‘Points Leaderboard?’

It was a system that even Seol, an expert of this world, didn’t know about.

It was probably something that was newly added.

Ding.

The people quieted down and all started at the message in front of them.

It included 2 sentences and the Points Leaderboard.

[Your information is set to Private.]

[You have 327,600 Points.]

[Adventurer Points Leaderboard

1. Private (327,600)

2. WhatsThis (150,030)

3. Private (137,120)

4. FireAnt (110,570)

5. YahooIsekai (104,200)]

The ranks were revealed.

But more importantly, judging by how everything he heard was in Korean, it was clear that all of the players around him were Korean.

‘Either only Korean people were transferred to The World of Eternity or this was the Korean server…’

When Seol thought of Kodon’s words, it was more likely the latter than it was the former.

When Kodon talked about the ‘World Merge’ it was clear that it meant it was on a much larger scale than just a single country.

“Th… three-thousand points?”

“Even I was only barely able to hit fifty-thousand!”

“It has to be them! They have to be the person behind all of this! How else would that score make sense?”

“I had 3 party members dead… and I was barely able to reach 100 thousand points… so how…”

It was pandemonium.

How terrifying would it have been to start in Pandea, the World of Eternity, on your own?

They cried after confirming that the others here were also players like them.

And at the same time, they were conscious and envious of each other.

No one was safe here.

If there was a rule… an ironclad, unbreakable rule…

It would be that those who were smart and strong had a higher percentage of living.

And it was clear that everyone here was already aware of that rule.

“Who is it? I’m sure you made your information private because you had something to hide, right?”

“Is there anyone here who knows why all of this happened?”

“I bet those people on the leaderboards would know!”

There was a person whose clothing was covered in blood. There was someone who suffered a massive burn. There was even a person with a severed arm.

It was clear that they had all been through hell.

They were all on alert. Because they didn’t know who to trust, they couldn’t even decide on a direction to face, in fear of betrayal. And just then, another message arrived.

[You begin your Rest.]

[Your Key Location Rest is starting.]

[Break 1. Kongory, the free city.]

Break 1. ‘Kongory, the free city’

In The World of Eternity, Kongory was located in South Pandea. It was a well-stocked city with many happy citizens.

The demons of the Pointy Mountains, the trolls of the Rock Molar Tribe, were a huge issue for them, but the situation has settled with the five leaders dead.

Adventurers must take plenty of rest and training here before preparing for the next Adventure.

Objective: Rest and maintenance.

You will be tired upon failure.

Remaining Time [About 30 days]

[You have acquired an ‘Adventurer Identification Card’.]

[You have leftover Adventure Points. Your points must be reflected in the rankings of the Adventurer Association.]

“We’re taking a break? N-Now?”

“For a month? What is this…”

“I guess we won’t die at least.”

The people awkwardly stood around the main gate of Kongory.

Since the Adventurer Identification Card was necessary to enter the city and everyone received one, they should have no issues entering the city.

The problem, if you had to think of one, was that there were a lot of them.

‘How many people are they trying to stuff into one city?’

Seol watched the situation for a second, looked like he realized something, then was the first to walk toward the main gate.

“Wh-where is that guy going?”

“Is ‘Private’ here?”

The gate’s guards didn’t seem especially alarmed by Seol approaching them.

Seol put forth the Adventurer Identification Card he newly received and the guards gave him a thumbs up before sending him his way.

The other players, after seeing that, rushed toward the gate.

“Let’s get inside and rest!”

“Yeah, we can talk about the important things later!”

“P-Please don’t push!”

“Get out of the way!”

The roads that Seol saw were wide enough for a carriage to pass through. He could also see the daily life of those who lived in Pandea.

‘I’m sure we were the last batch of people who finished the 2nd Adventure, right?’

The reason that Seol had that incident in Adventure 2 was because he finished his Adventure later than the other members of his party.

