Chapter 141

Chapter 141
## Chapter 141: The Ultimate Arrival

The roster was nearly set.

Four slots were occupied.

Only a single vacancy remained.

At that moment, a particular face flashed through my mind.

“W-who, me? Heading to the Rift Tower? Seriously? With the rest of you?”

It was Balte, the spearman.

With his inclusion, the group achieved a flawless tactical equilibrium.

It felt as though the Avengers had finally united.

—

A solitary step of preparation lingered before we could breach the Rift Tower.

《The ‘Achievement Shop’ is now accessible.》

《’Achievement Points’ earned through your exploits may be spent here.》

《The available stock fluctuates based on your standing within the Hall of Fame.》

《Welcome, Rank 1 holder, Randolph.》

《Current Balance: 4,500 Achievement Points.》

The Achievement Shop.

This was the specialized marketplace provided by Ikwon that had unlocked during the push through Main Quest 8.

The list of available goods materialized before my eyes.

‘……This is it.’

I suppressed the urge to shout “Eureka” yet again.

### The Ultimate Arrival

“Leader, it looks like the Master is going to take a massive hit now that we’ve knocked him off the top of the leaderboard.”

Inside the headquarters of the Korean Hero Union, a member spoke up, a smirk playing on his lips as he addressed Park Tae-woo.

During the Jeju Island vanishing incident, hadn’t a multitude of lives been put at risk because of the Master’s political games? Even the authorities had demanded he cease his involvement in Jeju. Because of that, the vast majority of the Hero Union viewed the Master with pure vitriol.

Union Leader Park Tae-woo shared that sentiment completely.

“Indeed. He won’t be able to maintain his monopoly on the ‘Warp Stones’ he’s been peddling to other players anymore.”

The Warp Stone was the crown jewel of the Achievement Shop. They were the fundamental components required to construct or fix teleportation arrays, and they were notoriously hard to find. The Master had been one of the few sources, amassing a fortune by selling these Rank 1 exclusive items to the player base.

“He’s even started offloading his urban ruins at basement-tier prices. It looks like his treasury is bleeding.”

“He’s certainly suffered a catastrophic setback this time.”

“Leader, do you think Phantom might start selling Warp Stones at a discount?”

“I’m not so sure. I doubt he’s accumulated enough Achievement Points to actually saturate the market.”

Randolph’s triumphs were undeniable, but there was a ceiling on the points one could reap just from finishing Main Quest 8. In contrast, the Master had ground the main story to its current limit and had plenty of points to spare.

“Surely he has at least 500 points, though?”

“Based on his track record, that’s a safe estimate…”

He might have slightly exceeded 500. However, it seemed improbable that he would waste those precious points on Warp Stones just to flip them for a profit. Judging by his history, Phantom always prioritized practical advantage over mere currency.

Park Tae-woo shook his head slowly.

“He’ll likely use them to bolster his existing assets. That’s the most logical path.”

“That’s a shame. It would have been great if he’d lowered the market price.”

“Even if he did buy them, he isn’t the type to give them away.”

That was the essence of Phantom. He wasn’t a man who dealt in charity or losses.

The union member’s expression suddenly brightened.

“Shouldn’t we begin the process of seizing a ‘city’ for ourselves soon?”

They were well aware of the sheer influence granted by owning a city in Pangeniar. Yet, the Korean Union still lacked a sovereign base of operations there. The discussion regarding Warp Stones had only come up because the era of city-state dominance was drawing near.

However, Park Tae-woo remained skeptical of that plan as well.

“The second wave of the invasion is coming. Our best move is to scale the ‘tower’ before it hits.”

“You’re referring to the Rift Tower.”

Precisely. The Rift Tower. Every player of note was currently gearing up to challenge it. Korea was no exception. The recent announcements suggested that the rewards within were unparalleled.

‘The Abyss Labyrinth was situated on the soil of the Liberated Kingdom. The Rift Tower likely holds even more significant treasures.’

Park Tae-woo steeled his nerves. To succeed, he required the most formidable squad possible, and the recruitment—which included several ‘recluses’—was nearly finished.

‘This time, for certain.’

This time, they would yield undeniable results. The Union needed to expand its power for the sake of Korea’s standing. To ensure they weren’t manipulated like they were during the Jeju incident, they needed raw strength.

‘……Phantom will be there as well.’

