Chapter 330: Chapter 328

"CEO Yoo! You've come at just the right time!"

"CEO Yoo! What in the world are you doing, using a game as a pretext?!"

"Is it true that all people can awaken in the Tower of Trials?!"

The hunter associations presidents, momentarily flustered by the sudden intrusion, quickly regained their composure and began to berate him, instead of Woo Jinchul. An immense pressure bore down on Yoo Jinho. The combined aura of the world's hunter associations presidents and the heads of powerful guilds, all S-rank Hunters with considerable influence in their respective countries, was incredibly intimidating. But, in the end, this was merely virtual reality and Yoo Jinho, the highest authority in this world, remained unfazed by their sharp reactions, maintaining a relaxed demeanor.

"Ah, if you had gotten to the point from the beginning, wouldn't we have saved each other time? Instead of nitpicking about real estate laws and whatnot. And there are still a few countries that haven't yet purchased the land; you'd better hurry up and get it done. Once the server officially opens, it'll be too late... And you will regret missing out." With that casual remark, Yoo Jinho flicked his finger, and a plush executive chair sprouted from the empty space. He plopped down, crossed his legs, and delivered a sharp rebuke to everyone.

"Anyway, since you all seem so curious, I'll get straight to the point. Yes, it's true. Anyone can awaken in the Tower of Trials. The abilities gained within will, to a certain extent, be reflected even upon returning to reality. In fact, depending on one's effort, one may even gain far more than from an ordinary Awakening."

"...?!"

Everyone's eyes widened at the shocking statement, coming not from some media campaign but from Yoo Jinho's own mouth

"I-Is that true?"

"Is such a thing really possible?"

It was only natural to be surprised. The media always distorts and exaggerates the truth. The reason...? That's the only way to attract more attention. That's why the world is full of fake news and clickbait articles. Therefore, none of those gathered here took the hype at face value. But CEO Yoo Jinho himself had just confirmed that it was all true. And the weight of his last words was not insignificant.

"What does it mean that one may gain far more than from an ordinary Awakening?"

The one to pinpoint that part was none other than Thomas Andre. His expression had been one of amused interest from the beginning, grinning as if he found the whole situation entertaining. Yoo Jinho looked at him and replied,

"You're focusing on the wrong part. The sentence before that is more important."

"Hm... 'Depending on their effort'?"

"Yes." Yoo Jinho sat facing Thomas Andre, a playful smile on his lips.

"As announced, the Tower of Trials is merely a tutorial for the main game. Gaining power will require considerable effort."

"That's obvious. So what is this 'effort'?"

"Grit. Resilience. Perseverance. Tenacity. And above all... the courage to defy even death in order to become stronger." At those meaningful words, everyone's expressions changed. In the middle of the conversation, the Canadian Association President raised his hand and interjected.

"Defy even death? Are you saying that people might actually die while playing the game?"

"Of course not. The actual body remains in the game capsule; only the avatar in the game dies. And aren't you already used to this? After all, this place is the same."

Sweep—

With those words, Yoo Jinho casually raised a hand, and suddenly a giant shadow loomed over everyone's heads.

They all looked up, and to their astonishment, Yoo Jinho's palm, magnified to an enormous size, appeared in the sky. As if it were about to crush everyone there like flies. The Hunters of the world, suddenly reduced to the status of insects, glared at him with displeasure. But, outside world aside, there was no reason for Yoo Jinho to fear those gazes inside here. The ultimate administrator of this server, Yoo Jinho, withdrew his hand with a mischievous smile and continued his explanation.

"As you can see, even if I were to kill you all here right now, you would simply wake up in your game capsules, wherever they may be, just as you always do. And humanity is already accustomed to this situation. After all, avatars can be revived any number of times, no matter how often they die. Dozens or even hundreds of times, if necessary. Besides, the avatars we've developed have quite a bit of resilience, so while something might hurt enough to make you feel like dying, there won't be any pain beyond that."

