Ranker Who Lives Twice

Before they made their appearance in front of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King's exuviae revealed a secret to Yeon-woo.

"Has it ever occurred to you why I agreed to be locked up in a cave?"

"Come to think of it, I never thought about it. It is strange though…especially with your temper."

"Huh? What's wrong with my personality?"

"Are you really asking me because you don't know?"

Once Yeon-woo threw out the question, the Monkey King's exuviae clenched his fists.

"Ugh! Just because you've improved a little."

Based on his temper, the Monkey King's exuviae would not have responded to such a question. He would have already smacked Yeon-woo's head by now. However, he knew this was not a possibility anymore since Yeon-woo's power level was already beyond what he could comprehend. If he acted rashly, only he would get hurt.

"I've always been on an upward trajectory. Anyway, don't you think it's time to honor your promise?"

"…What?"

"Son," Yeon-woo said as he pointed at the Monkey King's exuviae.

"Dad," Yeon-woo said as he pointed to himself.

The Monkey King exuviae's face quickly turned red with anger, but soon, he let out a heavy sigh.

How long did he have to be stuck like this with a bet he made a long time ago? Hadn't enough time already passed for one to forget about such silly things? These were the thoughts that the Monkey King's exuviae had. On the other hand, the Monkey King's exuviae was amazed at how Yeon-woo could cling on to something without ever letting it go.

In such a time like this, the Monkey King's exuviae thought that this aspect of Yeon-woo's personality might actually be more helpful.

"Hey, that's it."

"…?"

"How you'll approach my true body."

"Can you explain clearly? I have no idea what you're saying."

"When I was left in the cave, my true body made a promise to me. My end of the bargain was that I protected the Marbled Mountains (Five Elements Mountain) and helped players find their right paths."

Hearing that Sun Wukong was concerned about other players finding their right path, Yeon-woo was about to tell the Monkey King's exuviae to stop talking nonsense. However, the Monkey King's exuviae was speaking with such a serious expression and tone of voice that Yeon-woo decided to let this contradicting flaw in logic pass for the moment.

"When I asked him why I needed to waste my time and work so hard, he said it was because he needed to do something important. Looking back, I'm sure he was just too lazy to do it himself. So, I asked for something in return."

"What was it?"

"If 'something' were to happen, I wanted him to give me the authority to represent myself as the Protector of the Horses, the Great Sage, and the Fighting Buddha. Since the true body had so many great achievements and legends, he used different names and titles in each legend. Moreover, the identity of those in each legend possessed different, unique personalities. I myself was an exuviae created from the Monkey King's legends. I requested that he give me the authority to officially become the representative of all those legends. Since unexpected things happened in the Tower all the time, I wanted to make sure I had a hidden card. And then, I met you."

Yeon-woo quietly nodded. He finally understood what agreement was made between Sun Wukong and the Monkey King's exuviae. Thus, Yeon-woo knew what the Monkey King's exuviae was about to say.

"Therefore…"

"You're going to say that all the promises and agreements that you've made with me also apply to your true body?"

"Yeah."

"That's all good and fine, but you still haven't called me daddy. When are you planning to keep your promise?"

"…"

***

For Sun Wukong, ignorant of the conversation Yeon-woo and the Monkey King's exuviae had had previously, the Monkey King exuviae's sudden words hit him like a lightning bolt. To be told to call someone 'daddy' out of the blue, Sun Wukong's face contorted miserably. "What kind of prank are you playing…!"

Of course, Yeon-woo remained calm. "It's not a prank. It's true."

"What?"

"You possess the Fiery Golden Eyes, right? Check it out for yourself."

Sun Wukong injected divine power into his Fiery Golden Eyes to determine whether Yeon-woo was telling the truth. He soon received his answer: Truth. What Yeon-woo stated was the truth.

"What the fucking hell is going on?!" With a face full of wrinkles and lines, Sun Wukong stared at the Monkey King's exuviae. He made a face as if asking the Monkey King's exuviae what the hell he had done.

Of course, the Monkey King's exuviae just shrugged his shoulders. However, the satisfaction of sucker-punching Sun Wukong this one time was written all over the Monkey King exuviae's face. It was just that Sun Wukong had lost his time, and it was enough to make him feel refreshed.