And if their paths crossed inside that tower…

‘I need to inform him about the contents of that journal.’

The diary Kim Hana had presented to him. Its pages contained deeply unsettling information. Kim Hana had kept the author’s identity a secret, but Park Tae-woo had managed to ‘decipher’ and ‘deduce’ the truth from the text.

‘MintChocoDelicious. That person is the real threat.’

That individual could very well be the greatest danger Phantom has ever faced.

—

《You have claimed Rank 1 in the Hall of Fame with a staggering record!》

《The ‘Achievement Shop’ stock has been promoted by one tier.》

《Available Achievement Points: 4,500.》

《Immortal Warp Stone (300), Standard Warp Stone (20), Guardian Wall (Lv 11) Upgrade (1,100), Guardian Wall Duration +1 Second (500), Expand Golden Rule Shop Inventory (1,000), Reduce Golden Rule Shop Refresh Time (1,000), Increase Secret Auction House Listing Capacity (500), Status Window Upgrade (10,000)》…….

The reason for my internal celebration was clear. The sheer diversity of what the Achievement Shop offered was staggering.

‘I can actually upgrade the quality of the permanent assets I’ve already secured.’

The costs were steep, but if these were available for purchase, I could state with certainty that no other shop could compete. Some items even surpassed my current 4,500-point budget.

‘Status Window Upgrade? What exactly happens if I level that up?’

The Status Window was the interface that translated my existence into hard data. I couldn’t quite fathom what a level-up would entail, but the 10,000-point price tag suggested it was anything but minor.

‘I was planning on strengthening the Guardian Wall anyway. This is perfect.’

The Guardian Wall was the barrier protecting my physical form on Earth while I roamed Pangeniar. At level 11, it could negate any attack below 1-star for a duration of 30 seconds. It was formidable, but it didn’t offer total peace of mind.

《’Guardian Wall’ has reached Level 12.》 -1,100 points
《’Guardian Wall’ has reached Level 13.》 -1,200 points
《’Guardian Wall’ has reached Level 14.》 -1,300 points

《The ‘Guardian Wall’ begins to glow as it reaches a new threshold of power.》

There was no reason to hesitate. Enhancing the level of my Guardian Wall was the highest priority. I couldn’t stop a smile from creeping onto my face. Soon, the updated stats of the barrier appeared.

【Advanced Guardian Wall (Lv 14)】

★ Safeguards and alerts the user to threats against their offline body.

★ Defensive capacity scales with the level of the Guardian Wall.

★ At Level 14, the wall nullifies any attack below 4-star for 30 seconds.

★ This Advanced form provides a significantly heightened level of safety for the physical body.

The Advanced Guardian Wall. Among the various stages of extreme enhancement, I had reached the “Advanced” tier. The “Advanced” (進) prefix indicated that the core function of the skill had been pushed to a supreme state.

‘The extra effects are a nice bonus.’

In all likelihood, further levels would unlock other specific modifiers. Regardless, being able to shrug off 4-star attacks meant my body on Earth was finally secure.

‘900 points remaining.’

The issue was that the leftover points were in an awkward range. Most significant upgrades required at least a thousand.

‘Immortal Warp Stone versus the standard Warp Stone.’

Standard Warp Stones were the items the Master had used to control the market. But I had never heard of an Immortal Warp Stone. It was likely added to the shop because of my overwhelming success in the last quest. I rubbed my chin as I scanned the description.

【Immortal Warp Stone】

★ Teleportation gates embedded with this stone are indestructible.

★ Connections maintained by these stones cannot be severed by external force.

★ Limits: Only one ‘Immortal Warp Stone’ can be utilized per city.

My frame shuddered the moment I finished reading.

“……This is another goldmine.”

Even a basic Warp Stone fetched over a million gold. An Immortal Warp Stone, something never seen before, was in a different league entirely. Once this became public knowledge, every city lord on the map would be clamoring for one. Compared to the 20 points for a regular stone, this cost 300—making its base value over 15 million gold. If you accounted for its unique rarity, the price could easily double, or even hit the hundreds of millions.

Because the Immortal Warp Stone…

‘It acts as a safeguard against falling into the abyss.’

That utility alone made it priceless. it neutralized the dirty tactic of cutting off a city’s warp connection to force it into the void. It was a pity I could only use one per city.

‘I’ll use one for the Labyrinth City and put the other up for sale.’

