Chapter 50 - Paradise After the End (1)

Translator: WH Editor: Sasha

1.

-You crazy bastard!

The Continent’s army moved their troops back a little.

In the meantime, Bae Hu-ryeong just laughed hysterically.

-From now on, I’ll call you Crazy Kim!

‘Ahhh, for God’s sake, please stop..’

I sighed inwardly.

Do you know how many nicknames you’ve already given me? Zombie Kim. Zombie King. Crazy Kim. If you keep this up, I’m going to be able to fill up an A4 paper with just my nicknames.’

-Oh, that’s pretty nice. Let’s go! Dozens of nicknames for this crazy dude, let’s gooooo!

Bae Hu-ryeong’s loud laughter resonated throughout the skies.

But fortunately, there were more people in this world than those who made fun of me.

[Boss stage cleared.]

It was the voice of the tower.

The voice told me that I had successfully reached the 20th Stage rang inside my head. It was just like when I cleared the 10th Stage, the so-called ‘Hellfire Residence’.

[The challenger(s) is Death King (死王).]

[1 person.]

I looked up slowly.

The blue sky spread out between the branches and the leaves of the Acacia flowers.

[Calculating clear rewards.]

[Calculation complete.]

[ The rewards will be given 24 hours later, once you enter the 21st floor.]

That’s right.

I smiled brightly.

‘Well, Even if I was a crazy guy or something, what’s the big deal? Anyways, I did my job.’

-What’s this. Look at this guy’s confidence?

‘I cleared up to the 20th floor just the way I wanted.’

I won’t let anyone die.

That was the goal I had set in my mind.

Looking back, how absurd was that desire?

‘While I was clearing the 20th floor, not a single Hunter died.’

The Devil King of Fall Rain. Now that she was reduced to being a part of my Hundred Ghosts and entrapped in another world, the Hunters who doubted each other and started killing each other were now no more.

I had interfered and stopped the starting point of the tragedy in advance.

‘Not a single soldier from the Empire or Continent died.’

I fought for this world that got its time paused.

‘And..’

I raised my right hand and placed it on someone’s head.

‘I subdued this bastard too.’

Vengeful Ghost(飯鬼).

The captive, imprisoned in my shadow, sat on the street and stared blankly at the Continent’s army.

Soldiers who had originally burned down her small hometown in the past.

But today history had not been repeated. The moment the Chief Holy Knight knelt, the Continent army’s hostility was repressed. Believing that I am the apostle of the Goddess, they gave up their mission.

The paradise had been protected.

‘These are just my thoughts, but.’

He patted the vengeful ghost’s head gently.

“Maybe this 20th floor.. If I had just sat by and did nothing, it would have probably been cleared by itself. I didn’t really have to come forward.’

-Huh? Why?

‘That’s because the village burning and disappearing is also a kind of [Outcome].’

Ending.

I realized that while going through the Stages so far. The tower was open to both a happy ending and a bad ending. As long as it was a proper outcome, the tower would accept any kind of ending.

‘Otherwise, Yoo Soo-ha wouldn’t have been able to reach the 40th Stage.’

Even if you shattered the dolls in the Hellfire Residence like the Flame Emperor.

Or, were like me, playing with those kids for a while.

Either way, both acts were recognized as a kind of [Outcome].

‘Basically, this world was not set by the tower.’

I turned my head and looked at the village,

‘It wasn’t an ending I chose because I had no other choice.’

Where the wheat ripens yellow under the sky.

Taciturn and stubborn, however, the kids were putting up a playful act, and the old man turned a blind eye to it, while he sat in front of the orchard and smoked in vain.

A refuge for the sick, who had no way of recovering.

‘But this is the ending I choose.’

Today.

Rain didn’t fall from the sky here.

Fire didn’t burn the ground here.

-Sure enough..

But why?

When I was filled with a proud feeling for some time, Bae Hu-ryeong had a subtle look on his face. He looked as if he was staring at a pitiful child.

‘What’s wrong with you?’

-Nothing. It’s just you said this was the ending you chose.

Bae Hu-ryeong pointed his finger furtively somewhere.

-I wonder if that was also part of the ending you chose.

Yoo Soo-ha was standing there.

“Fuck! Fuck you, you son of a bitch! Are you not going to make this stop!? Huh!? Make it stop right now— Fuck! Why isn’t this stopping!?”

To be more specific, Yoo Soo-ha was still hopping around dancing the Kazatsky dance.

