“AAAAAAAARGH—!!”
The Imp engulfed in emerald flames released an agonized scream.
CRACKLE, CRACKLE!
Its body burned fiercely like dry firewood catching flame.
“H-How can a Fireball… GAAAH!”
The Imp rolled pitifully across the ground.
Anyone could see what was about to happen.
Before long, the creature would be reduced to ash within the flames.
“Y-You bastard… GAAH! J-Just you… wait… Urk!”
Moments later, its body burned away without leaving even the slightest trace.
* “It was forcibly unsummoned. Well done!”
Aleon’s words finally made the reality sink in.
I had successfully defeated the Imp.
It might have been a Lesser Demon, but I had still eliminated a member of the Demon Race with astonishing ease.
Even though I had done it myself, I found the result difficult to believe.
Once again, I realized just how powerful the combination of a <Mythic>-grade spell and <Sage’s Aura> truly was.
* “The power was amplified even further because you struck its Weak Point.”
That was right.
I could not overlook weak-point detection either.
While I marveled at my own power, Wang Ochun’s dumbfounded voice came from beside me.
“Uh……”
His mouth hung open, and his unfocused eyes stared blankly ahead.
His jaw showed no sign of closing.
He clearly had never imagined that his trump card, the ‘Demon Summoning,’ would be defeated so easily.
“Hey.”
“H-Hiiik!”
When I approached, he convulsed like a man suffering a seizure.
His expression was filled with terror.
Wang Ochun was considerably more cowardly than I had expected.
“P-Please spare me, Great One. I have committed a sin worthy of death.”
THUD!
He immediately slammed his forehead against the ground and prostrated himself.
I quietly clicked my tongue at the sight of Wang Ochun, who possessed neither courage nor dignity.
This man was the leader of a pyramid-scheme organization?
* “Take the ring he is wearing.”
At Aleon’s suggestion, I looked down at the two pieces of equipment Wang Ochun wore.
Perhaps he sensed my gaze.
“T-This is the Lesser Imp Summoning Ring, and this is the Bracelet of Forest Protection. W-Would you like them?”
With a servile expression, he immediately handed me the ring and bracelet.
Wow.
His ability to read the situation was astonishing.
I could almost understand how he had risen to his current position.
[Bracelet of Forest Protection]
Grade: Heroic (2-Star ★★)
Wood Element +1
Defense against Mental-Type Attacks +10%
Contains Forest Protection (2-Star ★★). <Forest Protection> activates automatically when the user is endangered. Can activate three times per day.
[Lesser Imp Summoning Ring]
*Grade: Legendary (2-Star ★★)
*Darkness Element +2
*Darkness Attack Power +10%
*Darkness Resistance +15%
*Contains Summon Lesser Imp ‘Snikel’ (2-Star ★★). Summons the Lesser Imp ‘Snikel,’ who dreams of becoming a Great Demon. If the user’s Mental Power is lower than the Imp’s, there is a risk of having their mind dominated.
*Currently Inactive - Snikel is recovering from severe injuries.
‘Oh.’
Forest Protection.
This was quite useful.
An automatic defensive shield that could activate three times per day.
Considering my inadequate defenses, the bracelet would be extremely useful for the time being.
‘And… a ring capable of summoning a demon. I had only heard rumors, but such things truly exist.’
Artifacts capable of summoning demons or Celestials.
According to rumors, they were treasures that only organizations on the level of the Five Great Clans could possess.
Yet a common thug like this man owned one.
Perhaps he was more capable than he appeared.
“Hey. Don’t you have anything else?”
I asked just in case.
If he possessed equipment like this, perhaps he had hidden away a considerable amount of secret wealth.
“Uh, um… T-That is……”
His eyes shook violently as though an earthquake had struck them.
That reaction alone made it obvious that he had concealed something else.
“What? There’s more?”
“Y-Yes. I’ll give you everything… Sob. I-I will……”
Tears flowed from Wang Ochun’s eyes.
Why was he so upset?
It was not as though he could carry any of it into his grave.
“H-However… may I ask… one favor?”
Wang Ochun spoke cautiously with an even more servile expression.
“What is it?”
“I-I’ll give you everything I own, so please spare my life……”
“Fine.”
His face immediately brightened.
He must have been terrified that I intended to kill him.
