The distance to the creature was about thirty meters.
'......Here I go.'
The moment Su-Ho focused his mind, time around him slowed drastically, and things he hadn't been able to see before began coming into focus one by one.
The sword the Black Knight swung.
And from its tip, a bolt of blue lightning that crackled as it shot straight toward him.
'So that was it!'
Now he could see the true nature of that powerful attack—the one that had ended the fight before he could even make a move.
The agility and senses he'd raised through Level Up activated to their absolute limit.
He dodged the flash flying straight at him and took a step forward. Tap!
In a single leap, fifteen meters vanished in an instant, cutting the distance to the creature in half.
Flash!
The second bolt of lightning grazed just over his head.
Marveling at the Black Knight's speed—shifting stance right after the first strike to launch a second—
Su-Ho took his next step.
Tap.
The distance between them was gone.
Crick.
Su-Ho clenched his gauntleted fist.
'Now we're in my range.'
He felt a pulse—a faint tension from the Black Knight—riding the cold air against his cheeks.
Grateful for the Level Up that had pushed his abilities this far.
Su-Ho threw a straight punch.
Shiiiik—!
His fist, now beyond bullet-level and into cannon-shell-level force, struck the Black Knight head-on.
THOOM!
The Black Knight had tried to raise his sword vertically to block the gauntlet, but his feet left the ground as he was blasted backward.
Krrrsshh!
The stone tiles beneath the knight's feet shattered, carving two long furrows in the floor.
When the Black Knight finally managed to stop after being pushed back so far—
'......!'
He realized there was a pillar behind him.
Damn!
The flustered Black Knight snapped his head forward.
Su-Ho was already blocking his path.
'Could it be... that last attack was meant to drive me here?'
The Black Knight was stunned by his opponent's ingenuity, yet his sword moved on reflex.
The glint of the blade reflected in Su-Ho's eyes blazed with a fierce, cold light.
In a split second, Su-Ho held his breath, then swatted the knight's descending diagonal slash away with the back of his gauntleted hand.
Then Su-Ho took a bold step forward.
Having closed the gap to zero, Su-Ho threw another punch.
This blow landed squarely on the Black Knight's chest.
THOOM!
The surface of the pillar that caught the Black Knight—whose body should have gone flying—cracked with a sharp Krrrsshh.
Devastating destructive power.
But.
What was even more astonishing was that this kind of destructive power wasn't a one-off.
Soon Su-Ho's attacks poured down in rapid succession.
Ddudududududududu!
As he blocked and deflected Su-Ho's attacks—so reminiscent of his liege's skills—the Black Knight, no, Igrit, couldn't help but marvel again and again inside.
'Is this the power of the Young Monarch—not yet even at a hundred percent?'
A father who had become one with a divine being, and a mother who had once been an S-rank Awakener.
Su-Ho's potential, born of those two, exceeded what even Igrit had imagined.
Krck!
Under the relentless barrage of blows, the sturdy armor began to crack and crumble.
He had raised his speed to its limit, but it still wasn't enough to block every strike.
And then, finally—
CLANG!
The sword that had been straining to withstand Su-Ho's onslaught shattered with a resounding crash.
It was over.
Watching the fragments of metal rain down, Igrit sensed that the match was done.
But just as when he had first met Jin-Woo here, this defeat, too, set Igrit's heart racing.
Su-Ho poured all his mana into his fist for the final blow.
Vooom!
The mana around him rippled like waves, spreading outward.
And.
THOOM!
The fist, launched like a cannon shot, left a gaping hole in the Black Knight's torso.
Pinned against the pillar, the Black Knight slid slowly downward.
And then moved no more.
'......'
Su-Ho carefully poked the Black Knight a few times, then let out a long-held breath.
"Haa!"
He won.
He had won against a powerful enemy that had seemed unbeatable.
Joy surged up from deep inside him like a rising tide.
But.
Contrary to expectation, nothing much changed.
'It's not... the end?'
Su-Ho slowly looked around and, only then, spotted a newly formed Gate far off in the distance, beneath the stairs where the throne stood.
Su-Ho's eyes widened.
An exit!
Whatever the reason, Su-Ho's face broke into a smile—at last he could put an end to this bizarre adventure.
Running over with joy, Su-Ho threw himself straight into the Gate.
After passing through the same long darkness he'd entered through, he opened his eyes—
"Kieeeek!" "Kigegege!" "..."
This time, humanoid ants the size of people were screaming at him.
