[You have arrived at the ‘Fire Hell’ station, the final station!]
[You have successfully crossed the desert, increasing your heat resistance by 15.]
…
Chang-Sun and his team arrived at the final station without any problems. His group had been tense on the way to their destination, thinking something dangerous could be waiting for them. Considering they hadn’t met any resistance and the store owners hadn’t surrendered to Chang-Sun, anything could happen in the final station.
“… Nothing?” Shin Eun-Seo wondered for a moment after scouring the final station.
Shin Geum-Gyu and Woo Hye-Bin nodded in agreement.
“I did a mana scan, but I didn’t detect anything either,” Geum-Gyu said.
“Same here.” Hye-Bin shook her head.
Joachim added, “This is weird. It doesn’t look or smell like someone left.”
“… Did they really disappear into thin air?” Disappointed, Eun-Seo put down her tower shield on the ground with a thud.
Contrary to her grumbling tone, she looked noticeably relieved. After all, they wanted to leave this Dungeon as soon as possible. The Crna Ruka, Killer Overlord, Illuminati inquisitor… Every battle they had fought had been too dangerous and intense, so they couldn’t help but want to rest now. Unfortunately, they still could only let their guard down after the Dungeon Closing.
“There seems to be something underground. Wait here.” After putting the others in charge of guarding aboveground, Chang-Sun walked to the staircase going down in the corner of the station.
“I’ll come with you.” Baek Gyeo-Ul hurriedly followed him.
Although Chang-Sun knew Gyeo-Ul wasn’t fully healed yet, Chang-Sun didn’t stop him because he knew Gyeo-Ul wouldn’t listen even if he told him to take a rest. Besides, shadows recovered more quickly when they were near the original owner of the shadow.
“Hmm…” Chang-Sun combed through the storage that he assumed Elspe had used.
‘There are traces of blood and combat here. Did the remaining store owners turn against each other? Whatever they were up to, Elspe seemed to have run away afterward.’ Chang-Sun tracked down Elspe using the traces left on the storage.
In the office that was located in the corner of the storage, Elspe seemed to have successfully eliminated the two other store owners. Chang-Sun wasn’t sure if it happened in the heat of the moment or if Elspe always planned to betray them, but Elspe likely attempted to leave the station with the store owners’ heads.
‘A new guest showed up, however.’ Chang-Sun looked at the door he entered through, noticing mana that was totally different from the three store owners’.
After fighting the intruder for a while, Elspe probably realized that he didn’t stand a chance and tried to run away.
‘Should I follow this trail?’
Considering Chang-Sun had to complete <Muspelheim>, he needed to obtain Elspe’s management rights to the three stores. At this rate, he could end up chasing a wild goose, making it seem as if he had to hurry.
Ding!
The sudden notification sound made him stop.
[You have successfully made all the store owners yield, acquiring the management rights of three stores.]
‘What?’ Chang-Sun’s eyes widened.
He had speculations about how Elspe could have died, but he didn’t expect he’d suddenly receive the management rights.
[You have successfully turned all the remaining refugees into your citizens.]
[You have successfully conquered all the ten stations, turning them into your land.]
[You have successfully earned all the store owners’ recognition as their king, acquiring sovereignty.]
[You have successfully completed the Hidden Quest (King’s Return)!]
[As a reward, you have acquired land.]
[You can now summon <Muspelheim> anywhere you want.]
[Inside the summoned <Muspelheim>, you can partially materialize your mind palace and manipulate the laws of nature.]
[However, due to your low Class, you can only summon a very small part of <Muspelheim>. Please refer to the document below for detailed instructions.]
…
[The Dungeon Quest has been completed.]
[Compiling the final ranking.]
[Dungeon Ranking]
First Place: Lee Chang-Sun
Second Place: Jacque Valentine
…
[Different rewards will be given out based on performance.]
[Different rewards will be given out based on your ranking.]
…
[The Dungeon is closing.]
[Everyone, please brace for impact.]
[10.]
[9.]
Pop!
The space before Chang-Sun distorted, and Jarapgu popped out from the spatial gap. As if congratulating Chang-Sun, Jarpagu politely bowed, beaming. “Not only have you proven yourself capable enough to claim the throne of <Muspelheim>, you have even successfully expanded your land and gathered citizens. Hmmm… Is reviving the fallen plane the only task left?”