"Hurt enough to feel like dying? Does that mean it's far more realistic than existing virtual reality games? To the point of leaving trauma?"

"That depends on the person, I suppose. After all, people who don't like horror games simply don't play them, do they? We're not forcing anyone to play. If they're scared of that, they simply don't have to challenge the Tower of Trials. And in that spirit, the Tower of Trials will be restricted to those 19 years of age and older."

"...."

The more they listened, the more serious people's expressions became. Everyone gathered here was a Hunter, intimately familiar with death, so they knew all too well what kind of pain one could experience in deadly battles. Having arms torn off, legs severed, in fights against magical beasts. Even if they miraculously survived and were restored to their original state by top-tier healers, the moment their lives were in danger was indelibly etched into their brains. Overcoming the fear of death ingrained in that memory and charging back into battle against magical beasts was not as easy as it sounded.

The Canadian Association President spoke gravely.

"CEO Yoo, you... What is the purpose of developing something like this? What are you trying to achieve by increasing the number of Awakened individuals?"

"Hm. My purpose..." Yoo Jinho stared intently at the face of the Canadian Association President, who had been interrogating him from the start.

"I have no personal, selfish purpose."

Although he had aged, Yoo Jinho remembered his face clearly.

Jay Mills.

An S-rank Hunter representing Canada.

In the past, when Sung Jinwoo had announced that those who could not fight should flee as far as possible, this man was the representative of the Hunters who had criticized Sung Jinwoo and vowed to fight to the end in front of the Gates. His methods were wrong, but he couldn't be blamed. After all, he had risked his life to protect his country, only to meet a futile end. His mistake was being ignorant about...

How strong the enemies were.

How precarious humanity's situation was.

Without a proper grasp of the situation, he had, in any case, shown courage to protect people, risking his life. At least that fact had to be acknowledged. Therefore...

'I have to make it clear this time.'

Who our enemies are.

How weak humanity is.

With that thought, Yoo Jinho met Jay Mills's gaze.

"Jay Mills. If you truly care about Canada's safety, you should be the first to challenge the Tower of Trials."

"...What?"

"The Tower of Trials is open not only to non-Awakened individuals but also to hunters. In fact, I hope that Awakened individuals will utilize it even more. After all, the game we created, 'Solo Leveling: Ragnarok,' was initially intended as a project for the training of hunters. Therefore, I implore... all of you here to clear the Tower of Trials before anyone else. Then you will naturally understand."

"Understand... what?"

"The truth."

"What?"

With those words, Yoo Jinho rose from his seat and extended his hand towards everyone gathered there. Then, at that moment...

Ting!

Ting!

[An invitation to Tutorial: 'Tower of Trials' has arrived.]

[An invitation to Tutorial: 'Tower of Trials' has arrived.]

[An invitation to Tutorial: 'Tower of Trials' has arrived.]

"...!"

Suddenly, mysterious keys appeared in front of all the hunter associations presidents.

"I will grant all of you here beta tester access, by my authority. That key is a link that connects the game capsule you are currently in to the Tower of Trials. Using that key, you can enter the Tower of Trials immediately."

"...!"

"If you're truly so curious, experience it for yourselves. Righi away... Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm busy."

Fwoosh—

Having accomplished his purpose here, Yoo Jinho's form vanished from the spot without hesitation. But even after he disappeared, the associations presidents stared at the mysterious keys in their hands with complicated expressions for a long time.

"If I use this... I can enter right now?"

Why were their hands, holding the black keys, sweating? It was a strange moment to realize that, but this virtual reality system was truly remarkable. To simulate even the cold sweat caused by emotional changes... It was truly a magical world.

In this brutal reality where monsters suddenly appeared, and Hunters with awakened abilities fought them with swords and shields...

Perhaps the highly advanced scientific power of humanity was an even more magical thing. That's why everyone gathered here was nervous. Ajin Soft, and CEO Yoo Jinho's technology, had now made it possible to turn even ordinary people into hunters.

