Second Life Ranker

Jeong-woo’s gaze was intense.

“What you’re saying about living again, it’s not the same as Brahm’s case, right?”

『Yeah.』 Jeong-woo nodded. 『I want to touch Sesha with my own hands.』

Brahm had originally been a god and used a Homunculus’s body to move in the lower floors, but he had only moved from one vessel to another. On the other hand, Jeong-woo had always been human, and it was natural for him to long for a physical body. Furthermore, Yeon-woo knew another thing that Jeong-woo wanted. ‘He probably wants to age with them since he hasn’t been able to.’ Jeong-woo wanted to share his affections with Ananta and Sesha, to laugh and talk with them like an ordinary family.

‘That was the happiness Jeong-woo wished for.’ The time they had been happiest was with their mother, and their days had been filled with laughter even though they were poor.

『Do you think it’s possible?』 Jeong-woo glanced at Yeon-woo cautiously, his usual carefree attitude gone. He knew how ridiculous his request was. It seemed to be something that only happened in legends or myths, and no one had ever succeeded in doing it before.

Summoning the soul of the dead or resurrecting a person who’d just died were already infrequent miracles. Jeong-woo had been dead for a long time, and his body had been burned and scattered, so resurrection was out of the picture. Furthermore, Jeong-woo’s soul was currently in the worst condition it could be, and even if he went to the Beyond, it was highly unlikely that he would be reincarnated.

‘The fact that he can bind souls and handle them is already a ridiculous power.’ The bitter smile didn’t leave Jeong-woo’s mouth as he recited his wish. He knew that he was being greedy since it was already a miracle that he’d managed to leave the pocket watch and enter the outside world in the first place. He’d grown out of his spoiled character for a while, but seeing his hyung had probably made it come out again.

“Maybe.”

『Huh?』 Jeong-woo’s eyes widened. 『Is it possible? Really?』

Yeon-woo nodded slowly. “I’m not sure, but there has to be a way, or we can create one.” Yeon-woo tapped at the manacle and fetter on his wrist and ankle. Jeong-woo’s face stiffened. He had heard of the power Yeon-woo gained as he climbed the Tower from a being that Jeong-woo hadn’t even imagined while he repeated the benefit and uncovered the secrets of the Tower.

Yeon-woo was talking about borrowing the Black King’s power. “The only option left in the Black King’s set is the pillory. And to get that…”

『You need Kynee, right?』

“Yeah.”

『But Hades won’t give it to you easily.』

Yeon-woo nodded. “I need to distinguish myself in battle and receive it as a reward.”

* * *

[Agares stares at you and your brother.]

[Shock fills Agares’ face.]

[Agares jumps around excitedly and screams.]

[A message from Agares has arrived.]

[Message: It’s come! Finally! Finally! You brothers! Hurry, accept…!]

[Agares’s messages have been blocked with the authorization of other gods and demons.]

『Why is that bastard Agares acting up so early in the morning?』

“Ignore him. He’s always like that.”

[Agares has released the block with his authorization.]

[A message has arrived from Agares.]

[Message: I have a…!]

[Messages from Agares have been blocked for a while with the authorization of other gods and demons.]

[The gods and demons vote on Agares’ fate.]

[The result of the vote is unanimous. Agares’ ability to speak will be removed for a few days.]

[Agares jumps around, saying he is being wronged.]

[Vimalacitra is interested in what you’ll do in Tartarus soon.]

[Cernunnos blesses your spirit, which must be tired from the rough environment of Tartarus.]

[All gods of death watch you.]

[All demons of death watch you.]

[All gods of war hope for your victory.]

[All demons of death urge you to act.]

……

『Anyway.』 Jeong-woo shook his head at Agares, who was still greedy for him. It seemed like he had something to say to him, but it was probably going to be as pointless as usual. 『I’m only feeling it faintly, but there’s a ridiculous amount of them.』

He shook his head at the number of gazes on Yeon-woo. He had also been the subject of interest of multiple gods and demons and even received love calls from them, but he had never seen so many gods and demons interested in a player. He was speechless at this, especially considering how desperate players were for the attention of even a lower god or demon. And this time, it was the gods and demons who were desperate. He could roughly guess that there were easily 3,000 of them. 『Just how many powers do you have?』

“Hang on.” He opened a window and checked the number of his powers. “It’s 3,702. No, 3,703… 3,704.”