Jarapgu looked delighted to see the extinct plane being revived. He had been looked down upon as a refugee for so long that he had been waiting for this moment.
[5.]
[4.]
“I would like to ask you something,” Chang-Sun said.
“Yes, I’ll answer any question I know the answer to.” Jarapgu nodded.
“Why did you help me? I thought you didn’t like me at first.” Chang-Sun tilted his head.
“Well, I wasn’t sure you could take the throne, but you did. That’s why I placed my bet on you. Besides…” Jarapgu trailed off, grinning.
Perhaps because Jarapgu was a Hobgoblin, Chang-Sun wasn’t sure if he was smiling. However, he could at least tell Jarapgu was delighted.
“I’m sick of wandering around. I want to settle down somewhere.” Jarpagu chuckled.
“Is that so?” Chang-Sun also smiled, realizing that Jarpagu was being genuine. “I’ll accept you as my citizen.”
“Thank you for your generosity.” Jarapgu bowed dramatically, seemingly a butler from the medieval age. He then turned into a fire elemental spirit and got absorbed into Chang-Sun.
Jarapgu wasn’t the only one.
[‘Fire Pterosaurs 931’ has returned to its fire elemental spirit form, joining your land.]
[‘Fire Drake 79’ has returned to its fire elemental spirit form, joining your land.]
…
[All the monsters within the Dungeon have returned to their fire elemental spirit forms, indefinitely joining your <Muspelheim>!]
[<Muspelheim> has grown bigger.]
[<Muspelheim> has grown bigger.]
…
[Your citizens have become Highest-Class fire elemental spirits, acquiring the Attribute ‘Ifrit’!]
…
All the monsters that Cadmus had dragged here turned into fire elemental spirits and were absorbed into Chang-Sun. The barren land, stuffy air, blue sky, even the room that Chang-Sun was standing in… Everything reverted to their fire elemental spirit forms and assimilated with Chang-Sun. Although it would be smaller in size, the fallen <Muspelheim> was about to rise again.
―Ahh… we can finally be at peace.
―Thank you.
For some reason, Chang-Sun felt as if he was hearing voices. Above all, he also heard…
―Thanks.
…Surtr’s last farewell.
[1.]
[0.]
[The Dungeon is now completely closed.]
[Great work, everyone.]
A pool of white light swallowed the Dungeon.
* * *
“Shit! Shit! Shiittt!!!” Elspe cursed.
Woof! Woof, woof!
As the owner of the only forest in this barren stone desert—which was actually a garden that he had spent a fortune on—he regretted not spending more on expanding the garden and making it denser. If he had, he would’ve already thrown his damned pursuer off the track. The regret ate away at him.
Pzzz―!
Elspe’s chaser was a bizarre-looking animal. It sometimes looked like a wolf, but it also resembled a lion from time to time. It also had wings, making it seem capable of flight. Despite its weird appearance, Elspe knew what it was. After all, it belonged to this Dungeon’s top-ranked Player, Jacque Valentine. The people in the outside world called him the Immortal Overlord and considered him one of the strongest humans. He was also Peter the Apostle’s descendant, the leader of the Revenant Clan—the most famous Clan in France—and… a monster. Long ago, he was cursed by Satan and became an immortal.
One of Jacque’s animals gave Elspe a visit, but he didn’t know why—no, he never got the chance to ask. The Immortal Overlord was notorious for never losing his target.
Elspe tried fighting back. Being Bestla and Surtr’s descendant and a store owner, he was naturally strong. Using his vampiric skills, he released his wolf and a swarm of bats and even used hemomancy. However, the animal just ripped all of them to shreds with its sharp fangs.
Roarrr!
“Arggh!”
The animal, which was made out of light, flew at Elspe and sunk its fangs in his neck. Elspe rolled on the ground, bleeding profusely.
“Why?! Why…!” Elspe screamed, covered in dust. Looking up, he saw Jacque sitting on him. They first met dozens of years ago and almost met again several months ago to make a deal. However, even though so many years had passed, Jacque didn’t look any different. IT was as if his biological clock had stopped. The young and handsome Jacque was smiling so mischievously that it was hard to think of him as the descendant of Peter the Apostle and the overlord who controlled the animal of light.
All of those just made Elspe more terrified. He wanted to ask why Jacque was suddenly trying to kill him despite having made multiple deals with him like Louis.
