Chapter 40

Chapter 40
## Chapter 40: Reverence

—

### Awe

Isaac and Isabella traded silent looks.

‘The numbers are just keeps climbing?’

‘…….’

‘Shouldn’t we make a break for it, just us?’

She gave a firm shake of her head.

Isaac’s expression clouded as Isabella refused to move.

The situation was spiraling into something truly bizarre.

As the Tower of Mystery underwent its transformation, creatures from every corner of Kramdel began to congregate.

But it didn’t stop there.

The Palace Demons made their entrance, and now the absolute sovereigns of Kramdel—the Four Powers—had fully assembled.

There wasn’t a single path left for a clean exit.

‘They might even see right through my magic….’

A deep sense of dread settled in Isaac’s gut.

Surrounded by this sea of monsters, the risk of being identified as a human was astronomical.

If his cover blew, it was over. He’d be dead before he could blink.

Yet, he wasn’t the only one standing on the edge of a precipice.

‘I can’t help but feel we’ve walked into a disaster.’

The half-dragon woman standing beside him and the King of Corpse Crows.

Their sudden presence had shattered the peaceful rhythm of Isaac’s life.

For an entire year, he had remained undiscovered.

His quiet, unassuming existence in Kramdel had reached its expiration date.

However, having already accepted their assistance, he couldn’t simply abandon them now.

Isaac felt a desperate urge to question the half-dragon woman, Isabella:

‘Did the King of Corpse Crows actually set this whole catastrophe in motion?’

Her gaze held a strange, unwavering confidence.

But he kept his mouth shut.

In this environment, even a whisper would be caught.

The tens of thousands of monsters gathered here were hyper-attuned to the slightest vibration or movement.

A single flicker of doubt could cost him his head.

Alternatively, he might end up turned to stone, a permanent decoration on the tower’s entrance.

Both options were equally catastrophic.

‘I have to find a way to get out of here.’

Isaac rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

The self-proclaimed Star Awakener. He racked his brain for a way to whisk the King of Corpse Crows away from the chaos.

The moment those doors swung open, the hundred monsters currently inside would come pouring out at once.

He had to pluck the Star Awakener out of that crowd and vanish.

Trying to disappear under the watchful eyes of the Four Powers and a hundred thousand monsters….

‘It’s a suicide mission.’

He dismissed the thought immediately.

No matter how great Isaac’s talent for stealth was, he couldn’t outrun the Four Powers.

Even if he used every trick in his arsenal, they’d have him pinned in ten seconds.

…Realistically, probably closer to five.

He had no desire to test his speed against the Palace Demons, the fastest beings in existence.

There was no hiding from Medusa’s sweeping petrifying gaze, and a single exhalation from the Great Earth Dragon would collapse every possible exit.

Being harvested by the Death King would lead to an existence far worse than mere death.

He knew a thousand, ten thousand ways to escape, but none of them functioned here.

*Gulp!*

‘Wait….’

Isaac swallowed hard, squinting at the Four Powers. He tilted his head in confusion.

‘Are the Four Powers… nervous?’

Something felt fundamentally wrong.

The Four Powers standing before the tower seemed uncharacteristically high-strung.

But that defied logic.

What were the Four Powers?

Each was an absolute, god-like monarch.

Entities capable of erasing entire civilizations single-handedly.

The Death King, for example, had once annihilated the magnificent city now known as ‘Necrovelly’ in a single stroke.

A bustling capital turned to ash and bone in less than twenty-four hours by his hand.

Now, it was a ghost city, a wasteland of tombs and silence.

Since that day, humanity had completely abandoned Kramdel, leaving it to the Four Powers.

And now, four beings of that terrifying caliber were standing together.

Monsters who could potentially topple the Demon King were acting… anxious?

All because of a tower changing its shape?

‘It happened when the rings hit five.’

One thing was undeniable: they hadn’t been this agitated when there were only four rings.

The moment the fifth ring appeared, their tension became thick enough to taste.

Even for a mythic trial, was this shift enough to make the Four Powers sweat?

*Whiiiiiiaaaaa!*

The transformation finally reached its peak at the top of the tower.

