Chapter 53

Chapter 53. Incomprehensible Difficulty Unlocked

A Hidden Piece.

'Unprecedented' didn't just mean on Earth.

It might well have been a first across all 393 destroyed worlds combined.

Because that was what a Hidden Piece was.

A domain buried at the very bottom of the System—one that even the gods hadn't foreseen.

'So my Honor was this high.'

The Honor stat had only been revealed with Episode 4.

My score was nothing short of overwhelming.

The unit itself was on a different scale.

Which meant that no difficulty currently existing in the System could accommodate it.

For reference, 'Easy' difficulty was accessible from 0 to 500.

'Normal' from 500 to 1,000.

'Hard' from 1,000 to 5,000.

'Very Hard' from 5,000 to 8,000.

From 8,000 onward, the 'Hell' difficulty opened—where the top-ranked players, the gods' Avatars, entered.

But I'd never heard of anyone entering a difficulty above that, even in my past life.

'Since it's a first, even I don't know what's waiting.'

Incomprehensible.

Beyond understanding.

Beyond reach.

The word itself carried a different kind of weight.

One wrong step and I could die.

The question was why my Honor was this astronomical.

Sweeping first place in the Hall of Fame three consecutive times shouldn't produce a number like this.

Was the Hall of the Gods also factored in?

Were Rag and I being recognized as a single entity, unlike other gods?

'Even summoning Rag's true body might be dangerous.'

And beyond that.

If I brought Park Hayan and Park Jihun, both of them would certainly die.

This was the problem.

Originally, I'd planned to bring only Park Jihun.

The seed of the Demon King.

Tough enough to tank hits and with good combat instincts—I'd figured I'd blaze the trail up front while he played porter in the back.

Episode 4 had a rule that required a party to proceed.

A minimum of two had to group up before the Demon Realm's gate would open.

Going solo meant no entry at all.

'What do I do?'

Things were getting complicated.

I couldn't proceed alone, but bringing them meant death.

Of course, I could simply not attempt it.

Entering the Demon Realm wasn't mandatory.

Challenge or not was a personal choice.

I could sit in my room and do nothing.

But.

Skipping it came with a fatal penalty.

'If the clear rate for a given difficulty drops below 10%, demons of that difficulty spawn on Earth.'

If fewer than 10% of challengers who entered a difficulty cleared it, a warp gate for that difficulty opened in the real world.

And demons would pour out and begin a mass slaughter.

Fail Easy, and low-tier demons drop into the city.

Fail Hell, and high-tier demons land in the middle of Seoul.

And right now.

'I'm the only one who unlocked Incomprehensible.'

The only party in the world with entry rights to this difficulty was mine.

If I entered and failed to clear it?

Zero challengers.

Zero percent clear rate.

The result: Incomprehensible-tier demons descend upon reality and accelerate the apocalypse.

It was obvious that a catastrophe capable of halving the planet would follow.

'What do I do?'

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

Park Hayan and Park Jihun were watching me with peculiar looks.

The prolonged silence must have piqued their curiosity.

"B-Boss."

Park Jihun ventured carefully.

"Your Honor score's crazy high, isn't it?"

"......"

"How much did you get? Don't tell me—ten thousand?"

Park Hayan also watched my lips with clasped hands.

I didn't answer.

1.35 million.

Incomprehensible difficulty.

They wouldn't understand even if I told them.

Park Jihun cleared his throat and changed the subject.

"By the way, Boss, did you already know the next episode would start today? Yesterday you told us to be here by 11 AM sharp."

A sharp question.

But easy to deflect.

I took a sip of beer.

"I have a bit of foresight."

"Ah!"

Park Jihun slapped his fist into his palm.

"I knew it! Boss has the eye! That's how you picked all those expensive Relics on Antique Street! Ah, I could slap my forehead!"

What a simple creature.

Not a shred of doubt; he swallowed it whole.

Park Hayan was nodding along beside him, gazing at me with awe.

