Second Life Ranker

“There was a commotion in the village today because of Sesha.” Brahm chuckled as he sat next to Ananta’s bed, where she was sitting. He always sat next to his daughter and made small talk with her. He hadn’t spent time with her in the past, so he wanted to do it now. 

“Three boys got into a fistfight over being Sesha’s boyfriend. Haha. Who does she take after to be so popular?” Brahm glanced at his daughter as he cut up fruit. Ananta was looking out the window with blank eyes. For a moment, sadness filled Brahm’s face, but he didn’t show it. “Usually, parents are supposed to stop fights, but the parents here only stood by and cheered their kids on. I’ve been here for over a year now, but I still encounter so many interesting people. Anyway, after that ruckus, you won’t believe what happened next.”

Brahm speared a piece of fruit with a fork and placed the fork in Ananta’s hand. However, it fell out of her hand onto the blanket. She still had a long recovery ahead of her. Brahm carefully put the piece of fruit to her lips. Ananta opened her mouth slightly and began to nibble at the fruit. It was an extremely slow process.

“One of them eked out a victory and tried to confess to Sesha, but Sesha rejected him and said he was ugly. She said the same thing to the other two. The three boys were crying…it was a mess. The losers didn’t even cry after they lost. Goodness. Love is pretty amazing, isn’t it? Our Sesha is so outspoken. I think she’s popular because she takes after you. Ah, is that too much?”

Even though he was talking about Sesha, Ananta continued to stare blankly out the window. Although she cherished Sesha, she sat there like a doll. Her condition frustrated Brahm. He couldn’t see any signs of his rebellious daughter in the weak patient in front of him.  

What was making his daughter suffer so much? It would help if she could talk. He had once been a god, but there was nothing he could do now. This was one of the reasons he regretted his divine status, and he always felt apologetic for being a bad father.  

Brahm suddenly thought of the flower cookies Yeon-woo had brought him. He said that they had been made with diluted ambrosia. Brahm remembered enjoying it back in the heavenly world. It was a gift Persephone frequently gave to her acquaintances. “I don’t know if it’ll go well with coffee.” He began to think of something new to feed his daughter. That was all he could do. 

* * *

“Huh? Oh no! Aw. Not here.” Sesha entered the garden, chasing after her ball. She had accidentally kicked inside. Her innocent face turned sad. It was a flower garden that Grandfather especially cherished. Brahm was usually kind, but whenever she tried to take even a step inside the garden, Brahm would scold her harshly, and she was scared of that.  

Thinking that she would get in trouble, she quickly looked around for the ball before Brahm could see her. However, the ball must have been buried under flowers because she couldn’t find it. Sesha ended up walking deeper into the garden. 

She knew that she wasn’t supposed to be doing this, and tears brimmed in her eyes as she hurt the flowers with each step. She came across a window. It had been too high for her to peer through when she’d first arrived, but now she could look inside.

It was her mom. Her mom who used to visit her first thing in the morning and read her stories at night. However, her mom couldn’t smile at Sesha yet. Brahm told her that her mom was still in a deep sleep and couldn’t see Sesha until she was better. He said when she woke up, she would give Sesha as much love as she had given before. 

He earnestly told Sesha not to cry and to be mature so her mom would be happy when she finally woke up. However, Sesha was no longer a young child, and she knew her mom wasn’t dreaming but was injured somehow. Still, Sesha was actively making friends and studying hard to make her mom proud. She dreamt of making medicine to heal her mom someday. 

‘I wonder what Mom is doing?’ She suddenly became curious and stood on her toes to look. Her mom was staring blankly ahead, leaning against the wall as usual. She looked feeble but she still beautiful.

Whenever Sesha looked at her mom, she thought that she was so pretty, and she wanted to look like that when she grew up. Brahm said Sesha looked just like her mother did as a child, and Sesha believed him. ‘Mom, you can do it!’ Sesha clenched her fists with an encouraging look. 

“Sesha! I said that you’re not allowed to enter the garden!”

Sesha jumped in surprise when she heard Brahm’s shouts and scurried away to avoid him. Thankfully, the ball was nearby. After the brief commotion in the quiet garden, Ananta’s right thumb twitched, but no one saw it.

* * *

[This is the 34th floor, the ‘Gate of Mirrors’.]

[The trial of the 34th floor is beginning.]

[Trial: For centuries, mirrors have reflected appearances and have been considered a holy artifact that can reflect the entire world. Mirrors have been created as a path to another world, and sometimes, they have been considered demonic artifacts that swallow up reality.

There are thousands of mirrors here that reflect each other, and it is difficult to say which one is real and which one is a reflection. You are the one being reflected right now. Look for the real one and clear this trial safely.]

Yeon-woo passed through the thirty-first to the thirty-third floor to see a dizzying array of mirrors on the thirty-fourth floor on the ground and in the sky. Every time he turned his head, he saw his reflection multiplied thousands of times. Yeon-woo realized he was trapped among an infinite number of doppelgangers. He couldn’t even see the path in front of him. He thought it would be better to close his eyes and scatter his Consciousness. ‘I’m so dizzy.’

