「Group Mission (1/15).」

Judging from the numbers written in parentheses, this mission must have 15 tasks in total.

‘Not bad.’

Although it was an unfamiliar format, Yoon-seok liked how the mission was carried out. Unlike those with a due date, didn’t this mean that he could get out of here sooner if he cleared the mission quickly?

“Well, let’s not waste more time. Is there anyone here who can’t fly?”

When he drew his sword and waited for the enemy to start swarming out, Zackal asked a question while looking around the challengers. Yoon-seok didn’t understand.

“Fly? Why do you ask?”

The first mission was extremely simple: stop the enemy and close the rift while collecting as much information about them as possible. But why was he checking if everyone could fly? Lee Su-yeon answered.

“We can only close the rift by entering it in this mission. I think this person knows that.”

When all the invaders were gone, the rift disappeared. But it looked like they had to go inside the rift and do something, just like how they went directly into the last expedition 500 years ago.

Zackal looked at Lee Su-yeon.

“So you know all about this mission?”

“Just roughly.”

“I’m relieved. You heard her, we need to go inside, and it’d be more convenient if we go in before the enemy appears.”

Zackal checked if everyone had flying abilities, and this time, the other challengers responded. All except for two could fly.

“Both of you can sit on my back.”

Zackal’s body enlarged and turned into a huge beast with the form of a winged lion. He flew up with the two challengers who could not fly, and the rest followed. Everyone’s methods were unique.

“Fly.”

“Wings of Ether.”

Someone used floating magic, another had wings, and someone flew on a summoned creature, for reference, that finally, someone was Cheon-ma.

“Yong-yong, let’s go.”

“Yes, Mother.”

Yong-yong, returning into dragon form, let Cheon-ma hop on and flap his wings. He was just a little larger than a horse. He’d only seen him in human form recently, so when did he grow this big? It was a little surprising.

‘Well, is it a given since he is bound to grow larger than a house?’

Yoon-seok followed her by walking through the air. He wondered why Cheon-ma suddenly chose to ride Yong-yong, but..

“Dragon.. that’s incredible.”

Since her shoulders were rising higher and higher with the challengers’ admiration, he could guess why. Yoon-seok shifted his attention to Lee Su-yeon.

“Su-yeon, what’s that?”

“It’s a magic board I found.”

She was riding something like a skateboard and crossing the wind like surfing. For some reason, he wanted it, although he didn’t need it.

“So, what should we do now?”

“All we have to do is go inside and break the rift.”

“And the information?”

“I don’t know about that either. I remember that this wasn’t included.. is it because the quality increased?”

“Quality?”

Come to think of it; when the mission started, there was a phrase that mentioned that the quality of the mission improved. Then, what did quality mean?

“Increasing quality does not mean that enemies become stronger. Should I say that the correction of the Tower is reduced and it’s more similar to reality? That’s how many variables arise.”

“Variable?”

It wasn’t a word with a good connotation. Yoon-seok tilted his head, and at that moment, the rift swallowed up the challengers. His vision went dark a second later.

「You have entered the dimension gap.」

「The invaders sense the presence of intruders.」

Feeling a little motion sickness, Yoon-seok opened his eyes. It was similar to the previous mission’s void. Even though he was standing on the invisible ground, he felt like he was in the middle of solid space. He couldn’t feel any enemies’ presence nor see anyone except for Lee Su-yeon.

“It looks like we’re all separated at the start.”

“You didn’t say that, though?”

“I just told you. The quality has improved, so there will be unexpected variables. I didn’t even know it would start this way.”

Still, it was fortunate he was with Lee Su-yeon. Although they were separated, he didn’t have to worry about Cheon-ma. However, his anxiety was as great as his relief.

‘..She’s not going to cause any unnecessary trouble again, is she?’

Like killing the expedition leader and the guardian dragon. How much trouble did he have to suffer through in his last mission because of Cheon-ma’s shenanigans? That was why he planned to keep a close eye on Cheon-ma and consult with Lee Su-yeon. But now that they were separated, it all went up in smoke.

“I think it’s better to skip collecting information and move on to the next mission.. where can I find the rift stone?”

“I don’t know..?”

Lee Su-yeon was like an encyclopedia. However, she was not a master cheat key.

“Sura.”

“Grr?”

“Where do you think we should go?”

There were no geographical features to navigate by. Unless they wished to stay here, they had to head somewhere. So, Yoon-seok decided to leave that role to Asura and believe in his strengthened intuition.

“Growl.. grr!”

Asura took the lead after a moment’s hesitation. Lee Su-yeon, who wasn’t aware of Asura’s intuition, appeared unsure but quietly followed suit. They walked for some time.

「There is a special challenge within a 1km radius.」

Something appeared.

“..Special challenge?”

