Chapter 662

After meeting Spear Venerable, Su-ho returned to Cheongdam House.

- What? You’re back already?

When he returned, Jack was holding the tablet and was just about to order more food.

“You’re ordering again?”

- Ahem. I was just watching television when I suddenly became curious about something.

“Sure, eat as much as you want.”

Su-ho answered halfheartedly, then leaned back against the sofa as though lying down.

Jack spoke while operating the tablet.

- Did you achieve anything?

“I learned all the way up to the Pinnacle of Heavy Strike Style.”

- Oh, you’re absorbing everything at an incredible pace in such a short time.

“Tell me about it. None of this was originally part of the plan.”

- Is there anything left now?

“No.”

He closed his eyes as he said that.

Then someone suddenly came to mind, and his eyes opened again.

‘Ah, there’s one more.’

■■■■.

He did not know the name.

But he knew that the being was the successor master of Nightsmith Style.

‘I ended up learning blacksmithing skills that were never supposed to be part of my life.’

The successor master he had met through the Manseok-dong Anvil Gate discovered in North Korea.

He had taken care of Sword Demon, Shiva, and even Spear Venerable, but the successor master of Nightsmith Style still remained.

That was why he could not help feeling self-conscious.

He had just answered Jack’s question by saying there was nothing left.

Su-ho swallowed and discreetly glanced around through narrowed eyes, but fortunately, no notification appeared.

‘Right. Let’s finally make some progress on the trait quest. How long am I going to keep dealing with successor masters?’

So he pretended not to remember and spent a sufficiently restful time with Jack.

A long while later, once Su-ho had rested enough, he stretched and rose from his seat.

There was nothing he needed to deal with either.

Excellent supporters, including Jeong Cheol-min, were handling the affairs of his current life in his place.

Before beginning the trait quest, Su-ho first checked his status window.

[ An Su-ho ]

Lv: 400Class: Black PopeRank: Guardian GodBetting: <Umbra><Heracles><Sword Demon>Traits▲: <New Blood★><Heracles><King of Ruin><King of the Demon Realm><Sun-Moon Body>Colossal Strength (S): 338Dragon Mana (W): 312Super Sense (S): 90Command (N): 220Bonus Stats: 40The 40 bonus stats he had obtained while acquiring the Pinnacle of Heavy Strike Style.

This time as well, he invested them in Colossal Strength.

With that, his Colossal Strength stat reached 378.

He only needed to raise it by another 122 points for the silver-colored Colossal Strength stat to turn gold.

‘At this rate, I’ll reach it soon.’

After finishing the allocation, Su-ho immediately began the trait quest.

Naturally, he chose Giant’s Bloodline.

[ You have selected Trait Quest - Giant’s Bloodline. ]

[ The quest begins. ]

The gate opened, and he entered.

The surroundings changed, and the first thing he saw upon arriving was the beautiful sight of the sea rolling in waves.

But the scenery felt strangely familiar.

That was when it happened.

- You have come.

It was Seolmundae Halmang.

She had adjusted her height to match Su-ho’s eye level.

And despite her name, she still possessed the appearance of a young and beautiful woman.

Su-ho greeted her.

“Elder, it has been a long time.”

- Yes, it has been a long time for me as well. Have you been well?

“Yes, thanks to you, I have been well. But this scenery looks somewhat familiar. Is this Jeju Island?”

- Correct. Since I am the guardian deity of Jeju Island, I stay here whenever there is no particular reason not to. That is why I deliberately invited you here as well.

“I see.”

Thanks to her, he was seeing Jeju Island again after a long time.

White waves broke against the shore.

Simply looking at them was healing.

The two watched the breaking waves for a while.

Seolmundae Halmang spoke.

- You have worked hard all this time.

“Not at all. It isn’t as though I did much.”

- Hoho. If what you have done does not count as hardship, then what would? You are now on the verge of being promoted to a Constellation, so let us endure just a little longer. In that regard, are you fully prepared?

“You mean the competition for the throne, correct?”

- Yes. Did I not tell you that you would have to undergo it the next time you came?

“I even swore an oath back then. How could I forget? Naturally, I have completed all preparations.”

- I am relieved that you came prepared. Then do you remember everything I told you?

“About the competition for the throne?”

- Yes.

“I remember everything. Only First Giants who inherited the bloodlines of the First Giants can participate in the competition for the throne, and anyone who does not participate must either become a soldier of the king or lose the power of a giant.”

- Yes, that is correct. What else?

“You and Elder Cronos will not participate in this competition and will instead act as my guardians. And if I remember correctly, you said there were many people supporting me.”

- Yes, I did. I could not tell you the reason at the time, but I can tell you now.

“What is it?”

