Ranker Who Lives Twice

All the legends that Yeon-woo had seen so far were noticeably missing something, and they were looking for opportunities to swallow other legends to somehow fill what they were missing. This was the reason why the king of gods and the Death King had fought each other, and why the Hoarder and the Shadow King were working together under the safety net of a pledge of mana.

However, from what Yeon-woo saw so far, the Giant God seemed to have none of that. Rather, he was displaying his pride as a god clearly for everyone to see. Every one of his actions and footsteps were filled with dignity and elegance, as if he wasn't missing anything. He seemed to have established his identity himself.

Yeon-woo felt like although the Giant God had his face, the being wasn't him. "What's this worthiness you're talking about?" Yeon-woo had initially intended on taking action while the battle was taking place, but the Giant God's attitude changed Yeon-woo's mind. He wanted to know what the Giant God was thinking.

At Yeon-woo's question, the Giant God made a surprised expression. The Giant God had thought all the creatures with that face would ignore the words of others in order to carry out their purpose, but this being was asking him for the reason.

"Isn't that obvious? One's attitude as a god." The Giant God stated his opinion with assurance.

Yeon-woo's eyebrows furrowed. "A god?"

"Yes, a god. You must also be a part of the legends from the memories of a mysterious being… ###. Why don't you be more confident in your attitude as a god? I don't know if someone who hides himself behind a mask to trick others…" The Giant God looked at the Hoarder then turned toward the Shadow King. "Or someone so beastly they only know how to show their temper can be a god."

Lastly, the Giant God looked Yeon-woo up and down. "And you seem to be standing alone without crutches…but you don't show an attitude as a god either. I don't know about you."

Yeon-woo became certain. 'An attitude…as a god.' In the first place, gods were beings who shredded all restraints and limits and could become independent. Gods were pioneers who led the way for his followers. Yeon-woo knew that was what the Giant God meant.

"…I see. You're not human." Yeon-woo muttered something to himself as if he realized something.

Just then, the Shadow King stepped up with an annoyed expression. "Hey, Player. Why are you asking such useless things?" From his perspective, it was bothersome because they should all be focusing on the battle, but Yeon-woo was exchanging small talk.

Of course, Yeon-woo pretended not to hear the Shadow King.

"How annoying."

However, the Shadow King didn't do anything to stop Yeon-woo despite the displeasure he was feeling. Causing internal strife in this situation would be suicide in this situation where they needed to defeat the Giant God, and the pledge of mana bound their relationship.

'After the Giant God is eliminated…you guys are next.' The Shadow King had already organized what his next steps would be in his mind, and the next step was to commence his plan when the Giant God was near collapse. The restraints of the pledge of mana would take a toll, but it wasn't absolute. 'I can always find loopholes.'

The Shadow King lightly tapped his shadow, which then wavered in response. The things in his shadow could sweep away everything here after the Giant God was taken down. His pride, the shadow army, was composed of ghosts who only moved out of submission and obedience for him regardless of any pledge of mana. He believed he could overcome the side effects that came from breaking the pledge with the legends he gained from killing the Giant God and the Hoarder.

'The masked guy probably has some trick hidden up his sleeve too, but all I have to do is eliminate him before he can use it,' the Shadow King thought. If the Shadow King had to choose someone he was most wary of, it wasn't the Giant God, who was the strongest, or Yeon-woo, who was spewing useless nonsense. It was the Hoarder.

The sharp gaze beneath the Hoarder's black mask was no different from that of a beast that was targeting its prey. However, in the end, strategy and tricks had to surrender in front of overwhelming strength. That was what the Shadow King believed.

Fwoosh! As if he had no need to contemplate any longer, the Shadow King spread his Sky Wings apart with Vigrid in hand and sped towards the Giant God. Whatever cards the others had, defeating the Giant God came first.

* * *

'I don't know what it is, but you didn't think I'd realize you had some other plan? Idiot.' The Hoarder snorted as he looked at the Shadow King attempting another attack. He only had memories of climbing the Tower with the diary from the pocket watch his brother had left behind, so his world was filled with distrust. He'd needed to strategize and realize others intentions to include them in his plans or leave them as variables.

