Epilogue
Eugene quietly gazed at the final boss, torn to shreds, with an expression full of irritation.
One year ago.
The bastard who had been guarding the top of the tower had fought as if he were some kind of player, then fled and escaped the tower.
Even Eugene hadn’t anticipated that at all.
The consequences that followed were obvious.
The final boss, having gone outside, brought about countless deaths, and in the end, even brought destruction to this world.
Although now, with its very soul torn apart by Eugene’s sword, it was completely losing its existence…
“It’s too late.”
A hollow lament escaped Eugene’s lips.
Too late.
Was there any other expression that could more accurately describe the current situation?
Eugene soon lost interest in the pitifully dead final boss and looked around.
Corpses, corpses, corpses.
Everywhere his gaze reached, bodies were piled up like mountains.
They were the final remains of the idiots who had put forth their utmost effort to conquer the tower, and the ordinary fools who had cheered them on.
“They’re all dead.”
Not a single person had survived this long and wretched war.
And this wasn’t just a matter of South Korea.
The battlefield between Eugene and the final boss had encompassed the entire planet.
Probably—no, certainly—everyone was dead.
They had all died and fallen, unable to even close their eyes, simply hoping that someone would save the world.
“Damn it, you bastards. Too weak.”
Eugene gazed at the corpses with sorrowful eyes and let out a thick curse.
Epic Quest complete.
Victory in battle against the Transcendent-class boss, Final Boss.
Level Up Level Up Level Up
Level Up Level Up …(omitted).
Calculating quest completion and tower conquest rewards.
So noisy.
The damn notifications from the [Akasha System] flooded Eugene’s ears like a runaway train.
His level had risen who knows how many times, and on top of that, it seemed to be meticulously handing out various rewards.
Having chased the final boss, the top-floor boss of the tower, for a year and ultimately cut off its head alone, there was no need to explain how massive those rewards would be.
But…
What was the point of that now?
“Victory?”
Yes.
He had fought and won against the final boss, and succeeded in conquering the 100th floor of the tower—so it was a victory.
But what meaning did that even have?
“Now, the only one breathing and alive is me.”
Was this what it meant to win the battle but lose the war?
Eugene clicked his tongue, ignoring the incessant notification sounds, and raised his head to look upward.
The sky, stained a dark red, was falling to the ground along with the collapsed tower.
Although he had won the fight by tearing the final boss into a thousand pieces, in the end, he could not avoid the destruction of the world.
Everything that had been alive was dead, and the world was shattering like glass struck by a hammer.
“Ah, if only a few decent people had survived, it wouldn’t have come to this.”
If that had been the case, perhaps they could have at least avoided the destruction of the world.
And he was realizing this only now.
With exhaustion and regret filling his chest, Eugene let out a hollow laugh and sat down on a pile of corpses.
“Hoo—.”
He let out a deep sigh and quietly watched the collapsing world.
“Damn, that’s actually pretty awesome.”
He had seen all sorts of unreal things inside the tower, but without a doubt, the scene unfolding before his eyes right now was the most overwhelming.
“This is the kind of thing you should watch while drinking a shot of soju.”
He suddenly felt a strong craving for alcohol.
But as always, time was regrettably not on his side.
Eugene wasn’t even given the leeway to find a single bottle of soju.
Rumbleeeeeeeeeeee!
“Wow, is it really ending like this?”
The world, which had been barely holding on, finally began to collapse completely, groaning in agony with a massive tremor.
Eugene looked up at the crumbling space-time falling above his head and closed his eyes.
At that moment.
■ Reward calculation complete.
■ Achievement [Perfect Climb] unlocked.
■ Achievement [Last One Standing] unlocked.
■ Achievement [God of War] unlocked.
■ Quest completion reward: Skill [Chronos’s Hourglass [EX]] granted.
■ Tower conquest reward: Skill [Flashback [S]] granted.
■ Achievement reward: Trait [King of All Healing [S]] granted.
■ Hidden condition for skill activation met.
■ Would you like to use [Chronos’s Hourglass [EX]]?
Chapter: 01
Eugene had always been strong.
Whether you’d call it keen senses or innate talent.
Actually, it didn’t matter what you called it.
What mattered was that he possessed a difference that set him apart from others.
Superb dynamic visual acuity that surpassed common sense, and judgment that could somehow derive the best outcome under any unfavorable conditions.
Those abilities were advantageous in many ways, but it would not be an exaggeration to say they were especially specialized for combat.
Because when the two talents combined, it was possible to predict with near-precognition how an opponent would move.
Moreover, when he pushed his focus to the absolute limit, he could even feel time flowing more slowly—so losing was simply not an option.
That was why.
It was thanks to this that Eugene had survived in the tower without dying, growing faster than anyone else.
While others climbed one floor, Eugene climbed two or three; while others learned one skill, Eugene not only mastered it but even evolved it.
His overwhelming talent made all of that possible.
So it was only natural that he grew stronger at a staggering pace that no one could catch up to.
But…
“Ah, damn. So what? In the end, I failed.”
Eugene was strong.
He reached a level that no one could even approach, and in the end, he conquered the top floor of the tower alone.
The problem was that the tower’s calamity was disgustingly powerful—too powerful for Eugene to fully stop with his strength alone.
‘Still, I suppose I should count myself lucky.’
Because an opportunity had come again like this.
He didn’t know exactly how, but at the same time the world was destroyed, Eugene had returned to the past.
Probably related to the notification from the [Akasha System] that he’d heard at the very last moment.
Seeing as he’d returned to the past simultaneously with blurting out a dumbfounded “Huh?” at the unexpected situation.
Eugene lowered his head to check his body.