- They all recognized it. That you possess the makings of a Constellation.

“Ah.”

In simple terms, they had bought in while his value was still low.

And the reason she had been unable to reveal it at the time was because his security clearance had not been high enough.

“They all have excellent judgment.”

- After living for so long, what good would we be if we could not recognize even that much?

“Then how many giants will participate in this competition for the throne?”

- I have not counted the exact number, so I do not know, but I understand that there are at least several thousand.

Several thousand.

There were more than he had expected.

He had assumed there would be a few dozen at most, but what kind of packed marketplace was this?

He had even been told that only First Giants who inherited the bloodlines of the First Giants could participate in the competition for the throne, yet there were this many descendants.

- A great deal of time has passed. That is why uniting the giants into a single force is no easy task. They all possess strong personalities and great strength, so they refuse to follow anyone who is not at least a king. Though some of them cause problems because they refuse to obey even a king.

“Is there any point in becoming king if they will not even obey the king?”

- You need not worry about that. That is why the Oath Formation was created.

As expected, every safety regulation in the world had been written in blood.

Still, several thousand.......

There were several thousand giants who were each renowned for their strength, so this quest did not seem likely to be easy either.

- Hoho. You appear to have much on your mind.

“Not really. I merely felt a little tired.”

- That must be the weight of the crown. But I have no doubt that you will win and become king.

“Ha ha...... I think so as well, but hearing you say it so suddenly makes me feel somewhat pressured.”

- That too is the weight of the crown.

“I will become accustomed to it.”

- An excellent attitude. Then shall we slowly move elsewhere?

“Is there a separate location?”

- Of course.

She extended her hand, and Su-ho carefully took it.

The figures of the two disappeared and moved to a ruined city beneath a pitch-black sky.

Was it a night sky?

It appeared to be.

But in the center of the ruined city stood a colossal tower connected to the heavens, much like the Infinite Tower.

Su-ho looked around and asked.

“Elder, where is this?”

- This is Apophis, the electoral realm where the Giant King is chosen. This place exists solely for the selection of the Giant King, and no one may leave until the selection is complete. At present, every giant seeking to become the Giant King has gathered within Apophis.

“Already?”

- It has not been long since everyone assembled. They were all waiting for you.

“For me? How did they know when I would arrive?”

- Hoho. We can tell at least that much. Then, as the eldest of all the First Giants, shall I formally begin the Giant King Tournament?

With those words, Seolmundae Halmang’s body floated into the air.

It was just as she had said.

Thanks to Su-ho, she had become the First Giant with the greatest influence among the First Giants, and according to the rules of the Giant King Tournament, she had been placed in charge of overseeing and supervising this tournament.

Her floating figure disappeared into the air, and system notifications announcing the beginning of the Giant King Tournament soon began appearing before Su-ho’s eyes.

[ As all applicants have entered Apophis, the Giant King Tournament to select the Giant King will now begin. ]

[ For the sake of fairness in the trials, the heights of all giants will be standardized equally. ]

[ Any giant who leaves Apophis will be immediately disqualified. ]

The formal beginning of the competition for the throne.

The System called it the Giant King Tournament.

And as soon as the Giant King Tournament began, it first standardized the heights of the participants.

As a result, Su-ho grew taller.

‘Everyone must be quite large.’

Of course, that did not mean his height increased dramatically.

It felt as though he had grown to around two meters tall.

Before long, the first trial began.

[ The current number of applicants within Apophis is 3,721. ]

[ To proceed to the next trial, the number of applicants must be reduced to 999. ]

[ The trial begins. ]

A notification only a few lines long.

That was everything it said about the first trial.

The objective was simple.

There were too many participants, so they first had to reduce the number to 999.

‘What a crude method.’

A battle royale from the very first trial.

Perhaps this was actually preferable.

What should he do?

There were three methods in a situation like this.

He could remain hidden until the target number was reached, or he could deal only with those he encountered.

‘Or I could step forward and sweep them all away myself.’

He did not think the final option was a particularly good strategy.

In any group with large numbers, the moment someone stood out too much, people tended to feel hostility before favor.

‘I’ll stay quietly hidden and deal only with anyone I encounter.’

There was no need to give the enemy excessive information.

So he decided to wait quietly.

He would have preferred to hole up inside the Subspace House and wait everything out, but unfortunately, because of the rule stating that he would be disqualified the moment he left Apophis, he would not be able to use that method during this competition.

Just as he thought that and tried to find somewhere to hide.

[ Giant Sense is activated. ]

Giant Sense activated.

It was a power that automatically detected nearby giants.

It appeared that quietly hiding was no longer an option.

That was when it happened.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Something began rapidly approaching Su-ho.