"If this is real... Yoo Jinho will become the god of a new world." At someone's murmur, bitter smiles spread across the faces of the world's associations presidents.

Aside from one person.

"A god is too much, maybe a monarch of humans." Thomas Andre was chuckling, saying that he would be glad to live long enough to see it. And he, before anyone else, grasped the key and spoke.

"I will enter the Tower of Trials."

"...!"

At that bold statement, everyone looked at him in surprise. Then, the black key in Thomas Andre's grasp emitted a black energy that swirled, opening a Gate in front of him.

"Oh ho. So you can enter directly from virtual reality. That's a fancy feature."

Before anyone could stop him, Thomas stepped into the Gate without hesitation.

[Entering Tutorial: 'Tower of Trials'.]

As he passed through the Gate...

Whoosh!

A tremendous landscape unfolded before his eyes. A vast, ruined city, filled with black and white shadows...

"...Where is this?"

The Statue of Liberty, toppled.

New York, utterly destroyed, with only rubble remaining.

Thomas Andre, who had appeared alone in the middle of it, frowned. Bad memories were resurfacing.

"Is this... the past?"

'Or the future to come?'

"Tsk. From the outside, it looked like a pyramid, but the inside is a complete recreation of a destroyed Earth."

Even though Thomas Andre was old, he knew the basics of virtual reality games. It seemed that the black pyramids that had appeared all over the world were not actual buildings, but rather served as a kind of base station. And through those numerous base stations, people from all over the world could enter this vast dimension.

Anyway, looking around this gray city, where not a trace of life could be felt, he realized something anew.

"Sung Jinwoo, without him, Earth would have ended up like this." He felt a renewed sense of debt to Sung Jinwoo, who was said to be fighting alone in space. But then...

"Thomas..."

"Hm?"

In the empty lot, where it seemed no living being could possibly exist, a presence was felt. A dying voice was heard from somewhere, and Thomas Andre turned his head. There, leaning against a wall, was an old woman covered in blood and wounds, dying. At the sight of her, Thomas Andre's eyes widened.

"Norma Selner!"

'Norma Selner!'

Why was his only friend here?! Thomas Andre, who had entered with a light heart, felt his blood rush to his head at the sudden situation.

"Grandma!"

He rushed over to Norma Selner in one stride. Then, she looked at Thomas, smiling sadly, and spoke.

"Thomas... Fortunately, you survived."

Thomas Andre gritted his teeth. Even if this was a game, that was crossing a line! The Norma Selner in front of him couldn't be real. This was a common illusion used in virtual reality, an NPC recreated by reading the user's memories. He knew that perfectly well, but seeing his only friend dying so miserably right in front of him made him lose his mind.

"...Yoo Jinho, that bastard!"

"Thomas, don't be so angry. Everyone is equal in the face of death." Norma Selner, even while gasping for breath, steadfastly said what she had to say. Very much like an NPC.

"We fought desperately, but in the end, we lost."

"So this is the past!"

"It's both the past and the future. One of the many histories of our Earth being invaded." Norma Selner, murmuring weakly, coughed up blood.

Seeing that, Thomas Andre was at a loss for what to do. Even though he knew it was all fake, everything depicted before his eyes felt incredibly real. It was to the point that all the virtual reality games released by Ajin Soft until now felt clumsy; this place was far too realistic.

"But I'm glad. Thomas, you survived."

Fwoosh.

With Norma Selner's words, the black key in Thomas Andre's hand began to glow. Seeing that with her fading vision, Norma Selner said with a faint smile.

"You obtained that key. It is the hope created by gathering the last of humanity's power. Use it to return."

"Return where?"

"To the past. To the time when hope still remained..."

Ting.

[Do you wish to load the saved data?]

(Y/N)

It was a game, after all.

Seeing the choice suddenly appear before his eyes, Thomas Andre glared.