Solo Max-Level Newbie

With alabaster skin and dark horns, the demon’s appearance was reminiscent of a naughty child and left an impression. This demon belonged to the nobility, which could be determined by the length of his horns.

“Hehe, it seems that quite a rare gathering is taking place here.”

“How dare you, a mere demon, show yourself in this place!”

Athena immediately aimed her spear and shield at the intruder. Without warning, her white magic power furiously rotated as if she intended to pierce through the enemy who had entered their territory unannounced.

“Stop.”

But with a simple gesture from Zeus, Athena could not fulfill her intent.

“…Father?”

“For the demon world to come this far… How intriguing. What brings you here?”

“It is an honor to be hosted by the supreme deity of Olympus. My name is Messid, a demon serving our great Demon King, Guntarfer.”

The boy-like demon bowed deeply as a sign of respect. If he served a Demon King, it meant he was beyond the ridicule of other deities—an absolute being. To think such an envoy had come all the way here…

A subtle smile crept up Zeus’ lips.

“Speak. What is the reason you wish to meet with us?”

“We propose a formal alliance between Olympus and the demon world.”

“…!?”

Alliance. The unexpected and significant matter brought a frozen silence over the surroundings. Until this point, it was impossible to have such cooperation between the major forces due to differing values and interests. It had always been accepted as fate that they would fight and kill each other until one remained. Especially the rule that a single force must collect all crowns compounded everyone’s desperation.

But now. For the most cunning demon world to propose an alliance first—this was surprising.

“Hmm?”

Zeus tapped his fingers on the table.

“Are you interested?”

“First, I am curious about the reasons for wanting an alliance.”

“To be honest, we had no interest in forming an alliance with Olympus either. However, after you started the war against Ragnarok, Eden began to move into action. We had to respond accordingly.”

Eden maintained a neutral stance towards all forces except for the demon world. But Olympus’ expansion and rebellion led by Kizakiel had begun to show unusual movements. They had attacked the demon world in order to restore internal unity and maintain balance between the forces.

“So you need us to counter Eden.”

“Isn’t that a favorable proposal? Especially since Zeus is currently unable to use one of his strongest cards to keep Eden in check.”

“…”

It was indeed painful not to be able to bring Hercules onto the field. With the demi-god, they could have already taken over the last ruins of Jotunheim. That they still hadn’t captured the most critical location, despite having taken control of the northern regions of Ragnarok, was a harsh reality facing Olympus.

However.

“Simply for that reason, forming an alliance seems too hasty. Eden is manageable. With a little more time, the fall of Jotunheim is also possible.”

Zeus dismissed the demon’s proposal outright.

This meant the breakdown of negotiations. The usual consequence here was the death of the envoy who extended the proposal.

Ptshh!

Zeus’ own holy spear, ‘Astrapé,’ emitted an unimaginable radiance. Even the will of the Demon King could be pierced through by this mightiest of spears, leaving a noble level demon nothing but a pile of ash.

And yet,

Instead of trembling in fear or attempting to flee, Messid remained standing in his place.

“Did you believe we proposed an alliance merely because of Eden?”

At those words,

“…….”

Zeus’ hand motioned firmly stopped.

Messid interpreted it as an invitation to continue the conversation.

“Hwanung and Izanagi have met at dawn in ‘Paekrokdang.’”

Baekrokdang.

A holy site with a powerful source of magic flowing through it, and also a conference hall where hundreds of deities could gather.

“It’s laughable. That these two pigs meet and you think that’s a big deal?”

“No, it’s not just the two of them. Hundreds of deities, with those two as the core, have all gathered. Of course, it may seem less compared to Olympus’ forces, but the burden this brings cannot be denied.”

Relatively weak Asian deities had formed a massive alliance. If they couldn’t beat them in individual strength, they would try not to be outdone by sheer number.

The fact that hundreds of deities had secretly gathered was news even to Zeus.

Moreover, it didn’t end there.

“Should this continue, it won’t be long before the powers from the higher 40s floors will also start to move. They too, will take this conflict as an opportunity. Especially the lizards who aim to swallow entire floors and have even found their Apostle.”

Dragons dominated the 46th floor of the Tower. And it was uncertain whether the 47th and 48th floors would stay still.

“It’s become a catalyst for… another war?”

“Exactly. It may lead to a second great war, much like the first one that happened before.”

Where variables converge, a fuse was lit.

“Why not, then, we form a strong alliance and watch each other’s backs?”

“…Return and bring a Demon King next time. We shall talk then.”

Zeus made his decision. For the control of the Tower.

And once again, a great ominous tension began to loom.

***

It took Jinhyuk less than two hours to meet the master of the Thieves Guild.

Thanks to using ‘Invisibility,’ he was able to swiftly connect with the higher echelons.

“This can’t be…”

Obraym Benta.

After three decades as the master of the Thieves Guild, now he was forced to watch his understanding of everything being shattered. Jinhyuk, who had disguised himself as one of Benta’s subordinates, was a shocking revelation.

