Thanks to its rarity and overpowered abilities, the anticipated market value exceeded a whopping 100 million won.

Naturally, I was one of the gamers who rushed in like bees.

And the result was…

[Leodel ‘Hell’s Entry’ difficulty, cleared by a Korean user for the first time in the world!] [Who is ‘Altair,’ the Korean player who first cleared Leodel’s highest difficulty ‘Hell’s Entry’?]

A failure.

No, failure might be putting it lightly.

I only cleared the game 1 hour and 34 minutes later than that guy Altair.

The problem is that this damned world only remembers the first place.

But it’s too early to be disappointed.

‘Hell’s Entry’ was the most challenging difficulty available when playing Leodel for the first time.

And clearing ‘Hell’s Entry’ unlocked a new difficulty called ‘Burning in Hell.’

In other words, ‘Hell’s Entry’ wasn’t Leodel’s highest difficulty.

So who was the first player to clear ‘Burning in Hell’?

It was…

[Korean gamer ‘Altair’ clears Leodel’s hidden highest difficulty ‘Burning in Hell’ for the first time in the world!]

I gritted my teeth.

This time, I narrowed the gap with Altair to 48 minutes.

What’s more, I still had one last opportunity left.

Facing continuous complaints about the appearance of new difficulties, the game company pegged this as the final difficulty.

Now, for the third time.

Although the difficulty had significantly increased, various equipment and levels accumulated over the past two rounds made it not too hard.

More importantly, having cleared the game twice and knowing its ins and outs, catching various tricks greatly aided my efforts.

And finally…

GAME CLEAR

I did it.

I stared blankly at the popup that appeared with a fanfare.

The popup I had seen twice before, being a step behind Altair.

I could have memorized it since it had the exact same text.

‘Congratulations, you have cleared Legend of Delato as the [2nd] person. Do you wish to continue?’

But this time, it was different.

Because the annoying number ‘2’ had changed.

‘Congratulations, you have cleared Legend of Delato as the [1st] person. Do you wish to continue?’

I hastily clicked ‘Continue.’

I wanted to receive the promised reward from the game company as soon as possible.

But…

‘What’s this?’

I saw words that I couldn’t believe.

It was none other than a new difficulty.

I rubbed my eyes, but the letters did not change at all.

Contrary to the game company’s bold declaration, another difficulty existed.

‘…What’s this?’

Irritation surged up.

All this trouble, and another level to beat!

I had no intention of idly sitting by, however.
Altair is probably chasing me at a fast pace even now.

I had to quickly widen the gap.

Click.

I clicked on ‘Difficulty: Celestial,’ and instead of the familiar loading screen, the entire monitor flickered white.

It seemed there must have been an error.

What a mess, I thought, sighing at that moment.

Bang!

A huge explosion resounded.

‘What, what is it?’

But there was no time to be surprised.

Soon, a burning pain attacked me, and I lost consciousness.

[Star Icon][Star Icon][Star Icon]

“Ugh…….”

My head felt like it was going to split open.

Was this a delayed reaction from drinking various energy drinks and staying up for several nights?

Still, there was no time to be absentminded.

‘I can’t let Altair turn the tables on me!’

The moment I barely managed to get up, a loud shout rang out.

“……Saint Rica!”

Huh? A hallucination?

I blinked my eyes.

My blurry vision began to clear.

‘What’s going on?’

The computer desk I was clinging to just before I collapsed, the cans of soda that should be rolling on the floor, the tacky striped wallpaper were all gone, and uneven stone walls met my eyes.

“Heuk, heuk.”

I choked as I inhaled. It felt like a heavy stone was stuck in my chest.

‘What, what is this?’

Should I call an ambulance? Before I had time to worry, a strong hand forced me to sit up.

“Lady Saint, if you have rested enough, please get up now.”

I frowned. I must be dreaming.

No one else could be in my locked apartment.

Even if some crazy person had entered, they certainly wouldn’t call me a saint.

“Don’t dawdle, get up…….”

“Ah ah ahchoo!”

I sneezed repeatedly.

I couldn’t stop because of the stale air that felt particularly toxic.

‘It, it hurts…… Eyes, nose, mouth, everything hurts.’

Is it right to feel this much pain in a dream? I looked down to see fluttering undergarments instead of comfortable pajama pants.

And when I looked up…….

‘What, what is this?’

Several burly men were staring down at me intently.