Skybound Throne

Skyler arched a brow at those disgusting words, his eyes narrowing as he watched the group close in on him from all sides.

If they were familiar with the villains, that meant they were from his planet. However, clearly, they had no idea who he was in the real world—because if they really did, they wouldn't have dared to act so brazenly.

A thought crossed his mind—just how many people had these scum captured, exploited, and sold off like goods?

Did they truly deserve mercy?

The answer came swiftly.

He didn't lose control of his body, but a faint, ominous gleam darkened his eyes.

"Let's see."

With those words, he vanished.

A moment later, pained, agonizing cries echoed through the air—followed by the sickening sounds of bones snapping. The noise made those in the surrounding area flinch and flee, unwilling to get involved.

Skyler was too fast for anyone to react.

Like a phantom, he struck and vanished.

Unlike at the Gala, he didn't hold back his strength to avoid hurting his opponents.

Isaac couldn't track a thing.

He could only watch, frozen, as the scene unfolded before him—bathed in blood. He sucked in a deep breath and shut his eyes.

"Is he really just at the peak of 10-star...? How can he fight so many powerful people and overpower them like they're nothing?"

Isaac flinched when, moments later, he felt a tug on the rope binding him—followed by a familiar, exasperated voice and a low tsk.

"Seriously? You couldn't even get out of a basic rope? Are you sure you're a Light?"

He opened his eyes and met Skyler's blue ones—though they looked a little different now, tinged with a pitch-black hue, almost as if they belonged to someone else.

Isaac didn't dare look at the aftermath of the battle—the blood staining Skyler's shirt and the faint cries behind him said more than enough. Instead, he let out a groan.

"I'm only a 6-star Light. Don't expect too much from me. If you want free potions, you better make sure I stay alive."

Skyler blinked, then let out a chuckle.

"Naturally."

He raised his hand, and a vial filled with shimmering liquid dropped into his palm.

"Here, drink this. It's a healing potion—I got it from the System. Just remember, this is the last time I'm buying potions from there. You're taking over the job from now on."

Isaac's eyebrow twitched, and he let out a sigh. Even though he had plenty of healing potions in the ring that was confiscated by the group, he took the one Skyler offered.

Might as well just take it. Who knows... when this jerk will grow a heart again.

"You're really something else."

He paused for a moment.

"Still, are you going to leave those people alive? I can still hear their cries. If they've system points, they will heal eventually."

Skyler simply gave his shoulder a pat.

"Don't worry about that. I took all their storage rings, and they don't have enough system points to buy potions. So, whether they survive or die completely depends on whether a passerby decides to save them."

Isaac's eyes widened. He wanted to ask how Skyler knew they don't have enough system points—but held back.

Better not to know too much.

Skyler glanced at the familiar system screen floating before him and smirked.

("Host, just as you said, I—hic—tried and successfully hacked the status screens of all the nearby systems. These people really don't have many points—just a hundred or two. It's not enough to buy healing potions. But Host, 505 is scared! What if the Main System finds out? It'll skin 505 alive!")

The system shuddered, already dreading the hellish doom that awaited it once the Main System discovered what it had done.

Skyler gave it a not-so-reassuring look.

"Don't worry—you don't have skin. It won't be painful. As for the rest... good job, 505. You've finally decided to come along. I can see it now. The day you become the best system in the Battle Royale isn't far off."

Isaac, who had heard everything: "..."

Was this really what he was thinking?

Skyler was manipulating his system...?

Isaac looked at his own system and, with a hint of excitement, decided to try the same.

"Hey... 1078, how have you been? Listen, how about we become friends now that we've decided to journey here together?"

Yet, utter silence. No answer at all. 1078 didn't even bother acknowledging him.

Isaac: "..."

Skyler, who had just stood up, burst into laughter at Isaac's try to coax his system.

"Do not be so down. You would have to be me to pull it off—so just forget it. Haha!"

Isaac shot him a dark, deadpan look.

Skyler, still chuckling, turned and started walking toward the door nestled inside the mountain cave that led to the second level.

But even as he walked, his laughter didn't stop echoing through the air, making Isaac regret ever trying to talk with his system.

Isaac suddenly shot a glare in a random direction, as if taking it all out on 1078.

"This is all your fault!"

Still no response.

Skyler laughed even harder.

"Forget it, haha! My stomach hurts!"

He controlled his laughter as they walked. However, once they were far enough from the bloody scene, he grabbed Isaac's arm and stepped into the space, reappearing right in front of the familiar wooden door.

"Let's go. Charles is waiting."

Isaac was stunned speechless. Just like that, he was heading to the second level?

What about the many powerful monsters one was meant to battle upon finding the Door? What about the months of hardship just to locate it in the first place?

Isaac let out a low, wry chuckle.

'Ah, now I am certain—he really is the protagonist of our world, just like those characters in novels. And the rest of us? We're just extras. In a single day, I have seen things no one would ever believe.'

Shaking his head, he quickly followed as Skyler pushed the door open and stepped inside—only to flinch at the sight of a tall, hooded, faceless ghost on the other side.

The gatekeeper sneered at Skyler.

"Do not ever show your face to me again, you insufferably noisy human-like being!"

With that, the gatekeeper's body dissolved into wisps of darkness and seeped into the wooden door, which vanished—relocating to a new spot somewhere within the first level.

Isaac stared at the now-empty space.

"What was that terrifying thing?"

Skyler gave a sheepish smile.

"A ghost who hates noise. You'll see him again soon—so you'd better get used to it."