Second Life Ranker

Kindred ran furiously towards Yeon-woo. Demonic energy whirled around him like a storm as clouds rose up to pelt him with dirt like a sandstorm.

“That’s good, too.” Yeon-woo smirked, looking relaxed with his arms crossed over his chest.

Kindred felt a surge of anxiety as he looked at Yeon-woo. He was feeling the same threat as when he was hit with the Meteor Strike. “What do you mean?”

“Meteor Strike. You didn’t think I only prepared one, right?”

Kindred was dumbfounded.

“Stop it if you can.”

Kindred quickly looked behind him, thinking that he’d be able to stop the Meteor Strike if it came from the sky again, but the summoning circle appeared right in front of him instead. “Cain!” Kindred’s face twisted savagely when the rock’s shadow fell across his face. Although the incoming meteorite wasn’t as large as the one that had destroyed Brocken Castle, it was still big enough to bury dozens of people.

Boom! Kindred punched the meteorite, planning to shatter it. However, his body hadn’t completely healed yet, and his punch lacked his usual strength. Kindred flew back like a kite with a cut string.

“You’re doing well. Keep trying that.” Yeon-woo flicked his finger at Kindred, and dozens of magic circles opened around Kindred, shooting out small meteorites. Boom! Boom! Boom! The price of the spell was the four blue crystals of the barrier’s cores. He had used the first three and the Philosopher’s Stone to summon the first meteorite, but he only needed the one crystal for the small meteorites. Boo had also opened a portal with the Lawless Book, and Yeon-woo added Demonic Magic to it to boost the meteorites’ strength. This onslaught was targeted only to one person, and it was certain that even someone like Kindred wouldn’t be able to withstand it. Boom! Boom! Boom!

When the attacks finally ended, Kindred had gone down on one knee inside a scorched crater. He was covered in burns and injuries, and his face was so damaged that he had only one eye left to glare at Yeon-woo. His nickname Plague Ghost no longer suited him. “Cain…!”

“You’re enduring well.”

“Cain!”

“Sorry.” Clack! “But there’s still one left.” The last portal opened above Kindred’s head. 

“Cain!”

Boom!

***

Yeon-woo clucked his tongue as the scorched Kindred collapsed. Even though he couldn’t even move, he was still breathing faintly. He clung to life tenaciously, like a cockroach. ‘Is this because of the influence of the Seventy-Two Bian?’

If Kindred were left alone, he would probably be able to heal himself. The speed of his recovery was extraordinary, and Yeon-woo was happy to learn that the Seventy-Two Bian was more profound than he thought. 

“I’ll…find you and kill—!” Kindred’s words were cut off when Yeon-woo stabbed him in the head with Vigrid. His head cracked open easily, and black dust scattered away. 

“So it wasn’t really him.” Yeon-woo clucked his tongue. He’d suspected it from the start, and stabbing Kindred with Vigrid had confirmed his suspicions. It was only a shadow.

The corpse he left behind in the Monkey King’s Palace was also probably also a shadow. He would probably send another in revenge—or even show up himself—but Yeon-woo didn’t think it would happen for a while. ‘Even if it’s just a shadow, it’s not easy to recover from an attack to the mind.’ The death of a shadow would have even more detrimental side effects, and it would take Kindred a while to get himself together.

That was fine with Yeon-woo. Just blocking the interference of the Devil Army was a big accomplishment. The other bishops that accompanied Kindred were likely dead, as well. Yeon-woo walked past Kindred and found Vieira Dune not too far away, half-buried in rubble.

Unlike Kindred, Vieira Dune was truly dead, and there was no evidence that she’d managed to use Body Transfer. He could see her soul still tied to her body through his Draconic Eyes. 

Kyaa! Now that she was only a soul, Vieira Dune went on the defensive against Yeon-woo, but there was nothing she could do to him in that form. Yeon-woo clucked his tongue. If he’d known that she would die in such an anticlimactic way, he would have tried to find a way to make her suffer more.