But did he realize?
I had only agreed to spare his life.
I had never promised that I would do nothing else to him.
* “What do you intend to do with him?”
‘You’ll find out shortly.’
Hehehe.
I could not simply release someone like him back into the world.
If I left behind a future threat, I might eventually find a blade aimed at my back.
Therefore, I needed to settle matters thoroughly enough that he would never dare bare his teeth at me again.
While considering how to deal with him, I followed Wang Ochun’s guidance.
The place we eventually reached was his secret storehouse.
“T-This is it.”
“Whoa.”
I whistled at the wealth spread before me.
One side of the room contained a towering pile of coins.
If all of them were converted into gold coins, the value would easily exceed one thousand gold coins.
I swept everything into the Subspace Ring.
“These are the… Sniff. J-Jewel Skill Cards… Sniff… that I collected.”
He held out three cards.
Each was roughly the size of my palm, with a brilliant rainbow-colored jewel embedded in its center.
‘Wow. He had these?’
Jewel Skill Cards were effectively priceless.
If one had to establish priorities among skills, equipment, and Artifacts, skills were generally considered the most important.
A Jewel Card Box did not necessarily provide a Skill Card.
However, a Jewel Skill Card guaranteed that the user would obtain a skill.
That meant the <Jewel Skill Cards> before me were even more valuable than the <Jewel Card Box> I had previously obtained.
‘So he used the gold coins he swindled from Ascenders to collect Skill Cards.’
I could understand why he was crying.
He had struggled desperately and spent enormous sums to gather the cards, only for me to take them all at once.
“I’ll put these to good use.”
The cards slipped neatly into my Subspace Ring.
Wang Ochun lowered his head in despair.
“Now, then……”
It was time to carry out the plan I had devised to deal cleanly with Wang Ochun and the other members of <Burning Tower>.
Several organizations within the <Sky Tower> voluntarily contributed to maintaining order.
One of the most prominent was an organization known as the <Guard>.
They regarded themselves as the tower’s police and worked to preserve order.
“Burning Tower received the most complaints again this month.”
Kim Incheol, the head of one of the <Guard> branches on the second floor, released a deep sigh.
It had already been six months since they declared war upon <Burning Tower>.
However, they had been unable to eliminate the organization.
Why?
‘Wang Ochun. Capturing him is too difficult.’
His combat power ranked among the highest on the second floor.
After rumors spread that he could even command demons, dealing with him had become even more difficult.
If they could not capture him, arresting his minor subordinates would accomplish nothing.
‘If we could capture him, dismantling Burning Tower would only be a matter of time.’
Was there no reclusive expert who could capture him for them?
Should they ask the recently famous Hahoe Mask for assistance after he reached Level 20?
No.
Even if the Hahoe Mask had obtained a Mythic-grade skill, Kim Incheol could not imagine him defeating someone capable of summoning a demon.
‘Does the answer ultimately lie with the Five Great Clans……?’
Just as he released another frustrated sigh—
BANG!
The door to his office flew open.
“B-Branch Chief! S-Something terrible has happened!”
“What is it? Did an earthquake occur?”
“N-No. It’s not that……”
“Then what? Did someone capture Wang Ochun?”
Kim Incheol gave a bitter laugh as he voiced the impossible fantasy he had been imagining moments earlier.
“What? Y-Yes. That’s correct! Wang Ochun has been captured!”
“……?”
What?
Had he heard incorrectly?
“A short while ago, Wang Ochun and every member of his leadership were brought into one of our local offices in restraints!”
“W-What did you say?”
Kim Incheol shot to his feet.
Something impossible had occurred.
“W-Who captured them?”
“An Ascender… wearing a Hahoe Mask!”
“……!”
Kim Incheol’s eyes widened until they could grow no larger.
* Breaking News: Burning Tower’s leader was captured on the second floor!!
└ What? Suddenly?
└ Stop making things up.
Rumors of Wang Ochun’s capture spread rapidly throughout the Ascender community.
At first, everyone assumed it was merely an attempt to attract attention.
However—
* Wait. It seems to be true. Someone I know on the second floor contacted me.
└ I saw it myself. They were being dragged in a line toward one of the <Guard> branches.
└ What? Burning Tower’s leader was captured? By whom?
└ Did one of the Five Great Clans finally intervene?