* * *
"Hah, hah, what the hell kind of stupidly tough ants are these?"
Su-Ho clicked his tongue at the sight of the ant corpses he'd dispatched.
Strangely, he found himself cursing his younger self—who had loved ants so much that upon finding a marching line of them, he'd carefully tiptoe so as not to step on even one.
Which was to say just how vicious and powerful these ants were.
They weren't even in the same league as the armored monsters.
'But if there's any consolation...'
His stagnant level had started climbing rapidly again as he hunted the ants.
Shhk, shhk.
The sound of ant feet came from somewhere again.
In that brief window to catch his breath, Su-Ho clenched his fist tight.
Crick.
"Kiek!" "Kek!"
Drawing on the lessons learned fighting the Black Knight, Su-Ho focused on sweeping through every corner of the cave to raise his level.
The screams of ant monsters echoed without cease throughout the labyrinthine passages.
How long did he roam inside?
'Good...'
When hunting ants no longer raised his level, Su-Ho entered the last chamber of the cave.
A vast, empty room.
A hollow.
Not a sliver of light entered the boss room, but with senses already far beyond human, it didn't hinder Su-Ho's vision at all.
'How big must the boss of this place be, for the room to look like this?'
Just as worry began to creep in—
Su-Ho saw an ant creature standing at the far end of the room.
Unlike the other ants, this one had wings.
'So I only get this one in here?'
The atmosphere of the chamber was similar to the room where the Black Knight had been.
But unlike that knight, he could feel nothing of this ant creature's power.
Whether it was strong or weak—
Su-Ho tilted his head and, quieting his steps, crept cautiously toward the ant.
When he'd gotten close enough—
The ant suddenly turned toward him without a sound.
'!'
Su-Ho flinched and took a step back.
Not from fear.
He'd simply been caught off guard.
And who could blame him.
The ant was crying.
It was crying so sorrowfully that even knowing full well it was a monster with whom communication was impossible, Su-Ho couldn't bring himself to strike first.
Why was that?
An insect standing on two legs the size of a person, tears streaming down its face—normally you'd find that grotesque.
For some reason, he wanted to comfort the ant.
That was how he felt.
But his pity was short-lived.
Sensing a powerful surge of energy, Su-Ho leaped backward.
'......?'
As if steeling its own fragile heart, the ant wiped its tears with the back of its hand.
Good lord...
Startled by the immense power radiating from the ant, Su-Ho looked down at the fine hairs standing on end along his arm.
That ant.
It was on an entirely different level from every ant he'd fought so far—and from the Black Knight, too.
A tremor ran through his entire body.
'Eh...?'
When Su-Ho noticed the shadow falling over him and looked up, the ant had already closed the distance and stood right in front of him.
The ant, now swollen to twice its original size, let out a horrifying roar.
[KIEEEEEEEEEEEK!]
* * *
Thank heavens.
A thousand times thank heavens.
Lying collapsed in utter exhaustion, Su-Ho repeated that thought countless times.
The winged ant had been a truly fearsome foe.
But every time danger loomed, for some reason the ant would hesitate and stop short of attacking.
Thanks to that.
It had been difficult, but he'd managed to take the ant down—barely.
"Ugh..."
Su-Ho twisted his aching body upright.
A new Gate had formed as the reward for defeating a powerful foe.
Su-Ho checked his level.
[Level: 99]
His level had stopped at 99.
Normally, at level 99, most games would treat that as the level cap.
'So now I can really go home.'
Su-Ho's heart pounded with anticipation.
Su-Ho eagerly leaped into the next Gate.
And when he opened his eyes—
"Hm? Hm-hm?" "Grrrr..."
He found himself face to face with giants and dragons filling his entire field of view.
"Ha..."
* * *
Mountain beyond mountain.
Su-Ho made his way along the long road stretching across the plain, piling up mountains of giant and dragon corpses as he went.
His level was still 99.
His stats hadn't gone up, but through the many battles he'd fought, he had learned to handle his strength with greater proficiency.
Raw power and the skill to wield it—both gave Su-Ho tremendous confidence.
Shortly after.
Su-Ho spotted another Black Knight waiting at the end of the road.
'......'
Unlike the Black Knight with the red plume atop its helm, this one's frame was enormous, and the stumps of broken wings marked its back.
Strong.
Perhaps even stronger than that ant he'd fought not long ago.
But.
'...That one is a fake.'
Su-Ho was certain.
Because the being that could only be the real one was hovering in the air directly above him.