Therefore, it was likely that the Remaining Time for the ‘Key Location Rest’ was also different for everyone since the time that they finished their Adventures would be different. And if that were true, all of the rooms and inns would be fully occupied.

But, perhaps because it’s a city, maybe there were still some rooms left…

At least that should be the case until those people who were rushing toward the gate all entered.

Seol quietly opened the door to an inn called ‘Barley Shelter’ that he found.

Creaaaak.

“Who are you?”

“I came here to rent a room…”

“Show me your Identification Card first.”

Tap.

Seol placed his card on the table and passed it over.

“Do you have any rooms left?”

“There’s one expensive room left, but…”

It was just as he expected.

If Seol was even a little bit slower, he would’ve been sleeping on the streets.

“I’ll take it.”

“For one night?”

“A month.”

“A-A month? I mean… the customers that came earlier were also like that, but… it will be 10 gold coins.”

“I guess it really is an expensive room.”

Seol, who knew the value of the currency he held, felt that it was a bit expensive but he had no other options.

“That’s probably why it’s still left, isn’t it? If you pay 2 more gold coins, we’ll also provide food and baths.”

“Alright.”

“ Haha! You’re quite quick and easy, huh? I like it! Use the room on the right on the top floor!”

Clang…

Seol took the key and started climbing up the creaky stairs.

The owner of the inn, who had a massive beard, quickly gathered the gold coins.

“When do you want the bath?”

“In the morning, please.”

“Alright.”

Click.

Seol opened the door to his room and took a quick look at everything.

It was a clean and safe room. Nothing more, nothing less.

But still, he had to keep the world’s setting in mind. He would just be lucky to not catch some sort of disease from sleeping on that bed.

Seol pushed everything back for tomorrow.

It really was a tiring day.

He was awake for over 24 hours after starting his day with an awful nightmare. He was getting tired of saying this but he had become a piece in the game he enjoyed for over 17 years.

Slide.

Karuna popped out after Seol took off his clothes and laid down.

“Don’t let anything happen while I’m asleep.”

“ …Understood.”

Seol rested his head on the feather pillow and could feel himself falling asleep.

[It is a comfortable bed. There is an increased chance of you getting plenty of rest.]

[It is a clean bed. There is an increased chance of you being in your peak condition tomorrow.]

Suddenly, Seol became worried.

‘I probably won’t go back there… right?’

He wouldn’t.

If Kodon wanted to kill Seol, he wouldn’t have stepped in there in the first place.

Seol couldn’t hold back his drowsiness anymore and slowly, quietly fell asleep.

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

Dreams are a strange thing.

It might bring you happiness by showing you a dream you’ve desired for a long time but it could also show you horrifying, hideous nightmares.

When Seol opened his eyes, he only saw the darkness.

He knew it was a dream but he couldn’t wake himself up from it.

It was a lucid dream.

It was practically a disease that he’s been suffering from for 17 years at this point.

‘I’m just glad I didn’t wake up in the heavens.’

But… just then… he saw a message.

[Someone seems interested in the Madness you have collected.]

[‘Janet’, the Merchant of Madness, appears.]

“Merchant… of Madness?”

It was the first time he saw that sentence as well as the first time he saw this system.

Seol had been surprised multiple times today.

Creaaaaaaaaak!

With that eerie, spine-chilling wail, the surroundings started to get brighter.

No, ‘brighter’ wasn’t an apt word to describe it. It was still a dreary, bloody hue.

The crimson light filled up the entire area and suddenly, someone wearing a mask of a horned demon entered through a door.

The moment they entered, they sniffed.

“Sniff sniff… sniff… It smells extremely pleasant here. Was I the first to find you? It looks like I was faster than Terad.”

“...Who are you?”

“You aren’t that surprised by me? Were you called… humans?”

“Hu…mans?”

It was clear that someone who would say that wasn’t human.

Seol tensed up and concentrated on the conversation.

Janet, who saw that, laughed and bowed.

