Five minutes before.

Suho entered the square, moving confidently through its well-organized interior until he reached the Gate’s portal. Without hesitation, he stepped into the portal.

---

[Entering Gate.]

[Loading Gate information.]

**[Swamp of Despair]**

– *Entry Condition*: Open to all.

– *Maximum Participants*: Unlimited.

The Gate’s entry requirements were simple, but despite the lack of restrictions, it was infamous for having claimed more lives than even the Nameless Sword Gate. This was due to a mystery surrounding the place: up until now, no one had ever returned alive.

*“The Swamp of Despair—a place no one has returned from. But I know what’s here.”*

That knowledge gave Suho the confidence to enter without a second thought.

Upon entering, he found himself in a massive, dimly lit cavern. Before him lay a towering staircase leading upward, and at the top was a door that radiated a brilliant, almost ethereal light. That door was the exit, the portal to the outside. Clearing the Gate required only reaching that door.

*“Yet no one has succeeded.”*

Suho’s gaze dropped from the glowing portal to the staircase leading toward it. Statues, oddly shaped and scattered across the steps, appeared frozen in eternal lamentation. But Suho knew better.

*“These aren’t statues… These are the people who tried to clear the Swamp of Despair.”*

There were no monsters here. Instead, the staircase itself was the Gate’s trial.

This trial was known as *The Stairway of Despair*.

It was a terrifying staircase where each step filled those who climbed it with overwhelming despair. Only those with extraordinary mental fortitude or specialized protection skills could hope to reach the top.

*“To withstand this place, you need a mental protection skill of at least S-rank.”*

This was how the Gate earned the name “Swamp of Despair”—each step dragging challengers deeper into hopelessness until they became immobilized by their own despair, turned to stone as they faltered. These statues were the result of challengers succumbing to that despair.

But Suho felt nothing as he took his first step onto the stairway.

---

*Swoosh!*

In an instant, it felt as though he were falling, plummeting into a vast abyss.

[You have stepped on the Stairway of Despair.]

[A deep despair casts over you.]

As expected, the despair began to seep into Suho. But then—

---

[Dragon’s Blood is activated.]

[Due to the Dragon Armor’s Draconic Endurance effect, mental contamination does not occur.]

Suho smirked as he read the notification. Thanks to *Dragon’s Blood*, he was protected from any mental debuffs, an immunity provided by his *Dragon Armor*’s Draconic Endurance effect.

He took another step forward.

[You have stepped on the Stairway of Despair.]

[A deep despair casts over you.]

[Dragon’s Blood is activated.]

[Due to the Dragon Armor’s Draconic Endurance effect, mental contamination does not occur.]

With each step, the same message appeared. And each time, Suho was unaffected. He climbed the stairs lightly, as though taking a casual stroll.

All around him, stone statues lined the staircase, some even placed to the side to clear the path. By the midpoint, however, the stairway became barren; no statues were visible.

*“This place has broken countless challengers before they could even reach halfway.”*

Step by step, Suho ascended until he reached the very top of the staircase. Protected by Dragon’s Blood, he remained fully conscious.

Just before stepping onto the portal that led to the exit, he paused, looking back at the statues of those who had perished.

*“I’m sorry I couldn’t bring you with me.”*

Suho knew the identity of the first person who would eventually clear this place—someone known as *The Ascetic*, a martial artist with extraordinary mental resilience. The Ascetic had spent hundreds of days battling despair with each step he took, eventually clearing the Gate alone. However, he left the statues behind, knowing that any attempt to touch or move them would cause them to crumble.

Instead of reaching out to the statues, Suho clasped his hands and offered his respects.

“Thank you for your struggles.”

Then, he stepped onto the glowing portal at the top.

---

[Gate conquered.]

[The MVP of the gate conquest is ‘Suho Ahn.’]

[Additional experience points are awarded for being selected as MVP.]

[One bonus stat is awarded for MVP selection.]

[You have successfully conquered a gate that no one else could tackle alone.]

