“We can make a prediction, though. If a being that powerful enters the Dungeon, in the worst-case scenario, the Dungeon might collapse.”

Do Chi-ryang said calmly. It was the result of countless previous speculations.

As I said before, I don’t see all Futures.

The Future is a realm of possibilities.

It’s impossible to read all possible scenarios, and even picking out the most probable ones is quite difficult.

What kind of Future seems to be approaching, and what if that Future isn’t visible?

Do Chi-ryang also returns to being just a human.

It means he can only approach it with the ability humans originally possess: inference.

“The Dungeon might collapse…?”

“It’s a being that can’t even be compared to humans in the first place. There’s an aspect where it’s underestimated because its power is borrowed through a Contract, and that power is minimized by the Dungeon’s influence.”

Even Behemoth, famous for its generosity in Contract Magic, is an enormous entity when considering its true Main Body.

Lucifer is even far more powerful than Behemoth.

If its Main Body were summoned, the Dungeon collapsing was a possibility.

“Even so, I don’t think it would be that extreme… If it’s being summoned with human Magic anyway, only a part of it would cross over.”

At Kim Songcheol’s words, Do Chi-ryang nodded as if he had no intention of refuting them.

“That’s why I said ‘worst-case scenario’. But even if only a part of Lucifer crosses over, it’s a given that things will turn into a mess. It might even be the case that other foes won’t be able to set foot in the A-rank Dungeon.”

“Then… everything was to stop that?”

“Precisely. To be exact, it’s about setting the stage. A stage that can stop it.”

Do Chi-ryang chuckled, swirling the cocktail with about half a sip left. The yellow liquid swirled in the glass.

“And you will be the general of the stage I’ve created.”

Kim Songcheol nodded as if he had expected it and took a sip of cold water.

He’s going to entrust me with a crucial role?

Well, yes.

There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

The Gambler, or rather, Do Chi-ryang, had provided considerable help until now.

He intervened at appropriate times, preemptively warned of dangers, and sent important information.

There were also many people he had placed in various locations. They broke down obstacles one by one so that Kim Songcheol could move without hindrance.

He had expected something in return, but it was a much bigger deal than Kim Songcheol had anticipated.

In the worst-case scenario, the Dungeon collapses.

This isn’t just about the Dungeon disappearing and that being the end of it. No one fully understands the Dungeon system yet.

No one knew how the repercussions would manifest if an A-rank Dungeon collapsed.

It could cause a malfunction, leading to countless gates appearing, or gates could appear as usual but lose their connection to the Dungeon.

It was said that the collapse of the Dungeon had a high probability of affecting the current world.

…Lucifer. They’re crazier than I thought.

Kim Songcheol briefly stated his thoughts.

They’re betting their lives too, in their own way. Life is a gamble. It’s a battle of probabilities. And we have a very good card.

Which one?

The Crystal.

The Crystal?

Yes. Why do you think I helped you so much, working my butt off? It was to prevent its activation. I’m going to use the Crystal to read the future. At just the right moment.

Do Chi-ryang extended his index finger and thumb into the air, moving them delicately as if plucking a single, tiny hair.

It was that important of a task to Do Chi-ryang.

The Crystal dormant within Kim Songcheol’s body was a reward directly given by the Dungeon. As Do Chi-ryang saw it, this Crystal was, simply put, like a computer that calculates the future.

It was an object imbued with the power of the Dungeon, possessing computational power that Do Chi-ryang could not match.

Do Chi-ryang intended to use the Crystal to predict the most crucial future at the most crucial time.

That’s why he struggled to prevent the Crystal from activating.

Don’t ask me when I’ll use it, because I don’t know either. And even if I did, I couldn’t tell you. Just know that I need to be within arm’s reach to use it. The process will be a bit complicated because I’ll be stealing and using it. Since it’s originally yours.

I didn’t know something like that was possible.

It was a slight expression of admiration.

For Kim Songcheol, the Crystal was also an unknown entity.

He had never imagined that someone else could use it.

Do Chi-ryang might have been an even greater Mage than he thought.

It’s an item from my field of study. Just like that strange thing entered your body. Similar things tend to connect, somehow. I don’t understand how you have such a thing inside you. I don’t know how that’s possible.

Do Chi-ryang shrugged his shoulders. He had long since given up on understanding that mechanism.

But… you said you would use me as a general?

Kim Songcheol asked.

I did. But I can’t tell you the details. You’ve used the Crystal, so you know. Uttering the future carries too much risk. Instead, one thing I can tell you for sure is that you must not enter the Dungeon for a while.

Is it Lucifer?

That’s right. They’ll start searching for you extensively. It’s better to just hold out for now, rather than forcibly hide and earn points. About 17 days. Just stay out for that long.

I think I can hold out for that long.

Nothing major will happen. Keep up your magic training.

Do Chi-ryang seemed to be wrapping up the conversation. As he was about to get up, Kim Songcheol spoke.

I have a question.

You’re probably going to ask something I don’t know. But go ahead.

You know the Stone Slab. It might sound crazy, but I think… I made it.

What makes you think that?

There’s a pattern next to the Stone Slab. It’s the pattern I used. The probability of it being a coincidence is too low…

“”

Do Chi-ryang stroked his short beard.

