Even Today, the Ranker Dreams of Retirement

Habin answered immediately.

“What is it?”

An expression of genuine ignorance.

Moreover, Habin shrugged with a face that seemed utterly uninterested, as if it didn’t matter at all.

“Isn’t it just a ring?”

“…Do you really not know?”

It didn’t seem like she was lying. Glitch opened his mouth as if he had no choice.

“There’s a rumor that whoever obtains it becomes the master of the Demon Realm. Are you saying you really didn’t know? I thought you impersonated me to get your hands on it.”

Glitch looked at Habin after finishing his words.

‘How will she react to hearing this?’

An item that could put the Demon Realm in the palm of one’s hand. ‘The Demon God’s Ring’

This unpredictable human junior,

Would she open her eyes wide, saying she really didn’t know? Or would she reveal her true colors? As Glitch was intently observing her expression.

Finally, Habin spoke with a deeply furrowed brow.

“Huh… Become the master of the Demon Realm? What an outlandish rumor.”

“…Outlandish?”

“If that’s the case, I shouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole!”

Habin shook her hands vigorously with a horrified expression.

‘Master of the Demon Realm? Really, just hearing it sounds incredibly troublesome and inconvenient!’

Even now, just briefly impersonating a Demon King or Demon God, she was dying from all the people swarming around her.

But to actually become the king of the Demon Realm? To continue living as a leader like that from now on?

“I absolutely can’t do that!”

Hyun Habin steeled her resolve. She said to Glitch with a grave expression:

“I have dramas to watch at home, a bucket list to complete, anyway I’m far too busy to ever take such a position. Surely there must be someone faaaar more suitable than me, right? Right? If not, let’s have you take it back, senior.”

“……”

“Let’s do our own work ourselves. If there’s such a dangerous ring, take it yourself. Deal?”

“Dangerous ring…?”

Glitch closed his mouth.

This human’s reactions were consistently strange.

Normally, when told you could have something, shouldn’t you feel greedy? Or have ambition.

And this was about being able to have the ‘Demon Realm’, no less.

‘Does she not understand what that means?’

It encompasses all the hidden treasures in the Demon Realm, and all the power related to the ‘Demon Realm’, including the Demon King’s army and magical beasts.

Glitch carefully scrutinized Hyun Habin’s face.

For some reason, that nonchalant expression seemed genuine no matter how he looked at it. This human truly had no greed. For any of it.

Glitch asked, as if unwilling to let go:

“You really didn’t want the ring?”

“Ah, really, I didn’t.”

“Then why did you come here?”

“Hmm…”

Habin crossed her arms. She fell into deep thought.

The reason she followed along here was obviously because Chae-ssi said he was worried about Jise-unni and wanted to come.

After all, Habin also had a big advantage if Jise-unni returned early.

And…

‘The biggest reason I came here is this!’

Habin opened her mouth as if she had just remembered:

“I need to go to the strawberry buffet with unni without being late!”

“Strawberry… buffet?”

“Sigh, thinking about it, it would be easiest to just find the ring quickly and complete the 50th floor conquest.”

“…You came here just for a strawberry buffet?”

Glitch knew what strawberries were. There were similar berry-like fruits in the Demon Realm too.

‘This human came here for such a pathetic reason? I’m not sure whether to be happy about this or not.’

Unbeknownst to Hyun Habin, from Glitch’s perspective, she was the successor candidate he had been struggling to find. Of course, he was skeptical at first, but her inherent value seemed certain.

Perhaps the only one in this world, a powerful being with a similar ‘error’ attribute to his own.

‘A living error.’

Demon God Glitch was also a being treated as an error, similar to her. Until he ascended to the position of Demon God, he had always been ignored and antagonized by the system, unable to be incorporated, and had quite a struggle.

‘This one probably went through similar hardships.’

Living as an error inevitably means accepting many disadvantages. You can’t receive all the conveniences the system can provide, and if discovered, you become a target for elimination by the administrator.

But despite that, this human had survived and become a powerful being who made it this far. That means she must have clear purpose and ability to match.

Just like Glitch had.

Without extraordinary determination and talent, she wouldn’t have been able to endure this long, let alone survive the administrator’s attempts to kill her long ago.

That’s not all.

Glitch had been watching all of Habin’s actions in the Demon King’s castle.

‘Eek, crazy human!’

She had Demon King Kriksha, who she had tamed at some point, following her orders like a minion.

‘I’m on Ipsine’s side, you know?’

She took the side of a weak demon with nothing to gain.

‘The Demon King of Lust is finished now!’

She dispatched Hermit, who had been a thorn in the Demon Realm’s side, with a single strike.

‘It was an admirable feat.’

Glitch was lost in recollection.

Over those long years, Glitch had searched for a leader candidate to rule the Demon Realm, but one rarely appeared.

The other powerful beings capable of protecting and ruling the Demon Realm, the ‘Seven Demon Kings’, were selfish and twisted in nature.

Even on the rare occasions when someone of good character appeared, they weren’t strong enough to control the other Demon Kings and face external threats.

Someone strong enough to subdue everyone, while also able to protect small and precious things?

Such a person was nothing more than an ideal. Realistically, it was close to impossible.

Yet it was difficult for Glitch to directly interfere with the Demon Realm.

The constraints of being an unregistered constellation.

The position of constellation was a double-edged sword. As powerful as it was, it equally limited one’s ability to influence things freely.

One misstep and he would give the administrator, whom he so despised, a weakness to exploit.

All this time, he had left the Seven Demon Kings as the lesser evil option while watching over the Demon Realm.