Only dragons are known to polymorph. But the sight, feeling as if he was facing a companion of thirty years, carried no sense of discomfort. That’s how perfect the disguise was.

Jinhyuk threw the bearded face disguise onto the floor.

“A pyramid scheme is useful for keeping secrets… but it has its weaknesses. Soon I’ll be using your face in a similar manner.”

Even if the master is attacked, the event doesn’t spread out. The best thing is that as long as the shell is maintained, one can freely control the entire guild.

“Argh! You rotten bastards!”

Naturally, Benta wouldn’t just accept everything being taken from him. As a guild master should, Benta brandished a pair of daggers and moved erratically at a speed difficult to catch with the eye.

But Cheon Yuseong, who had been waiting at the side, perfectly read Benta’s movements.

Just as Benta’s feet touched the ground…

Swish!

Cheon Yuseong’s sword sliced through the trajectories with precision.

“… Gah…?”

And with that, all things related to the Thieves Guild fell completely into Jinhyuk’s hands.

“What’s next?”

Cheon Yuseong, shaking the blood from his sword, asked Jinhyuk.

“Disturb the information network and rescue Teresa during the confusion.”

Having taken over the Thieves Guild, renowned for their information network, there was no need to worry about others interfering anymore.

Just one thing.

‘It’s hard to avoid contact with the Sect of Spectres and Sloth.’

Although it might take a while, Sloth has the ability to track down a target once locked on. The duration of this special skill is approximately six hours—ending around midnight.

‘About three hours left…’

They needed to hurry to reach the Gray Forest.

“Frey, pass our destination on to the teacher and Abraham.”

“Okay… I’ll do that.”

“Yuseong, you come with me. We’re leaving right now.”

“Sure, got it.”

Everyone set off towards their respective destinations.

***

The Gray Forest.

Because of its dense environment, the sunlight hardly broke through.

“Damn it…”

Fayed heaved a deep sigh. Brimming with confidence when declaring the conquest of the 20th floor and arriving here, the assault team had now been reduced to tatters by fanatic attackers.

He couldn’t figure out where it had all started going wrong.

Initially, securing entry points and bases had gone well, but perhaps it was wrong to push into the mines too greedily?

Or was the mistake not recruiting stronger rankers?

‘I expected it to be tough, but I didn’t think we’d be completely crushed after rallying all this power.’

If the 20th floor was this strong, how formidable must the 30th floor be?

The Tower of Trials suddenly seemed more daunting.

But the important thing at this point was not to dwell on the spilt milk. They needed to figure out how to survive and escape the forest.

Fayed looked around.

There were seventeen survivors including Teresa, mostly made up of the strongest members of the assault team.

‘Only Teresa and I are in decent shape.’

The others were severely depleted of magic and physical strength, struggling to even keep themselves upright.

Just then,

“Fayed.”

Teresa, who had been tending to the injured, approached him.

“Yes, what is it?”

“I’ve prioritized the most critical cases for treatment. But my magic is running low, and I’ve only been able to provide first aid.”

“You did well. Now, we must set off again.”

Fayed collected his weapon. They had rested briefly, but now it was crucial to traverse the forest quickly to emerge on the opposite side. The insects thriving in the high humidity were not letting up their watchful pursuit.

“What? Leave now? But the wounded haven’t recovered enough to move yet. We need to rest a few more hours at least…”

Teresa stopped mid-sentence as Fayed’s expression told her everything she needed to know about his intentions. There was no hint of sympathy for his teammates in his icy demeanor.

“You intend to abandon all these people, is that it?”

“People who live should live. And if we’re to ascend the Tower, we need the extraordinary, not the weak—for humanity’s future, so they say.”

Humanity’s future? Was this what it was all about?

Teresa clenched her fist tightly. Her nails dug into her palm, but she felt no pain.

“You want to bury this incident, don’t you?”

You don’t want word to get out that the assault was a failure—not for the sake of humanity, but due to a guild’s greed for monopolizing mana stones.

Yes.

Fayed wanted nothing but to evade all responsibility.

Which meant the witnesses had to disappear.

“Think what you will. If you choose to remain while others leave, I will not stop you.”

Without any hesitation, Fayed turned his back and disappeared into the forest.

And then,

“Kekeke!”

“Keeee!”

As if they had been waiting for this, the lurking insects emerged in droves, ready for the hunt. The most formidable prey had left, bringing about the perfect time to begin their feast.

“Te-Teresa! The monsters are coming!”

“Where is the leader? Where has Fayed gone?”

Desperately, the abandoned expedition members sought Teresa and Fayed.

‘I can’t leave these people to die.’

No matter how wrapped up in noble causes, Teresa had no intention of living on through the blood of her companions. She had to survive—even if her decision led to her own death.

[Unique ability…]

Warm starlight descended from the sky.

Drawing upon her last reserves of magic, she created a faint light that melted along her golden hair.

[‘Blessing of the Stars’ has been activated!]

The saint drew her sword and shield, and she took a protective stance at the forefront.