“Oh my… A good merchant shouldn’t scare their customers. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am one of the merchants in charge of playing the ‘middleman' role for this World Merge, ‘Janet’.

“Middleman? World Merge?”

Even though Seol was the only human who knew about the World Merge, he had a difficult time understanding what Janet was saying.

“Oh no… this is exactly why it’s difficult to trade with those that have been sold off, seriously…”

“I was sold off? I mean… humans were sold off?”

“Please, listen carefully to what I am about to say. Your masters, with the World Merge, have sold ‘the citizens of the two worlds’ off.”

“What do you mean? To whom?”

“To the denizens of another world, of course. I’m sure they had fun and laughed a lot watching you guys thus far. Therefore… you could think of yourselves as slaves who have been sold off to a circus… or gladiators!”

“...And?”

“The audience gives ‘Madness’ as their entrance fee to watch. ‘Madness’ is the driving force behind the world that stands on the opposite side of ‘Divinity’.”

“And who are you?”

“I am a merchant that sells you items in exchange for the Madness you have accumulated. Oh, and of course, your former masters do take a percentage fee from me, though.”

Seol finally completely understood Kodon’s words.

- Snowman, there is only one way to save you and your race. Reach Ascension, the Final Adventure. It is also going to help you if you’re as eye-catching as you can be. Madness is used by the gods to restore their original power but it will also be of use to you.

The gods had sold off the citizens of Earth and Pandea to harvest Madness.

And Seol’s eye-catching actions had caught the attentions of the residents of another world who donated Madness for their entertainment.

Seol didn’t feel betrayed. Rather, he held the gods in contempt.

He had already felt something similar before.

He remembered it every time he looked at the black line which had been drawn around his neck.

‘I finally understand the system now.’

It felt refreshing in a way.

Now that he knew how things were operating, he could easily rank what was important and what was not.

‘I guess Ascension really is the only way to escape this hell… But I gathered Madness too?’

“Considering that you came here for me, it must mean that I have Madness too, right?” asked Seol

“Hmm… In conclusion, yes. You have quite a fair amount.”

“A fair amount? How much exactly?”

Was Madness something that could be so easily gathered?

Seol thought for a second before recognizing that the path he had taken so far in his Adventures wasn’t smooth and nodded.

Janet counted with her fingers while murmuring to herself.

It looked like arithmetic wasn’t her strong suit.

“3000. You have exactly 3000 Madness.”

“Is that a lot?”

“For me, someone who is deep in this industry, it’s not a lot. But for your kind, it is.”

“I can’t get a sense at all…”

“Let me explain it to you like this, currently, you have gathered the most Madness.”

“......”

Janet gave a smile.

“The person in 2nd place was quite close to you but died in the previous Adventure. Such a shame. Anyway, would you like to trade with me?”

“What can I buy?”

Ding!

A bunch of information suddenly appeared in front of Seol. There was so much of it that his head started to hurt.

Seol first picked out two things that he thought were nice.

[[This&That Seasoning Jar]

Quality: Special

Recommended Level: N/A

Weight: 0.1kg

Bonus Effect: You can store a lot of seasonings in this small jar. Only basic seasonings are allowed]

[ [Fresh Ingredients Pouch]

Quality: Special

Recommended Level: N/A

Weight: 0.1kg

Bonus Effect: Ingredients will neither rot nor spoil in this pouch. Each container can be set to a different temperature, and there is a lot of room for ingredients to be stored. However, only food ingredients are allowed storage, and certain food ingredients cannot be stored.]

“...You picked some unique ones.”

Seol looked through a bit more for items that he could purchase with Madness.

There were some decent ones but none that he needed right away. There were also things that would be a huge help later but were expensive.

“None of them really caught my eye.”

“Grr… Those words practically stomp on my, Janet’s, pride! Fine! Then, what about this?!”

Janet pulled out something that had a strange glow.

“Hmm…”

When Seol saw it, he almost gasped.

The item that Janet was holding was something that he knew very well.