Since she was a high ranker and the leader of a clan, he’d thought that she’d be able to put up a better fight. After all, even if her Philosopher’s Stone were blocked, she was still the Apostle of the Great Mother. But instead, she barely even put up any resistance.

Perhaps it was because she didn’t have time to use magic or she trusted in the Philosopher’s Stone too much. Whatever the reason was, Yeon-woo felt frustrated. ‘That woman shouldn’t have had an easy death like that.’ His eyes flashed. He wanted her to die more painfully than the other traitors. The others had only turned their backs but Vieira Dune had played with his brother’s heart. Also, the things she did to Sesha were unforgivable.

He could add her to his collection and torture her soul, but it wasn’t the same. Still, there wasn’t anything he could do about it now, so he decided to at least squeeze everything he could from her soul. He spread his left hand and absorbed her corpse with Bathory’s Vampiric Sword. “Devour.” A great amount of magic power flowed into his body because she had been an Apostle. 

[You have absorbed life and vitality.]

[Your strength has increased by 1 point.]

[Your dexterity has increased by 2 points.]

…..

[‘Bathory’s Vampiric Sword’ skill proficiency has increased. 49.8%]

His body was already complete, so it didn’t affect his stats too much, but he had some unexpected gains.

[You have succeeded in collecting the soul. All of the soul’s magic barriers have been released, and its artifacts are being transferred to you.]

[You have earned the ‘Ominous Philosopher’s Stone’.]

A purple light glowed on Yeon-woo’s left hand, and a stone half the size of his hand appeared. It wasn’t as big as Yeon-woo’s but it was bigger than any of the other Walpurgisnacht stones. It also had a higher rank, as expected of a stone that belonged fo the clan leader.  

At first, Yeon-woo wondered whether he should keep it, but in the end, he handed it over to the one who deserved it. ‘Boo.’

「Thank…you…」

Besides, it would be difficult to combine it with his Philosopher’s Stone. Also, since Boo had done so much during this attack, Yeon-woo wanted to give him a present.

Boo took the stone with trembling hands, and his Inferno Sight flamed. A mixture of emotions seemed to swirl in his eye sockets: joy, happiness, gratitude. He was thankful that his master had given him the item without a second thought. It was truly a stroke of luck that he’d found a master like Yeon-woo.

Yeon-woo grinned and turned back to his left hand. The absorption was almost done, and the message he was hoping for popped up.

[‘Bathory’s Vampiric Sword’ has succeeded in absorbing part of the soul’s skills.]

[The skill ‘Body Transfer’ has been created.]

‘It’s done.’ He had succeeded in taking Vieira Dune’s signature skill. Body Transfer would allow him to move his Ego Data to another body. Although he might not have a use for it since his new body wouldn’t be a Dragon Human, he was sure that the skill would adapt to him according to his traits.

[The skill ‘Body Transfer’ is a power.]

[The owner of the power expresses displeasure at the death of their Apostle. The mysterious being takes the power back.]

[A search for a new skill is being undertaken.]

[It is heavily influenced by the trait ‘Demonic Dragon Body’.]

[It is influenced by the title ‘One Who Leads Death’.]

[It is influenced by the title ‘Guide of Evil Spirits’.]

…..

[A new skill, ‘Regeneration’, has been created.]

‘It worked!’ Yeon-woo clenched his fists. Body Transfer was the power that the Great Mother of the witches had given them, and he knew that the system would look for something similar to replace it with. He was extremely satisfied with the skill he earned. 

[Regeneration][Number 91][Proficiency: 0.0%][Description: A skill to replace the stolen power ‘Body Transfer’. You have the ability to recover quickly when you are injured. With greater proficiency, you can even recover a severed limb. In some cases, fixing a damaged heart is possible as well. There is a mandatory condition that your brain must be intact and alive.][*ChargeWhen your health and magic power are lower than the set minimum, they can be recovered more quickly depending on the situation. If your health is below 10%, you can raise it by 50% once a day.] [*RestoreWhen your body is badly injured, it will return to its previous state. The speed of recovery depends on your proficiency and amount of magic power.] 

