Second Life Ranker

The voice vanished as though it had never appeared, and the Demonism continued to observe everything as he always did. Yeon-woo was a bit annoyed, but he continued to pull out the purple energy. The Demonism had said he wouldn’t do anything until Yeon-woo was ripe, so he was sure he’d be fine for now.

It wasn’t that hard to move the purple energy, and the Philosopher’s Stone sucked it in as though it were connected. Yeon-woo did wonder if he could use all of it properly because there was so much, but he didn’t stop, and the Philosopher’s Stone began to heat up.

It was a difficult task because the energy seemed like it was about to explode any second, but Yeon-woo endured the feeling of being on fire and succeeded in moving all the purple energy.

The Philosopher’s Stone trembled as if it were still hungry. He didn’t know where all of the energy had gone. He gathered his Consciousness and created a phantom form. It was easier to use this way to examine the Soulstone.

When he opened his eyes again, Yeon-woo could see countless letters in the Philosopher’s Stone. To my older brother, who will listen to this sometime in the future. From the opening sentence that he had heard so many times that he’d nearly memorized it—I am sorry. You all had a hard time because of me, didn’t you?...A strange text message appeared on my phone….And just like that, I disconnected myself from the real world….I might be able to get a hold of the Panacea much faster than I thought—all the way to the final sentence.

‘The diary.’ Yeon-woo realized he was at the core of the Soulstone, the magical tool that made the diary work. The source of magic power was definitely here. He observed each of the letters carefully, but there were so many, and they swam around like fish in the ocean, making new sentences and words he couldn’t decipher.

Yeon-woo moved through the letters. Sometimes, they took the shape of people or objects, mostly of Jeong-woo, as though they were showing scenes from the diary. Jeong-woo swung his sword as Heaven Wing, spread his wings, and looked down on the world. Then, the letters scattered again and took on another shape.

Yeon-woo looked at the shapes silently until he found a pattern. He slowly trod through the flow and reached the center, where the letters were so dense that the white world turned black.  

At the end, Yeon-woo found himself stopping. There was a person ahead of him, a naked man whose head was tucked in his knees. He couldn’t see the man clearly because he was covered by his wings.

Thump. Yeon-woo could feel his heart beat faster. ‘Is it possible…?’ The man didn’t lift his head as the letters clustered around him. Was he sleeping? He probably sensed Yeon-woo’s presence, but he didn’t budge.

Thump. Thump. Yeon-woo could feel his heart pounding even though he was only a phantom. His breathing was rapid, and he had a hard time thinking straight. Only one word rang in his head: “Hyung.”

He could only think of the voice he’d heard when he left Persephone’s temple, the voice that had desperately called his name. Yeon-woo quickly gathered his wits and ran towards the man before he disappeared.

I’ve fallen in love.

But even now, time keeps flowing.

However, the war hasn’t ended, and everyone is too tired.

Letters spun around the man. The sentences danced as though inviting Yeon-woo to join him. Each word, each syllable had his brother’s touch. They were traces of his loneliness, happiness, regret, and sadness. .

Members are leaving the clan one by one.

My body feels heavier.

Yeon-woo climbed above the flood of letters, which bumped against his body. Bruises and injuries appeared on his phantom body. It hurt too much.

I miss my brother.

Yeon-woo wanted to shout that he was here. But there was no way to express himself, and he felt frustrated. He tried to reach him as fast as he could, but the rush of letters was so strong that he couldn’t fight against it. He would be swept away with a single wrong step.  

I am the only one left in Arthia.

Yeon-woo continued to wade forward to reach the man.

How did things go so wrong?

He finally reached him.

There is no one left by my side.

Pant. Pant. Yeon-woo gasped for breath, he was close enough to the man to touch, but the shape that spewed letters prevented him from getting closer. He wondered how he could get rid of it, but it was hard enough just keeping his balance. What could he do? There had to be some way. ‘Then with brute strength!’

Yeon-woo clenched his teeth.

[3rd-step Dragon Body awakening]

[All powers have been released.]

He pulled all 900 of the Channels out. Countless gazes appeared, and the purple energy pulled from the Soulstone moved according to his will for the first time. He spread his Fire Wings open, feeling fuller than when he’d absorbed Astraeus. Now, he was confident he could fight most of the Nine Kings.

Boom! Brimming with power, he ran at full strength, but the shape didn’t break. More letters overwhelmed him and tried to push him away.

Still, Yeon-woo didn’t give in. He threw his body forward with the resolve to resist as much as it pushed him away. The Philosopher’s Stone and his Magic Circuit spun like crazy. His Consciousness became tougher and his senses more detailed. His flashing Fiery Golden Eyes looked for any weaknesses.

However, the shape still didn’t budge, and he couldn’t find any imperfections, just letters that swarmed into new words and sentences.

‘This isn’t enough.’ Brontes had said he was the key. The only key that fit in the keyhole and could unlock it. He’d thought entering the Soulstone was enough, but there was another lock he had to open: the letters. The diary itself was a lock.

How did things go so wrong?

