There were countless unexplored lands.
And among those unexplored lands, there was one man who had discovered an ancient kingdom.
By becoming the first person to enter that ancient kingdom, he had drawn the attention of the entire world and proudly risen to number one in the global explorer rankings.
His nickname was Goam.
It was short for Gorilla Armpit Smell.
Wanting a nickname that would stand out, Goam ignored the endless flood of questions from people around the world asking, “Does that mean you smell like a gorilla’s armpit?” and said:
“Only those who are qualified can enter unexplored lands, and all kinds of things exist there. And one more thing you must not forget is this: the fact that a place is unexplored means the rewards you can obtain may be that much greater, but it also means you may be exposed to all kinds of enormous dangers.”
In other words, unexplored lands were not places where only milk and honey flowed.
His words also planted a sense of alarm in countless people across Ares.
Because it was unexplored territory, there was always the fear that there was no telling what kind of danger might be lurking there.
That was why.
“If it looks dangerous, I’ll move first.”
That was what Raon said while burning with Firebird.
The truth was, he had been thinking this:
Come on, it’s the Heavenly Realm. Won’t angels welcome us?
That line of thinking was what had emboldened him to seize the ring handle of the Heavenly Realm’s enormous iron gate one step ahead of Hyunsoo.
And it was a complete miscalculation.
[One of the eleven Transcendent species.]
[The appearance of Cerberus.]
[The roar of Cerberus.]
[The roar status ailment is activated.]
[All stats are reduced by 17%.]
[All skill levels are reduced by 2.]
[Movement is reduced by 30%.]
[All defense is reduced by 30%.]
It stood five meters tall.
Just as the myths said, it had three gigantic, savage heads.
And four legs heavy enough to shake the ground.
Grand Thief Raon, who had opened the gate before Hyunsoo, now understood perfectly how foolish he had been.
A power he could not resist.
And under the terror of a Transcendent species, even though the status ailment list clearly did not include Rigidity, his body froze stiff all the same.
Raon’s pupils dilated as he stared at the drool-dripping fangs, then swallowed dryly.
Why... is Cerberus in the Heavenly Realm?
Completely frozen, Raon wanted to back away, but his body would not listen.
His mind had gone blank. He could not think of anything.
He could only stare in stunned disbelief at the saliva dripping from the three doglike heads.
Then a massive blaze rose from the mouths of all three beasts.
[Cerberus’s Breath]
[The Eternal Flame annihilates all things.]
The Eternal Flame.
Among users, the Eternal Flame was already well known as a fire that existed only in the Demon Realm.
It was famous for melting everything, being many times hotter and more destructive than ordinary fire.
The instant Raon saw it, he knew.
Even he, a top-tier high-ranker and predator, would be annihilated in a single blast from that flame.
It’s... over.
Just as he thought he was going to die—
“Get a grip, will you?”
[Master Blacksmith’s Pride]
[You have resisted the status ailment.]
Raon looked at Hyunsoo, who strode past him and faced Cerberus head-on, and marveled.
Hyunsoo drew Unparalleled from his left hip in one smooth motion. He was different from Raon.
It was not merely that his Master Blacksmith’s Pride was on another level.
What is that look in his eyes?
[Cerberus Lv.613]
Cerberus’s level was beyond common sense.
It was the highest-level monster Grand Thief Raon had ever seen.
But Hyunsoo’s eyes remained calm.
Then Raon realized why.
“...Are you actually used to situations like this?”
Hyunsoo did not answer his question.
Raon had only now become aware of it himself.
The Hyunsoo who had rampaged around with that arrogant look on his face, shouting “Headcracker!” at every turn, was someone who had every right to do so.
The path of death Hyunsoo had crossed—
it had been hundreds of times harsher and more treacherous than this.
Leaving Raon’s question behind, Hyunsoo watched the Breath about to erupt and prepared to throw his body forward while grabbing Raon.
If I take that Breath head-on, even I might be annihilated.
At that moment—
something strange happened.
[The Transcendent species Cerberus catches the scent of the token.]
