Turns Out To Be a Genius Duelist

{Divine Ultimatum}

Rank S – Can kill the unkillable.

Rank A – Can escape from a predetermined fate.

Rank B — Breaks what cannot be broken.

If b Divine Ultimatum} was his spear to pierce the Tower’s heart, the b Transcendental Muscles} would be his shield.

Boooooom.

After finishing up, Yoon-seok broke the waiting room wall and went outside again. And that moment, his muscles wriggled as if they had their own will as a message appeared.

「Dimensional Muscle ignores dimensional resistance.」

「No-loss Muscle completely resists the deleting code.」

Reaching his hand out, Yoon-seok wondered which of the two was why he didn’t feel the chills.

’It must be because of both.’

Yoon-seok approached the border that he’d been crossing for several days.

「An abnormal being’s approach was detected.」

’As expected, it’s still the same…’

As soon as the boundary was crossed, the warning message still popped up.

“…”

What would happen if he went further? No, was it possible to go further? What would happen if he was dragged back to the penalty zone? Stop the unstoppable. Couldn’t he block the penalty with this effect? What about with the effect doubled because of Square Muscles?

’…Let’s not overdo it.’

Yoon-seok stepped away from the border. Nothing was certain yet, and there was no reason for him to rush.

’Plus, if the penalty period extends a little here, I’ll proceed to the duel without skills.’

All of Yoon-seok’s main weapons were currently sealed. Of course, his stats were still the same, and {Divine Ultimatum} and b Transcendental Muscles} were available. His various powers were intact, too. Those alone were enough to deal with a considerable number of enemies. But…

‘I can’t let my guard down.’

He couldn’t know what kind of enemy would appear next. That was the case just by looking at the King of Steel. He was so strong, but his ranking was only fourteen. Yoon-seok had to be in his best condition for the next duel.

’Let’s step down for now and come back next time.’

He would fight the Tower earnestly after the 25th-floor, and the Queen would be next. It wasn’t time yet.

’What should I do now…?’

His primary goal of completing the Personal Skillbook was done, and he decided to postpone his exploration. Then what should he do for the remaining 60 days?

’The more I think about it, the more frustrating it is.’

Because of the seal, it was impossible to meet other managers using b Heart of the Destructive Monarch} as he planned. Nevertheless, there were many things to do.

’I have to visit Elle, and Su-yeon and Ashton were worried, so I think I should stop by Earth…’

He also wanted to recruit members to join the Queen’s Match now that he had time. His recruited members may die before arriving on the 25th floor.

’I’ll meet Elle first and check what power I got from the Orc.’

Yoon-seok made his decision and moved to call Elle. But a different caller interrupted him.

「Cheonmazl Zone invites you to the waiting room.」

「Would you like to accept?」

Come to think of it, he’d forgotten about Cheon-ma.

—I asked unnie just in case, but she was worried and said she had no idea what had happened. Are you okay?

Recalling one of the messages Lee Su-yeon had sent in the past ten days, Yoon-seok smiled bitterly. It looked like he made her worry… he should at least let her know he was fine. Beyond being his mentor in name and heart, wasn’t she also a colleague who promised to fight at his side against the Queen and the Tower?

「Moving to the waiting room of Cheonmazl Zone.」

Yoon-seok sincerely thought so.

“Oh, father!”

As soon as he arrived, Yong-yong jumped into his arms. Did the dragon race have a shorter growth period? Yong-yong looked to have grown a little. In terms of the human form, he used to look about six or seven years old, but now he seemed to be ten.

“Ahem…”

When Cheon-ma dry coughed, Yong-yong quietly stepped back and recited loudly.

“I was worried every night after hearing the bad news, but I’m really glad that you seem to be in good shape.”

“Okay, thanks…”

Yoon-seok had a lot to say, but he held back. Should he say he missed the timing a long time ago? To be honest, he didn’t know where to start.

“…You’re here?”

“Yes.”

After greeting Yong-yong, it was Cheon-ma’s turn. Yoon-seok lightly bowed and sat.

“I was worried when I heard from little sister, but I’m relieved to see that you’re okay. What happened?”

As expected, Cheon-ma was curious about what happened, and Yoon-seok told everything. However, before that-

“…Little sister? Are you talking about Su-yeon?”

“Who else would I call that?”

Yoon-seok doubted his ears, but Cheon-ma replied like he asked something obvious. Lee Su-yeon called her unnie, too. But the last time he saw her, she called Lee Su-yeon that wench or something…

“The more we talk, the more I think she’s promising. She’s a little younger than me, but I-I have a lot to learn.”

It seemed both of them had grown quite close since their trip to Moorim.

“…Anyway, we do chat from time to time through Communication.”

’Then she must have found out after hearing from Su-yeon.’

It was five days ago that he returned, and seeing how he was only summoned now meant Lee Su-yeon didn’t deliver this information diligently to her unnie.

“Why, did you do something wrong?”

While he was lost in thought, Cheon-ma asked in a slightly pouty tone.

“No, I’m sorry. I was thinking about something else…”

“Focus when you’re with me.”

“Yes.”

Yoon-seok, returning to his senses, went back to the original topic and explained what had happened to him. The selection match, meeting the King of Steel and Lee Su-yeon there, and his intervention.

“You were there for a while, and time flew by?”

“Yes.”

“What happened to your hand?”

“…?”

Only then did Yoon-seok look down at his hand. The index finger of his left hand, which disappeared while he was checking how far his body could withstand the void, was still missing. While they were at it, Yoon-seok explained what happened next.

“After receiving that unfair penalty, I suddenly became curious. What was at the end of this wall?”

“If you’re a persistent man, you would.”

