Skybound Throne

Skyler watched the endless stream of people climbing the mountain he sat atop.

Just like that, a long, boring hour passed.

There were many participants, yet he still couldn't find the face he was searching for.

So, with a quiet sigh, he rose and began descending the mountain to look around.

A group of participants—humans—noticed him descending and stopped him. Among them, a freckled woman rudely spoke up.

"You are coming from above. Did you find the one who made the announcement? Do they really know the location of the jewels?"

Skyler might have given a proper answer if the woman hadn't been rude, but since she was, he chose to respond just as rudely.

"Who knows? Go find out for yourself."

With that, he disappeared, leaving behind a conflicted group—unsure whether to follow him to teach him a lesson or just continue to the top of the mountain. In the end, they continued to the top of the tall mountain.

At the same time, Skyler reappeared in the distance, stepping out from the space with a sneer as he glanced back at the group.

"Go on—you'll definitely find the jewels."

505, who had barely woken up: "..."

The system knew very well—its host had just lured everyone in with a fake promise of revealing the Dragon Jewels' location.

After all, after spending enough time with Skyler, it understood one thing clearly: even if hell itself descended, he'd sooner give up a part of his body than part with something shiny. That's how deep his obsession ran.

Skyler's eyes scanned the area, silently taking in the faces climbing the mountain.

Suddenly, he froze—his gaze locking onto the familiar face he had been searching for. But the sight made his expression darken.

Isaac was tied up and being dragged like luggage toward the mountain's peak by a group of human and beast race people. A cold glint flickered in Skyler's eyes, turning his blue gaze as sharp and frigid as ice.

"Hah, would you look at this."

Skyler snickered as he stopped opposite the group dragging Isaac toward the peak.

"Is this how you treat someone you are planning to trade for valuable information?"

The group paused, eyeing him cautiously from head to toe. But once they sensed he was only a peak 10-star Light, their caution faded, replaced by open disdain. The boss of the group stepped forward, smirking as he casually swung the weapon in his hand.

"So, you got a problem?"

His eyes narrowed with interest.

"Anyway, you are coming from the top, right? Why don't you tell me—was that announcement earlier legit or not?"

Skyler's eyes slowly drifted past the group, settling on Isaac—groaning, his clothes torn and tattered from being dragged across the rocky terrain, his breathing shallow. Skyler's fists clenched instinctively at the sight, and his gaze returned to the group's leader.

"Of course it was legit."

The leader arched a brow.

"Why do you sound so confident? Did you already get the location of the jewels?"

Skyler blinked and tilted his head, wearing an amused look—then gasped dramatically.

"Unfortunately, no. The individual up there was insanely strong. Since I didn't bring the person he was looking for, he simply waved his hand and sent me flying. So, I ran off!"

The group was caught off guard by Skyler's sudden look of amusement. He wasn't even trying to hide how deliberately dramatic he was being. Their faces darkened. Was this guy seriously trying to get under their skin?

One of the Beast Race men behind the leader leaned in and whispered in his ear.

"Boss... what if this guy's the one who made that announcement himself?"

Skyler clapped sharply, the sudden crisp sound startling the group in front of him.

His eyes narrowed as he locked them on the Beast Race man who had just spoken.

"Wow. One of you is actually sharp."

At the same time, Isaac finally lifted his throbbing head toward the voice. His eyes widened in disbelief when he saw Skyler.

So... he had really come down from the second level of Battle Royal to the first?

A feat no one had ever heard of before.

After all, in the Battle Royal, participants could only ascend after clearing a level—never descend. And yet, he had done it.

Isaac's mind was too foggy to think any further, so he simply decided to just ask Skyler later how he had accomplished it.

For now, he gritted his teeth and began struggling against the restraints—taking advantage of the sudden distraction while the group's attention was fixed on Skyler.

But what he heard next made him freeze—nearly tempted to march over and strangle the speaker: the infuriating jerk, Skyler.

"How dare you lay a hand on my team's potion maker—especially when he hasn't even made me a single free potion yet! Do you people without brain cells have any idea how much his potions are worth?"

He scoffed, cracking his knuckles with a snap, the sound echoing like a warning.

"They start at 500 points in the System Shop and can go all the way up to around 100,000. In the real world? We are talking thousands of star coins to over a million!"

Then, with a chilling smile, he added.

"So either you're out of your minds—or you're all very eager to die painfully."

Isaac's gaze went blank.

Suddenly, why did it feel like getting sold might've been the better option? This jerk was planning to work him to the bone… He already regretted tagging along with him! Still, it wasn't like he could turn back now.

Simultaneously, the group stood frozen, bewildered by Skyler's words. Their gazes snapped between Skyler and Isaac as two things quickly became clear: first, the man standing before them was indeed the one who made the announcement earlier—and second, the person they had captured was far more valuable than they had originally thought! The realization made their eyes gleam with greed. They had struck gold!

The boss shouted instantly.

"Grab the blue-eyed one too! With both of them in our hands, getting the information will be a piece of cake. We'll not only have the location of the dragon's jewels—but a potion maker who can earn us millions!"

Suddenly, he let out a low chuckle.

"Well, if they turn out to be useless... they still have decent faces. We can use them and sell them off to the villains afterward."