[The Transcendent species Cerberus longs for that scent, then fears it.]
[The Transcendent species Cerberus is about to submit to that scent, then stops.]
[The Transcendent species Cerberus is about to wag its tail at that scent, then stops.]
[The Transcendent species Cerberus is about to bite at that scent, then stops.]
Hyunsoo’s eyes filled with surprise.
Cerberus was one of the beasts the Transcendent species Gremory kept?
In the past, during battle, Gremory had once summoned a one-headed Cerberus.
At the time, Hyunsoo had said this:
So? How does it feel getting bitten by the mutt you raised?
And in fact, that one-headed Cerberus had bitten Gremory.
It was because of Hyunsoo’s Absolute Dominance.
So there really had been a true Cerberus—
not some mere one-headed imitation, but the real thing.
And not some petty legend, either, but a Transcendent species.
Then why is it guarding the entrance to the Heavenly Realm?
Right then, past accomplishments began linking together like puzzle pieces.
[A new story begins.]
Ding!
[Sudden Quest: Repose]
Grade: S
Restriction: Holder of Great Archdemon Gremory’s Ring
Reward: EXP and artifact drop rate x3
Penalty for Failure: Unable to obtain rewards.
Description: From the day it was born until now, Cerberus has suffered abuse and persecution. After the Great Archdemon Gremory was annihilated, Cerberus was left alone in the Demon Realm. It searched the Demon Realm for its master but could not find them, and the great archdemons tormented and abused it. At that time, Examiner Ren infiltrated the Demon Realm, forcibly dragged Cerberus here, and made it guard this entrance. A life-form of the Demon Realm cannot fully exercise its power in the Heavenly Realm. Cerberus’s natural healing has fallen to 0, and because its wounds cannot recover, it lives each day in agony. Cerberus wishes for the one who bears the token to grant it eternal repose.
After grasping the situation through the quest, Hyunsoo looked at Cerberus.
The examiners.
According to Raon, they had slaughtered tens of thousands.
For no reason.
Most ordinary users would have dismissed that kind of story as nothing more than plot progression.
But Hyunsoo was different.
Cruel. And disgusting.
They had put Cerberus—a wounded, masterless dog—at the entrance as a symbol, just to make a display for the Demon Realm.
And all over Cerberus’s body were the marks of savage torture and abuse.
Some places were gouged open, others split wide enough for the flesh underneath to show, and its front right paw was broken and hung limp.
Right now, Hyunsoo was facing a hound that had lost its master.
Raon, who had no idea Hyunsoo’s quest had triggered, let out a relieved sigh and said:
“Either kill it or let’s get through here fast. My knees are giving out.”
Raon was quick on the uptake too, so he had already figured out that this change was caused by Hyunsoo’s Great Archdemon Gremory’s Ring.
And Hyunsoo looked down at Cerberus, which had pressed its belly to the ground.
“Whine.”
“Whiiine...”
“Whine.”
The fact that it was not attacking because he had the token—that much he could understand.
But the fact that it wanted him to grant it repose because he had the token—that part he could not understand.
Which meant—
yes, it was true that the token had triggered the quest, but maybe the beast simply did not want to live anymore.
“Why are you hesitating?”
Hyunsoo explained the situation to Raon from start to finish.
“Wow, that’s incredible. If the EXP is tripled, it looks like you’ll blast past level 500 in one shot.”
Raon looked at Hyunsoo with naked envy.
Just as Hyunsoo had done to him, Raon assumed he was about to lift Headcracker and bring it crashing down.
But Hyunsoo fell into deep thought.
Even though the examiners abused it, Cerberus did not seem to be rebelling.
Gremory?
Of course it didn’t rebel against Gremory.
And so Hyunsoo thought about it.
About making this Ares truly into a second world.
“Come on, let’s drink a toast to the reward.”
At Raon’s urging, Hyunsoo lifted Unparalleled himself.
If he smashed one head at a time, astronomical rewards were waiting for him, and Raon was clearly expecting exactly that.
But Raon was not the only one waiting.
[Cerberus wishes to die by the hand of the one who bears the token.]