“Why am I doing this?” Jacque assumed.
Elspe nodded hard. Although the animal still had its fangs in his neck, he couldn’t afford to be in pain right now.
“No reason.” Jacque shook his head.
“What…?” Elspe asked back in disbelief.
“Do I need a reason to punish evil?” Jacque asked with a shrug.
“That’s…!”
Elspe couldn’t believe his ears. Over the past years, Elspe and Jacque had done business with each other multiple times, yet out of nowhere, Jacque suddenly talked about punishing evil. Besides, Jacque was protected by Satan, so he was the last person who could say that. However, Elspe couldn’t say anything to refute it due to how cold Jacques’ eyes were. All he could do now was tremble.
If Jacque was trying to get revenge for the Revenant Clan Players whom Louis had killed, then Elspe could have understood why Jacque was doing this. However, from what Elspe knew, Jacque didn’t care about his secular connection, further confusing him.
To make things worse, Jacque had no intention to answer Elspe’s question.
Crack!
The animal of light ripped out Elspe’s entire spine and absorbed all the flesh that splattered.. Meanwhile, Jacque looked down at Elspe’s dissipating corpse emotionlessly.
Paah!
Soon after, his eyes shone radiantly, his pupils turning white and his scleras turning black. They were then tinged with blue, then red. He was activating [Research Eyes], the Authority he received from his Guardian to gather the information his target had.
[Reading information about the Player ‘Lee Chang-Sun’!]
Through Elspe’s memories, Jacque obtained information about Lee Chang-Sun. He also had the option to see how the Revenant Clan Players were killed, but he showed no interest in it.
While reading several pieces of information…
[The Celestial ‘Taurus’ wants to borrow your eyes!]
[The Celestial ‘Tsunami Bringer’ wants to know what you are watching!]
[The Celestial ‘Antlered Animal King’ wants to buy your information!!]
…
[A total of 251 Celestials wish to read the information about the Player ‘Lee Chang-Sun’.]
[Your Guardian lightly clicks his tongue, saying that this is his first time seeing a mortal so many Celestials are paying attention to.]
Awoooo!
Looking up in the sky, the animal of light howled ominously.
[You have arrived at the ‘Fire Hell’ station, the final station!]
[You have successfully crossed the desert, increasing your heat resistance by 15.]
…
Chang-Sun and his team arrived at the final station without any problems. His group had been tense on the way to their destination, thinking something dangerous could be waiting for them. Considering they hadn’t met any resistance and the store owners hadn’t surrendered to Chang-Sun, anything could happen in the final station.
“… Nothing?” Shin Eun-Seo wondered for a moment after scouring the final station.
Shin Geum-Gyu and Woo Hye-Bin nodded in agreement.
“I did a mana scan, but I didn’t detect anything either,” Geum-Gyu said.
“Same here.” Hye-Bin shook her head.
Joachim added, “This is weird. It doesn’t look or smell like someone left.”
“… Did they really disappear into thin air?” Disappointed, Eun-Seo put down her tower shield on the ground with a thud.
Contrary to her grumbling tone, she looked noticeably relieved. After all, they wanted to leave this Dungeon as soon as possible. The Crna Ruka, Killer Overlord, Illuminati inquisitor… Every battle they had fought had been too dangerous and intense, so they couldn’t help but want to rest now. Unfortunately, they still could only let their guard down after the Dungeon Closing.
“There seems to be something underground. Wait here.” After putting the others in charge of guarding aboveground, Chang-Sun walked to the staircase going down in the corner of the station.
“I’ll come with you.” Baek Gyeo-Ul hurriedly followed him.
Although Chang-Sun knew Gyeo-Ul wasn’t fully healed yet, Chang-Sun didn’t stop him because he knew Gyeo-Ul wouldn’t listen even if he told him to take a rest. Besides, shadows recovered more quickly when they were near the original owner of the shadow.
“Hmm…” Chang-Sun combed through the storage that he assumed Elspe had used.
‘There are traces of blood and combat here. Did the remaining store owners turn against each other? Whatever they were up to, Elspe seemed to have run away afterward.’ Chang-Sun tracked down Elspe using the traces left on the storage.
In the office that was located in the corner of the storage, Elspe seemed to have successfully eliminated the two other store owners. Chang-Sun wasn’t sure if it happened in the heat of the moment or if Elspe always planned to betray them, but Elspe likely attempted to leave the station with the store owners’ heads.
