Second Life Ranker

“Ninety percent chance of defeating the Summer Queen myself? Well, that was a load of bullshit.” Yeon-woo snorted at himself for thinking that he’d be able to handle the Summer Queen with the Martial King’s help. It would already be an advantage if he didn’t get in the Martial King’s way. Even though she was injured, the Summer Queen was still the Summer Queen. 

She was the last dragon, as well as the absolute ruler of the Tower for the last thousand years. Thinking that he could handle someone like that was just a daydream. Even if he tried to help the Martial King, he would just be a casualty in a fight between beasts.

However, Yeon-woo couldn’t help feeling a bit envious. ‘That’s...supposed to be my fight. The Martial King had stepped up to help his disciple because he knew how foolish his disciple was. He walked the dangerous path in Yeon-woo’s stead, but Yeon-woo was feeling competitive at the moment about it.

He didn’t hide his thoughts about wanting to join the fight. Perhaps he didn’t even have a ten-percent chance—it was probably more like one percent—but he wanted to end the Summer Queen. Even if the Summer Queen roared and used her power, she couldn’t compare to Agares, who had made the entire stage go dark, or Hermes, who had eaten up a demon. 

Also, the Summer Queen had ripped one of Jeong-woo’s arms off. He had to pay her back for that, and using Devil Poison against her wasn’t enough to satisfy him.

「Yes, that’s it…very good.」

The powers of a dragon were equivalent to a god’s, and fighting against a god or a demon was insane. Still, Yeon-woo had managed to land a punch on Agares. Why couldn’t he do it now?

「Hurry, your prey is there, isn’t it?」 The Philosopher’s stone vibrated, whispering temptingly to him. It usually didn’t do much, but it always activated in times like this. It was obviously a trap to lead him into danger, but…‘Ahhh, we can see eye to eye sometimes.’

Yeon-woo smirked. Although it was only the remnants of the Demonism of Agares, it was still a part of his personality. Yeon-woo stretched his hand out.

[You have chosen the reward ‘Opening of Intrenian.’ You may take 5 items from the list.]

[Which will you choose?]

[Rewards List:1. Fenghuang’s egg2. Prometheus’s Fire3. King’s Festival

……

Even though the most important treasures weren’t among the rewards from the quest that the Summer Queen had given, the items on the list were still outstanding, and as Yeon-woo chose from the list, he had a thought. ‘I wonder what kind of expression the Summer Queen will have when I break her head with a reward she’s given me?’ He could imagine his teacher jumping up and down in anger if he interrupted the fight. ‘Well. He might be flattered since a disciple is supposed to take after the teacher.’

He convinced himself with nonsense and began lifting the items he touched. “The last attack goes to whomever can do it.”

[You have chosen the ‘Yaltabao Safe’ as your reward.]

「Safe?」 The voice of the Demonism cracked. 

[Yaltabao Safe][Category: Miscellaneous][Rank: A+][Description: A safe created by the mysterious merchant Yaltabao. It’s purer than most safes and popular because it has a high conductivity of magic power.] 

Where was he going to use this? The Demonism wanted to scream. However, regardless of what it thought, Yeon-woo chose the same reward again. 

[You have chosen the ‘Yaltabao Safe’ as your reward.]

[You have chosen the ‘Yaltabao Safe’ as your reward.]

…..

Yaltabao Safe was a priceless item in the Tower and was also used as a type of currency. However, even though it was a rare item, it wasn’t the kind of reward that seemed appropriate for a Red Dragon quest. The Demonism screamed as Yeon-woo chose it instead of something like Fenghuang’s Egg or Prometheus’s Fire. The Demonism shouted furiously. 「What are you doing?! What…!」

“Something fun.” Yeon-woo grinned. He had managed to confirm something: although the Demonism seemed to be another aspect of him, it couldn’t read his mind. If the Demonism couldn’t guess what his plans were, then it was likely it would succeed.

「Sure. I’m sure you’ll do well. I’m even looking forward to it. You have to get that dragon in your hands.」 The Demonism muttered in dissatisfaction and disappeared, licking its lips. Each time it saw the Summer Queen, it could only imagine how delicious the last dragon in the Tower would taste. She was a true delicacy.

‘I won’t do what you want me to.’ Yeon-woo smirked at the Demonism and collected all the Yaltabao Safes. Obviously, it wasn’t like he would crush the Summer Queen to death using the safes. He used Blink to get to a location he had found with his Extrasensory Perception that was far away enough from the battlefield to be secure.

“Wh-what’s this?!” Atran jumped in surprise when Yeon-woo suddenly popped up in front of him. 

The Ice King and Twice automatically pulled their swords out, but they were repelled by an invisible wall. It was a barrier Boo had activated inside a shadow. Their eyes widened and they both immediately thought of the same thing: ‘Danger.’

However, they didn’t immediately attack the stranger. They had never seen him before, but they immediately identified him. There was only one person with a black mask skilled enough to attack them: the Hoarder. 

“You, how did you….?” Atran hid behind Turn, thinking that Red Dragon had sent an assassin. His eyes widened when he saw Yeon-woo. 

“It’s been a while.” When Yeon-woo greeted him, Atran’s eyes widened even more, then narrowed again. 

“It was you! Shit! So that’s what happened!” When Atran heard Yeon-woo’s voice, he finally understood everything that had happened. 

Yeon-woo grinned. “You catch on quickly.”

“That’s what I do! Shit! I was scammed by a player again!” Atran cursed. It was his rule to also speak politely to others, but he grew extremely angry at the sight of Yeon-woo. He wasn’t a fool. He immediately recognized the voice and the attitude. He ground his teeth just thinking of what happened in the Tutorial, but Yeon-woo’s latest plot completely pushed him over the edge. “Why did you show up here now? To mock me? Or to look at a bankrupt merchant?”

The Ice King and Twice looked in amusement at Atran and Yeon-woo. They didn’t know what was going on between the two, but Atran’s hostility to Yeon-woo was a surprise since the mysterious merchant was known for his poker face. Turn put his sword back into his sheath and moved aside. However, still abiding by his contract, he continued to observe Yeon-woo with a sharp gaze. 

『Let’s talk later, Nocturne. Or should I call you “brother”?』

The Martial King’s second disciple glared at him and shook his head, as if he were telling him to do whatever he wanted. Yeon-woo returned Nocturne’s scowl with a calm expression. Nocturne was the second disciple who had left the Martial King after saying that it wasn’t the path for him. He was just like his simulation on the twenty-first floor. Yeon-woo had no idea he would come across him here, or even the Ice King. It was amazing that Atran had managed to hire such skilled players.