Chapter 74: The Prophecy.

Rigel looked at the slaves who were being dragged to the auction house. He didn't know how many of them were there or anywhere in town. He could obliterate the whole town with his magic, but he didn't want to kill those slaves, the people that had the same misfortune as Kiko.

He wandered around town to check how many Players were there and how many of them that he needed to be wary of. Once he was done, he went to the gate where guards checked everyone's status to make sure that those Non-Players weren't hiding among them.

"I have never seen you before," A guard stopped Rigel from leaving. "Show me your status screen," he stood in front of Rigel.

Rigel grabbed the guard's helmet and crushed it until he saw blood gushing out of the helmet. Everyone could hear the scream and looked at what was going on in front of the gate. They watched him push the guard down as he kept crushing the guard's head until they heard a loud bone cracking sound.

He took the guard's sword as he removed his cloak to show them who he was. It only took them a second to recognize his face, and they all ran toward Rigel from all directions, wanting to kill him since the bounty on his head was worth a fortune.

He challenged all the Players with merely a decent sword in his hand. He clashed his vembraces with the weapons of the Players and stabbed their vital areas. His strength was no match for those Players even if there were hundreds of them.

The words had spread throughout the town, and nobody didn't want to miss the chance to become rich. They didn't care what happened to other Players because they wanted to take all the credits for themselves.

(At the same time on the 58th floor)

Madam hiked the tallest snowy mountain where an extreme and endless blizzard prevented any Players from going there. Since she possessed Dragon's Power and it was an Ice Dragon, she didn't feel cold anymore.

The moment she reached the peak, she could see purple smoke covering the peak of the mountain. The smell was so vile that she gagged and threw up from smelling it. She smelled all kinds of foul smells, but this one was on another level.

"What are you doing here," Checil's weak voice could be heard from behind the thick storm. "You're lucky that the curses have been weakened," she added as she walked out of the storm, showing her body covered in ice and half of her face.

"I wouldn't go all the way up here for no reason," Madam responded and could see the beauty that Checil had, had been defiled. "I don't think words are needed since you don't have the time for that," she added.

Checil used her skill the Eye of Truth on Madam, and saw everything that had happened during her seclusion. She was shocked when she saw Navel on the 30th floor, scheming something behind her back. She was furious that the blizzard suddenly disappeared and it made Madam fall to her knees, suffocating because the air disappeared.

"I thought you would play along with Navel's little scheme since you hate me. So, what's the reason for you to spill that scheme to me?" Checil asked as the sky became darker and darker.

Madam couldn't speak as there was no air around her to make her voice travel. She only stared into Checil's eyes, allowing herself to be vulnerable in front of Checil. The reason why she spilled Navel's scheme was because she wasn't interested in it, and no matter how well she hid it, Checil would know it as soon as she came back from seclusion.

"I know you're not someone who likes to use tricks and deceptions. That's the reason why I took you in because you're not a coward, but you're still stupid for thinking like that in this kind of world," Checil said after she knew the reason why Madam spilled Navel's scheme. "You don't have to worry. Even if I'm like this, I can protect you from Navel, and thanks to these curses, I gained something new," she looked at her left hand that was covered by ice.

"Can you tell me about the Prophesied One?" Madam looked at Checil with a serious expression.

"Well, it's a prophecy that a Non-Player will come into the tower that has the power to destroy the tower. With that being said, we need him and take him in because you know what kind of Rewards you get from killing them," Checil answered as she tried to scrape the ice on her face, but it was painful.

The "Rewards" that Checil mentioned were the reason Players from older generations were the strongest. The rewards were either achievements that gave them tons of Status Points or abilities that the Non-Players possessed. One thing that made the difference so visible was the amount of experience given when killing a Non-Player.

Madam who had killed maybe half of the Non-Players population during her time from entering the tower to the present day. She knew how addicting and benefitting it was to kill them. The power she gained from it was the most satisfying feeling compared to other methods.

"I knew about that, but my question is who made that prophecy? If it's the same reason why the Resistance Army protecting him, that means they knew about the prophecy as well," Madam pointed out and she had been asking that question in her head.

"That's right. They knew about it as well because it happened during the Big War. Where 500,000 Players were fighting against 6 Non-Players. If you were there, your current self is nothing but a small fry compared to those Players back then," Checil said as she stared blankly at the ground. "Even with that many Players, we barely won the war if it wasn't because of Arsen," she continued.

Madam raised her eyebrows and didn't want to believe that 500,000 Players couldn't win against 6 Non-Players. She knew how strong the 6 heroes were from the Sacred Dungeon, but that was still unbelievable.

"Then what happened? Who made the prophecy?" Madam asked.

"The Messenger came, the manifestation of the words of Gods. That was the first time we saw the Messenger, and it came down to send a warning to both us Players and Non-Players that there will be someone that possesses a power that can destroy a tower," Checil answered. "At that moment, 2 of the heroes retreated which were Artivara the Witch and Gnigung the Spirit," she added.

"Is that why their bodies are nowhere to be found because you guys couldn't find them?" Madam asked with her arms crossed.

"Yes. We know everything about the tower's history, and even back then, those 6 heroes couldn't go beyond the 91st floor because they were lacking. If there's a place where those 2 are hiding, the 90th would be it," Checil nodded. "We don't know why they retreated and abandoned their comrades, but we believed that they're planning to take that prophesied one as their last resort to turn the tide."

"You said you know the tower's history, so you must have known about the existence of this place and who made this tower. If the Gods sent us to hunt Non-Players, that means there's someone that created them, and the Gods seem to not want that being to be around them," Madam said as she processed the information she got.

Checil chuckled as she turned around when she heard that statement.

"I'm afraid the answer you're looking for is nowhere to be found. Perhaps, Arsen knows the answer, but even so, the Gods would be furious if he tells you the answer," Checil looked at Madam over her shoulder. "There are mysteries that are meant to be hidden forever. We do want to know the answer, but if the Gods won't allow us, I don't think we will ever find out about the origin of this place."

"You have been here for too long. I can't hold the curses any longer, so you should leave if you want to live," Checil warned as she walked away and the blizzard prevented the curses from going further beyond the mountain's peak.

Madam nodded and left the mountain because she couldn't handle the smell. When she reached the base of the mountain, an eagle landed on her shoulder with a letter tied to its left leg. She took the letter and the eagle flew away since she knew the eagle belonged to Leid.

"What a mess..." Madam crumpled the letter and tossed it away.

Madam received a report from the Player Association that Rigel destroyed the town on the 4th floor and killed hundreds of Players. She ripped a teleportation scroll and went straight to the 65th floor. She hurriedly entered the tower and went down to the 4th floor to see the mess that Rigel had made.

The moment she walked out of the tower, she saw bodies scattered on the street. She wasn't surprised by what she saw because she knew how strong Rigel was.

"The Prophesied One..." Madam rested her hands on her waist, staring at the starry night.