‘To think such a perfect successor candidate would appear.’

Despite not being a constellation but a human, she possessed power that no one could ignore, leadership that drew others in, and even the qualities of a ruler who protects the weak.

“To have all that, yet lack any desire for power.”

Even that point was chillingly perfect. Glitch made one last offer to Habin with a smiling face.

“You really have no intention of taking the Demon Realm? I guarantee you’ll gain far more than you expect.”

“A good senior doesn’t pass their own tasks onto their junior.”

“It’s killing me how much of a waste this is.”

“I’ll pass on the group project.”

“……”

Habin’s unyielding attitude.

Glitch read the thorns hidden in her nonchalant words.

Though she acted as if it was a joke, it was sincere. He wasn’t so tactless a fool as to not understand that.

This human’s words, though seemingly light, had subtle barbs. Even while handing over food and playing at this ridiculous senior-junior roleplay as if joking.

She had never once fallen for Glitch’s words. She had never been swayed or shaken.

‘It’s been a long time since I’ve met such an unpredictable opponent.’

Over countless years, he had met innumerable beings and had innumerable experiences.

It seems he had become arrogant, thinking he had reached a level where he could easily grasp the intentions of most beings.

‘Senior.’

‘The noodles will get soggy.’

‘If that’s the case, I absolutely shouldn’t take it.’

‘I need to go to the strawberry buffet.’

Not once had this human’s answers matched his expectations. It was close to the first time he had been so consistently thrown off by someone.

Glitch frowned. Though he seemed displeased, at the same time a deep smile of satisfaction hung on his lips.

“Fine. If my junior really has no interest in the Demon Realm, there’s nothing I can do.”

He shook his head as if he had no choice.

“It’s truly a shame, but if you dislike it, I won’t force you.”

“Oh, what’s this? You’re unexpectedly an enlightened senior who respects your junior’s opinion?”

Habin nodded approvingly.

As long as he wasn’t an old-fashioned senior or one who dumped troublesome tasks on juniors, she could tolerate this kind of senior.

Habin neatly put the cup noodle trash into her inventory. Now that the conversation was over, they could part ways cleanly, and after making sure the 50th floor expedition team hunters weren’t hurt, she could quietly slip away.

However, Glitch wasn’t finished speaking. As if reluctant to let go, he opened his mouth in a coaxing tone:

“…But, don’t you want to know how to become stronger here? As someone who lived as an ‘error’ like you, I have some special tips.”

“Huh.”

“A senior who’s lived through it once can at least give you some tips.”

“No no!”

Habin immediately made a disgusted face.

“I’m already strong enough, I don’t need that!”

“……”

Habin frowned.

‘My stats are already at 2.1 billion, and you want me to get even stronger here?’

Hyun Habin was already troubled because she wanted to hide her strength, but she was so strong that she had blown up measurement devices and all the training dummies at the training institute.

‘If I get any stronger from here, will I have to use less force than an ant’s tear’s salt crystal? Just how far is this supposed to go?’

Probably the main reason everyone around was trying to recruit her was because she was strong.

Being forcibly called by the nation after becoming A-rank was also because she was strong.

This strength must be why she was being checked by the system.

While Habin was frowning deeply, Glitch’s words didn’t stop. He persistently opened his mouth:

“Do you know? Starting in this world with the status of an ‘error’ might be terribly difficult at first, but the more you continue, the more it becomes an incomparable advantage.”

Glitch looked down at his own hand.

“This is a fact no one knows, but it was thanks to that that I, who was originally neither a Demon God nor a constellation, rose to the position of Demon God.”

“……”

“While this may seem like a path completely at odds with the system-“

Conversely, it’s the only route that can defeat the system.

“Regrettably, I haven’t reached that point yet.”

Glitch, who had been muttering to himself, turned his head towards Habin.

“Moreover, you already have that level of ability despite not being a constellation, so naturally I can’t help but have expectations for how you’ll develop in the future.”

“Don’t expect things on your own. I’m going to live quietly.”

“That’s not going to go as you please.”

Swish.

[Hyun Habin! Be careful…!]

“…!”

It was truly a moment of carelessness.

Glitch reached out his hand towards Habin. The movement was so quiet and harmless that she didn’t even feel the need to resist.

However.

[Warning! You are facing extreme nothingness!]

[Warning! The system is collapsing! Warning!! Yo

Yo ㅏja D DLR!will @!!!!!wonㄹㅇㄷㄹ; ! eroero!01001000 1 0 1 1 1 1 1101]

Meaningless numbers filling her vision in warning windows, her sight growing distant, bizarrely ringing warning notifications.

“Sorry, junior. I guess I’m an old fogey after all. I absolutely can’t stand by and watch a junior with potential rot away.”

Glitch’s voice, tinged with laughter, faintly heard.

That was the last sound Habin heard before her vision completely blurred.

◆◇◆◇◆

Meanwhile, in the banquet hall.

‘What… Where did Hyun Habin go?’

-Piiik?

Jiseok and Jise, who were looking after Libe and Ipsine, along with Kriksha, were looking around here and there for Habin.

‘She said she was going to rest for a bit, but she’s been gone for too long?’

‘I hope nothing’s happened to her?’

The Chae siblings were genuinely worried and searching for Hyun Habin.

On the other hand, Kriksha was only pretending to search while harboring other thoughts.

‘Crazy human, no, crazy Demon God! Please don’t appear and leave me alone!’

‘Hmm, I’m sure she disappeared around here somewhere…’

Just as Jise was peering towards the terrace area.

“What are you looking for?”

Hyun Siwoo appeared before them.