└ Apparently not. I heard only one person brought them in.
└ Magnificent. Those parasites were finally eliminated.
└ What a relief!
* I found out who destroyed Burning Tower. It was the Hahoe Mask.
└ Seriously?
└ Yes. An acquaintance of mine belongs to the second-floor <Guard>. He said the Hahoe Mask dragged Wang Ochun’s group in while they were tied together like dried fish.
└ How is that possible? Didn’t he only reach the second floor a few days ago?
└ Even if he obtained a Mythic-grade skill, how could this possibly make sense?
└ Perhaps some powerful organization supports him. It seems impossible for one person alone.
└ No. Ivan Petrov once defeated several Level 20 opponents while he was still in the early teens on the second floor. It is theoretically possible.
└ Then are you saying the Hahoe Mask is genuinely comparable to the Great Seven Ascenders?
└ We don’t know that.
└ But if Unknown… is the Hahoe Mask, then everything makes sense.
└ True. If he is the same Unknown who pushed every Great Seven Ascender down the rankings, I would immediately believe that he destroyed Burning Tower alone.
└ Exactly.
└ Is the Hahoe Mask really Unknown? I’m desperate to know.
└ So am I.
As news of the Hahoe Mask’s actions gradually spread among countless Ascenders—
Interest in him began heating up rapidly.
Meanwhile—
“Phew.”
That settled everything neatly.
I dusted off my hands with satisfaction.
In the end, I handed Wang Ochun and his followers over to the <Guard>.
At first, Wang Ochun resisted and claimed that he refused to go.
However, the moment I asked whether he would prefer a hole through his stomach, he ran into the <Guard> office on his own two feet.
‘I still don’t understand how someone so cowardly became the leader of a criminal organization.’
Remembering Wang Ochun’s final appearance made me laugh quietly.
In any case, I no longer needed to concern myself with him.
The <Guard>’s personnel on the lower floors might not have been particularly impressive, but their <Prison> System was exceptionally secure even there.
“Now, then.”
It was finally time for the card draw I had been awaiting.
Wang Ochun, I shall make excellent use of your legacy.
The corners of my mouth twitched as I stared at the three brilliantly shining <Jewel Skill Cards> in my hands.
* “Obtaining those Jewel Skill Cards has placed you in an extremely favorable position. If you strengthen your combat power further here, clearing the <Forest Labyrinth> should not prove particularly difficult.”
To obtain the <Robe of the Sage>, I supposedly needed to clear the <Forest Labyrinth> with a score that would ordinarily be considered nearly impossible.
Now that I had obtained a <Mythic>-grade Fireball, I did not believe the task was impossible.
Still, strengthening myself slightly more would make the process considerably easier.
<Jewel Skill Card (2-Star ★★)>
I held all three cards in my hands.
‘I should obtain at least one Legendary skill.’
As long as <Sage’s Sight> existed—
If even one <Legendary>-grade starlight appeared, selecting it would be effortless.
‘Could a Mythic-grade one appear?’
That would be an enormous success.
If it did, I might achieve a degree of reinforcement incomparable to what I had possessed on the first floor.
I calmed my excitement and reached out to open the cards.
At that moment—
WHOOOSH!
Black light swirled around the dark crimson ring I was wearing.
[<Summon Lesser Imp> is now available.]
‘Huh?’
This was the <Lesser Imp Summoning Ring> I had taken from Wang Ochun earlier.
It had already recovered enough to summon the Imp again?
[The <Lesser Imp Summoning Ring> wishes to perform User Imprinting.]
[Would you like to summon the Lesser Imp ‘Snikel’?]
[If you refuse the User Imprinting, the <Lesser Imp Summoning Ring> will be automatically transported to the Altar in accordance with the Pact.]
Oh.
How interesting.
The Imp from earlier was signaling that it wanted me to summon it.
‘If I refuse, the ring will be transported somewhere else.’
Very well.
Then let us see that Imp’s face once more.
“Summon Lesser Imp, Snikel.”
As I spoke, I pushed Magic Power into the ring.
WHOOOOOM!!
Dark energy surged around it and formed a distinct shape.
“Kekeke! I am Snikel, descendant of a mighty Great Demon!”
The demon who appeared before me somehow looked even more foolish than I remembered.