The five rings began to pulse with a blinding radiance, slowly bleeding into one another.

The rings reshaped themselves into the form of a crown.

……But that crown.

It looked hauntingly familiar.

‘The Star Awakener… that’s the same crown the King of Corpse Crows wears.’

It was madness.

From every angle, it was a perfect replica of the King of Corpse Crows’ headpiece.

Could the Star Awakener truly be the catalyst for this monumental event?

Was he the one who had commanded the attention of every beast in Kramdel and frozen the Four Powers in place?

“He’s exiting!”

“The tower is finally opening!”

As the monsters roared, the participants began to spill out one by one.

They were immediately greeted by a sight that triggered instant hysteria.

“Th-the Four Powers…!”

“Why are they all standing here?”

A sea of monsters, presided over by the Four Powers.

The power dynamic was suffocating.

Facing the Four Powers was a soul-crushing experience; their sheer presence was enough to break the will of lesser beings.

No creature present could stand in their shadow without shaking.

Even high-tier mythic beings like the Imugi or phantasms like the Phoenix were paralyzed, barely able to keep their footing.

The Four Powers ignored the rabble, their eyes scanning each emerging monster with surgical precision.

They were looking for a transcendent.

The true anomaly who had shattered the White King’s record of five rings!

“……Were you all waiting for my arrival?”

Every eye snapped toward the figure stepping out of the tower.

He seemed completely unfazed by the Four Powers blocking his path.

He even dared to throw out a casual, arrogant joke.

The monsters watching from the sidelines began to hiss and whisper.

“An Imugi!”

“An Imugi would certainly have the potential for this.”

The creature stepping out was indeed a mythic Imugi.

A beast on the very cusp of ascending to true Dragonhood!

As if to prove his worth, the pearl of ambition lodged in his chest was glowing so intensely it looked ready to explode.

‘Just as I thought. Even the Four Powers can sense my destiny.’

The Imugi puffed out his chest with pride.

To have an audience with the Four Powers was the highest honor.

The reason for this gathering was obvious to him.

They had sensed the ‘mystery’ he had claimed inside the tower.

They were here to acknowledge his ascent and recruit him—what other explanation was there?

“The mystery I have claimed is on par with the ‘Proof of the King.’ It is a qualification that rivals even the Great Earth Dragon! Witness the legendary mystery, the ‘Mist of the Phantasmal Dragon’!”

A thick haze swirled around the Imugi.

Within the fog, seven-colored lights shimmered like a captured rainbow.

Mist of the Phantasmal Dragon!

A mystery of legends, a relic of the ancient phantasmal dragon spoken of in myths.

By invoking its name, he was claiming a seat among the Four Powers themselves.

The Four Powers finally spoke, their voices cold and synchronized.

“No.”

“Incorrect.”

“Hmm. Definitely not him.”

“…….”

It was unanimous.

The Great Earth Dragon, the Palace Demons, the Death King, and Medusa were in perfect agreement.

This Imugi was not the transcendent they sought.

The next to emerge was a high-ranking member of the blood race, but they dismissed him just as quickly.

“Still no.”

The Four Powers echoed the Great Earth Dragon’s disappointment.

Ninety-nine challengers walked out in sequence, and every single one failed to meet the mark.

None of them possessed the aura of a transcendent.

The Four Powers remained entirely unmoved.

Even the rarest mythic and phantasm species were treated with total indifference.

The disappointment was palpable.

But there was one remaining.

‘The last one to step out must be the transcendent.’

Surely, the final person was the one who had changed the world.

*Thud.*

The final challenger stepped through the threshold.

When the Four Powers saw who it was, they couldn’t mask their sheer confusion and letdown.

“Hmm…?”

“A Corpse Crow…?”

The King of Corpse Crows.

……The most pathetic and unremarkable of all the participants.

—

《You have successfully conquered the ‘Wall of Species (5)’ trial.》

A glowing notification hovered in his vision: the trial was complete.

He had cleared the fifth stage.

Starting as a Corpse Crow, he had traversed the paths of the Void, the Giant, the Druid, and finally, the Heavenly Being.