She probably saw me as some all-seeing archmage at this point.

I set down the can.

A decision had to be made.

"You two."

Both straightened the moment I spoke.

"Form a party together."

"Huh?"

"And tackle it as a duo. Park Hayan, your Honor is higher, so you'll be Party Leader. That should open 'Hard' difficulty."

I was telling them to pair up and enter the dungeon without me.

Confusion washed over both their faces.

"B-Boss, what about you? Weren't we going together?"

Park Jihun's eyes went round.

"Yesterday you said there was something you needed our help with. I even sharpened my sword and everything......"

"Are you leaving me behind because I'd be a burden?"

Park Hayan's voice trembled faintly.

The fear of being unable to help her benefactor—of being discarded—was plain on her face.

Even the wind spirit circling her seemed to droop.

I shook my head firmly.

"No."

There was no choice but to tell them the truth.

"If you party with me, you both die. One hundred percent."

"......What?"

"Follow me and you won't come back alive."

Incomprehensible.

The weight of that word needed no elaboration.

But the fact that my '100% death' wasn't bluster or intimidation—these two sharp people would have sensed it instantly.

The mood sank like a stone.

I'd said that much, so naturally I expected them to nod and step back.

No matter how great the debt, no fool throws away their life.

Nothing in this mad world was more precious than survival.

And yet.

"......I'll go."

The one who broke the silence was Park Hayan.

She rose from her seat.

Fists clenched, she looked me dead in the eyes.

"I'll come with you."

"Didn't you hear me? I said you'd die."

I furrowed my brow.

"I appreciate the resolve, but dying for nothing isn't on the table."

"It wouldn't be for nothing."

There was no waver in Park Hayan's eyes.

"If not for you, I would already have died in that plane crash."

She took a step toward me.

"You saved me when I was rotting away in a hospital bed, just breathing. My life is already a bonus you gave me. So if my benefactor is walking into a death trap, I'll be the one to clear the path."

Stubbornness.

No—a trust bordering on blind faith.

Park Jihun, standing beside her, scratched his head.

Then he grinned and adjusted his longsword.

"Ha, jeez. The kid's got more guts than me. I'm the guild master of the Black Tiger Guild—what kind of face do I show if I tuck tail and run while she steps up?"

Park Jihun planted himself before me with a smirk.

The Black Tiger Guild.

The guild Park Jihun had founded with my funding and Chairman Park's backing.

On paper, he was the guild master, but many of Chairman Park's men were among its ranks.

Yamamoto's surveillance was also being handled by the Black Tiger Guild.

Park Jihun grinned.

"I'm going too. A hundred percent death, you say? Come on, Boss—you wouldn't really let me die."

He thumped his chest.

"If it wasn't for you, I'd have spent my life as a vegetable, shitting the bed. What's dying one more time? I can at least be your meat shield!"

Unbelievable.

These reckless fools.

I save their lives and they volunteer to jump into hellfire.

"......"

I looked between the two of them.

Both had venom blazing in their eyes.

They weren't the type to back down if told.

Especially that Park Hayan.

Once she dug in, she never budged—I'd known that since my past life.

'I can't enter alone anyway.'

Minimum party size: two.

Someone had to come along for the gate to open.

If I ditched these two and grabbed a random stranger off the street?

That innocent person would be dragged into Incomprehensible difficulty and die screaming without understanding why.

That was something neither a mage nor a human being should do.

'I won't let them die.'

I swallowed a silent laugh.

Who was I, after all?

Someone who'd chewed up gods and become the master of Floor 55 in the Tower of God.

I was confident I could keep those two alive, one way or another.

They'd suffer to the bone, certainly.

I stood up.

"Don't regret it."

"Never!"

"Thank you!"

I opened the System window.

I hit the party invite button.

Ding!

[Kim Jeong-seok has invited 'Park Jihun' and 'Park Hayan' to a party.]
[Party formed. (3/12)]

The party was made.

