Chapter 45 …
EX-Rank Reincarnation Selected
Countless system windows rose before my eyes.
[■ Achievement: ‘First Conqueror of the Labyrinth’ has been accomplished.]
[■ You are the first to directly use Rupture Peninsula successfully.]
[■ Synchronization rate increases by 1%.]
[■ The Martial God is faintly pleased.]
[■ Party No. 328 has cleared the Gate.]
[■ Rewards will be distributed.]
[■ Labyrinth 10F has been cleared. The entry conditions for 9F are now unlocked.]
[■ Congratulations.]
[■ You have taken one step closer to the end of the world.]
“Ah.”
There’s so much. Too many.
Well, rewards aside. Yes, seeing them makes it real—I really did clear it.
But—
[■ You have taken one step closer to the end of the world.]
What does that mean?
‘The end of the world?’
Why would that suddenly appear? As I stood there puzzled—
[■ The Gate has been completely cleared.]
[■ As the Gate has been successfully cleared, it will not affect contamination levels.]
[■ The Gate is closing.]
With the notification that the Gate had ended, the surrounding walls collapsed.
And just like that,
my consciousness returned to reality.
“…Ah.”
I opened my eyes.
My breathing was uneven as I came to. A bright lightbulb immediately filled my vision, making me squint.
Ugh, that’s bright.
“Ugh…”
The aftereffects of exiting a Gate were always unpleasant. As I endured the pounding headache—
“You’re awake?”
“…!”
A voice came from right beside me. Startled, I turned my head.
Ye Ji-ram was there.
“Are you… okay?”
She had just been killed by the Wraith Emperor moments ago. Seeing her here made me ask without thinking.
“What do you mean okay? It wasn’t even a death-penalty Gate. First time seeing someone die inside a Gate?”
“……”
“Oh, was it your first time? Well… I guess I expected too much from a newbie.”
“That’s…”
“Anyway. How did you clear it? I thought there was no way.”
“Ah.”
So she knew I’d cleared it. Well, we were in the same party—the system notifications would’ve appeared for her too.
“You know what? We were faster than Irene.”
“…Ah, yes. That’s impressive—wait. Irene was there too?”
Irene had entered the Labyrinth? And I still beat her?
That was genuinely shocking. The Irene losing in a Gate?
‘…That guidebook really is something.’
Knowing exactly how to clear it made a huge difference.
“To think we’d beat that Irene. This is fun.”
Ye Ji-ram was grinning ear to ear. It seemed like she was happier about that than the actual clear.
“Haha…”
“…Are you that happy?”
“Of course. That arrogant woman whose pride reaches the heavens lost. Ah, that’s satisfying.”
Seeing her so delighted was almost absurd.
“Your personality really is something, Ji-ram.”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing. I said you have a pretty name.”
“…You insulted me, didn’t you?”
“Pardon?”
“I’ll gouge your eyes out…”
She raised two fingers sharply toward my eyes. I awkwardly laughed and took a step back.
“Anyway—seriously, how did you clear it?”
“Uh? How, you ask…”
How was I supposed to explain?
‘…I couldn’t win with a sword, so I brought out my main body.’
And then buffed myself and smashed everything.
There was no way I could say that.
“Well, I just…”
I was trying to come up with some excuse when—
“It didn’t show up on video either.”
“…Video?”
I froze.
Video? What video?
“Kim Hyuk-cheol recorded us.”
Ye Ji-ram pulled out her phone and showed me.
On the screen—
Screeeeech—!!!
It showed her and me fighting the Wraith Emperor.
‘…This.’
My eyes trembled.
Kim Hyuk-cheol—so that’s who it was.
‘…An Informer.’
One of the most famous informers in Korea. Only B-rank, but he used that ability to broadcast Gates online and make money from it.
I knew him well.
‘I watched his streams sometimes.’
There were very few chances to see inside a Gate from the outside.
Naturally, viewers would swarm in.
The problem was—
“You mean there’s footage of me inside the Gate?”
I felt a chill.
Does that mean—
‘Did people find out I’m the Martial God?’
With trembling eyes, I kept watching.
Static—!!!
“Uh… the quality?”
The video quality was distorted.
“When the Wraith Emperor appeared, the Gate rank increased. That’s Kim Hyuk-cheol’s limit.”
“Ah…”
Right. A B-rank Informer would have limits.
“He can usually handle A-rank Gates at best. But when the boss appeared, it rose to S-rank. That’s when things went wrong.”
That was fortunate.
But still—
‘Even so…’
If my transformation into the Martial God was shown, it wouldn’t matter.
Boom—!!!
Ye Ji-ram was struck and slammed into the wall.
The moment she died.
Which meant—
‘Right there.’
The moment I transformed.
I swallowed dryly as I watched—
Bzzzzzzzt—! Click—!
