“Even if you ask like that….. And from the beginning, some are additional abilities tied to the skill called manifestation, so they can’t be used frequently. Long cooldowns, short durations.”

“What, it’s like berserk after all.”

Even though I said I don’t know what berserk is, he’s like that. Yi Ryeo Hyun raised his upper body and gulped down the potion.

“Be careful with such skills. Especially when using them ignoring cooldown and duration.”

“Is that possible?”

“I’m saying it because it is. Especially if you have an overpowered ability like you, there are bastards who subtly pressure you to use it even during cooldown, ignore them.”

“I don’t know why you’re saying that, but I understand for now.”

“Yeah, man. When an adult talks, say thank you and take it to heart.”

Said Yi Ryeo Hyun, who was the same age as Cheon Shin Woo.

I got up and checked the situation first.

[Asir’s Red Tomb Conquest Complete]

– Top Contributor: White Night

[Do you want to check the rewards? Yes/No]

I pressed Yes as if enchanted.

[Reward distribution completed.]

Nothing had changed. Should I check the inventory? Now that I’ve awakened, I can check the inventory too. A new wave of emotion began to swell up.

Baek Yi Hyun laughed as he saw me looking into space in amazement.

“Amazing, isn’t it?”

“Huh, yeah?”

“The system, I mean. How did they build something like this? Aren’t you curious about who created the system?”

“Yeah….. Yi Hyun, what did you get?”

“I only ranked 3rd in contributions, so I probably didn’t get much. Guild Master, would you like to check the rewards?”

“Huh? Why?”

Yi Ryeo Hyun had already taken off his top and was wringing out the moisture from his clothes. What is that? Before I could be surprised, Baek Yi Hyun blocked my view. Before it was blocked, his body was surprisingly firm, unlike how it looked.

“Hm? Why am I the top contributor….. Hmm. If I dissolve the gate like this, I’ll get scolded, right?”

Yi Ryeo Hyun took out what looked like a gate stone from the air. The way he scratched his head seemed strangely careless.

“Most of the monsters would have disappeared when the lich was destroyed, but it’s principle to leave some for investigation. Since it’s an erosion type anyway, there’s nothing to gain, so it’s better to hand over the gate stone to the association.”

“Yeah, if that’s the case, well.”

Unlike Cheon Shin Woo, Yi Ryeo Hyun looked like a figurehead president, no, a figurehead guild master.

Fortunately, he didn’t take off his pants, and he took out another potion and drank it like water.

“Yohwa, did you finish the potion I gave you earlier?”

“Huh? Ah, I did drink it, but. Huh?”

Suddenly I feel dizzy. What is this? A sticky liquid flowed from my nose.

“Shin Ah?”

[Error!] [Abnormal access has been attempted.]

It’s a familiar feeling. Something, me…..

“That’s why I told you to drink the potion!”

Yi Ryeo Hyun, who was in tatters despite drinking several recovery potions, clicked his tongue and shouted. It’s not because of lack of mana. Before I could answer, my body staggered.

Baek Yi Hyun looked at me.

“Shin Ah.”

“Y-yes?”

“Don’t worry, you can fall asleep.”

The moment I heard those words, I felt completely drained, separate from the dizziness. As the tension that had been strongly gripping me relaxed, all the strength left my body. The dizziness was gone, but a sensation of difficulty breathing came up.

Ah, so this is what it feels like when tension is released.

I don’t know what I did to be this tired. Just before I passed out, I left one last word.

“Mister.”

“Mister?! How old do you think I am to call me mister…!”

“Please keep it a secret that I awakened as S-rank……”

“Hey, you’re saying that now…!”

The world blurred.

[This is the timeline separator]

“The ranking has changed?”

[World Ranking Order Change!] [(New!) World Ranking 72nd, Yohwa (謠華)] [Domestic ranking will change.] [(New!) Korea Ranking 6th, Yohwa (謠華)]

Just by awakening, the name that rose to a position coveted by countless people was enough to cause a storm.

[This is the timeline separator]

I had a dream. In the dream, I was smiling in a place full of flowers stretching beyond the horizon.

Everyone was happy. Everyone was smiling. In that place where there seemed to be no worry, no sadness, no despair…..

But in an instant, all the flowers withered. The ground began to rot. The world full of laughter suddenly became a land full of despair and pain.

Where is this? No. This is not where I was. As I wandered here and there, unable to adapt to the suddenly changed environment.

“……”

I saw a white person standing there.

It was a person, yet at the same time not a person. Wearing a veil and wrapped in white cloth, that thing imitating a person spoke.

“Hello−?”

It was a strange voice. It wasn’t a boy’s, nor a girl’s, not a woman’s, not a man’s, not an old person’s, nor a child’s. But at the same time, it was a voice that had all those sounds, and it, he spoke.