‘A new guest showed up, however.’ Chang-Sun looked at the door he entered through, noticing mana that was totally different from the three store owners’.
After fighting the intruder for a while, Elspe probably realized that he didn’t stand a chance and tried to run away.
‘Should I follow this trail?’
Considering Chang-Sun had to complete <Muspelheim>, he needed to obtain Elspe’s management rights to the three stores. At this rate, he could end up chasing a wild goose, making it seem as if he had to hurry.
Ding!
The sudden notification sound made him stop.
[You have successfully made all the store owners yield, acquiring the management rights of three stores.]
‘What?’ Chang-Sun’s eyes widened.
He had speculations about how Elspe could have died, but he didn’t expect he’d suddenly receive the management rights.
[You have successfully turned all the remaining refugees into your citizens.]
[You have successfully conquered all the ten stations, turning them into your land.]
[You have successfully earned all the store owners’ recognition as their king, acquiring sovereignty.]
[You have successfully completed the Hidden Quest (King’s Return)!]
[As a reward, you have acquired land.]
[You can now summon <Muspelheim> anywhere you want.]
[Inside the summoned <Muspelheim>, you can partially materialize your mind palace and manipulate the laws of nature.]
[However, due to your low Class, you can only summon a very small part of <Muspelheim>. Please refer to the document below for detailed instructions.]
…
[The Dungeon Quest has been completed.]
[Compiling the final ranking.]
[Dungeon Ranking]
First Place: Lee Chang-Sun
Second Place: Jacque Valentine
…
[Different rewards will be given out based on performance.]
[Different rewards will be given out based on your ranking.]
…
[The Dungeon is closing.]
[Everyone, please brace for impact.]
[10.]
[9.]
Pop!
The space before Chang-Sun distorted, and Jarapgu popped out from the spatial gap. As if congratulating Chang-Sun, Jarpagu politely bowed, beaming. “Not only have you proven yourself capable enough to claim the throne of <Muspelheim>, you have even successfully expanded your land and gathered citizens. Hmmm… Is reviving the fallen plane the only task left?”
Jarapgu looked delighted to see the extinct plane being revived. He had been looked down upon as a refugee for so long that he had been waiting for this moment.
[5.]
[4.]
“I would like to ask you something,” Chang-Sun said.
“Yes, I’ll answer any question I know the answer to.” Jarapgu nodded.
“Why did you help me? I thought you didn’t like me at first.” Chang-Sun tilted his head.
“Well, I wasn’t sure you could take the throne, but you did. That’s why I placed my bet on you. Besides…” Jarapgu trailed off, grinning.
Perhaps because Jarapgu was a Hobgoblin, Chang-Sun wasn’t sure if he was smiling. However, he could at least tell Jarapgu was delighted.
“I’m sick of wandering around. I want to settle down somewhere.” Jarpagu chuckled.
“Is that so?” Chang-Sun also smiled, realizing that Jarpagu was being genuine. “I’ll accept you as my citizen.”
“Thank you for your generosity.” Jarapgu bowed dramatically, seemingly a butler from the medieval age. He then turned into a fire elemental spirit and got absorbed into Chang-Sun.
Jarapgu wasn’t the only one.
[‘Fire Pterosaurs 931’ has returned to its fire elemental spirit form, joining your land.]
[‘Fire Drake 79’ has returned to its fire elemental spirit form, joining your land.]
…
[All the monsters within the Dungeon have returned to their fire elemental spirit forms, indefinitely joining your <Muspelheim>!]
[<Muspelheim> has grown bigger.]
[<Muspelheim> has grown bigger.]
…
[Your citizens have become Highest-Class fire elemental spirits, acquiring the Attribute ‘Ifrit’!]
…
All the monsters that Cadmus had dragged here turned into fire elemental spirits and were absorbed into Chang-Sun. The barren land, stuffy air, blue sky, even the room that Chang-Sun was standing in… Everything reverted to their fire elemental spirit forms and assimilated with Chang-Sun. Although it would be smaller in size, the fallen <Muspelheim> was about to rise again.
―Ahh… we can finally be at peace.
―Thank you.
For some reason, Chang-Sun felt as if he was hearing voices. Above all, he also heard…
―Thanks.