Lee Su-yeon’s eyes glinted. Unable to become a ranker before her return, she transferred to missions and ascended the Tower. Therefore, she had completed the 22nd-floor mission. Well, it wasn’t Only difficulty level back then, and no variables occurred. Still, the basic framework was the same.

‘How did it go back then?’

Lee Su-yeon sifted through her memories. After the mission began, she fought against the enemies pouring out of the rift until they entered. And after wandering for a long time, she found the rift stone and moved on to the next mission by smashing it.

“You don’t know about the challenge either?”

“..Yes.”

Lee Su-yeon nodded. Of course, there were challenges in the 22nd-floor mission. But, she didn’t hear from any challenger she later met that they had found a challenge in this first group mission. In other words, it was a rare challenge.

‘..Is this oppa a god of luck in his past life or something?’

Usually, these hidden challenges grant great rewards. Lee Su-yeon followed after Yoon-seok. Soon after, hundreds of corpses appeared.

‘Ah, those corpses!’

This was her second time seeing this. While wandering the rift, she accidentally found this group of corpses. She searched for a long time to see if something was hidden among them, but there was nothing. But this time, it was different.

There was a survivor.

「You found a mysterious dying woman.」

「Please treat her and do her a favor. You might receive unexpected rewards.」

After checking the contents of the challenge, Lee Su-yeon immediately ran to the unconscious woman and poured a potion into her mouth. Looking at her condition, if they were a few minutes late, she would’ve died.

Now, Lee Su-yeon realized why no one was aware of this challenge.

‘How can I break this!’

Less than 15 minutes after the mission began, this place was quite far from the starting point. Even if she knew about this, it was physically impossible to meet her alive.

‘This might be my first time discovering something new on a mission after my return..’

Lee Su-yeon smiled brightly at the thought of hitting the jackpot and looked to Yoon-seok. However..

“..Elle?”

Yoon-seok was focused on the woman. No way, did he know this woman?

“..”

Yoon-seok swallowed. White skin, scarlet hair, and gold cloth that covered her eyes. No matter how many times he checked, it was Elle. This was probably before she became an admin.

“Uh, oppa..?”

Yoon-seok froze.

On the 21st floor, the Queen came out as the opponent, and the 22nd-floor mission name was ‘The One Who Leads Destruction.’ So, he thought maybe Rick Gerssey, who threatened the Tower on the side of the Queen, might appear as the final boss. It was a plausible hypothesis, and the Tower gave these trials to imply the Queen was their enemy.

‘But why is Elle here..?’historical

Although there might be some adaptations, the mission trial was based on actual events. In other words, it meant that Elle was here to battle against Rick.

‘She said she never met Rick after becoming a challenger.. ah, was she unaware that Rick was the Destructive Monarch?’

If so, that would match. However, nothing was confirmed yet.

“Hmm..”

Yoon-seok, who carried Elle as they moved, released Skywrath Energy. Soon, Elle regained consciousness.

“Who are you..?”

“I’m a challenger who came in to stop the rift. We saw you by chance when we were wandering around.

“Rift? Challenger? I-It can’t be..”

“You might not believe it, but it’s the truth. We came from Earth.”

This was a virtual space created by the Tower, and it was annoying to tell them they were reproduced beings, so it was best to gloss over it.

“Where is Earth? It’s a name I’ve never heard of. Does this mean that it didn’t only happen to us..!”

“I think so.”

Yoon-seok nodded. Anyway, perhaps she didn’t think he was an enemy? Belatedly, Elle asked about her colleagues.

“..What happened to the others who were with me?”

“Everyone is dead.”

“No way..”

Yoon-seok placed his hand on Elle’s trembling shoulder. He felt sorry for her, but it was time for his questions to be resolved.

“I want to ask you something. We also don’t know if you’re an enemy or ally, so please answer honestly.”

“Huh? Okay..”

“What brings you here?”

“We came here to kill the Destructive Monarch.”

“Destructive Monarch? Who’s that?”

“..We don’t know who he is or why he kills challengers.”

As expected, Elle didn’t know that Rick was the Destructive Monarch. After listening, it looked like she was in this situation after participating in the force sent to catch him.

“..Is there any chance that you could help me? I’ll make sure to return the favor.”

Elle, who lost her colleagues and was left alone, bowed to Yoon-seok and Lee Su-yeon. Yoon-seok and Lee Su-yeon agreed immediately.

「Help the mysterious woman and collect information about the Destructive Monarch, then deliver that information to your colleagues. Rewards will increase depending on the value of the information.」

“Uhm.. what should I call you? I’m Elizabeth Lorwen.”

Asking for an introduction, Elle revealed her name first. Yoon-seok smirked.

“I’m Choi Yoon-seok. This is Lee Su-yeon.”

Once on the 5th floor Wish Auction. Once on the 8th-floor mission. Once on the 14th-floor mission. And once again..

This was Yoon-seok’s fourth time introducing himself to her.