“So I broke it down.”

He smashed the wall asking for understanding (?) from his neighbors one by one, and after a while, he discovered the strange space hidden beyond the wall. His hand became like this after being exposed to the blowing wind. In two days, the cooldown time of New Human would arrive, and he would recover. Yoon-seok pointed out only the important parts.

“Oh, That sounds interesting. There’s a space like that over the wall?”

“Yes. I was digging around because I was curious, but at some point, it stopped me from going further.”

“Then what about below?”

“It was the same.”

Yoon-seok also made his way down out of curiosity, receiving the same message. After reporting his status and well-being, Yoon-seok changed the subject.

“By the way, Yong-yong grew a lot.”

“Huhu. Aren’t all the children like that?”

The way she talked was like an old man looking at the twilight sky. Yoon-seok suddenly froze at the thought.

‘…No, isn’t there a huge gap between us?’

He kept forgetting because of her beautiful appearance and clumsiness, but Cheon-ma was much older than him.

’I’ll die if I do that, right…?’

Even if she looked like she was in her early twenties, it wasn’t a question Yoon-seok could ask.

But her slender arms and legs, her cute chin. She exuded a confident spirit, and if she wore a suit, she would look like a famous career woman. Nevertheless, when he looked at her, he wanted to pinch her cheeks. He was sure they would be squishy…

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…It’s nothing.”

It wasn’t sexual attraction. It was close to the feeling of wanting to touch a fluffy puppy when it was in front of you. However, Yoon-seok felt guilty.

’What the heck are you thinking about in front of her…?’

Following that, Yoon-seok came to his senses and chatted with Cheon-ma about this and that.

And then, a message arrived from Lee Su-yeon.

—You said you’d tell me later, but it’s already been five days. What have you been up to? I thought you were in trouble because you didn’t reply!

—I heard you’re with unnie? I know that you’re reading this right now.

There was no excuse he could give Lee Su-yeon. Yoon-seok could’ve messaged her about what happened during the past five days, and yet he postponed it. The reason was that he had to tell Ashton anyway, so it was easier to do it in one go.

—…I’ll be right there. Wait a little bit.

—Huu, got it.

Was it just his imagination that he could hear a sigh? Well, it was time for them to part.

“…I think I should get going.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you have a lot to do. But visit often. Yong-yong begged me to see you every day. I’m sick of hearing it.”

“I will.”

Yoon-seok stood. And when he was about to go back to the waiting room.

‘Oh, come to think of it, I have that.’

Yoon-seok produced a ring out of his subspace bag and put it on his finger. The Ring with the Genie of Love he kept hidden because of the weird advice it constantly gave him. But, with this, he could see Cheon-ma’s favorability toward him.

’Of course, I’m curious.’

He had to check Ashton’s favorability, who scored 499 points. Outside of romance, it was a measure of mutual trust.

’I’d get goosebumps if it didn’t even reach 100….’

Yoon-seok felt slightly nervous as he put the ring on.

[499]

As expected, should he say it was a pillar in his heart? Yoon-seok didn’t think he had to worry about betrayal.

「Genie of Love asked if betrayal is the problem now in a fury.」

Although the madman in the ring didn’t seem to agree.

「The Genie of Love presents the most appropriate comment in the current situa…」

Before the nonsense arrived, Yoon-seok took off the ring. He made a quick excuse to Cheon-ma, who asked about the ring, and returned to his waiting room.

Then, as if waiting, Elle’s call came.

「Lady of Liberation is calling you.」

「Would you like to accept?」

Of course, she was going to call right away.

’Is it because I didn’t call her first after finishing all the urgent work?’

If so, she might be in a hurry after seeing Lee Su-yeon sending messages.

Yoon-seok smiled and headed for Elle’s cabin.

“…So you did come, didn’t you?”

A coy voice greeted him. Yoon-seok was somewhat fascinated.

“I was originally going to come here first.”

“Hmm.”

Was she sulky as he guessed? It seemed Elle felt much better at Yoon-seok’s excuse.

“Are you going to use that ring on me?”

Elle suddenly asked when she saw Yoon-seok unconsciously touching the ring in his hand. Unlike Cheon-ma and Lee Su-yeon, Elle, who was almost one body with him, knew about this ring. There was a high possibility that she knew why he wore it.

“…”

Yoon-seok couldn’t answer properly. Telling her that he planned to use this ring meant he didn’t trust her completely…

“It’s okay. You can put it on.”

“…What?”

“…There’s no way I’ll ever lose.”

Elle muttered in a small voice, but there was no way Yoon-seok couldn’t hear it. However, he couldn’t understand why.

’She won’t lose? What is she talking about?’

He thought he heard her wrong, but Yoon-seok put the ring on as Elle instructed.

[500]

It was one point higher than Ashton and Cheon-ma.

“How much is it?”

She asked for the results with anxiety in her voice. Yoon-seok answered honestly.

“It’s 500.”

“…So mine’s higher than hers?”

“Yeah. I don’t know what the maximum is, but it’s the highest…”

“Yassssss!”

Elle clenched her fist with a strange yell. They said you become a child when you get older. She must’ve lived more days than Cheon-ma, which fit since she was much more like a child.

「She’s a woman who has an absolute crush on you.」

「If you want, I’m willing to accept all kinds of play…」

Yoon-seok immediately took off the ring while blushing.

“What do you think, Yoon-seok? I’m the only one here, right? 499? A woman who doesn’t know when she will betray…”

Elle couldn’t conceal her joy.

“…What’s wrong? Your face is red.”

The warmth of her small hands touching his forehead while tip-toeing…

“.. Are you okay?”

“…”

Somehow, it felt different.