In that instant, the blood-red message I'd seen was shared with Park Hayan and Park Jihun.

[Party Leader: Kim Jeong-seok]
[Party Leader's Honor: 1,357,790]
['Incomprehensible' difficulty Demon Realm gate opens.]

"......Gack!"

Park Jihun choked the moment he read the message.

His legs seemed to give out; he staggered.

Park Hayan went white and clapped a hand over her mouth.

"One...... one million three hundred fifty......"

And Incomprehensible.

Only now did they realize what kind of insanity they'd signed up for.

"We're leaving."

When I extended my hand, the air split open grotesquely and a dark-red vortex churned.

A wormhole to the Demon Realm.

"If you're having second thoughts, leave the party and walk out now."

At my words, Park Jihun swallowed hard.

But he shook his head vehemently.

"I-I'm going! I'll just follow right behind you, Boss!"

"...I'm going."

Park Hayan likewise wrapped herself in a wind spirit's aura and nodded with resolve.

***

Tokyo, a skyscraper rooftop in Roppongi.

HUMMMM!

A dark-red dimensional gate was opening above the Japanese archipelago as well.

Episode 4, 'Invitation of the Abyss.'

While countless Japanese Awakened stared skyward in terror.

A single man stood at the rooftop railing.

Battle Emperor Yamamoto.

Second place in the Hall of Fame.

And an Avatar whose true form was the God of War.

Ding!

[Party Leader: Yamamoto]
[Party Leader's Honor: 20,200]
['Perfect Hell' difficulty Demon Realm gate opens.]

"Is everyone ready?"

Yamamoto spoke, turning to look behind him.

At his back stood eleven elite Awakened in formation.

The core members of Japan's premier guild, the 'Hero Guild.'

The strongest party, hand-picked and trained by Yamamoto himself.

"Perfect Hell difficulty. A battlefield that only I, Yamamoto, can open."

20,200 points.

The result of pushing his score from 8,000 after Episode 3 through relentless slaughter and quest completion.

A score no other Avatar could dream of matching.

They'd be lucky to attempt ordinary Hell difficulty.

He'd consumed extra Nectar, driven by competitive fire.

With this score, he was certain he'd surpassed NONAME.

'Once I clear Perfect Hell, I will touch the realm of true myth.'

The immense rewards waiting there.

If he monopolized them, seizing first place would be trivial.

"Stay sharp. Hell's demons are on a completely different level from the trash we've faced."

"Yes, Guild Master!"

The party answered in unison.

But one of them—the mage 'Satoshi,' standing at the rear—had a subtly different look in his eyes.

On the surface, a loyal member of the Hero Guild.

In truth.

'The Black Tiger Guild.'

A double agent, paid handsomely by Park Jihun in Korea.

Satoshi fingered the artifact hidden in his coat.

—Monitor Yamamoto's every move.
—Join Yamamoto's party for the next episode in particular.
—This artifact can record footage under any conditions. Keep it on your person at all times.

Orders from the Black Tiger Guild.

A commission worth a staggering five billion won.

Far too generous for mere errand work.

Satoshi knew full well what kind of monster Yamamoto was.

Playing spy under his nose was a tightrope walk over death.

But the reward offered by the Korean side was sweet enough to justify the risk.

It had let him pay off every debt he owed.

'Why is the Black Tiger Guild watching Yamamoto?'

Satoshi's eyes settled on Yamamoto's back.

That was when.

"We depart."

Yamamoto drew his katana.

The fighting spirit that poured from the blade blanketed the rooftop.

'......NONAME.'

Yamamoto bared his teeth at the churning dimensional gate.

'I don't know who you are, but the moment I clear Perfect Hell, your reign at number one is over.'

He was convinced.

That the 'Perfect Hell' he'd unlocked was the final frontier of Episode 4.

He hadn't the faintest idea that a deeper abyss called 'Incomprehensible' existed beyond it.

"Let's go—to conquer a real hell."

He strode into the gate of hell.