The entrance of the rural village that had beautifully ripened crops. The sky was blue, and there were petals on the ground, in this picturesque landscape, there was a handsome man there swearing ‘fuck’ all alone.

It was a masterpiece (名作) that would get tens of millions of views if posted on the Internet.

‘Hmm? What’s wrong with that?’

I tilted my head.

‘Isn’t it extraordinarily beautiful?’

-As expected, this guy is Crazy Kim....

Bae Hu-ryeong murmured.

It was then.

[Today.]

[The 20th floor Stage has been cleared.]

A voice resonated throughout the sky and the ground.

It wasn’t a voice that only I could hear.

[Announcing to everyone again.]

[Today, the 20th floor Stage has been cleared.]

historical

An official announcement.

Perhaps the same voice was spreading throughout the entire area of the tower, as it did when the 10th Stage was cleared.

“Ah.”

I licked my lips.

‘What a shame.’

-What is?

‘The Internet isn’t working here.’

My smartphone was fast asleep in my backpack right now. Five days in the real world, but in terms of the time I’ve actually spent, I haven’t touched my cell phone for hundreds of days.

The only region where the internet was connected was from the 1st floor to the 10th floor.

‘By now, the Internet must be making a real fuss though....’

-Huh? What’s this? Do you not care about people’s reactions anymore?

‘When did I ever say that?’

-No. You told me. Didn’t you want more recognition than a normal citizen, just like the Witch and Marcus grandpops?

‘No wayyyy.’

I shrugged.

Don’t you know Da-da Ik-seon? I want to receive recognition from people like the Witch and the Sword Saint. I also want to be recognized by the general public. And I, myself do not want to be ashamed to look up at the heavens.’

[Note: It basically means the more the better (多多益善)]

-Wow. Aren’t you being a complete pig? Why do you have so much greed?

“Originally, people feel alive when they have greed.’

Fortunately, I was able to soothe the disappointment of not being able to see the Internet.

[24 hours from now, the 21st floor Stage will be open.]

[24:00:00]

Shinggggg!

The fireworks filled the sky just like last time. When the first firework burst aflame, a clock made of light appeared. Then two Hunters were transferred as if they had been waiting for the moment.

“Death King!”

It was the Witch and the Sword Saint.

The witch flew at once using a teleport skill. Flash! The witch reached her elbow out and hugged my head as he shed her signature bright smile.

“Crazy! You’re really crazy!”

“Ack. Aaaackkk! Wait a minute, Black Dragon Witch. It unexpectedly hurts..”

“This coming from a little kid! Coming from a greenhorn that’s not even thirty yet!”

I tried to resist but to no avail. Gwaaargh! The Witch’s strength was so strong that I couldn’t escape from the headlock.

Oh my God. How many elixirs did she usually take to be this strong?

“I can’t believe it! You really cleared everything all the way until the 20th floor in five days! Are you crazy? You’re crazy right?”

“Excuse me. Black Dragon Witch, please calm down a little bit..”

“You don’t know how much of an uproar there the tower is in right now! Look at this!”

The Witch showed me something.

It was a smartphone.

It was a five-year-old model. On the phone screen that had a low battery indication, there were internet articles that were not supposed to be accessible here.

“This is..?”

“I stopped by the first floor and took a picture!”

The witch had a genuinely excited voice.

“There were so many articles that it was impossible to record them all! Sorry! But Death King, you have to understand. It wasn’t just within the tower, but even the world outside was in an uproar. I only captured articles with the most view clicks, but look. There’s already so much!”

The witch swiped down her phone’s screen.

There were article headlines that showed.

-[Breaking News] Skilful and smooth speed! The 14th floor was also cleared!

[Note: The original text stated Gwe-do nan-ma (快刀亂麻)’s speed. It basically means handling something in a row without any difficulties.]

-It’s decided that his Sacred Nickname is the Death King.

-Official announcement by the Black Dragon Guild. Currently, the raid team has three players.

-Was the leader the Sword Saint? The Witch? The Death King?

-[Special Coverage] Intensive Report on Death King.

?

?

?

There was a lot.

Just reading the headlines only, it was impossible to read them all because there were too many.

“Even though the title went like this.”

The Witch laughed.

“The articles were all only talking about you!”

“Uh..”

“It starts with what kind of life you lived before this, to where you actually came from. How did you come to the tower, and how did you get to the top of the ranks at once. It’s really all just about-.”

“Hol-, hold on.”

I was puzzled.