‘The Heavenly Being trial was actually about rejecting the final prize?’

The first four stages had been grueling battles.

He had slowly accumulated traits, reinforcing his skeleton soldiers bit by bit.

Exhausted to the point where he couldn’t move, the lure of the Heavenly Being trait—with a species value of 20—had felt irresistible.

Then the ‘final reward’ prompt had appeared.

‘Completed Myth.’

A mystery of the Unique grade, specifically tailored and named for him.

It was a temptation no one could ignore.

Anyone else would have snatched it up immediately.

If there were no more rewards, why keep going? The whole point of the struggle was to get the best possible loot.

And yet, a nagging instinct, a refusal to settle for something that felt incomplete, forced him to decline.

‘……I can’t believe that was the intended answer.’

If that was the case, it created a new mystery.

‘Then what exactly is the Heavenly trait?’

The Heavenly Being trait was what he had been chasing.

He wanted to understand why its value was double that of every other hidden trait.

Or perhaps the act of making that choice was the very essence of being ‘Heavenly’?

At that moment, the messages began to flood in.

《An unyielding seeker who defines his own conclusion.》

《The tower looks upon your choice to seek absolute completion with awe.》

《Achievement Unlocked: ‘Challenger Who Became the Myth Itself.’》

《Your Fame has increased by 500.》

《The tower pledges: your journey will be forever etched into the Annals of Mystery.》

《As a reward, you have received the out-of-spec grade mystery: ‘Eternal Randolph.’》

Out-of-spec.

It was a classification he had never encountered before.

It sat above Unique—a grade that defied standard definition.

A reward given because any further testing or choosing would be pointless.

《All constellations of the Citizen War are in disbelief.》

《You have manifested the impossible through your completion!》

《Constellations witnessing the ultimate mystery are struck with tremors.》

《‘Main Quest 5: Obtain Mystery’ has been completed.》

《Received ‘Very Large Fragment of the Broken Golden Rule’ 300h (200+100).》

Finally, his mission in Kramdel was a success.

He had finished Main Quest 5 with a performance that defied logic!

He ignored the frantic chatter of the constellations.

His focus was entirely on the final results.

《Calculating rewards.》

《Out-of-spec grade cannot be calculated by standard means.》

But… it couldn’t be processed.

Because the grade didn’t officially exist, it couldn’t be converted into a point value.

As he frowned, a different notification appeared.

《A maximum score has been awarded by unanimous decree.》

《Final Score: 500 points》

《Record updated in the ‘Hall of Fame.’》

《‘Constellation of Luck’ gives a thumbs up. Reward further enhanced.》

《‘Constellation of Adventure’ is screaming your name. Reward further enhanced.》

《‘Constellation of Clockwork’ acknowledges your achievement. Reward further enhanced.》

《‘Constellation of Silver Moon’ offers a silent nod.》

《‘Nameless Constellation’ quietly adds their support.》

……

……

……

《Level Up!》

### Overwhelm

Simultaneously.

Players across the globe were frozen in shock.

“Am I hallucinating?”

“Has anyone ever seen a score like that?”

“What the hell?”

“This can’t be real…… how is this possible?”

“I thought the cap was 250?”

As the rankings for Main Quest 5 shifted, everyone checking the Hall of Fame stared at the impossible number.

“500 points? It’s not a glitch—it’s a literal 500?”

Main Quest 5.

Obtain Mystery.

Most players didn’t treat this quest as a life-or-death struggle.

You could clear it by buying a cheap mystery from a back-alley merchant.

The mysteries available to humans in Pangeniar were generally mediocre anyway.

Unless you were a legendary hero or a powerful lord, they didn’t offer much.

“……Master.”

The top spot for Main Quest 5 had belonged to ‘Master.’

He had 240 points.

A massive lead of 50 points over the second-place player, the strongest in the human world!

Master was the ruler of the fallen city Lundella, a man who commanded legions—a king in all but name.

He was convinced his record was permanent.

Even Gracia had stopped trying to beat him, so who could possibly challenge that score?

But it had been challenged. It had been eclipsed. By a staggering, impossible margin.

He had been left in the dust.