[For this remarkable achievement, the system awards you 5 bonus stats.]

[Level up.]

[All stats have increased by 1.]

[You have gained 1 bonus stat.]

System notifications filled his vision, confirming the Gate’s conquest and granting him various bonuses. His level increased, and his stats were boosted.

But Suho’s eyes were searching for something specific. And then it came.

[A special reward is being given to the MVP of the gate conquest.]

[You have acquired the Ring of Emotions.]

Finally, Suho smiled. *This* was the reason he had come here.

The Swamp of Despair not only presented an opportunity for him to earn an S-rank achievement but also held an item unique to this place, one he’d set his eyes on from the start.

He quickly checked the item’s information.

---

[Ring of Emotions]

– *Grade*: S

# A treasure that can only be obtained in the Swamp of Despair.

# When equipped, the Ring of Emotions allows the wearer to see the most intense emotion a target emits, distinguished by color.

# The ring can extract and store positive (White) and negative (Black) energy from a target’s most intense emotions, allowing the stored energy to be transferred to another target. The duration of the effect is unknown.

---

The *Ring of Emotions*, an S-rank treasure once wielded by the Ascetic, allowed its owner to harness the emotions of others. With it, Suho could influence people or creatures, whether human, animal, or monster. In the wrong hands, however, the ring could be weaponized, used to manipulate emotions to deadly effect.

*“There’s no chance I’ll let this fall into the wrong hands.”*

Suho slipped the ring onto his finger. It immediately resized to fit him perfectly, then turned transparent and vanished from sight, even to the touch.

With the ring securely on his finger, he looked down at the final step of the stairway.

[You have stepped on the Stairway of Despair.]

[A deep despair casts over you.]

[Dragon’s Blood is activated.]

[Due to the Dragon Armor’s Draconic Endurance effect, mental contamination does not occur.]

First, the stairs tried to instill despair, which Dragon’s Blood shielded him from. Then—

---

[The Ring of Emotions responds to the target’s most intense emotion.]

[Would you like to absorb the emotion from the target?]

[The absorbable emotion is ‘Black.’]

---

Suho confirmed, allowing the ring to absorb the dark energy surrounding the staircase.

*Swoosh!*

A dark, murky energy filled the ring’s maximum Black energy capacity. The staircase remained the same, but Suho’s ring was now fully charged.

*“With this, it’s time to head back.”*

With the Ring of Emotions fully charged, Suho turned and walked through the portal.

---

Outside, Suho checked his watch. Less than five minutes had passed.

*“With this time record, I’m likely the fastest in the world to clear an S-rank Gate.”*

Suho waved at the camera, and the square’s entrance opened to reveal a crowd buzzing with excitement.

“Suho!”

“Mr. Ahn!”

Jung Chul-min and Jo Jin-hwi were first to greet him, grinning as if they’d just won a jackpot, while the PR team and square manager looked on in stunned silence, their faces reflecting admiration.

Jung Chul-min was almost overwhelmed. “Suho, is it even possible for a human to do this? Four minutes and seventeen seconds! You cleared a Sealed Gate in just four minutes and seventeen seconds!”

“This is a world record!” Jo Jin-hwi chimed in excitedly. “We have to report this as an exclusive story!”

As they bombarded him with questions, Suho raised his hand, signaling for them to calm down. He then turned to the PR manager and square manager.

“As you saw, the Gate has been fully conquered.”

“Yes! We watched it live through the camera feed,” the square manager replied, still in awe.

“In that case, would you mind taking a photo with me?”

“A photo?” the PR manager asked, momentarily taken aback.

“Yes, for proof of completion.”

The square manager quickly nodded. “Of course! Certainly!”

At Suho’s request, the PR head, finally snapping out of his daze, lifted his camera. With this photo, Suho once again documented his achievement—proof of a feat that would undoubtedly shake the world.

TL NOTE: Please don't skimp on the stars for the translation - I'd really like to see how far Leon goes and how far we can increase the number of chapters. Thanks~!

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