Blood Land players. Everything.