…Surtr’s last farewell.
[1.]
[0.]
[The Dungeon is now completely closed.]
[Great work, everyone.]
A pool of white light swallowed the Dungeon.
* * *
“Shit! Shit! Shiittt!!!” Elspe cursed.
Woof! Woof, woof!
As the owner of the only forest in this barren stone desert—which was actually a garden that he had spent a fortune on—he regretted not spending more on expanding the garden and making it denser. If he had, he would’ve already thrown his damned pursuer off the track. The regret ate away at him.
Pzzz―!
Elspe’s chaser was a bizarre-looking animal. It sometimes looked like a wolf, but it also resembled a lion from time to time. It also had wings, making it seem capable of flight. Despite its weird appearance, Elspe knew what it was. After all, it belonged to this Dungeon’s top-ranked Player, Jacque Valentine. The people in the outside world called him the Immortal Overlord and considered him one of the strongest humans. He was also Peter the Apostle’s descendant, the leader of the Revenant Clan—the most famous Clan in France—and… a monster. Long ago, he was cursed by Satan and became an immortal.
One of Jacque’s animals gave Elspe a visit, but he didn’t know why—no, he never got the chance to ask. The Immortal Overlord was notorious for never losing his target.
Elspe tried fighting back. Being Bestla and Surtr’s descendant and a store owner, he was naturally strong. Using his vampiric skills, he released his wolf and a swarm of bats and even used hemomancy. However, the animal just ripped all of them to shreds with its sharp fangs.
Roarrr!
“Arggh!”
The animal, which was made out of light, flew at Elspe and sunk its fangs in his neck. Elspe rolled on the ground, bleeding profusely.
“Why?! Why…!” Elspe screamed, covered in dust. Looking up, he saw Jacque sitting on him. They first met dozens of years ago and almost met again several months ago to make a deal. However, even though so many years had passed, Jacque didn’t look any different. IT was as if his biological clock had stopped. The young and handsome Jacque was smiling so mischievously that it was hard to think of him as the descendant of Peter the Apostle and the overlord who controlled the animal of light.
All of those just made Elspe more terrified. He wanted to ask why Jacque was suddenly trying to kill him despite having made multiple deals with him like Louis.
“Why am I doing this?” Jacque assumed.
Elspe nodded hard. Although the animal still had its fangs in his neck, he couldn’t afford to be in pain right now.
“No reason.” Jacque shook his head.
“What…?” Elspe asked back in disbelief.
“Do I need a reason to punish evil?” Jacque asked with a shrug.
“That’s…!”
Elspe couldn’t believe his ears. Over the past years, Elspe and Jacque had done business with each other multiple times, yet out of nowhere, Jacque suddenly talked about punishing evil. Besides, Jacque was protected by Satan, so he was the last person who could say that. However, Elspe couldn’t say anything to refute it due to how cold Jacques’ eyes were. All he could do now was tremble.
If Jacque was trying to get revenge for the Revenant Clan Players whom Louis had killed, then Elspe could have understood why Jacque was doing this. However, from what Elspe knew, Jacque didn’t care about his secular connection, further confusing him.
To make things worse, Jacque had no intention to answer Elspe’s question.
Crack!
The animal of light ripped out Elspe’s entire spine and absorbed all the flesh that splattered.. Meanwhile, Jacque looked down at Elspe’s dissipating corpse emotionlessly.
Paah!
Soon after, his eyes shone radiantly, his pupils turning white and his scleras turning black. They were then tinged with blue, then red. He was activating [Research Eyes], the Authority he received from his Guardian to gather the information his target had.
[Reading information about the Player ‘Lee Chang-Sun’!]
Through Elspe’s memories, Jacque obtained information about Lee Chang-Sun. He also had the option to see how the Revenant Clan Players were killed, but he showed no interest in it.
While reading several pieces of information…
[The Celestial ‘Taurus’ wants to borrow your eyes!]
[The Celestial ‘Tsunami Bringer’ wants to know what you are watching!]
[The Celestial ‘Antlered Animal King’ wants to buy your information!!]
…
[A total of 251 Celestials wish to read the information about the Player ‘Lee Chang-Sun’.]
[Your Guardian lightly clicks his tongue, saying that this is his first time seeing a mortal so many Celestials are paying attention to.]
Awoooo!
Looking up in the sky, the animal of light howled ominously.