As soon as the Hoarder opened his eyes, the first he did was examine the Shadow King. Just by looking at his actions, speech, tone…the Hoarder could tell what kind of memories the Shadow King had, and what his temperament and identity were like.

The first being the Hoarder met was the Giant God, but the being wasn't one he could handle alone, so he only noted references for later. However, while the Shadow King was someone he needed to work with, the Hoarder thought they'd clash the most.

In this stage requiring an impossible mission and with divine beings at every corner, to become the final victor, the Hoarder needed to maintain a relationship with others and become divided at the end. Of course, that didn't mean he was able to know everything, but inferring could be a lot of help. What he concluded was that the Shadow King had a hidden card he believed would be absolute, but he didn't know what it was.

It could be a skill that allowed the Shadow King to make shadows of himself, or he could be working with another legend who was hiding himself somewhere nearby. But the Hoarder believed it didn't matter.

'I can just keep tied the hands of this helper so they can't do anything.' The Hoarder fiddled with the dagger in his hand. It wasn't the Magic Bayonet or Carshina's Dagger he often used. Sssss. This dagger was similar, but it had a different color to it.

'I hope the Death King does his job well.' Before the Hoarder met the Shadow King, he had met the Death King first in the process of obtaining a fragment.

You take this. Instead, let's work together.

At the time, the Death King had shared the Li's Fragment with him. Since he was filled with suspicion, the Hoarder was naturally wary of the Death King, but he didn't seem to care.

None of us can trust each other anyway, so we should just work toward a common goal. I don't care what you do with the non-divine beings. I just need the memory of another divine being. I have no interest in anything aside from that.

Why are you making me such an offer?

Since I met you first. I thought you were useful. Is that good enough?

The Death King said the dagger could tell him the location of its holder. He'd be able to join the fight if needed.

Of course, the Hoarder didn't trust the Death King. But he believed in the Death King's power. If he used the dagger at an appropriate time and summoned the Death King here, this place would be pandemonium no matter what assistance the Shadow King summoned.

The Hoarder planned on eliminating the non-divine beings in that chaos. If possible, he wanted to take care of the Death King and the Giant God as well.

'There's a reason why the other divine beings haven't taken the fragments yet?' The Hoarder recalled what the Giant God said as his eyes flashed. 'Idiots. If I thought I'd lose control over myself to some strange object, I wouldn't have entered a place like this in the first place. If you can't use a tool for what it is because you're scared, you can't do anything.'

The fragments, the Death King, the Giant God, and the other legends… Even his own life… They were nothing but tools to accomplish the Hoarder's mission.

'The only thing I'm worried about is that guy.' The Hoarder glanced at Yeon-woo, who was inputting magic power into a sword that had fallen to the ground after the Hoarder used it. The Hoarder could see faint sword qi appear on the blade. 'I don't know what he's thinking, but I don't need to worry about a guy who can only produce that much aura.'

The Hoarder thought Yeon-woo was himself from when he was a student or soldier. Or it could be from when he passed the Tutorial after entering the Tower.

Yeon-woo was using magic power with more ease than expected, but the Hoarder thought that was only because Yeon-woo had absorbed two of the fragments. 'The Shadow King must've realized this too. If the guy has Draconic Eyes, he can probably copy what the other legends are doing since he's quick on.'

Since the normal-looking Yeon-woo was also from the same being as the Hoarder and the Shadow King, it was possible he had something hidden up his sleeve. No, he definitely did, and he was going to stab them in the back if he could.

But could someone who had just learned magic power go against the pledge of mana? Even if he could, it would greatly affect Yeon-woo, and the others could eliminate him if he attempted anything… That was what the Hoarder thought.

However, since the Hoarder couldn't ignore Yeon-woo completely, he'd cast another safety net. 'After the raid's somewhat done, I'll have to do something. Since the conditions of the pledge are only to uphold the alliance, cutting off the hands and feet of the Death King won't matter since he's not a part of the pledge.'

All pledges had loopholes. The divine beings probably thought the normal Yeon-woo wouldn't be useful for anything, so he probably didn't have anyone assisting him. The Hoarder would make his move when the Giant God was near eliminated.

