Chapter 22 – Someone’s Guiding Light (1)

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[Wait, she’s actually doing well? Did she really have some kind of epiphany?]

ㄴ“At this rate, she’s really going to hit stage 120 this time.”

ㄴ“The Jungtards must be sweating. The bets are about to explode, right? Lol.”

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Reina thoroughly executed the strategies she had glimpsed from the constellations, even in stages she had never faced before.

Every detail, down to the smallest parts that even thorough research couldn’t uncover.

Many of Fate Road’s constellations had already experienced all of this, and even a single word from them became invaluable experience for Reina.

And this was very familiar to Reina. Following strategies—that’s what she did.

A follower. That was the talent even Serpina acknowledged in Reina.

In fact, the strategies from the fan gallery constellations were the result of their collective intelligence, crafted solely for Reina.

Until now, the guiding light Reina had been chasing in the darkness was Jung Chan-soo, the strongest existence she knew. But from this moment on, the guiding light Reina began to follow was the constellations gathered in her fan gallery.

Of course, they didn’t know Reina was peeking at them.

Because of that, every action and movement she showed now appeared as if it were the result of her innate talent.

It was something her supporters couldn’t help but be thrilled about.

“What do you think? Did Reina really awaken some unknown talent?”

“What else could it be?”

Pervas chuckled at Serpina’s question, as if it were incomprehensible.

“True talent is something even the person themselves doesn’t know about. Those who awaken it through fateful opportunities or sheer luck become the victors.”

Unlike Serpina, who was cold, rational, and calculated, even in her swordsmanship, Pervas was a warrior who always pursued instinctive and wild battles.

That’s why he could easily accept the idea of a fateful awakening.

In a world like the tower, where even the constellations couldn’t fully grasp its depths, anything could happen.

“More importantly, stay sharp, main admin. What’s at stake with Reina’s progress isn’t just the gallery’s mood.”

Pervas glanced at Reina, who was breaking through stage 118, and shifted the topic. Sylvia had barely surpassed her previous record of stage 120 and was now challenging stage 121.

“If the private betting scene explodes, it won’t just stop at the gallery being in shambles. You know that, right? Those guys are capable of anything.”

“Of course, I know.”

Serpina scoffed.

In fact, the rivalry with Jung Chan-soo’s fandom was relatively healthy and minor compared to what could happen.

Back when Serpina herself was a challenger, there were instances where Fate Road’s constellations had tried to bribe or manipulate tower members to cause direct harm.

Most of it was related to point betting, and it was the work of those who hated and sought to hinder Serpina.

‘I can’t let those bastards harm our Reina.’

Serpina was focused on monitoring the community to detect any signs of trouble and issue warnings in advance.

Protecting her contractor through oracles was also the duty of a contracted constellation.

“Oh dear, now we have to deal with the influx of those people.”

As Reina finally broke through stage 120 and caught up to Sylvia, the two admins had to spend their busy time dealing with the flood of trolls on the forum.

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[Reina caught up to Sylvia lol]

[Breaking News) They’re in denial now.]

[Jung Chansoo fans, take this~ Jung Chansoo fans, take this~]

[Her growth rate is insane. From her previous record of 115, she’s already climbed 8 stages…]

[Why did Sylvia stop at 123? Waiting for Reina? Lol.]

[I went scouting, and Sylvia is about to collapse. It’s over. At best, it’s a tie.]

[Wow, the underdog bet is about to explode… wow…]

[Newbies, take this. It’s so noisy that I had to check it out.]

.

.

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The moment Reina finally entered stage 123, where Sylvia had been, several forums on Fate Road began to erupt.

「Reina Fan Gallery (▲5)」

The Reina Fan Gallery, where the most heated reactions poured in, was at the center of it all. While the duel between Reina and Sylvia was a quiet affair known only to a select few in reality, on Fate Road, it had attracted enough attention to spread to other tower communities.

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[I think I’ll settle here. The gallery owner seems worth watching.]

ㄴ“Hi.”

ㄴ“Looks like you’re stuck at a high point, but who knows? Lol.”

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With the attention came a significant influx of new users to the Reina Fan Gallery.

Whether trolls were mixed in or not, it was something the admins would handle later.

Reina’s fandom, which had always been a punching bag for the united fandom of Jung Chan-soo, the strongest and largest fandom, welcomed the newcomers as much as possible.

Moreover, fame begets more fame.

As the gallery’s ranking rose, more new users joined, and Reina’s fan gallery began to grow significantly in size.

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ㄴ“Sylvia retired lololol.”

ㄴ“Still, climbing 4 more stages from her previous record means she’s grown a lot too.”

ㄴ“But what can you do when Reina’s gone full psycho? Lol.”

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Finally, Sylvia, who had entered stage 124, declared her withdrawal due to mana depletion, injuries, and accumulated fatigue.

Reina had just entered stage 124 at this point.

Reina’s fandom, already confident of victory, began celebrating by setting off fireworks.

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ㄴ“Sylvia, now’s not the time for that…”

ㄴ“Lololol. She’s smiling proudly. Does she think she won? Take this~!”

ㄴ“Someone block the Reina fans who’ve invaded.”

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Many took the opportunity to invade Sylvia’s fan gallery and retaliate for the humiliation they had endured.

Fandoms in full swing, beating each other up with newfound justification, trolls enjoying the chaos, and new users purely looking for entertainment.

「Reina Fan Gallery (▲3)」

Thanks to the explosive activity of these excited users, Reina’s fan gallery reached its highest ranking ever.

Posts were flooding in so fast that most were buried and pushed to the next page, and Serpina’s donation account was also receiving a significant influx of points.

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[Thanks to your passionate support, the gallery’s rank has been upgraded .ㅅ.]