“…Huh?”
The video cut off.
“He passed out there. Couldn’t endure the difficulty spike.”
“Ah.”
Relief washed over me. I let out a quiet breath.
“Of course, there could’ve been another informer… but who knows. That’s all the footage there is. So how did you kill it?”
At her question, I answered awkwardly,
“…I used my skill one more time. Thankfully, it worked.”
“What? You could use it twice?”
“If my condition’s okay.”
It was technically a one-time thing, but I decided to let that slide.
“Well, whatever. We gained a lot thanks to you. Thanks.”
“No, not at all. I’m the one who—”
I was about to say thank you for saving me when—
“Found you.”
A voice came from above.
Looking up, I saw Irene standing there.
“Oh my. Captain.”
Ye Ji-ram smiled brightly. Irene didn’t react in the slightest.
“You cleared the Gate.”
“Yes.”
“Hmm…”
Irene looked at me strangely.
“The captain got second place. We got first.”
Ye Ji-ram chimed in, but—
“Congratulations…”
Irene nodded calmly.
“It seems you’ve drawn attention.”
At that, I responded.
“Attention?”
“You’re the party that defeated Irene. That sort of headline.”
The moment I looked at Ye Ji-ram, she showed me an article.
[The world’s strongest Irene—Defeated!]
[Koreans who beat Irene. Who are they?]
[Surprisingly, they belong to Irene’s own Knight Order…]
[Although two SS-rank Transcendents participated, an A-rank made an unprecedented impact—]
Article after article.
‘Two SS-ranks?’
Apparently, Irene and Eugene.
And the two A-ranks who cleared it before them—
The Black Night Witch, Ye Ji-ram.
And—
‘…Me.’
Yeouido’s Hero, Lee Jin-woo.
My name was in the news.
“I don’t like my name being mentioned, but whatever. It’s not bad for the Knight Order’s name to rise.”
There were even articles about the newly formed Knight Order.
‘Isn’t Ye Ji-ram still supposed to be secret?’
The new recruits hadn’t been made public yet.
‘…The Association must’ve tipped off the press.’
That explained it.
“Not bad. Keep it up… like this.”
Irene left after saying only that.
“What was that? She just says what she wants and leaves.”
Ye Ji-ram clicked her tongue.
Ignoring my aching muscles, I watched Irene’s retreating figure.
‘What was that…?’
[The Hero’s Hyper-Senses activate.]
For a brief moment, I felt Irene’s emotions.
‘Pride. And discomfort.’
Two conflicting emotions flickered within her.
After clearing the Labyrinth, the world was in an uproar due to the continued emergence of Variant Gates.
—This Variant Gate occurred in the shortest interval since such Gates began appearing.
—Some speculate that changes may be occurring within Gates themselves.
—With the 10th floor seemingly only the beginning, predictions suggest there may be more floors ahead—
—To discuss this, Professor Choi Cheong-jo of Korea University, a doctor of Gate Studies…
The news was full of it.
Half about Variant Gates.
A quarter about Irene.
The rest about Ye Ji-ram and me.
“Hmm.”
I turned off the TV.
After selecting the vice-captain, I had returned to the dorm.
Exhaustion had piled up—I passed out immediately.
When I woke up, it was night.
“…Ugh.”
Everything ached. Even after hours of sleep, my body still hurt.
Ignoring the soreness, the first thing I did was—
[■ Rewards will be distributed.]
Check the reward I obtained from clearing the Labyrinth Gate.
‘Let’s see.’
What is it this time?
[■ Would you like to receive your reward? (Y/N)]
Without hesitation, I pressed Y.
Pop!
A box dropped from midair.
“Hmm.”
It was orange.
[■ Labyrinth 10F Clear Reward (S)]
‘An orange box…’
Something you could obtain from clearing an S-rank Gate.
Others would’ve received rewards based on contribution too, but—
‘…I can’t believe I’m opening one of these.’
If lucky, you could obtain a national-level artifact. Even if not, it would still be something exceptional.
How exciting.
Heart pounding, I reached out to open it.
Then—
[■ Illusion of Korka activates.]
[■ The box’s true form is revealed.]
“Huh?”
It had been a while since Illusion of Korka activated.
The box began to glow and change color.
Gold.
Golden meant—
[■ Trace of the Wraith Emperor (SS)]
“…Whoa.”
It had transformed into an SS-rank box.
What exactly is Korka that it can even do this?
‘SS-rank…’
I already had a few SS-rank artifacts, so it wasn’t entirely shocking—but the fact that things like this kept falling into my hands was unreal.
Gulp.
Swallowing nervously, I carefully opened the box.
Fwoooooosh—!!!!!!
An immense light burst out.
And when I saw the item inside—
“…What is this?”
I couldn’t help but frown deeply.