Yeon-woo spoke up, "Anyway, son, this father of yours has a favor to ask you."

"You can't be serious!" Sun Wukong seemed as though he would launch an offensive at any moment. His divine powers blazed on his body and seemed to be on the cusp of exploding with vicious force.

However, Yeon-woo remained calm. "It's not like the Great Sage to go against his word."

"But it wasn't the Great Sage, it was that asshole over there…!"

"Doesn't he represent the Great Sage?"

"…fine. If you're going to cling onto this, I'll accept it."

"…?" Yeon-woo and the Monkey King exuviae's eyes both grew large. They wondered why Sun Wukong, who had a stubborn personality, was willing to accept something so out of the blue and absurd without a fight…

However, Sun Wukong just smiled coldly, like someone missing a few screws. "Instead, since I sowed, I'll reap. If I beat you to death, then your damn title as 'father' disappears with you, right?"

Yeon-woo was appalled by Sun Wukong's simple-minded approach of dealing with everything with brute force. However, Yeon-woo quickly collected himself and concluded that nothing good could come out of fighting Sun Wukong in this place. He felt it was time to backtrack a bit. "Of course, I have no intention of forcing such nonsense on you. Instead, I have a request."

"…that was the main purpose of this whole act. What is it?" Sun Wukong had not retrieved his released divine powers.

Yeon-woo looked at his surroundings. The area was devastated due to Sun Wukong dealing with the Flood Demon King and Sage Lion King. He suggested, "It's too noisy here. Let's go somewhere quieter."

***

Yeon-woo and Sun Wukong moved to a cafe in the downtown area of Busan, a neighborhood called Seomyeon. It was a short distance away from Haeundae.

Haeundae had already fallen into a state of commotion as many people suspected that a dungeon break had occurred. Many of the Association's players were moving to the Haeundae area. Even though the previous player system was completely shut down, not all the abilities that were already given to players were removed, so there were still some players continuing their previous line of work. They had also heard that the planned large-scale festival had also been canceled. However, none of them cared about that fact.

Sun Wukong held a straw and angrily stirred the caramel macchiato in front of him while glaring at Yeon-woo. He did not forget to send out an aura so that the others around them would not notice and bother them. "So, you're asking me to tell you the objective of the Seven Demon Kings?"

"Yes. If possible, I would like you to teach me how to break their alliance with Yvlke."

Sun Wukong made an exasperated expression. "Ha! Look at this guy. Are you asking me to bring out everything right now, when we just met?" Sun Wukong wondered how Yeon-woo could be so shameless.

『He's definitely quick. It seems my true body already sensed what's going on. He properly assessed your personality in an instant.』 The Monkey King's exuviae nodded with his arms crossed. He was agreeing with Sun Wukong's assessment of Yeon-woo.

Yeon-woo, however, did not care at all.

"Fine. Let's say I tell you. What are you going to do for me in return?" Sun Wukong narrowed his eyes and put down his straw. He then continued, "As you can see, I'm living a very satisfying life. To give this all up and to start helping you is a very poor business decision, no? Moreover, I don't even know you well."

"…"

"On the other hand, even though what my brothers are doing looks stupid… No, they are stupid, but I know that they're doing things for my well-being. It doesn't make sense to interrupt what they're doing and help you, right?"

The moment they sat down, Sun Wukong stated that he and the Monkey King's exuviae were two completely different existences. Though it was true that one was created from removing one part of another, they had lived lives with different identities for hundreds of years, so they were essentially, for all intents and purposes, different beings.

Yeon-woo felt that what Sun Wukong stated was reasonable enough. Additionally, it did not seem like the Monkey King's exuviae wanted to rejoin with Sun Wukong. Thus, Yeon-woo had no intention of emphasizing and using the relationship between the Monkey King's exuviae and Sun Wukong as leverage. He was determined to logically reason with Sun Wukong and convince him. "You said that you're satisfied with your life right now…but it seems that you're not truly satisfied. Am I right?"

Sun Wukong's eyes narrowed.

"Actually, you seem rather dissatisfied."

"Stop talking nonsense…!"

"I have seen you a few times in the many 'dreams' I have encountered."

"…what?" Sun Wukong frowned as soon as he heard Yeon-woo's unexpected words.

