I’m Here to End This Fight

Chapter 248 New Quest (1)

At the very front of the line.

Standing there, right in the dead center, with his hand boldly raised, was Yuri.

The 50th batch stared blankly at Yuri’s question for a moment, then snapped out of their daze in shock.

“Me, me?!”

“Hey, you bastard!”

Just ten seconds earlier.

It was a question that seemed to ignore the bespectacled man’s warning about carefully choosing the difficulty if they valued their lives.

Moreover, considering that this was their one and only opportunity, it was no surprise that screams and angry shouts erupted from all directions.

“Hey, you crazy bastard! Are you even asking that as a question?!”

“Why don’t you just figure that out yourself?!”

“Vo, void! This question should be void!”

Boos and angry roars echoed from all sides.

However, Yuri, at the center of all this criticism, nonchalantly scratched his ear with a look of indifference.

His expression seemed to say, “What can you do by complaining?”

The bespectacled man, watching Yuri from a distance, smirked.

‘I expected this, but still…’

Given Yuri Holland’s personality and past actions, it wasn’t hard to predict that he would choose the hell difficulty.

But to choose the hell difficulty without even a moment’s hesitation?

‘Does this mean he doesn’t even need to be cautious anymore?’

It made sense, in a way.

Yuri Holland had already surpassed the level of an average cadet by a wide margin.

His skills were more than enough to have graduated from the cradle long ago.

Even outside, he would be classified as a ‘strong person’ by society.

To someone like him, the cradle was nothing more than a treasure-filled playground.

‘But the hell difficulty… even for someone like you, it won’t be easy.’

The bespectacled man, wearing a faint smile, lifted the bridge of his glasses with a swift motion.

Ping—

Sunlight reflected off his glasses, glinting sharply.

“The entrance to the hell difficulty is over that way.”

The bespectacled man pointed with his thumb behind his back.

This caused the 50th batch to erupt into even louder protests.

“Wa, wait! This doesn’t seem right!”

“No matter how it’s first come, first served, that kind of question is just…!”

“I’ll… I’ll choose a different question!”

Pleading screams for just one more chance filled the air, but the bespectacled man only smirked as he turned away.

“That concludes the explanation. Good luck.”

Without offering even the slightest possibility, the bespectacled man left coldly.

The members of the 50th batch reached out in desperation.

Despite his peers’ reactions, Yuri merely clicked his tongue, hands stuffed in his pockets.

“Tsk tsk, as if yelling will make him come back. Pointless effort.”

His voice carried a clear sense of disdain, prompting the entire 50th batch to glare daggers at Yuri’s back.

‘This is all because of you!’

‘It’s always that bastard’s big mouth!’

If looks could kill, Yuri would have died dozens of times over by now.

“Ah!”

But even those angry stares vanished instantly when Yuri turned around as if nothing had happened.

Yuri smiled brightly as he looked at his peers.

“Anyone wanna join me in hell difficulty? I’ll treat you well! Who’s in?”

“…….”

The 50th batch members, desperate to avoid eye contact with Yuri, quickly averted their gazes elsewhere.

Seeing this, Yuri chuckled softly and waved dismissively.

“Fine, whatever. If no one’s coming, I’ll go first. See you in 100 days.”

With his hands still in his pockets, Yuri casually strolled away, soon disappearing from the 50th batch’s sight.

As they stared blankly after him, someone suddenly realized something and muttered.

“Wait… if this quest takes 100 days and that guy is going into hell difficulty alone… doesn’t that mean we won’t have to see him for 100 days?”

“……?!”

This revelation, first spoken aloud by one person, quickly spread like wildfire among the 50th batch.

“Oh?!”

“Th, that’s right?!”

And soon, it erupted into thunderous cheers.

“Fuck yeah! A 100-day vacation!”

“We’re free!”

“This… this is bliss!”

Overjoyed by the thought of being free from Yuri for 100 days, the 50th batch vowed.

Even though they lacked the ability in the first place, they decided that if they did have the means, they still wouldn’t go anywhere near hell difficulty.

Listening to the cheers of his peers, Arin turned to Gunther.

“So, where are you going?”

Gunther, hearing Arin’s question, silently gazed down the path Yuri had taken for a moment.

Arin’s eyes widened at the sight.

“No way, are you going to follow Yuri?”

“Of course not.”

Gunther shook his head slightly.