It seemed the number of his powers was rising by the second. Although Yeon-woo was nonchalant about them, Jeong-woo was sick of it.

『Aren’t you tired of them?』

“It’s tough. Thankfully, my body’s holding up. But…”

『It’ll be hard when you actually need to fight?』

Yeon-woo nodded. He could endure 900 Channelings with his Demonic Divine Dragon Body, and he’d even managed to kill Astraeus. But now, with four times as many powers, it was hard to describe what he was going through.

More powers didn’t merely mean he had more Channelings. He also had to withstand the pressure of more gazes that were beyond the number of powers. If he didn’t have the Demonic Divine Dragon Body or if his level or his soul were lower, Yeon-woo’s identity would’ve been crushed by the presence of the supernatural beings already. He wouldn’t be able to help much if he went to war like this, and in fact, he would be even weaker than when he caught Astraeus.

『You won’t be able to distinguish yourself like this.』

Yeon-woo nodded. He had already decided on participating in the war, and he wanted to resurrect Jeong-woo. He didn’t want to only have an opportunity to speak with Jeong-woo for a few minutes or hours a day. He wanted to drink with him the entire night or walk next to him even though they would fight. He also wanted to give Jeong-woo the freedom of being able to walk around on his own.

Most of all, he wanted to see his precious niece, Sesha, smile brightly. He wanted to see her and Ananta live happily with Jeong-woo. To do this, he needed to take ownership of everything he had and make them completely his own.

『The hardware is excellent, and the software is nice too. But the size of the good software is slowing down the functions.』 Jeong-woo clucked his tongue, accurately assessing Yeon-woo’s condition. The hardware of Divine Draconic Body was outstanding, and it was what Jeong-woo had hoped for too. Its limits stretched so far that even the Tower couldn’t calculate them. But there were too many programs and pieces of software. 『It does seem like you’ll be able to calculate it with Dragon’s Knowledge if you get used to it, but…』

“It’s not easy.”

『Yeah. I can tell.』 Jeong-woo scratched his head. 『And the skills from all the hidden pieces are just piled up in there.』

After learning Aura, Yeon-woo had organized Heaven Wing Mana Control a bit, but he was still lacking, and his other skills like Draconic Divine Eyes and Wind Path surpassed it.

『So that’s why you need my Sky Wings.』

“Yeah, exactly.” Yeon-woo knew his body better than Jeong-woo, and he figured that there was only one solution: he needed a system to manage everything. He needed something that would efficiently organize the bits of software that jostled for supremacy and automatically adjust the calculations and processes.

He needed an operating system that would efficiently manage all the powers without him needing to input Consciousness and amplify the functions of his Demonic Divine Dragon Body. Fortunately, he didn’t have to look far for one.

Since the Sky wings were Jeong-woo’s signature skill, which he’d experienced on the twenty-first floor, he thought it would be perfect to use as an operating system. ‘Sky Wings was originally a skill that increased the limits of Draconic Factors and tied them up with traits, powers, and skills.’ And that wasn’t all; it was also the greatest buff skill, which was why its numbering was 002.

Although it had been pushed to 003 because of Fire Wings, it was still an outstanding skill. In fact, it didn’t even make sense to compare it to Fire Wings. Attack skills and buff skills were so different that it was strange to say one was better than the other.

If Yeon-woo could have an adjusted version of Sky Wings that complemented his Demonic Divine Dragon Body, he would finally have proper wings. He didn’t think it was impossible. Sky Wings was a skill that Jeong-woo made, and if they worked together, he would be able to recreate it and come up with something equal to Wind Path or Fire Wings.

The other skills, powers, and traits he had would improve as well, and he would experience explosive growth.

『Hyung.』

“What?”

『Is your conscience OK?』 Jeong-woo looked at Yeon-woo with a weary expression. Yeon-woo already had a couple of cheat skills, but he still wasn’t satisfied. His hyung was as greedy as ever.

“Why would I have one?” Yeon-woo snorted, crossing his arms. “I have to have all the good things.”

『As expected, your character…』 Jeong-woo shook his head. Yes. His brother was leagues above him.