Thinking the same thing, the Hoarder and Shadow King spread their Fire Wings apart, kicking off from the ground to attack the Giant God.

['Meteor Sword Art - Sword Thunder' is activated!]

[Creation of the skill has failed.]

[Aura explodes as a penalty for failing to control magic power.]

"…!" The Hoarder suddenly felt hot air. It was so hot he felt like his entire body would melt. Then, with an intense flash of light, the Hoarder's vision turned red and he lost all consciousness.

* * *

Rumble. Dudududu! Krakrakra! The Sword Thunder that Yeon-woo had "failed" swept everything away as it stretched out around him. The original form of Sword Thunder, Meteor Sword Art, was one that combined all the attacking skills Yeon-woo had, so it was impossible for Yeon-woo's current body to handle such a skill.

Eventually, Yeon-woo's Magic Circuit went berserk, and the explosion that arose as a result "unintentionally" made him sweep everything away.

[The pledge of mana has been upheld because it was an accident.]

[You have retrieved the legend of the 'Shadow King!']

[Identity restoration begins.]

Ssss. Yeon-woo, who had been taken in by the explosion first, was able to open his eyes after he was restored to a message of the system judging that he had eliminated the Shadow King. Now, he had the legend of the Shadow King following the military Yeon-woo.

"You mother…!" On the other hand, the Hoarder, who was luckily able to somehow stay alive, looked at Yeon-woo with disbelief. Although he was alive, his body was destroyed, and organs were spilling out of his stomach. It wasn't strange for him to fall dead at any second. Half of his mask was now gone too.

The Hoarder realized that Yeon-woo had used a "loophole" that none of them had been able to think of. No, it wasn't a loophole, but a flaw of the system, and Yeon-woo had taken advantage of it. He did think Yeon-woo had something up his sleeve, but who would've thought he'd attack when the Giant God wasn't near eliminated yet…!

The Hoarder cursed, but there was nothing he could do. Kashing! Yeon-woo picked up a dagger on the floor and sliced the Hoarder's neck, uninterested in what the Hoarder was thinking.

[You have retrieved the legend of 'the Hoarder!']

Feeling the power building up in his body, Yeon-woo approached the Giant God, who was near buried under some rocks. Cough, cough…! Although the Giant God was coughing blood after sustaining a critical injury, he had a relieved expression.

"You…were the real me."

"Kekeke! I knew I would fall someday, but I didn't know it'd be like this. Yes. My lost name. Can I ask what it was?"

"Cha Yeon-woo."

"Cha Yeon-woo, Cha Yeon-woo…! Haha! The name's a bit strange." The Giant God guffawed and nodded.

Yeon-woo's eyes darkened. "There's something I want to ask."

"It's so painful… You should send me off quickly. You're quite cruel."

Yeon-woo didn't laugh at the Giant God's joke and asked in a serious manner, "Am I still not worthy?"

The Giant God widened his eyes as if he hadn't been expecting this question, and he grinned. "No. You're not."

"Why do you think that?"

"Gods are all lonely. But you're not. Am I wrong?"

"…"

"You're searching for something. It's different from how we're searching for something we're missing. You're definitely missing something too, but you're not trying to find it within yourself. You're trying to find it someplace else." The god's eyes curved in a smile. "You're human."

Something he was missing, and something he was searching for… The moment he heard these words, faces flashed across Yeon-woo's mind. Cha Jeong-woo. His father and mother. Ananta, Sesha. Phante, the Martial King, Shanon, Hanryeong, Rebecca, Boo/Faust, Laplace, Lam and the army of death, Valdebich and the Ghost Giants, the Summer Dragon and the dragons of death…and the last face. The one who always waited for him and greeted him with a smile without ever expressing any resentment.

'…Edora.' Yeon-woo covered his face with his hand.

The Giant God's laughter rang in Yeon-woo's ears. "Kekeke! I told you, gods are lonely. You seek your friends and family, so you're human."

A while later, when Yeon-woo brought his hand down, the Giant God's eyes were closed, a smile still on his face.

[You have retrieved the legend of the 'Giant God!']