Chapter 61: Warrior Zenith (2)

GM’s prophet guide spoke to Rebecca, saying, “Because the king has forsaken the word of GM, so too has GM forsaken the king, preventing him from reigning.”

Rebecca, filled with regret, responded to the guide, “I have sinned. I have disobeyed the word of the Lord because I loved the Lord too much. I beg you, forgive my sin and return with me so that I may worship the Lord.”

Genesis, Chapter 15, Verses 23-25.

After climbing the long spiral staircase, a vast open plaza appeared before Zenith.

“This place…”

It was a round plaza, large enough to hold hundreds of people.

What was this place made for?

Just as she reached the center of the plaza,

Shoo.

Bang!

Something fell from the sky.

“Eek!”

The impact sent Zenith flying to the opposite side.

“Human.”

Thud.

A massive one-eyed giant, who had descended from the ceiling, looked down at Zenith, bowing its head.

From behind, the giant drew a colossal sword.

“Tasty little female human.”

Ding.

• Defeat the giant Goliath of Philistia.

The first boss of the roguelike world created for Zenith had appeared.

“A giant…”

Zenith was just a country girl, who had only ever hunted fierce beasts like bears or tigers with a slingshot in the mountains.

But now, for the first time, she faced a giant—a monster radiating overwhelming intimidation.

“Tasty human!”

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

The giant roared and began charging at her.

Bang!

The giant swung its great sword down, but Zenith quickly rolled away, dodging the attack.

The place where she had been standing had now become a large crater.

A monster unlike anything she had ever seen.

Facing such a beast with this tiny slingshot seemed impossible.

‘But GM is with me.’

The god of the small, the protector of the weak and the sick, watches over me.

Ever since her mother fell ill, Zenith had wandered through the treacherous mountains, searching for herbs, yet not once had she fallen prey to the wild beasts.

She believed it was all thanks to GM’s protection.

The girl steadied her slingshot, loaded a stone, and aimed for the giant’s single eye.

Her right hand, drawing the slingshot, was now enveloped in magical energy.

“Take this!”

Twang!

She released the stone from her slingshot.

Thwap!

“Graaaah!”

The stone hit the giant’s eye like a bullet.

“I did it!”

Zenith clenched her fist and jumped up and down.

Under the care of the Lord, she had pierced the giant’s eye.

“You insolent human!”

The giant, covering his bleeding eye, swung his great sword down at Zenith.

“Huh?”

Bang!

In her joy and excitement, Zenith failed to dodge, and she was crushed by the giant’s sword.

Ding.

• You have died.

Flash.

Zenith found herself standing once more in front of the enormous tower.

“…Ah.”

Having died to the giant, the loop had reset.

“Aaaaargh!”

Even though the GM had directly helped her, she had made such a foolish mistake!

She ruffled her hair in frustration.

I’m sorry, GM! I was so stupid!

After a long moment, Zenith finally calmed herself and assessed the situation.

Though she had been crushed by the giant, she had respawned outside the tower, unharmed.

Resurrection.

GM had granted her a new chance.

This time, she would succeed.

Zenith re-entered the tower.

This was the trial given to her by the Lord.

A hardship she must overcome.

She ascended the spiral staircase once more and stood in the plaza.

“Come at me!”

Crash!

The giant fell from the sky again, but this time, Zenith rolled backward, avoiding the attack.

She remembered what had happened in the previous cycle.

“This time, I won’t lose!”

In a roguelike, when the loop resets, the location of enemies and rewards changes randomly. Even if you remember the last cycle, it’s impossible to recreate the exact same situation and improve perfectly.

But the world created for Zenith was unusual. 

Even when the loop reset, the internal structure of the tower did not change; the random elements were fixed.

Thanks to this, Zenith once again faced the same giant as before.

“Hi-yah!”

Dodging the giant’s falling attack, Zenith aimed her slingshot at the giant’s weak spot, its eye.

Thwap!

The magic-infused stone hit the giant’s eye dead on.

“Graaah!”

The giant writhed in pain, clutching its only eye.

“You insolent human!”

The giant drew his sword and charged at Zenith again.

Zenith recalled the giant’s attack patterns from the previous cycle and rolled out of the way.

Bang!

She dodged the sword strike, and while reloading her slingshot, she aimed at the giant again.

Though the giant guarded its eye with one hand, there was a gap between its fingers.

“Right there!”

Thwap!

Another stone embedded itself in the giant’s eye.

The giant thrashed wildly, swinging its sword in every direction.

And then…

Bang!

Ding.

• You have died.

Zenith failed to dodge the attack in time.

Flash.

“…Failure again.”

Zenith stood once more at the front of the tower.

“But I won’t give up.”

GM was giving me endless opportunities.