From some time, all the words that he’d seen were filled with regret. They were probably reflecting Jeong-woo’s thoughts. It would be better if he were thinking of happy moments; why was he only thinking of useless things?

‘Damned bastard.’ Yeon-woo cursed at him. Jeong-woo was like that back on Earth, too. He always appeared cheery and bright, but he was depressed inside. He was a timid guy who was always worried about others. Whenever Yeon-woo said anything about it, Jeong-woo would argue that he hadn’t done anything wrong.

That was why even after his death, he continued to be consumed with regret and making himself suffer even more.

Is it because I trusted people too much? Or is it because I was too absorbed in my own needs and neglected to look after my teammates?

It would be nice if he could do something about the damned letters at the very least. How did this gloomy guy become one of the greatest rankers? Arthia’s clan ranking had even reached sixth place at one point.

Yeon-woo wondered if Jeong-woo’s personality had changed after entering the Tower but that didn’t seem to be the case either.

Or…is it because I left my family?

It had to stop. He needed more strength, enough to break it. ‘Isn’t there anyone who can help?’ Yeon-woo looked up at the sky. There were more than 900 gods and demons looking at him now, some trying to spy on him using any method they could.

The transcendent beings had taken an interest in him after he managed to kill a god.

[Adad of the godly society 〈Dilmun〉 is watching you with Nergal’s help.]

[Thor of the godly society 〈Asgard〉 has paid a small price to Vimalacitra to observe you.]

[Erleng Shen of the godly society 〈Chan Sect〉 is speaking about you with Prince Nezha.]

……

[Sitri of the demonic society 〈L’Infernal〉 has approached Agares to watch you.]

……

[Current available Powers: 2,711]

Because they couldn’t watch due to Tartarus’s interference, they were paying a price to gods and demons who were connected to him in order to share the Channel. The price was probably so high that a mortal like him couldn’t even imagine it.

That was how much attention Yeon-woo was getting from gods and demons, and since it had reached this point, Yeon-woo was planning on accepting all the powers and even anything more that might be offered. ‘Although I don’t know if I can endure with just Consciousness.’

Yeon-woo wondered if he could accept the powers in his phantom form and not his actual body, but he didn’t care. He needed extreme firepower at the moment.

[You have gained Adad’s power, ‘E-Karkara’.]

[You have Thor’s power, ‘Lightning God’s Hammer’.]

[You have gained Erleng Shen’s power, ‘Dragon Kill’.]

……

[You are accepting too many powers. Your body cannot withstand them. It is advisable to stop contracting the remaining Apostle positions.]

[Warning! You are obtaining too many powers. Your body may be destroyed.]

[Warning! You are obtaining too…]

……

[The Divine Factors are activating. The divine powers will be used.]

[The Demonic Factors are activating. The demonic powers will be accepted.]

[The Draconic Factors are activating. Your Dragon Body has been strengthened.]

[The Philosopher’s Stone has been strengthened.]

……

[Your Demonic Divine Draconic Body has been strengthened.]

[Your Demonic Divine Draconic Body has been strengthened.]

The letters around him continued to change.

Maybe they think I will treat my poison with it if I leave.

Everyone is coming to kill me.

Crunch, crunch. When he had enough firepower, he hurtled forward one more time with as much power as he could. A mighty firepower sent the letters ablaze and poured down on the world. It was so powerful that he felt like his body would split apart, but even in the explosion, the shape didn’t budge.

Still, Yeon-woo endured.

There is no one left by my side.

He didn’t give up, using Regeneration to repair his body over and over as he stretched his hand out to the shape. Fortunately, Wave of Fire had begun to shake the shape, and the letters shifted from side to side. Finally, his hand touched the shape.

Now I know.

There is only one person I can trust.

How could he get rid of the damned shape that wasn’t budging? No matter how hard he pushed, it wouldn’t move. A small crack the size of a finger had appeared, but it could close up at any moment. If only he had a bit more time. If only someone pushed him. He thought it would be possible to reach Jeong-woo and somehow wake him up.

But I cannot show them my weakness.

Yeon-woo suddenly felt that he was really being pushed, and not just by one person, but by two. Who had appeared? He looked around in surprise and found a familiar face smirking at him. ‘The…Monkey King?’

[An unnamed being licks his lips as he looks at you.]

‘Why are you acting like a fool? You can’t even use your strength. Will you even be able to satisfy your future wife?’ It was definitely the Monkey King’s exuviae.

And next to him…

[An unnamed being scoffs at you.]

A woman with long fiery hair scoffed at him with arrogant eyes. ‘I don’t like you, but I have something to say to that guy there.’ Like the exuviae, she wasn’t supposed to be here either. They were the two beings who had taken care of all the unnecessary Channels when he was suffering from the holy fever.

The two pushed him before he could ask them anything, and although Yeon-woo felt the agony of the letters tearing into his body, he managed to reach Jeong-woo, who was trembling like a baby bird with his wings around his body.

Yeon-woo put his arms around his little brother. Even then, the letters continued to show the diary’s information.

This is the end of my diary.

I believe that if I leave this behind, my brother will find a way to come to this place.