Despite the Labyrinth City being on Liberated Kingdom territory, I had sunk a massive amount of gold into it. Between the city’s operational costs and the Throne of Light, I needed more capital. Having made my choice, I went back to the shop interface.

《Two ‘Immortal Warp Stones’ have been purchased.》 -600
《One ‘Immortal Warp Stone’ has been placed in the ‘Secret Auction House.’》
《Auction Duration: 7 days.》
《Starting Bid: 10,000,000G.》

Nobody would overlook an item of this caliber; the bidding war would be automatic. Now, my preparations were truly reaching their conclusion.

‘Wait.’

……There was one more thing.

《Accessing the ‘Golden Rule Shop.’》
《Currency: 2 intact Golden Rules, 2,355 hours of Golden Rule fragments.》
《Refreshing inventory.》

—

Serengeti, the High Dryad Rommel, Balte, Andrew, and myself. Our five-man team stood before the Rift Tower. As we stared up at the structure, Andrew swallowed hard and spoke.

“……Successor. Do you have some kind of secret doubt regarding my healing skills?”

He asked this because I had just started handing out ‘Supreme Elixirs’ like they were candy.

“I have full confidence in you. But just to be safe, everyone take three.”

I did trust Andrew; his skills as a priest were elite. But given the mysteries of the tower, I wanted every possible safety net. The ‘Supreme Elixirs’ in the Golden Rule Shop cost 30 hours each; I had bought 15 and was passing them out now.

“Three Supreme Elixirs each……”

Balte took his vials with a stunned expression. Even the most high-stakes raids didn’t involve this many elixirs. Carrying three each was the height of extravagance. But I wasn’t finished.

“Take one of these as well.”

“What’s this? Some kind of whistle?”

When Serengeti asked, I gave a nod.

“It’s a signal whistle that tracks each other’s locations over great distances. They are soul-bound to the owner, so there’s no risk of them being stolen.”

These had also come from the updated Golden Rule Shop. With these, we wouldn’t get separated. Even if we were split up, we could regroup instantly.

“Successor……”

“This is so moving!”

“To think you went to such lengths for our well-being……”

“I appreciate it, brother.”

……Why are they getting so emotional? It’s getting weird.

This meticulous preparation wasn’t solely for survival. The detail about the ‘level restriction release’ that occurred while ascending the Rift Tower had been playing on my mind. Not every participant would get the same reward. The team needed a high cumulative score. This was simply an investment to ensure that happened.

“Move out.”

“Understood!”

Serengeti gave a thunderous shout. As we crossed the threshold into the Rift Tower:

《Criteria for ‘Rift Tower’ entry have been met.》
《Floor 1: Tower of Riven Levels.》
《Participants are separated into zones based on their level.》
《Achieve the highest possible score in your designated zone!》
《The gateway to the final ‘Raid Boss Area’ will open according to the collective score, which dictates entry to Floor 2.》

……

《’Heart of the Eternal Lord’ is reacting!》
《Restrictions on the ‘Riven Level Area’ have been bypassed.》
《’Randolph’ is permitted to enter from the Level 1 zone.》
《The ‘Master of the Rift’ expresses displeasure.》

—

### The Might of the Demon Blood King

The hero’s constellation shone with a brilliant light. Having achieved a unique-grade accolade that drew in the collective glow of the stars, he felt a deep sense of contentment.

Contentment, but with a lingering shadow.

‘Even so, I regret not being able to see how it truly ends.’

His one lingering sorrow was that he wouldn’t be there for the final conclusion. Yet, he didn’t dwell on it. The void within him had been filled, allowing him to witness a path he himself had been unable to take.

‘Sacrificing the minority to preserve the majority. I dressed it up as a necessary evil for the greater good, but in truth, I never had any intention of being the one who was sacrificed.’

He had been a hero once. Before he ascended to become a constellation, he was known as the bedrock of an entire world. A legitimate hero, radiant and magnificent. But looking back, his journey was defined by remorse. He had failed to save what mattered most, meeting his end in a state of withered defeat. And all of it had happened despite the lives he had discarded in his attempt to save the world.

‘I was arrogant enough to believe I was the only savior. In the end, I simply forced others into misery so I could stand in their place.’

That was the reason he wanted to see it for himself. He wanted to find a hero capable of true selflessness and devotion. But he had failed. No such person had ever appeared.