Under His grace, there was nothing I couldn’t accomplish.

I would conquer this tower, climb to its peak, and reach Him.

Boom!

“Aaah!”

Boom!

“Aaaaargh!”

With the calmness gained from countless previous attempts, Zenith shoved two pebbles into the giant’s eyes.

The giant roared and thrashed wildly, but Zenith had already learned its attack patterns. She slid smoothly across the ground, evading the berserk assault.

“Hyaah!”

Boom!

“Aaargh!”

This time, a pebble lodged itself into the tendon of the giant’s back leg.

The giant lost its balance and fell with a loud crash.

Thud!

The massive sword the giant was holding slipped from its grasp and hit the ground.

“This is it!”

Zenith sprinted toward the sword.

No one would have believed that such a massive sword could be lifted by a small girl.

“As long as the Lord is with me, nothing is impossible!”

With all her strength, Zenith hoisted the giant’s sword into the air.

Hum…

The sword resonated with her, trembling as if in response. 

It began to shrink, slowly but surely, until it fit perfectly in Zenith’s hands.

This was the route she had discovered through countless attempts in previous timelines.

“Haaah!”

Zenith charged at the giant, now armed with the sword.

She reached the giant’s neck in one swift move, gripping the sword in a reverse hold.

“Take this!”

With a sharp cry, she thrust the sword deep into the giant’s throat.

Crack!

As the blade pierced through, the life slowly faded from the giant’s ragged eyes.

Ding!

• You have defeated the Philistine Giant, Goliath.
• A reward has been granted.

The giant’s enormous corpse dissolved into golden dust, scattering into the air.

Swoosh…

The energy that had once filled the giant now seeped into Zenith’s body.

The one written in the sacred texts as GM’s most cherished king.

GM’s second apostle.

This was the first victory of the warrior Zenith .

***

6th Floor of the Tower of Labyrinth

“So… this is the mission GM has bestowed upon me?”

“Yes, Player Rebecca.”

Princess Rebecca, the conqueror of the tiers, was speaking with GM’s messenger, the Guide, who had come to visit her.

The gift delivered by the Guide, who appeared suddenly before her, was nothing less than a personal broadcasting system.

Albus, having witnessed the rapid accumulation of divinity due to Rebecca’s meteoric rise, decided it was important for others to witness her achievements.

Conveniently, since the broadcast and transmission system had already been set up for the duel tournament, Albus realized that it might be possible to implement the personal broadcast system from his previous life’s internet within Rudera.

With the help of the Guide, Dua, and Leighton, Albus succeeded in creating a personal broadcast system. 

For a test run, he entrusted the task to none other than his apostle, Rebecca, though he had never officially appointed her as such. 

To the public, however, that was how she was seen.

“All I have to do is press this button…”

Rebecca’s hand hovered above the translucent window before her.

Her fingers trembled.

This was the first mission she had received since becoming His apostle.

She had to complete it flawlessly.

She had to prove herself worthy of His choice.

As a servant of the Lord, she must spread His glory far and wide.

“Player Rebecca, I recommend that you proceed from the 7th floor of the Tower of Labyrinth, from the entrance to the Roguelike.”

“Huh…? Oh, y-yes.”

The Guide’s sudden interruption startled Rebecca.

The Guide was merely suggesting that Rebecca’s struggle and triumphs, as she overcame obstacles with her faith in GM, would produce the most beautiful imagery when broadcasted.

But Rebecca interpreted it differently.

“She may call himself GM’s messenger, but…’

She saw the Guide’s advice as an act of jealousy, an attempt to interfere and sabotage her mission.

‘Who do you think you are?’

Normally, Rebecca would never have thought this way.

As someone who had begun at the lowest and weakest position within the royal family’s bloodline, she had never looked down on anyone, regardless of who they were.

But after the duel tournament, two things had changed her.

First, the overwhelming wave of divinity she felt had filled her with love for GM.

Second, the dark will of GM’s creations, lurking in the shadows of Rudera, had taken root in her mind.

These two forces were fueling the darkness growing within her.

Once, the prayers of many had covered her skin with holy stigmata. 

But now, her skin had returned to its pristine, alabaster state, except for one remaining mark.

The single holy symbol remained etched on her lower abdomen—GM’s emblem.

‘I am the Lord’s chosen apostle, His first appointed king.’

‘Only I can receive His love.’

‘You’re nothing but a worthless husk, unworthy of even that.’

‘You must be jealous.’

‘You couldn’t attain my rank.’

‘You couldn’t broadcast like I can.’

‘But what can you do?’

‘The Lord’s light shines brightest upon me.’

‘He loves me more than anyone.’

‘I am His only true companion.’

Rebecca gently caressed the emblem on her abdomen.

‘Only me.’