I wasn’t perplexed by the newspaper articles. This reaction was natural. In the past five days, even on the internet bulletin/forum, it was pinned hundred and thousands of times.

It was something that I had experienced once.

Instead, the reason why I’m puzzled was nothing but....

“Did you capture all of this yourself?”

“Yes!”

The Witch nodded.

As I wasn’t released from the headlock yet, her face was a little close.

“Of course!”

“Was it to show me?”

“This kid. Then would there be any other reason?”

“Ummm. So..”

As I scrunched the middle of my forehead, I said.

“Just to show me what kind of articles were released, you purposely teleported to the 1st floor and looked for each and every one of the articles, and then took a screenshot of every single one of them.. Is that right?”

“If I had to put it in words, then yes, that’s right!”

I pictured it in my mind.

Ranked second among the Hunters. Head commander of the biggest guild within the tower.

Such a high-ranking person quickly went to the 1st floor, and diligently used her smartphone to take a screenshot of everything, then came back here again and showed off her screenshots as if she was boasting about it.

“....”

Now that I think about it, it was somewhat of a cute scenario. But I still didn’t understand.

“Why would someone like the Black Dragon Witch go through such a bothersome..?”

“Seriously, what is this guy talking about?”

The Witch giggled brightly.

“Of course it was because I wanted to do something for you!”

“....”

“Oh, just in case, don’t read the article comments later on. It’s all about frame and fraud. The comments section has just been terrorized by a bunch of jealous humans.”

The witch let out a short sigh.

“I don’t know why those good-for-nothings always do that. What an amazing thing it was that the death count was zero! Death King. Don’t pay heed to any of them. From now on, the Black Dragon guild will take full charge of the media.”

What’s this? This person?

Is she perhaps an angel?

-Hey Zombie. Really now, if someone is just a little bit nicer to you, you revere them as angels..No matter how pitiful your life was, you have to be open to the goodwill of humans. A man that’s so strong against malice shouldn’t be this weak against good-will.

If she was not an angel, then maybe she was a Goddess?

-You’re a crazy dude..

Bae Hu-ryeong’s face crumpled.

-Although I knew this bastard was going to be crazy one day. You’ve finally gone crazy now.

‘Then why don’t you praise me a little bit sometimes. Do you know how hungry I am for praises? You don’t know how precious the tiniest bit of attention is for me in this dreary daily life, do you?’

-No. That sort of thing.. It’d leave a bad taste.. I’d rather not have become a spirit.

Bae Hu-ryeong really went ‘ugh yuck’ and retched.

I wonder who is the psychopath here.

I bet my whole fortune that this man didn’t have a single friend when he was alive.

-Hey! What kind of dogsh*t are you saying! I have friends too okay!?

‘Excluding the Sword Saint.’

-....

Bae Hu-ryeong averted his gaze. It was my silent victory.

I don’t know what that victory was for though.

“Also, look at this!”

Only then did the Witch release me from her headlock.

What the Witch was trying to show me this time was not a phone screen. The Black Dragon Witch loosened and tilted her small backpack, then took out a thick bundle of newspapers.

“Here you go!”

The Witch spread the newspaper wide.

“It was the first newspaper that came out yesterday!”

I couldn’t understand the contents of the newspaper at first glance.

However, the list, which was written in capitals, was the first thing I saw.

Above the list was the title [Updated Hunter Ranking!]

+

Rank 1: Sword Saint

Rank 2: Black Dragon Witch

Rank 3: Death King

Rank 4: Count

Rank 5: Heretic Questioner

Rank 6: Venomous Snake

Rank 7: Babel’s Linguist

Rank 8: Kwangyeok Messenger

Rank 9: Crusader

+

“....”

I was lost at words for a while.

While I was alone in a prison of time, fighting the Devil King.

I only realized now about what was happening in the world below the 12th floor.

“This kind of thing happening is the first of its kind since the tower opened!”

The Witch laughed.

“I can’t believe you climbed all the way up here in one shot from outside the rankings!”

Third in ranking.

Just like a Hunter’s nickname, the ranking was also decided by the tower.

The ranking that was established this way was displayed on a monument erected in the first-floor plaza.

“I know it doesn’t feel real yet, but.. Try going down to Babylon today. You’ll know right away what kind of person you’ve become.”

Bam!

The Witch rolled the newspaper and smacked my shoulder.

“Congratulations, Death King!”

That’s right.

“You are now also a representative of all Hunters!”

The world changed in just five days.