He knew he would be in danger if he began moving without a plan, so he plopped on the ground. ‘Creutz is probably somewhere nearby.’ He thought of spreading his Consciousness to find him, but he decided not to. Creutz was the one following him, not the other way around.

Also, he might have gone ahead to the thirty-fifth floor since he’d already cleared this floor a long time ago. There was a chance he didn’t want to wait on this confusing floor. Yeon-woo didn’t plan on staying for a long time, either. 

The clock was ticking even now, but he had to check something before he could continue. “Atran.”

The ground quaked, and Atran jumped out from a portal. “Did you call for me, push—I mean, customer?”

Atran looked happy to hit the jackpot after a while. Yeon-woo had asked him for items so priceless that they couldn’t even be bought in the market no matter how much you were willing to pay.  

‘Materials to make Kynee.’ Yeon-woo asked, “Where are the items I asked for?”

“For now, this is it, sir. Please check.”

Yeon-woo quickly opened the quest window.

[Materials for ‘Kynee’]– Apophis’ Scale (45/45)– Kathran Liquid (5/5)

……

– Magic Sword Stone (1/2)– Jamshid’s Liquor (2/5)– Adamantine Nova (0/1)

『Huh?! No way.』

『He’s found so much in such a short amount of time?』

Brontes, who had appeared beside him, gaped after seeing the items that Yeon-woo had. The most impassive out of the three, Steropes, also seemed to be taken aback—it was proof of how difficult it was to obtain the materials used to make Kynee. Even Hades didn’t have enough of them, but Atran had managed to find them in just a few days.

Yeon-woo, who knew the abilities of By the Table, wasn’t all that surprised. In fact, he had been expecting it. “I still need one more Magic Sword Stone, three more of Jamshid’s Liquors, and the Adamantine Nova.”

“I can get them if you give me more time. However, don’t you realize how incredible it is that I’ve managed to get even just a few of those, sir?”

Yeon-woo clucked his tongue. He knew he was being unreasonable. Most of the materials in the list were only for giving Kynee its form or supporting its functions. However, the last three—the Magic Sword Stone, Jamshid’s Liquor, and Adamantine Nova—were extremely important. 

They were difficult to obtain in the lower world, and it was already impressive that he had gathered that much. ‘Especially since Jamshid’s Liquor and Adamantine Nova are pretty much considered holy artifacts.’

He needed over seven items that were almost holy artifacts to make Kynee. That was how priceless Kynee was. ‘I’m already in an incredible amount of debt to By the Table.’ He had used nearly all of the Summer Queen’s wealth to clean up the Outer Space. Although his contract with By the Table was a sponsorship, Yeon-woo still considered it a debt. 

Yeon-woo looked like a pile of money to Atran. 

“Do I have to get the rest myself?”

“We tried asking owners of the other items and did everything we could to make a deal with them. We’re currently negotiating the price of the Adamantine Nova, so there’ll be good news soon.”

“Adamantine Nova?” Yeon-woo was surprised, as were the Cyclopes Brontes and Steropes.

『There’s someone in the lower world who has it?』

『How surprising.』

Adamantine Nova was a mystical stone created with the legendary material adamantium. Its name came from its appearance, which was like a glowing star. It was trickier to handle than adamantium and was categorized as a rare mineral. Only a few gods used it to make their holy artifacts, but a mortal was in possession of it?

“The owner is not known to the public, so I apologize for the fact that we cannot share the owner’s name.”

Yeon-woo nodded and clucked his tongue. ‘The Tower sure is vast.’ There were definitely skilled players hiding throughout the Tower.

“Still, it’s a relief that you can obtain the remaining Magic Sword Stone on this floor.”

Yeon-woo smirked coldly at Atran’s words. “Did you leave it out on purpose to check my abilities?”

“Hahaha! O-of course not. Why would I do something like that?” Atran took a step back. Yeon-woo snorted since he couldn’t run off. It was obvious what By the Table was thinking. As sponsors, they needed to make sure that their investment would pay off.

Since Yeon-woo needed karma, he didn’t plan on clearing this floor in the normal way, anyway. 

“Oh, right, and while you were in Tartarus, a letter arrived for you.” Atran clasped his hands together at the good news. He’d been a little scared because Yeon-woo was so unpredictable.

“A letter? From whom?” Who could have sent him something through By the Table?

“Yes, sir. We were surprised at first, too, but the sender is the son of someone who works with us, Iron Lion. It’s been a while since he went off the grid, but he was once famous as Blood Sword.”

“Kahn?” Yeon-woo’s eyes widened. Kahn had sent him a letter out of the blue? He was about to check its contents when Atran took another step back.

“I think it would be better if you opened the letter after this trial is finished. There are many watchful eyes.” Atran quickly scanned their surroundings. Like Creutz, he didn’t like the thirty-fourth floor either. 

In the mirrors, different Yeon-woos had begun to appear. Atran’s eyes looked like the dying sparks of a nuclear blast. “I have to make sure you’re the real Yeon-woo before giving you the letter.”