“I know my limits. Hell difficulty… it’s beyond what I can handle.”

Despite his remarkable growth over the past year, Gunther knew he couldn’t compare to Yuri.

Following that monster and attempting to take on something beyond his limits could easily break him.

Still…

‘It might be worth challenging things that go beyond my capabilities.’

Without taking such risks, the gap between him and Yuri would only continue to widen.

With that thought, Gunther made his decision.

“I’ll go with the hard difficulty.”

At Gunther’s decision, Arin beamed and raised her hand high.

“Then I’ll go too!”

“I’m hungry!”

Poppy immediately raised both hands with a wide grin, indicating he would join them as well.

Gunther couldn’t help but smile softly, feeling unexpectedly pleased.

“Alright, let’s go together.”

“Yeah, let’s go!”

“I’m hungry!”

Thus, with Gunther, Arin, and Poppy.

Once Yuri and his entourage had completely withdrawn, those who had been cheering began to come to their senses one by one.

“Seriously, do they always have to act like they’re something special, moving first?”

“Hey! Let’s go too!”

Watching the backs of those who had gone ahead, the grumbling members of the batch hurried to move.

Shortly after.

A Black Sword Corps member approached the bespectacled man to report.

“All members of the 50th batch have entered the tower.”

“What are the entry numbers per difficulty?”

“One in hell difficulty, thirty-four in hard, and sixty-nine in normal.”

“…Not a single person entered the easy difficulty?”

“Yes.”

“Not a single person in easy… and thirty-four in hard?”

Upon hearing his subordinate’s report, the bespectacled man wore an amused expression.

“Thanks to one particular bastard, the rest of them have grown bolder.”

If not, maybe they’ve all gained some confidence in their skills, just like that one bastard.

The bespectacled man glanced in the direction of the tower, a slight smirk tugging at one corner of his lips.

* * *

Arriving at the entrance of the hell difficulty, Yuri couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight before him.

“This is clearly the entrance to hell.”

Where the bespectacled man had directed him, Yuri found a grotesque and enormous statue waiting.

A demon’s head, snarling with an open mouth.

And within that wide-open mouth was a pitch-black tunnel.

The ominous darkness of the entrance was enough to make anyone with a weak heart recoil.

But Yuri, feeling nothing in particular, kept his hands in his pockets as he stepped into the hell entrance.

Step, step—

Yuri’s footsteps echoed in the dark tunnel.

Though the tunnel was dimly lit, it was a straightforward path, so Yuri was able to proceed without hesitation.

After walking for some time.

“Hmm?”

Light appeared at the end of the dark space.

Feeling slightly bored, Yuri quickened his pace and finally stepped into the lighted area.

What greeted Yuri was the now all-too-familiar acrid scent and…

“You’ve arrived?”

A voice mixed with annoyance and delight.

Yuri greeted the figure standing under the ceiling studded with luminous stones.

“Miss Coco, long time no see!”

Yuri’s voice, full of excitement, echoed through the relatively small space, causing Coco to grimace as she exhaled smoke.

Hoo—

“Do you not know that it’s polite to speak quietly in confined spaces?”

“Well, smoking a cigar in a confined space isn’t exactly polite either, is it?”

“I’ve been here for a while, and you just arrived, so you should adjust to me.”

“If you’ve been here for a while, then you’re the host and I’m the guest, right? So how about a little hospitality for your guest?”

“…Can’t you let even one thing go?”

“I never back down from a verbal fight, no matter the other battles I lose.”

Yuri chattered incessantly, while Coco glared at him.

Yellow sparks flew between their gazes.

Crackle—

After a prolonged staring contest, Coco sighed.

“Listen up, I’ll only explain this once.”

“Yep, my ears are wide open!”

Seeing Yuri playfully perk up his ears, Coco inhaled deeply along with the cigar smoke, and then launched into her explanation.

“This Hundred-Day Tower is newly opened, and your quest is to climb as many floors as possible in 100 days. You can choose to collect rewards and exit at any point. In hell difficulty, each floor offers two reward chests, but once you collect a reward from a floor, that’s the end.”

“…….”

“However, if you choose to move on to the next floor, the previous rewards are put on hold. If you clear the next floor as well, you get the rewards from both floors. Of course, if you fail to clear or abandon the next floor within the 100 days, all previously

earned rewards are lost too.”