Feeling an overwhelming presence, Su-Ho raised his head.
Then—
[Kee-aaah—]
The wyvern soaring through the sky let out a tremendous cry.
Moments later, something dropped from the wyvern.
The figure that had been falling endlessly touched down lightly, and the impact cratered the ground, sending dust billowing upward.
KUOOM!
Su-Ho swallowed hard.
'That's the real one...'
From someone whose face was hidden beneath a pulled-up hood, Su-Ho felt a suffocating pressure.
When that figure landed, the knight behind—who had been about to draw his sword—froze and took several steps back.
As if to say he would interfere no further.
'The real one was this one after all.'
Su-Ho steeled his trembling legs against the suffocating pressure.
This was the first time a person, not a monster, had appeared.
"Hey!"
He tried to address the figure, but the lips barely visible beneath the hood only smiled—no answer came.
"Oh, come on..."
Su-Ho gave up trying to speak, then spotted something and his eyes went wide.
'Is that...?'
For the first time.
A Gate had formed before he had even defeated his enemy.
It was behind the hooded man.
'Which means...'
This was probably the last one.
All he had to do was defeat that man, and he could go home.
The instant that conclusion hit—
His body moved.
Stats pushed to their absolute limit, and combat ability grown enough to handle them.
Thump, thump!
Feeling his heartbeat surge as though it would explode—
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Su-Ho broke the sound barrier and closed in on the man in an instant.
The enemy was right in front of him.
At a distance no one could dodge, a fist that could not be withstood shot toward the man's face.
But.
The man deflected the attack with absurd ease, simply tilting his head back a fraction.
At that moment.
In the slowed-down flow of time, Su-Ho caught a glimpse of the man's bare face beneath the hood.
"...Dad?"
The man cracked a smile.
"You're still not there yet."
In Su-Ho's widened eyes, he saw the man's palm approaching faster than light.
Su-Ho squeezed his eyes shut.
A moment later, light engulfed his vision.
* * *
"Hah!"
Su-Ho jolted upright from his chair and looked around.
A classroom.
It was a classroom steeped in the quiet air of an after-school emptiness.
Su-Ho wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
'What a weird dream.'
Had he been playing too many games?
The final boss he'd barely reached after wandering through a bizarre Dungeon turned out to be his dad.
An embarrassing nightmare he couldn't tell anyone about.
Thank goodness it was just a dream.
As he let out a sigh of relief and turned around, he saw a girl frozen stiff right in front of him.
She seemed startled when the sleeping Su-Ho suddenly woke up.
To defuse the awkwardness, Su-Ho spoke first.
"Not going home?"
Looking more closely, it was the girl from the row behind who'd been poking his back to get his attention.
"I'm on duty... so I have to lock up before I go..."
Su-Ho said casually to the stammering girl.
"Want me to help?"
"Huh?"
Caught off guard by an offer she hadn't anticipated, the girl shyly nodded.
"...Sure."
* * *
At that same moment.
On the rooftop of the same school, Jin-Woo, Beru, and Igrit stood together.
Igrit spoke.
[My Lord... shouldn't you return the Young Monarch's power to him now?]
They had tested him several times before, but this was the first time the Young Monarch had truly reached the level of the Monarch.
Igrit wanted to award Su-Ho a passing mark for having completed the test brilliantly.
But Jin-Woo replied with a faint smile.
"If he had trusted only in the power he has now and tried to face the Dragon Emperor from the very start, would we have won?"
Igrit shook his head.
That was what Jin-Woo had wanted to teach Su-Ho.
That no matter how powerful you are, there are situations where victory isn't guaranteed—and in those, you need to know when to run.
Rushing headlong into a strong enemy without any calculation is not courage.
'It's reckless foolishness.'
Even though he sensed he couldn't win, Su-Ho had kept challenging himself.
His courage was commendable, but from a father's perspective, the outcome was worrying.
Not yet.
Right—it was still too soon.
But Su-Ho was a smart kid, and before long he would understand.
How to use his strength according to the situation.
[Young Monarch...]
Beru gazed at the old drawing that depicted him, and once again his eyes began to redden.
Pat, pat.
Jin-Woo gave the dejected Beru a few pats on the shoulder, then walked to the railing and looked down at the school below.
He could see his son leaving through the school gates with a girl from his class.
Resting his chin on his hand as he watched Su-Ho, Jin-Woo smiled softly and spoke.
"How about we eat out as a family for once today?"