A numbered skill wasn’t bad, although the rank was a little lower than it should be, considering Body Transfer’s high rank. Still, Yeon-woo was perfectly satisfied. It was basically the same as giving him multiple lives. There was another reason why he wanted Regeneration. ‘Along with Shunpo, I now have two skills that match Allforone’s.’

Aside from Shukuchi and Thousand Li Eyes, Allforone had a third skill: Immortal.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t die, even gods and demons did. However, the way Immortal worked as akin to being invincible. It was a power that allowed him to heal even if his head or soul were crushed. He could return from death again and again. It was the power that made it impossible for players to withstand him.

No one knew for sure if Allforone’s Immortal was a real skill, and its actual name might be different. However, Jeong-woo had realized that there was a secret to Immortal, and what you needed was Regeneration or Body Transfer.

However, since Regeneration was a numbered skill, it wasn’t easy to master it or raise its rank. However, if Yeon-woo could master it and satisfy its conditions, he would be one step closer to Allforone, whom even the Summer Queen and Martial King couldn’t defeat. ‘Now, I’ve finally taken everything that I need.’

Yeon-woo confirmed that Vieira Dune had been added to his collection and got up. He wanted to question Vieira Dune right away, but the fight wasn’t over yet. He could sense survivors spread throughout the territory with his Extrasensory Perception. Despite the apocalyptic attack, some rankers still prevailed, and he couldn’t brush them off easily. However, now that he had taken care of his biggest task, he could now move more freely.

Ding!

[The Sudden Quest (Field Arrest 2) has been completed.]

[Final Ranking1. ### (182,333 Points)2. Edora (812 Points)3. Phante (695 Points)4. Ione (30 Points)]

……

[You have completed the quest with an overwhelming score.]

[You have gained the ‘Opening of Intrenian’ as a reward.]

[You have the qualification to enter the 11th Intrenian. Within the next 12 hours, you can bring out a total of 5 items that you like.]

[You cleared the hidden condition, ‘Kill Vieira Dune’.]

[You have gained ‘Dragon’s Blood (Dragon’s Blood Serum)’ as a reward.]

Although he had seen the quests, he’d forgotten about them while chasing Vieira Dune, and Yeon-woo’s eyes widened at the information the messages brought.

 * * *

“What happened?”

Aether looked behind with trembling eyes. The sudden explosion of the castle interrupted their fight with Red Dragon. Rumble! The canyons collapsed, causing a landslide over Ione and the rest of the Elohim. What happened to them?

It wasn’t that Aether was worried about them; rather, he was suspicious. It was impossible to imagine Ione and the members of the Senate dead. They had the power to destroy his family or restore his reputation. A single decision of theirs could change his world. How could such mighty people die?

However, an explosion of that scale would endanger anyone, even Ione and the Elohim. Aether felt as though his world were falling apart.

“Meteor?” Tom and the rest of Red Dragon were also shocked. He didn’t care about the Elohim or the Devil Army or any other rival, but if the meteor had fallen just a little later, they would have met the same fate. He didn’t know if they would manage to survive, and he wondered what kind of bastard would do something so foolish. There was a possibility that this was the self-destructive witches’ last stand, but he couldn’t imagine how a meteorite would break through the barrier of the Outer Space.

Even the Summer Queen wouldn’t have dared to attempt it with a healthy Dragon Heart. Tom hesitated, unsure about what to do. A second meteorite might fall, and he didn’t want to risk his life looking for the Philosopher’s Stone.

Aether and Tom glanced at each other. Neither of them wanted to be the first to move. At that moment, a portal opened over Tom, and familiar faces appeared. A woman with long, silver hair emerged, accompanied by eight subordinates. Tom’s brothers had arrived with their queen.

With the Summer Queen’s arrival, the war took another turn.