I also heard it’s the same as Lucifer’s emblem.

…It’s becoming a complete mystery.

“And about his official position…?”

Do Chi-ryang remained silent for quite a long time, unlike before, then opened his mouth.

“…It means that this world, this dungeon itself, is deeply connected to you.”

“What do you mean by nothingness?”

“I don’t know either.”

The answer that came back was deflating.

“Honestly… well… I guess there’s no harm in saying this. Based on a certain point in the future, everything after that is completely unseen. It’s been like that ever since I began to read the future. That was just before Lucifer’s descent. After that, nothingness is visible.”

Do Chi-ryang’s gaze turned back to the sea.

“So, if I were to guess, if the Lucifer situation concludes well, you’ll rise even higher before long. Perhaps my role only goes up to that point. I even wonder if I myself am just a chess piece on a grand board.”

“What are you talking about?”

The story was so vague and subjective that Kim Songcheol found it difficult to understand.

“I told you, I don’t know either. As you know, if you’re curious, isn’t the only way to gather the stone slabs? Oh, by the way, what magic is the stone slab you possess? Do you have two?”

“It’s not exactly mine. I’m guessing its content is a communication magic with powerful spatial magic applied. So, it’s communication that sends to an entirely different world.”

“Really? I had no idea about that.”

“If I just had the stone slab from Lucifer, I think I could somehow activate it…”

“Hmm, then you also have a reason to stop Lucifer’s illusion. Only by stopping the illusion and completely dismantling Lucifer will you be able to get the stone slab. As long as Arkejar is alive, he’ll never give it up.”

“Right?”

“Well, if my plan goes as intended, it’s possible. I’ve set up quite the board. You can look forward to it.”

Do Chi-ryang winked with a playful smile.

***

A female staff member mage was walking across the grassland.

Her name was Trinisha.

She was someone who had been captured in Mamon’s castle and then released.

The person who saved her was, of course, Peter.

However, she only remembered him as someone with an impressive, sly expression even in a quite urgent situation.

There was no time to express her gratitude, and it seemed he hadn’t expected any in the first place.

First, escaping was urgent, so as soon as her chains broke, she plunged into the spatial connection tunnel he guided her to.

When she came out, it was a grassland, and when she looked back, the space had already closed.

He truly just rescued her.

The entire situation ended so quickly that being trapped in Mamon’s castle felt like a dream.

‘What was that…’

She had more than one question.

Why did he save the people?

Why didn’t he take any measures after saving them?

What was that black, terrifying monstrous creature?

What was Mamon doing while the castle was being destroyed?

Trinisha suddenly stopped walking and channeled magic power into her palm.

Then, a geometric figure emerged from the center of her palm, and numbers appeared around it as a hologram.

This shining figure is Pioneer’s Invitation.

The Invitation is not just for delivering the Doctor.

The Invitation also serves as coordinate guidance and an entry key.

The entrance to Pioneer’s Tower is created according to complex rules, and it remains open for about 10 seconds.

Furthermore, without the Invitation, the entrance doesn’t even respond.

It was structured in such a way that if you weren’t at the exact location at the exact time, you couldn’t even find the entrance.

Then it happened.

A multicolored mist burst forth in front of Trinisha, and a pure white door suddenly appeared.

It was the entrance leading to Pioneer.

“That was close…”

The Invitation has a time limit. The entrance creation algorithm changes periodically, and if it changes, the entrance cannot be found with the Invitation.

Trinisha entered the doorway with almost 20 minutes left on the time limit.

Inside, there was a small space, and it felt as if the floor was rising, like being in an elevator.

It soon decelerated and stopped, and the wall in front opened, revealing the location where Pioneer’s Tower existed.

“”

Trinisha stepped out of the elevator.

She was standing on a rock floating in mid-air.

The rock was about 3 meters in size.

It felt like she would fall to the depths below with just one wrong step.

She looked down at the clouds spread out below once, then raised her head.

Giant rocks floated all around.

Unidentifiable multicolored lights swam in the air, and bright light sources illuminated everything.

And among the rocks, the largest giant rock.

In the center of her vision, a large Tower stood at an angle.

The angle was about 30 degrees.

She didn’t know what was happening with gravity, but other buildings also stood at arbitrary angles.

It was as if she had entered a dream world.

Then, a small light formed, and a person appeared.

It was the Mage from Pioneer who had given Trinisha the Invitation.

He was a middle-aged male staff member, and he looked as disheveled then as he did now.

“Why are you so late? If you didn’t make it, it would have been permanent expulsion immediately.”

He scolded Trinisha. Because he had been so anxious.

“I’m sorry. It’s not that…”

She began to explain what had happened.

The events were so dynamic that he no longer scolded her.

Instead, his eyes lit up, and he became interested in something new.

“First-tier magic doesn’t work…?”

A black monster I’ve never seen or heard of.

Under the circumstances, it’s not even a monster.

Moreover, upon seeing it, he receives powerful mental pressure?

It was a story that sparked intense curiosity in Nikoren Datta, the chief mage of Pioneer, and it was the moment Do Chi-ryang’s arrangement ignited a small spark in Pioneer as well.