Ranker Who Lives Twice

Yeon-woo had a lot of thoughts in that brief moment. He had a lot of items that he wanted to use the artifact of the Great Warrior on: the Magic Bayonet, which had memories of Jeong-woo and Henova, and Carshina's Dagger, which he had fixed himself. He figured that since he already had Vigrid, he ought to strengthen his defensive capabilities.

It also occurred to him that he could use it to awaken the sealed powers of the Black King's Cast or combine it with Vigrid to end the Demonism once and for all. He was aware that if he used it on Vigrid, he would only make it a better vessel for the Demonism to manifest in.

He didn't forget about the Sin Stone, Dragon Heart, Hades' Spirit Eating Sword, and Sky Wings either. There were too many items to use the artifact on, and he wished he could just divide the artifact into pieces. But after contemplating for a while, Yeon-woo chose to use it on his shadow. It was where the powers and divinity of the Black King were and where his familiars and souls fell asleep. He thought he'd be able to do more if he added holiness into this territory.

Foosh. As though it were slowly sinking in a swamp, the artifact steadily sank in the shadow. The shadow wavered, expanded, then began to shake violently.

['Shadow Territory' has been strengthened with the 'Artifact of the Giants'.]

[Holiness has been added.]

[Now, your shadow will reflect holiness as your faithful servant.]

[Your shadow has various types of potential. Awaken this potential.]

The shadow shook as though it were glad to see him. Not much had changed in its appearance, but he could tell his connection with the familiars inside the shadow had become stronger. His link to the Soul Collection also became more sensitive, making it easier for him to read the thoughts of the souls. There was powerful negative energy as well, which meant that if he'd done this before gaining a higher level, his mind might have been overwhelmed.

Yeon-woo smiled in satisfaction and ripped the ticket of the hidden stage he had received as a reward. Urrrng. A blue portal opened beneath his feet. It was now time to succeed the giant king and really begin the search for Valdebich. Whoosh!

[You have entered the hidden stage, 'Land of the Fallen Giants'.]

* * *

[Scenario Quest / Proof of the King II]

[Description: You have saved the last warriors of the giant race from the illusion of the 'Crawling Chaos' and received the title of 'Great Warrior'. You are taking your first steps as the successor of the giant king. However, although you are the successor to the giant king, you do not know why the giant race was ruined or their relationship to the 'Crawling Chaos'.

The 'Crawling Chaos' stopped the last giant king 'Valdebich' before he could tell you about this, but fortunately, you have discovered a location in the Tower related to the fall of the giant race: the hidden stage of the 60th floor, 'Land of the Fallen Giants.'

This is a location that isn't known to the outside and contains artifacts and sites related to the giant race, as well as traces of the 'Crawling Chaos' and other otherworld gods.

Explore the 'Land of the Fallen Giants' and investigate what happened to the giant race thousands of years ago. You must have this attitude to be a legitimate successor to the last giant king.]

[Conditions:

Completion of 'Proof of the King I'.

Possessor of title 'Great Warrior'.]

[Time Limit: -]

[Rewards:

1. Token of the second king

2. Armor of the Skeleton King

3. Participation in the continued quest 'Proof of the King III']

Yeon-woo fell into deep thought after reading the information in the quest window. 'Learn the reason for their downfall?' He recalled the Great Warrior's warning to be careful of the Crawling Chaos before it disappeared. It didn't take a genius to tell something had happened.

'The Skeleton King was a being that had to awake because of the contract between the Great Warrior's spirit and the Crawling Chaos. It was undead. But…it was a bit different from Kalatus.' The ancient dragon had contacted the Crawling Chaos for knowledge of the outer universe to fulfill his mission, but it felt like the Crawling Chaos had used the last giant king Valdebich without his consent. Even though he was a Great Demon of Chaos, he didn't hide his emotions regarding the Crawling Chaos. He was furious—an emotion Yeon-woo knew all too well.

'Fury towards a mortal enemy.' Had the Crawling Chaos exploited the last giant king's weakness? There had to be some hidden secret of the race that had tried to climb the Tower and fought to pick a Great Warrior among themselves when Allforone blocked them. 'There was a lot regarding the otherworld gods in the revelations.'