[Cerberus longs for repose.]
Cerberus, too, was waiting for repose.
At that desperate wish, the hand gripping Unparalleled twitched.
“What are you doing? What if the examiners notice at this rate? You need to move!”
Hyunsoo looked at Raon’s baffled expression, then made his choice.
I’ll do this my way.
Looking down at Cerberus, Hyunsoo chose.
“Firebird.”
Cerberus—and everyone else—turned into fire and vanished.
*****
The Grasslands of Peace.
The only land in Ares where “killing” was not permitted.
A vast meadow stretched out endlessly, a place where anyone could run freely, and because there was no slaughter, every animal and monster could live together.
A flower called meatblossom tasted like meat and was rich in nutrients.
So even carnivores could live by eating that instead, with no need to hunt one another.
It was a utopia that could exist nowhere but Ares.
The vicious.
The weak.
All of them gathered there, running and playing together.
That was the Grasslands of Peace.
Kkoko knew a great many places, and when Hyunsoo had told it, “Find a place where Cerberus can live,” it had led them here.
Hyunsoo and Raon appeared on the green field together with Cerberus.
The three-headed Cerberus, which had been cowering with its body curled tight, trembling as it waited for death, tilted its heads.
“Grrrr.”
“Grrr, grrr!?”
“Grrng!”
[Cerberus wanted the repose of death.]
[Cerberus desired release from pain.]
[Cerberus says you did not understand it.]
Cerberus had wanted to die because of the pain from the wounds binding its body all over.
It believed Hyunsoo had failed to understand its wish.
At that moment, the Cerberus heads heard a crisp sound from the hand of the one bearing the token.
POP-
It was a potion worth well over hundreds of thousands of won.
After uncorking it, Hyunsoo poured it over Cerberus’s body.
SIZZLE—
Cerberus’s HP rose, and its wounds began to heal.
But it was absurdly insufficient, and the empty potion bottle rolled across the ground.
Then Hyunsoo lined up dozens of those potion bottles in front of Cerberus.
“You’ve got three heads, so take turns. Whenever the cooldown resets, open one bottle at a time and pour it over yourselves. At this rate, you should recover in a day.”
Cerberus stared at him in bafflement.
“Now enjoy your repose in a place without abuse or persecution.”
Hyunsoo turned his back on Cerberus and walked away.
Raon, walking beside him, was deeply shaken.
How can someone be this merciful...?
Hyunsoo really was merciful and cool.
Damn, he’s giving up triple EXP and artifacts!? What a giant-hearted man. An absolutely unbelievable giant-hearted man!
He came to respect Hyunsoo even more.
Meanwhile—
I’m fucked.
As he walked, Hyunsoo’s insides were burning.
He had thought Cerberus might be so moved by this that it would swear him eternal loyalty or something.
Hyun King.
He had wanted to test whether acting like a king with a virtuous and generous name would produce that kind of result.
Yeah, right. As if.
Nothing at all happened for Hyunsoo.
And yet a small smile tugged at his lips.
From the beginning, Hyunsoo had known.
The level gap is too high.
Even if he wanted to make Cerberus his subordinate, it was a being he could not control.
The only thing Hyunsoo was doing was hiding his true disappointment behind that inward I’m fucked.
Right then—
TATAT, TATAT, TATAT—
A tremor ran through the ground.
Turning his head, Hyunsoo saw Cerberus running toward him.
The center head was holding an unknown parchment in its mouth.
What is that?
What confused Hyunsoo even more was that the left and right heads bit down and tore the parchment apart.
Huh? Wasn’t that for me?
At that instant—
FWAAASH—
Hyunsoo and Cerberus were wrapped in light.
Startled, Hyunsoo squeezed his eyes shut against the brilliance, then opened them again.
The moment he saw what lay before him, his heart began pounding like mad.
Keeping Cerberus alive was the best decision I have made in my entire life.
What lay before his eyes—
[You have entered Great Archdemon Gremory’s Treasure Vault.]
The place where everything Gremory had accumulated in life was stored.