“……Who?”

The pure white cloth fluttered. The rotting ground, as if it had never rotted, had quickly become a flower field again.

If I closed my eyes once and opened them.

There, he and I were.

“The connection has finally been made. Would you allow me to talk with you?”

If I closed my eyes and opened them again, there was a table and a teapot.

Like a scene from Alice in Wonderland, that fantasy. The unidentifiable being and I were sitting side by side drinking tea.

“……Allow?”

“Exactly as I said. I want to have a conversation with you−?”

Why is it? Every time I hear that voice, goosebumps rise on my back. Discomfort? Fear? If it’s neither of those, what is this emotion? All sorts of emotions poured out towards the being in front of me. I rubbed the goosebumps on my skin and asked him.

“You want to have a conversation with me?”

“Yes. If you don’t allow it, I will soon be driven out.”

It was incredibly strange. I’m not sure exactly what is strange. But I knew for certain that this was a dream.

Should I answer? Allow it? Is it okay to allow it? My mouth won’t open.

It smiled.

“Please, allow it.”

“……I’ll allow it.”

At my answer, he smiled brightly. Liquid filled the teacup.

“……By the way, who are you?”

“Oh my, I didn’t introduce myself. Nice to meet you, Yohwa Cheon Shin Ah. I am one who once had a name but now its light has faded. Thus, I came to know everything, and because of this, I came to keep silent. I am called Silence.”

The moment the name Silence was given, that voice became fixed as that of a boy.

“Silence?”

I know the name Silence. Silence of the Thousand Palace.

The prophet who can predict everything except lottery numbers. The shining 7th in the world rankings, Silence.

And wasn’t it a name I had heard from Kali too?

Seeing that my wariness did not ease, Silence smiled an embarrassed smile. Although it’s difficult to guess his expression since only his mouth is visible, that was undoubtedly a smile.

“This place is a place created based on your dream. Thus, I am myself and at the same time your dream.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“Let’s just say we’re meeting in a dream.”

I see. I thought as I fiddled with the teacup.

I know this is a dream. I also know that being is not a lie. Yet the sense of discomfort did not disappear.

But what business does Silence have with me? The worry of whether I should ask swirled in my head.

No, this is not such a simple question. I, that thing, that person, that being…..

“Someday I’d like to visit you directly, not by such a chance. Thank you for forgiving today’s rudeness.”

“……It’s nothing. But what brings you to my dream?”

“Aren’t you curious how we could meet?”

“I’m not particularly curious.”

There’s an obvious answer like a skill, so there’s no need to ask. Silence chuckled at my answer.

I suddenly wondered what the face hidden under that cloth would look like.

“Since we’re not close enough to exchange greetings, I should get straight to the point.”

Silence took a sip of tea and looked at me.

“How much do you know about the apocalypse?”

“What?”

“I think you would have heard from the god of war that apocalypse will strike this world again. But you wouldn’t have heard the details.”

“Well, yeah……”

“So I’ll ask again. How much do you know about the apocalypse?”

Silence looked at me with a gentle but firm expression. There’s no way I would know anything. I answered with silence.

Seeing that I didn’t answer, Silence continued as if he had expected it.

“The second apocalypse is not fiction. It might come as soon as tomorrow, or in a year, or in 10 years.”

Before I knew it, the flower field gradually took on the form of a garden. No, as time passed, I felt that this place was not a garden. It’s a birdcage in the middle of a garden surrounded by flowers. A birdcage to confine birds so they can’t fly away freely.

“Also, the apocalypse comes in four forms.”

He smiled as he put down his teacup in the birdcage disguised as a garden. I felt like I might know what that story was.

“First, an eternal winter where everything freezes.”

In the endless winter, all hungry things will devour life.

“Second, a demon king of madness that drives humans insane.”

In the spreading madness, people will kill each other again and again.

“Third, a dragon that devours all light.”

Eventually, when all light disappears and darkness comes to the world.

“Lastly, a benevolence that fairly returns everything to nothingness.”

It will bring an end to all life.

With that, the surrounding scenery changed. The flower field spread out like paradise was nowhere to be seen. Death bloomed in the black sky, madness covered the ground, and despair filled everything around.

People killing people, yesterday’s friends becoming today’s enemies, dying of hunger without gaining anything in the face of cold and despair.

That vivid scene, nauseating in its vividness, gradually invaded me.

Darkness, screams, madness, winter. Me…..

“To prevent this apocalypse, cooperation between Jeokcheon and Yohwa is essential.”

In an instant, the surroundings changed again. Silence continued in a calm voice, as if unaffected by the scenery.

“Your sacrifice is the most noble way to protect this world.”

He spoke calmly, and as if it were natural.