Chapter 260

Chapter 260
## Chapter 260

—

The Identity of the Angel

The objective of Main Quest 1, Survival, was clear: find a way to keep a specific character alive despite being dropped into a lethal environment under extreme duress. Because every participant was locked at level 1 and given nothing but the most pathetic, bottom-tier gear, there was a natural ceiling to how high one could score, regardless of how flawlessly they handled the trial.

For a long time, the peak of the Hall of Fame was held by Gracia with 195 points. This served as a testament to just how grueling the quest was; reaching that height was considered the absolute limit of human capability.

‘The legend of Gracia, which everyone assumed was untouchable, finally fell when Randolph arrived.’

Randolph. Everything changed with his debut.

Park Tae-woo, who commanded the Hero Alliance, shut his eyes tight. He could still feel the phantom surge of adrenaline from the moment the name Randolph first burned itself onto the Hall of Fame leaderboard. Back then, the player base was fractured with theories about his identity. 220 points. That was the moment the community realized that such a staggering number was actually attainable in Main Quest 1.

Though he went on to post even more incomprehensible scores in later challenges, the Survival score remained the true benchmark of a player’s core “talent.” Randolph hadn’t just broken a record; he had signaled the start of a myth by being the first to shatter the 200-point barrier.

‘Main Quest 1 is the ultimate crucible where only raw ability—the combination of mental fortitude, twitch reactions, and technical mastery—is put on display.’

As a result, a player’s score in Main Quest 1 was a direct window into their true caliber. Survival was a test that stripped away everything but pure, unadulterated skill. Looking at the top-tier rankers, there was a blatant correlation: those who sat at the top of the global rankings almost always mirrored the rankings of the Survival trial.

To put it simply, one’s Survival ranking was essentially a measurement of their ultimate potential.

‘To hit the level cap and pursue Transcendence, a person has to be capable of weathering the storm entirely on their own. Raw talent is the only thing that determines how high your ceiling for growth actually is.’

It didn’t matter what legendary gear someone wore or what overpowered hidden classes they stumbled into; if they lacked the fundamental skill, they would eventually hit a wall they couldn’t climb. The world of Pangaea was built for the solo journey. Once a player moved past Level 9, leveling up through grinding became impossible; progress could only be achieved through “monumental feats” or by conquering “hunts and trials in total isolation.”

And yet.

‘……The Hall of Fame has been turned upside down. On top of that, three more individuals have managed to break past the 200-point mark.’

Randolph was the pioneer of the 200-point club. But now, three newcomers had reached that elite status simultaneously. If the Main Quest 1 score was a roadmap of potential, it meant three new monsters had appeared whose ceilings were even higher than Gracia’s. Most shockingly, one individual had actually eclipsed Randolph’s legendary score.

Fwaaa!

Fwaaaaak!

Park Tae-woo watched the pillars of light signaling the return of the players. Across the globe, tens of thousands were reappearing in a flash of brilliance.

‘Among that crowd… they’re out there. The freaks of nature who have surpassed both Gracia and Randolph.’

The more perceptive observers already understood the gravity of this shift. That light represented a fundamental change. Much like Prometheus delivering fire to the masses, that light was the spark of a new era for the players.

Park Tae-woo scrolled through the Hall of Fame once more, his eyes fixated on the names that had cleared 200 points.

Names like Kueku and Choi Kang-nam practically screamed their origins. If the tutorial on the Island of God functioned anything like the Survival they knew, then these newcomers had earned those points through nothing but sheer grit and ability. Even if the circumstances differed between the 1st Generation Awakened and the 2nd Generation, the numbers didn’t lie.

‘Choi Kang-nam…… That name is unmistakably Korean.’

He knew what had to be done. He needed to track this man down and recruit him into the Hero Alliance before anyone else could react. He had to lock down this burgeoning monster whose potential made Gracia look like an amateur. Choi Kang-nam! Even the name felt heavy with power. If he were to be snatched up by one of the local splinter factions, it would be a catastrophe. Seoul could be reduced to ash. He couldn’t let those criminals get their hands on him.

At the same time, he couldn’t help but wonder. The prizes for ranking in Main Quest 1 weren’t just common items.

‘The First Logout.’

The elite ten were given the early right to log out of the system. While the general player base would eventually gain this ability, the power to return to the real world immediately after finishing Main Quest 1 provided an incredible strategic edge. It meant they could hoard and process information far ahead of the curve.

‘The 2nd Generation Awakened don’t have existing avatars in Pangaea.’

Presumably, these new players would be limited to operating on Earth. This left him ruminating on what kind of “privilege” these top-tier 2nd Generation rankers had received. Most of all, he was dying to know about the one person who outranked Randolph. What kind of insane reward did the monster in 1st place walk away with?

‘……Two Koreans.’

Choi Kang-nam wasn’t the only representative of his country on the board. Park Tae-woo’s gaze lingered on the name sitting at the very top.

……The score was so high it defied all logic.

《Calculating final results.》
《Your performance is staggering and magnificent. You have reached a height no novice should touch!》
《Final score: 300 points. The ‘Hall of Fame’ for the Main Quest is being refreshed.》
《The Constellations within the Hundred Star Temple are watching with deep fascination.》
《The ‘Cruel Constellation’ strokes its chin. The quality of your reward is being elevated.》
《The ‘Ominous Constellation’ licks its lips. The quality of your reward is being elevated.》
《The ‘Cold-hearted Constellation’s’ eyes spark. The quality of your reward is being elevated.》
《The ‘Merciless Constellation’ acts disinterested while secretly watching. The quality of your reward is being elevated.》

……

《The reward has reached a transcendent state.》
《You have gained 1,000 SP.》
《You have received the ‘Broken Spear of Longinus.’》

In a heartbeat, a flood of notifications filled my vision. I had crushed the competition and claimed every objective, securing a score that sat in a league of its own. I decided to check the loot later; my focus was entirely on the ‘Holy Star’ floating right in front of me.

