The World After the Fall

Jagel Meng had been a genius since young and had been called the best tactician in [Chaos]. He always considered himself to be the brightest genius among anyone in [Chaos]. But his pride had now dwindled.

"I know of your plan."

"…"

"It's impossible. You don't even stand a chance against the Generals of those Lords."

Meng joined the annoying tournament only to give such advice.

"Do you think you are the first in [Chaos] to say such a thing? There was one like you 200 years ago, 300 years ago. Do you know what happened to all of them?"

Meng paused for a second and continued, "They're all dead."

[Chaos] had been around for countless years. Many people tried to revolutionize the place. There were heroes who wanted the greater good for the people.

All of them never returned from the [Depth].

Meng had withstood 400 years in [Chaos]. Because of that, he was entitled to say this.

"You think we're fools for leaving this world as it is?"

Meng knew why the world couldn't change. The people here were too deep into their despair. They were afraid of having hope. They were afraid of experiencing greater despair that might be waiting beyond any hope. That's why they gave up on hope. That's how they found a way to survive.

And now, there was new hope that was luring people in. It was Meng's job to quell this threat before their hope would grow into more despair.

"[Chaos] cannot change anymore."

Meng activated his reading skill [Seven Golden Line]. It was a top-grade unique skill that enabled Meng to read all the statuses of a target. Meng's 'Eye of Sky' shone red.

[System Error. Cannot read user data.]

[System Error. Cannot read user data.]

Meng frowned. 'W-what?'

And then Jaehwan spoke for the first time.

"Are you done? If you talk again, I'll kill you."

Jaehwan made a move with his sword. It had been a long time since Meng had gotten beat up. It was too late when his sight was fading. He felt pain had struck his stomach and he couldn't think. The pure pain made him astonished.

'M-maybe he might have a chance against some Generals…'

And then he realized he was shooting up into the sky.

All the spectators turned pale. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. The sheer power they were witnessing was unprecedented.

-I-it is amazing strength! The Master has defeated Jagel Meng in just one move!

The spectators realized that they were not mistaken about what they had seen. Meng fell onto the ground as people burst into cheers.

"WOW!"

"Master of Gorgon!"

What Jaehwan used was his new skill [Twisting Kill]. They were debating on the name Twisting Stab or Twisting Slash when Cayman interrupted with the new name.

-Stab or slash, they are both made to kill, so just name it Twisting Kill!

Jaehwan turned to Meng as he remembered Cayman.

'They are both the same 7th stage… but too different. Is it because he's a tactician?'

He heard Meng also a 7th stage like Cayman, but Meng was similar to Yong or Kanghwang, maybe just a bit stronger.

Chunghuh told him there were people stronger than him in the [Palace of Reincarnation]. If they traveled into the [Depth], the situation would only get worse. If the most powerful in [Chaos] was this weak, it might be better if he went alone.

When Jaehwan was about to get off the stage, Meng slowly rose up.

"…W-wait! Not yet!"

Jaehwan turned to Meng and shook his head.

"You lost."

Meng could not accept the loss. It wasn't like his usual self, but he couldn't bear to accept the loss. He knew that if he accepted this loss, he would be accepting that his 400 years of life had been nothing.

"Do you think you have won?"

Jaehwan did not answer. There was no need to. But Meng said something unexpected.

"You should keep your promise."

Promise? Jaehwan narrowed his eyes.

"…What do you mean?"

"You said that if anyone beats you within a month, you will appoint that person to be the new Master."

"I did."

Meng nodded. "Yes, you said one-on-one fight, but you did not specify in what way."

That was true. Jaehwan did not go into such details as it wasn't needed.

"So?"

"I am not here to fight you with strength. I'm here to fight you in a battle of wits. You should allow me to challenge you in my way."

It was logical, but it didn't make Meng any less of a loser. The crowds began to boo Meng.

"LOSER! GET OFF!"

"ADMIT IT!"

Chunghuh also frowned at the sight.

"I knew it."

"Meng's just being himself."

Mukeuk nodded.

"But… this might be hard to win."

Chunghuh spoke. He knew what Meng did when competing with tactics.

"He'll want to play that 'game'."

"Game?"

"You know, the one he's good at"

Chunghuh gritted his teeth. He knew which game it was.

"The one that all tacticians like to play."

"Oh… you mean that?"

Mukeuk seemed to realize what it was.

"But it will be fun."

The crowd got excited as Jaehwan accepted the challenge. Then, the stage began to change with a high-skilled illusion. Things began appearing on the surface of the stage and soon everyone could see various small landscapes such as rivers, mountains, foggy areas and such. It was like the smaller version of a giant land. When it was done, a message popped up from above.

[Welcome to the World of Battle Formations!]

And there was a message that only popped up in front of Jaehwan.

[Welcome! You are a beginner! Check the manual above and learn about the rules and how to play!]

Jaehwan pressed on the manual button. He was a bit confused. Did a battle of wits mean a battle of war tactics? Jaehwan wondered if he should just cancel the whole thing and beat up Meng. Realizing what Jaehwan was thinking, Meng hastily spoke up.

"I-it's just a kind of game! It was created by the [Master Nightmare] 'Mars.' He created this after being motivated by playing a famous game in some world. Even famous tacticians in the [Great Lands] play this…"

'…And I'm the best at this game.'

Meng did not say the last part out loud.

"But it's not hard at all. It's just to test your wits and knowledge. All you have to do is to create your army, control them, place them in the right places, and fight."

Jaehwan scanned through the manual and answered, "It's more simple than I thought."

Meng frowned.

'Let's see how far your arrogance goes.'

To Meng, he had already won. It seemed that Jaehwan was unsuspecting of it.

'This one is mine, Master. I have never lost in this game.'

However, there was one thing Meng did not know.

'A [Nightmare] got motivated to make this game after playing a game in another world?'

Jaehwan smirked. He seemed to know where this 'world' was located. He had never played this game, which was true. But in some sense, it wasn't true. He had played a similar game thousands of times. Back in his world, all people in his age range, played this game many, many times.

'What are these [Nightmares]? This is almost a copy.'

The game that the famous [Master Nightmare] 'Mars' created to motivate tacticians of the [Great Lands] had three races that fought against each other as the main scenario, with gathering resources in real-time to create armies and destroy enemy structures to win the game.

Jaehwan knew the exact same game from his world. Everyone in his homeworld knew how to play it.

"Do you accept the current land?"

"Whatever."

Jaehwan glanced at the name of the land.

[Jagel Meng has chosen 'Lost Garden' as the battlefield].