“That…”

“If you clear up to the 8th floor, you’ll accumulate a total of 16 rewards. However, the 9th floor has 4 chests, so if you clear all 9 floors, you can choose from a total of 20 chests. Oh, and the contents of the chests are completely random.”

“…….”

“You’ll be stuck here for 100 days, but temporary shops, banks, and ranking boards will be available periodically, so don’t worry too much. I won’t take any questions, nor will I answer any. That concludes the explanation.”

Yuri’s cheek twitched slightly at Coco’s rapid-fire explanation.

How petty, retaliating just because they had a verbal spat.

Yuri sighed softly, compiling Coco’s words in his mind.

His eyes soon sparkled with interest.

“So, it’s all or nothing, huh?”

Of course, there was the option to collect some rewards and leave halfway through.

But Yuri hadn’t considered that option at all.

Seeing Yuri’s confident demeanor, Coco smirked.

“Why don’t you just grab a few chests and leave, instead of being greedy?”

“Why?”

“Because the chance of getting nothing is higher than getting everything.”

“Why?”

“Because, no matter how skilled you are, this hell difficulty won’t be easy.”

Coco’s provocative gaze seemed to challenge Yuri to prove her wrong, and Yuri crossed his arms.

“You’ve prepared… quite thoroughly, haven’t you?”

“Of course.”

“You even anticipated that I would enter this hell difficulty?”

“Of course.”

Matching Coco’s confident responses, Yuri’s eyes glinted as he realized something.

“Interesting. So, this hell difficulty was designed specifically for me, wasn’t it?”

This was likely because, being a newly implemented quest, they had room to adjust the difficulty.

Stroking his chin, Yuri asked Coco another question.

“But tell me, what did I do wrong? Why are you doing this to me?”

What exactly had he done to deserve a quest customized against him?

Yuri’s innocent expression, as if saying ‘I don’t know anything,’ and his eyes, as if claiming to be as pure as snow, made a small vein pop on Coco’s forehead.

“…Do you really not know?”

“Nope, I have no idea.”

“Since you joined the cradle…”

“…Since then?”

“Our workload has increased exactly threefold.”

“What did I do?”

“Repeatedly ignoring set quest rules, habitual damage to quest facilities, and beating up opponents during duels, causing a fivefold increase in severe cases admitted to the infirmary.”

“Wow, since your workload increased, you must be earning a lot more money too.”

“The pay remains the same, only the workload increased. That’s the problem.”

“Then you should complain to your employer about that. Why take it out on me?”

“Our employer is quite tough. If I complain, I might actually lose my head, so I’m venting on you instead.”

“It must be tough being powerless.”

“If you don’t like it, why don’t you go and complain to our employer for us?”

“…Even I find that person a bit scary.”

No matter how confident he was, Yuri had no guts to go and ask the Sword Master to increase the Black Sword Corps’ wages.

“So, you’re going to get revenge by increasing my workload in this way? Isn’t this an abuse of power?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re shameless.”

Yuri lightly clicked his tongue, then suddenly brightened his gaze, flashing a provocative smile at Coco.

“Wanna make a bet?”

“A bet?”

“On whether I can clear this quest. Whether I can clear all 9 floors within 100 days.”

He raised his chin slightly.

His arrogant eyes were brimming with confidence.

Coco, meeting his gaze, blew out a puff of smoke from her cigar.

“A bet, huh… How did you know I like those?”

“You just look the type.”

“Heh, alright. I bet five quest reward chests that you won’t clear this quest in 100 days! What will you bet?”

“If I don’t clear this quest in 100 days… I promise to abide by all quest rules, avoid damaging quest facilities, and ensure no bleeding or injury to duel opponents for the next year.”

“…You really have a knack for dressing up things you should be doing anyway as some grand bet item, don’t you?”

“So, do you dislike the terms? Not going to accept?”

Seeing Yuri grinning smugly as if to say “take it or leave it,” Coco smiled back.

Then, without a word, she stepped back and pulled a lever on one side of the wall.

With a rumbling noise—

The wall next to the lever slid open, revealing a dark passage.

Coco nodded toward the passage and succinctly responded.

“Accepted.”

With a grin, Yuri brushed past Coco and entered the newly revealed passage.

“Bet’s on.”

At Yuri’s short, confident statement, Coco raised the lever again.

Rumble—thud.

The tunnel that swallowed Yuri soon closed its mouth.

And so began the first day of the hell difficulty.