「Great warrior, sovereign of the Great Island.」

……I knew it. The lower-level fairies hadn’t clocked who I was, but the Angel of Blessing had recognized my true identity from the start.

“I see you’re finally in the mood for a chat.”

I let out a sharp click of my tongue. The one responsible for kicking me out of the tutorial right at the beginning was this ‘Angel’ standing before me. ……Yes, it was an Angel. The issue was that its physical form bore no resemblance to the ‘Angel’ I had imagined. It wasn’t some human-shaped being with snowy wings. The creature in my sight was, by any rational definition, nothing like an ‘Angel.’

‘This is supposed to be an Angel?’

It was why I had been so baffled initially. An Angel had never been documented in the world of Pangaea until this moment. Or, at least, I assumed I hadn’t seen one.

‘Wait, I have seen this.’

……I thought I was looking at something new, but I had definitely encountered this form before. It was back at the Reaper Cult within the Empire. A colossal, golden sphere. It was massive—easily a hundred times the size of a dragon’s typical ‘Wish Orb.’ Back then, the Reaper Cult had used that sphere to track the exact number of active players in Pangaea. Their ability to see through every player’s secret was entirely dependent on that orb.

But that golden sphere was actually an Angel?

‘Unbelievable.’

The pieces finally clicked. I understood why Pangaea was crawling with demons, devils, and monsters, yet lacked a single Angel.

‘Even if they exist, you might as well say they don’t.’

No sane person would look at this thing and see an Angel. Even I couldn’t make the connection. Even if the orb itself introduced itself as an ‘Angel,’ nobody would buy it.

「You seem remarkably composed upon seeing my true shape.」

When the orb pulsed with a voice of surprise, I shook my head.

“I’m shocked, believe me. I’ve just run into something similar once before at the Reaper Cult.”

It felt like a childhood fantasy had been unceremoniously debunked. Talk about a reality check. After a moment, Gabriel spoke.

「Angels do not show their true selves by choice. If you witnessed a form shown to the unchosen, you likely saw…… an Angel stripped of its ‘Blessing.’」

“What sets them apart?”

「An Angel is a core of existence that bestows a ‘Blessing’ capable of altering reality. It was the fusion of my essence and this island’s unique properties that allowed the people to Awaken.」

Essentially, they were engines of the miraculous. They were the ones who brought wonders into the world. That was the essence of an Angel. One without a blessing was powerless to create such phenomena. I moved on to the question that had been eating at me.

“Did you descend here from the Heavenly Realm?”

「Indeed.」

A blunt, direct confirmation. This entity was a direct link to the Heavenly Realm.

“And what exactly is the Heavenly Realm like?”

「It is a ‘paradise built for the vain and the proud.’」

It was a cryptic answer, but it didn’t sound like any heaven I wanted to visit. It was clear they didn’t give a damn about the plight of mortals, especially since even an Angel described the place as ‘vain and proud.’

“……Did I manifest in this body instead of as Randolph because I’m the lord of this island?”

「No. This is a freak anomaly born from the ‘overlap’ between the existence of Randolph and Park Hyunmyeong. The island’s blessing is unable to reach those who have already undergone Awakening.」

This was a variable that even Gabriel, the Angel of Blessing, hadn’t planned for. In other words, a person Awakening twice was a cosmic fluke that likely wouldn’t happen again.

「Great sovereign of the island, I will now bestow upon you the ‘Transmission’ and my own ‘Blessing.’ May your path be unending.」

“Wait. You’re not about to—?”

I felt my brow furrow instantly. I had a sinking feeling I knew what was coming. Gabriel offered one last cryptic parting thought.

「If we continue this dialogue, a ‘Record’ will be created.」
「This is the absolute limit of my ability to prevent myself from being ‘Recorded.’」
「We shall cross paths again in the future.」
「Alongside the matured Fairy Dragons.」
「……I beg of you, lead us toward salvation.」

With those final words, the scene shifted.

《The ‘Archangel’s Blessing’ has been conferred.》
《The ‘Transmission’ for a Hidden Class has been received.》
《‘Gabriel, the Angel of Blessing’ is forcefully ejecting you.》

Gabriel had kicked me out with such urgency that it felt like she was running out of time. What did she mean about a record being left behind? I thought back to the ‘Angel’ at the Reaper Cult. I had suspected back then that the Angel was a massive hub of data. Much like how every action in a game creates ‘Logs,’ she had to terminate our connection to ensure no ‘Log’ of our conversation could be traced.

‘She’s trying to keep me off the radar.’

The motive was clear. She wanted to keep my existence a secret. There was no benefit in the world knowing that I owned the Island of God or that I was actually Randolph.

However, even that revelation paled in comparison to the shock of my current surroundings.

‘Where on earth am I……?’

When my eyes adjusted, I wasn’t in the damp sewers where I had first accessed the Island of God. The smell of decay was gone, and the area was flooded with light. I thought I might have been teleported, but one thing was certain: this definitely wasn’t ‘Earth.’

“Out of the way! Clear the road if you value your lives!”
“Hah!”

A mounted convoy thundered past. Dozens of knights in polished silver plate were charging through the center of a bustling city. The insignia of the ‘Goddess Cult’ was emblazoned on their gear. I took in the sights around me and the realization hit.

‘Adrium, the Holy City of the Goddess Cult.’

This was the beating heart of the Goddess Cult’s power, and I had managed to enter Pangaea while still in the form of Park Hyunmyeong.