"At first, I didn't know why you were so dissatisfied, but I later realized why. Each time I saw you, you said the same thing, 'Damn it, another failure!'"

"…!"

"At first, I had no idea what your words meant. But now, I know."

"…"

"Sun Wukong, don't you want to save the Heavenly Demon, who is essentially imprisoned in the Changgong Library?"

"…this damn bastard!" Sun Wukong's face turned beet-red as if his heart pressure had shot up to astronomical levels. He jumped up from his seat and stood up. A strong gust of wind blew around him.

However, Yeon-woo interpreted these actions as something positive.

'Who in the world would have known that the fact that the Heavenly Demon was in the Changgong Library… Was it not something he chose on his own accord?'

Yeon-woo, too, would not have been able to guess this fact if he had not earlier overheard the conversation Sun Wukong had with the Flood Demon King and Sage Lion King.

Sun Wukong had stated that the Heavenly Demon was in the Changgong Library to fill his depleted spirit power. His reduced power levels must have been the result of having to constantly turn the 'wheel' countless times and having to deal with the awakening from each 'dream'. After successfully recreating the world, the Heavenly Demon no longer had any involvement with worldly matters, so it seemed that he buried himself in the expanse of the Changgong Library to replenish his powers.

And it seemed that Sun Wukong had tried to save the Heavenly Demon in each dream's iteration. In the many 'dreams' Yeon-woo had peered into while dealing with the other egos, Sun Wukong had always been a being who busily ran about. And when each 'dream' came to an end…Sun Wukong would always look up to the sky and cry out. With a face full of anger, Sun Wukong would shout out that he would succeed next time.

'I recall hearing that Sun Wukong sacrificed something for the Heavenly Demon to awaken as a Hwang-level being and achieved the creation of the universe. Afterward, the Heavenly Demon started to turn the 'wheel' and bring Sun Wukong back to life. Sun Wukong… He's been trying to save the Heavenly Demon, who has been suffering for hundreds of thousands of eons.'

Although the many faces of the Heavenly Demon shared the same soul, they each operated with distinct personalities and identities. The existence of Yvlke, who was active as an ego of the Black King, and Sun Wukong demonstrated this fact. Sun Wukong had always tried to save the Heavenly Demon.

'Is the Heavenly Demon Rapunzel or something, sheesh…' Yeon-woo seemed to imagine the Heavenly Demon as Rapunzel, someone who was trapped high up in a tower, and Sun Wukong as Rapunzel's savior, his knight in shining armor. Of course, if the two of them heard this interpretation, they would surely state that Yeon-woo was crazy.

'Perhaps that was the reason why Sun Wukong left the Monkey Kong's exuviae within the cave.'

The Tower was essentially a restraining device made by the Heavenly Demon to suppress the Black King. If a part of Sun Wukong remained somewhere within the Tower, and if he could contribute to making the players stronger, the weight of the Tower would increase, making it more difficult for the Black King to awaken.

However, since Sun Wukong wanted to find a way to help the Heavenly Demon, he had no choice but to leave something else in the Tower to replace him. And that was the Monkey King's exuviae.

'Because the legend of the Monkey King refers to the developmental phase of Sun Wukong. In fact, thanks to that, I benefited a lot as well.' Thanks to the Monkey King's exuviae, Yeon-woo learned the Heavenly Brackets and the eight Extremes of Sword Thunder. Essentially, the Monkey King's exuviae was just as much of a special person to Yeon-woo as the Martial King was.

"Didn't you delay making a decision when the Flood Demon King and Sage Lion King came because you wanted to see if their actions would benefit or hurt the Heavenly Demon?"

"…" Sun Wukong said nothing and just stared at Yeon-woo.

"Therefore, I will help you."

"…you? How can you help me?"

"The reason why the Heavenly Demon is restricted to the Changgong Library is because of the Black King. Right?"

"So?"

"So, I will make sure that the Black King never opens his eyes again." Yeon-woo utilized his Fiery Golden Eyes. They shone brightly, just like Sun Wukong's. "I will make that happen."

In an instant, Sun Wukong's eyes widened. All sorts of emotions could be seen passing past his eyes. And after a while, Sun Wukong spoke, "Do you have any siblings or family members?"

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