• Main Admin

-“Because of this, the admin slots have increased. As you know, the bigger the scale, the more trolls we attract, and it’s hard for the two of us to manage everything.”

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Amidst this, Serpina posted a message.

Surprisingly, the moment her post went up, the users who had been boiling with excitement suddenly fell silent.

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ㄴ“We aren’t even her contracted constellation… why bother?”

ㄴ“One wrong word now, and it’s over.”

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From the newly joined newbies to the heavy users who had been active for a long time.

Everyone united and began to tread carefully.

「Continuous Bloodbath Stage 125」

Finally, the day had come. Stage 125, which Jung Chan-soo had reached in the previous cycle.

The enemy here was a massive serpent with three heads, its eyes gleaming as it glared at me.

Each head was as large as my torso, and its body was so massive it could crush a large trailer.

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[Isn’t stage 125 still too much for her?]

ㄴ“Yeah. Her stats seem lacking.”

ㄴ“Who knows? If she gets good stat boosts this cycle…”

ㄴ“Honestly, it’s 50-50.”

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Even the gallery constellations, who had been collectively writing strategies, were divided on whether I could defeat this serpent alone.

If I did win, I’d have to accept serious injuries.

‘It’s up to me.’

Gripping my sword, I gritted my teeth, feeling my dwindling stamina.

Even if I withdrew here, I didn’t think I’d lose to Sylvia. But there was another reason I was fixated on stage 125.

I wanted the reward given only to the top five who cleared this stage the fastest.

Jung Chan-soo had already claimed the first spot. His comrades, Kim Dongsoo, Lee Sejin, and Diana, had likely received it as well.

By my estimate, there was only one spot left. If I didn’t get it this time, Jung Chan-soo’s faction would undoubtedly take it.

“—!”

“I have to. I must.”

I smirked at the serpent, which roared like a dinosaur despite being a snake, and pointed my sword at the ground.

“Ugh.”

The serpent’s eyes gleamed. At the same time, the radiance emanating from my body grew brighter.

According to the gallery constellations’ strategy, this was undoubtedly the curse-type ability, Petrifying Gaze.

Even with Radiance resisting it, I could feel my body slowing down.

“…!”

I didn’t even see it coming. The serpent’s tail, thinning as it went, whipped out like a lash and struck my body.

With a crushing sensation, I was sent flying through the air and slammed into the ground.

「Hermetica Barrier Lost」

A single strike had destroyed part of the S-grade equipment, Hermetica. Gagging from the pain in my abdomen, I gripped my sword with trembling arms.

The constellations were right about my stats being insufficient.

Unlike the enemies I’d faced so far, even detecting and following this serpent’s movements was difficult.

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ㄴ“If she were a mage, it would’ve been easier to deal with.”

ㄴ“If she were a mage, she wouldn’t have made it this far.”

ㄴ“It’s just the limits of her abilities.”

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The serpent’s smug expression as it slowly approached, as if toying with its prey, reminded me of the gallery users’ comments.

My current state, kneeling on one knee while facing the enemy, was also as they had predicted.

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ㄴ“There’s only one way.”

ㄴ“Yeah, but can Reina do it?”

ㄴ“Given her personality, she’ll probably try, but whether she can pull it off is another story.”

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Even they, who seemed to know everything about the tower, weren’t sure if I could execute the strategy they had suggested.

It wasn’t their knowledge of the tower that was the problem. It was simply that I, as an individual, was an unknown variable to them.

How far could I go? Even I didn’t know.

‘There’s no such thing as impossible. Just do it.’

I glared at the enemy, my eyes straining as I poured all my strength into them.

Even without seeing the strategy, I would’ve done this. Now that I had the strategy, there was no way I could run.

“—!”

The serpent began spewing a deadly miasma from its three heads.

As if it didn’t like that its curses weren’t working on me, it seemed intent on melting me along with everything around me.

Radiance, S-grade armor Hermetica, the S-grade accessory Ring of Reflection on one finger, A-rank ability Iron Will, and more.

I gritted my teeth, using every means at my disposal to withstand the miasma while standing my ground.

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ㄴ“The opportunity is just a moment. If she can endure the moment it spews the miasma breath and immediately rush in, Ulvarok will surely try to bite her with its fangs while it’s stiff from exerting its power. That’s the only chance to reach its weak point—the head.”

ㄴ“But that’s not all.”

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In real-time, my skin burned, and the miasma penetrated my body, destroying my organs and respiratory system. Blood tears flowed, turning my vision red.

The only reason I endured this horrific pain was to seize the opportunity as advised.

And finally, when the thick purple miasma subsided, I mustered the last of my strength from my barely functioning body.

I charged forward with the sword I hadn’t let go of, even in death. I kicked off the air and launched myself toward the serpent’s head.

“Ugh…”

The fangs of the middle head pierced my body, and its massive venomous fang impaled my thigh.

I could see the serpent’s eyes glinting smugly as it watched me writhe in pain.

As if daring me to strike if I wanted to, it offered its neck.

‘If you want it.’

I held onto my slipping consciousness and swung my sword, still trapped in the serpent’s mouth, sending a slash not at the middle head but at the right head, which had been watching gleefully.

“—?!”

The serpent’s shocked face, as if it hadn’t expected this, was the last thing I saw.

Without the gallery constellations’ strategy, I wouldn’t have known that the reverse scale embedded in the right head’s forehead was the serpent’s true weak point.

「Continuous Bloodbath Stage 125 Clear」

I’m not sure how things ended after I collapsed weakly to the ground.

I vaguely remember muttering about withdrawing and exiting the Continuous Bloodbath, and Kim Ji-eun, who had been waiting outside with the guild members, rushing toward me in shock.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Thank you for reading.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Reverse scales yet again.

Also… three-headed serpent, isn’t that just a hydra…

Smh.