The Supreme Demon King, Solomon, fell on the ground with a loud thud.
Everyone watched with bated breath, including me.
'Please don't move anymore!'
How long has it been?
A day?
A week?
No one could tell.
All the healers and supports were already down for a while, and even the all-powerful Sword Empress showed faint signs of mana fatigue.
It wasn't that the Demon King Solomon was strong—make no mistake, it was strong. Stronger than any of the previous bosses, but the real issue was its innumerable number of lives.
From its very first death until now, from my count...
'999 lives.'
'This damn cockroach of a demon king has 999 lives.'
While watching it carefully, I raised my hand, prepared to cast a buff spell on the squadron leader.
Honestly, if it moves again... I might die.
Not because of its attacks, the Guardian of Destiny already has that covered, but rather from mana fatigue.
I might be the only D-rank that managed to survive until now.
No, I'm sure I was the only one.
At this point, the C-ranks were knocked out cold, and most of the B-ranks were slowly giving out...
It's a miracle, honestly.
I mi-—
"Dead... dead!"
At that moment, someone screamed while pointing at the Demon King's body.
Under the blade of the Sword Empress, the Supreme Demon King's body suddenly crumbled into small orbs, floating away as it merged with every single ranker on the floor. Its imposing physique vanished without a trace.
In disbelief, I couldn't help but tremble.
'Did we—?'
I couldn't help but put a hand over my chest, feeling my heart throb excitedly.
"We... we did it!"
"F*ck, finally! Finally! Fi-uhk... huu... huuu,huu..."
"The final boss has been killed!"
Everyone burst into cheers!
Some had tears streaming down their cheeks, while others simply sighed in relief and immediately fell to the ground...
I look at our squadron leader, whom I had grown close to during the final conquest.
"Zold... we... we won..."
This guy.
Despite his stern, mature look, he was surprisingly emotional.
Though, who am I to call someone emotional? I was on the verge of crying as well.
15 years.
That was how long humanity had struggled.
A decade ago, humanity was in chaos and faced enemies from within and outside.
Those who were strong were better off, but for me, who was weaker than average...
I had walked until my legs gave out.
I had climbed until my hands were unrecognizable.
I had practiced, trained, and worked until my mind and body were on the brink of destruction.
And yet, the insurmountable gap called 'Talent' was uncrossable.
I awakened the lowest-tier mana core, a F-rank talent, and was born innately weak and sick.
Even back on Earth, I was a weakling who only knew how to play games.
... And 15 years later, I was a ranker who was part of the final conquest.
'I'm...'
I held my breath, closing my eyes as I tried to rein myself in.
"You've been strong, nephew."
The squadron leader suddenly hugged me.
"Yo-you..."
From those words, my emotional barriers crumbled. I had trained myself to have a poker face at all times, and only now did I allow myself to let it go.
"... Huuuu, you're not my uncle, leader."
"Who cares about that?"
The squadron leader snorted, shaking his head.
"Everyone...!"
Before we could continue our emotional conversation, the leaders of the final conquest called out to us.
Sword Empress.
Queen of Fantasy.
Divine Spear.
Eastern Saber Immortal.
Guardian of Destiny.
Even the cold and silent Silver Witch had a smile on her face.
Not just her, even...
"We w—"
Just as the Sword Empress spoke out, a loud notification suddenly appeared in front of everyone.
[Tower of Ragnarok tutorial cleared.]
It was colored in a striking green, as if announcing a joyous occasion.
But to me and everyone else, it was nothing short of an apocalyptic revelation.
[Congratulations.]
As the system showed no signs of stopping, confusion drew to everyone's faces.
Even the mightiest rankers showed cracks in their expressions, a faint sign of anxiety appearing on the creases of their brows.
[Humanity has proven itself worthy of the real Tower of Ragnarok.]
[Remaining survivors will be granted the privilege to choose one skill, talent, technique, and title to carry over in the Global Regression.]
[Furthermore, survivors' rewards will vary based on their contribution to clearing the Ragnarok Tower tutorial.]
[In 30 seconds, the Global Regression would begin...]
Leaving no room for question, a countdown appeared in everyone's system.
The smiles and cheers from earlier immediately disappeared, replaced by a sense of impending doom.
"Tu...torial...? It's not... over? Haha, ha, this, this has to be a joke, right....!"
"15 years... my family, friends, they died... and it was all a tutorial?!"
"No, no, no, no, no...!!"
Panic set in, and even the leaders of the final conquest couldn't settle everyone down.
I felt my racing heart suddenly pause as immeasurable disappointment settled in.
"Leader, are you alright?"
... My poker face was back.
It was a mistake to let myself go for a moment.
"Hu, huh?"
The squadron leader who was cheering me on moments ago showed an expression of despair.
"... Zold, this has to be a joke, right?"
I felt my heart skip a beat.
I wanted to say yes.
I wanted to affirm his suspicions, like how he had taken care of me in the past.
Then, I opened my mouth.
"—"
At that moment, the tower crumbled.
A blinding light erupted and spread out to the entire floor.
***
"—It's not a joke."
I replied in a daze.
It was only for a moment, but I'm sure.
The slightly warm, but refreshing wind.
The old, stern professor from the university.
The uninterruptible ticking of the clock.
'I'm...'
Unconsciously, memories of 15 years of hardship flashed through my mind.
My hand trembled.
'I'm back to where it all started.'