He recalled the information he'd seen in the Changgong Library. 'The Crawling Chaos was a being who wanted amusement and pleasure because he was exhausted by his long life. Is it possible he knew the giant race's weakness and exploited them as his pawns?' Yeon-woo believed that this guess was close to the truth. Otherwise, there was no other reason for the fall of the prideful and destructive giant race.

Even though the Crawling Chaos was a cosmic being that even ordinary divine beings were wary of, it wasn't easy to play around with an entire race. 'And…that weakness is probably related to the stage.' Yeon-woo's eyes darkened. 'So did Valdebich get all the way here? Is this the quest he had to continue instead of looking for Jeong-woo?'

[Draconic Eyes]

[Extrasensory Perception]

Yeon-woo expanded his territory of recognition, opening all his senses to quickly get a grasp of the 'Land of the Fallen Giants'. He was in a dense forest with unusually tall trees that were larger than the Titans or the Great Demon of Chaos. They were also gruesome to look at because they were formed from the bodies of giants tangled among their vines and roots. There were easily hundreds of thousands of them.

The faces of the dead giants were mostly twisted in agony, and they looked as though they'd been tortured. Some looked like they had been frozen in fear, while others seemed horrified, as if something had been chasing them.

Yeon-woo could tell a massacre had taken place. What could have caused so much fear and horror in the brave warriors? There was also evidence that their bodies had been experimented on. An acrid, rotten smell rose from the decaying bodies and the swampy ground.

Poison from the corpses hung in the air, which meant that the swamp was made up of corpses that hadn't become trees. That was probably the fate of most of the giant race.

[Poison and noxious smells fill the stage.]

[Warning! This is a territory the Central Bureau has given up on. It is advised that players do not enter it.]

[A strong poison enters your body.]

[Your body is in an irregular state.]

[Your body is in an irregular state.]

…

[Extreme pain has taken over your body. You have been afflicted with the status 'Stun'.]

[Extreme poison has taken over your body. You have been afflicted with the status 'Poison'.]

…

[You have maintained your rationality with the 'Cold-blooded' trait.]

[The status 'Stun' has been removed. You have gained a new resistance to pain.]

…

['Formless Poison' skill proficiency has dramatically increased. 16.7%]

[The 'Formless Poison' skill is being activated. It is analyzing the properties of the new poison. The skill has successfully found similar data in your database. A more precise analysis will begin.]

[Options 'Venom Blood' and 'Spiritual Spite' have been strengthened.]

The beings of the heavenly world that followed Yeon-woo had varying reactions.

[Cernunnos frowns at the horrifying scene.]

[Vimalacitra expresses curiosity about the new type of battlefield.]

[Many gods turn away.]

[Many demons are astonished that a place like this can exist.]

…

[All gods of death smile at the smell of death filling the stage.]

[All demons of death express hostility towards the 'Beings Unable to Die' remaining on the stage.]

A place the Central Bureau had given up on—that said a lot about the place. The smell and poison from the corpses were so deadly that if Yeon-woo's level weren't so high, he would've fainted or even died. 'Valdebich traveled through here? How?'

The greatest danger here was the traces of the otherworld gods mentioned in the quest window. 'It's not just the Crawling Chaos. The magic power of different otherworld gods is still pungent.'

The magic power was from a completely different source from the type used in the Tower. The environment was similar to that of the Demonic Sea, and in a way, it was even worse. This place also contained the resentment of the dying giant race.

He needed to find Valdebich right away in this hell to make some progress, and so he pulled out his Magic Bayonet and created Sword Thunder.

Crackle. His expanding shadow had been blocked from moving some time ago. He needed to begin by pushing this monstrous forest away. Crackle! When he increased the power of his Dragon Heart, Sword Thunder flashed black-red as it began to crash down. Just as he was brandishing the Magic Bayonet to sweep the forest away, a rough cry suddenly echoed from the sky, shaking the hidden stage.

Krooooo! The trees shook like bamboo in a storm. Yeon-woo felt his neck go cold when he sensed the level of the being. Where did it come from? Shivers ran down his back at the fact that he hadn't felt a thing even though his Extrasensory Perception had been activated.

When he lifted his head, he could see a strange being with dozens of eyes looking down at him through the branches. Each of his eyes was larger than a human. An otherworld god that shouldn't exist in the Tower sent its thoughts toward him. Who. Are. You.