Unlike before, when it was a mess from endless training and combat, he now saw smooth, uninjured hands.
And.
“Fuck, all my power is gone too.”
The strength that had slaughtered countless monsters and ultimately cut down even the final boss had vanished without a trace.
As a result, Eugene was now just an ordinary twenty-something young man who happened to be damn good at fighting.
Of course, that didn’t mean he was discouraged.
Quite the opposite.
It was a little disappointing and annoying, but still—hadn’t he been given another chance?
“So what was it called again? [Chronos’s Hourglass [EX]]?”
It was a quest completion reward, but he didn’t know exactly what skill it was.
It was a skill with a name he’d never seen before, and since he hadn’t yet been chosen by the [Akasha System], he couldn’t see any description either.
Still, he could make a guess.
[Chronos’s Hourglass [EX]].
That was a pretty blatant name, wasn’t it?
If his memory served him right, Chronos was the name of the god who governed time in Greek mythology.
He still had no idea what [Flashback [S]] or [King of All Healing [S]] were, though.
“This is probably the skill that sent me back to the past, right?”
He didn’t know why the [Akasha System] had given him such an overpowered reward.
Whether it was another form of manipulation, a simple act of goodwill, or truly a reward for defeating the final boss.
But either way, the reason wasn’t what mattered.
“What matters is that I can rewrite the ending.”
The final rewards were things he hadn’t even dared to hope for.
So much so that he felt a little embarrassed at his past self, who had thought, “What’s the use of these rewards when the world is collapsing?”
“Alright, let’s think for a moment.”
What was the ultimate reason the world had been destroyed?
He thought and thought, pondered and pondered.
But only one answer lingered in his mind.
“It’s because everyone was too damn weak.”
What if there had been three—no, just one—more player on a similar level to Eugene?
“Then the tower and all.”
It might have been possible to demolish it rather than climb it.
Then that pathetic lizard bastard called the final boss wouldn’t have had a chance to escape the tower in the first place.
He knew the reason.
Then the solution to avoid destruction was even simpler.
“I need to raise some people.”
At the very least, he needed allies who could stop the final boss from running rampant as it pleased.
“Just three. I’ll raise about that many.”
That should probably be enough.
More than that was realistically impossible anyway.
And Eugene himself needed to become much stronger than he had been in the first round as well.
Factoring in the time needed for that, three was about the right number.
Then he should be able to at least prevent the destruction of Earth.
“There are plenty of ways.”
Over the past ten years, Eugene had personally experienced, witnessed, and heard about countless things.
Enough to call them serendipitous opportunities.
He’d take the best ones for himself, and quietly funnel the leftover scraps to promising youngsters—that should work out fine.
“Good.”
Having roughly organized his thoughts, Eugene finally looked around.
The first thing that caught his eye was mold.
Dark blue mold staining one corner of the wallpaper black.
A worn-out bed, soju bottles, and a small desk with a glass on it.
A cramped space that felt full with just one adult male standing in it.
A rather familiar room.
“It’s a goshiwon.”
It was definitely the same goshiwon he’d lived in while working part-time to save as much money as possible while preparing for MMA, before being chosen by the [Akasha System] and entering the tower.
“So that means this is about ten years ago?”
That was probably right.
The first and last part-time job of Eugene’s life had been when he was exactly twenty-three years old.
But he still needed to pinpoint the exact timing.
That way he’d know how much time was left before he awakened as a player.
“Where would it be?”
He rummaged through his pockets.
“Not here.”
The thing he was looking for wasn’t in the pockets of the shabby clothes he was wearing.
So this time, he checked the bed.
In one corner, he saw something black rolling around, plugged into a charger.
“Oh, a smartphone!”
How long had it been since he’d seen this piece of civilization?
During the final year of bloodily fighting the final boss, he hadn’t been able to lay eyes on one.
Seeing this made him finally feel like he’d truly returned to the past.
Eugene quickly grabbed it and turned on the power.
The lock screen of a bright red sports car—a symbol of manhood—appeared, and the time was displayed on it.
“20XX, December 25th.”
Exactly ten years ago, on Christmas Day.
Aside from a few sad singles, it was a day most people welcomed with excitement, and the biggest event day all couples looked forward to.
But for Eugene, it was a day with meaning far more important than that.
“Oh, I can’t believe it’s actually today.”
It was a full ten years ago.
Still, Eugene vividly remembered this day.
Life had been so damn tough that he couldn’t even dream of having a girlfriend. On Christmas, he’d been holed up alone in his goshiwon, drinking soju and killing time.
Making a resolution that next year, he would definitely make his debut and start dating.
Then suddenly—
■ The Akasha System is watching you.
“Yeah, this is how it went.”
Letters suddenly appeared before Eugene’s eyes, and a beautiful woman’s voice rang out.
A voice so familiar it was sickening.
Naturally, since he’d heard it every single day without fail for ten whole years.
The first time he’d experienced this, he’d been so startled that he’d jumped up from his seat.
Suddenly hearing a strange woman’s voice in this tiny room with no one else around—even someone with Eugene’s iron nerves couldn’t help but be surprised.
“Next is…”
■ Determining player suitability.
■ Determination complete.
■ Confirmed as a suitable subject for entry into the tower.
“Mhm. That’s how it goes.”
Eugene nodded.
It matched his memory perfectly, down to the smallest detail.
Then there was only one step left.
■ Entering the tower.
Whoosh—!
A bright light and the surrounding space warped.
A smirk spread across Eugene’s face.
“Hey, [Akasha System]. Pass this along loud and clear to the bastards inside the tower.”
Final boss? Monsters? Administrators?
Wait up, you fuckers.
“I’m going to become your end from now on.”
With that declaration, Eugene completely vanished from the room.
