Chapter 41 – Stillness Before the Roar
(Volume 4: Ascendancy of the Dragon Monarch)
The warm scent of roasted coffee still lingered faintly on Lee Hwan's fingertips as he pushed open the café's glass door and stepped into the open air. The breeze was softer now. Perhaps it was the peace of Earth… or just the illusion of it.
For a moment, he simply walked. No dragons at his heels. No Monarchs watching from shadows. No tower levels shaking beneath his feet.
Just Lee Hwan… the man.
But peace was fragile.
As he strolled through the quiet Seoul streets, passing by flower vendors, students rushing home, and couples enjoying their evenings, a scream suddenly split the air.
"Help! Thief! Someone—please stop him!!"
Lee Hwan's eyes immediately locked on the source. An old woman had fallen to the ground, her shopping scattered across the pavement. A man in a black hoodie was sprinting away with her handbag clenched tightly in his grasp.
People screamed. Some recorded with their phones. Others just watched, frozen.
But Lee Hwan didn't hesitate.
With a flick of his fingers, he activated Shadow Step, disappearing in a blur. The thief, thinking himself clever, ducked into a narrow alleyway—only to slam headfirst into an invisible wall of pressure.
Lee was already there, standing like a phantom.
The thief gasped, stumbling backward. "Wh-Who the hell are you?!"
Lee didn't answer. He simply stepped forward, took the bag gently, and looked the man in the eye.
"Be glad I'm not the man I was yesterday."
The thief's legs gave out under the crushing weight of Lee's dormant aura. He collapsed to the ground, unable to move. Moments later, the old lady, trembling but thankful, arrived with two police officers.
Lee handed the bag over, offered a soft nod, and vanished again.
Some time later…
Lee stood at the top of Baegun Mountain, overlooking the glittering city lights of Seoul. From this height, everything looked peaceful—tiny, insignificant… almost beautiful.
His thoughts drifted to the Tower.
The 9th Floor was cleared.
The dragons had acknowledged him.
The Monarch of Darkness had marked him.
Chronos still reigned as the strongest player at the 20th Floor.
But here, standing alone on this mountain, Lee felt none of that.
He sat on the edge of a rocky outcrop, arms resting on his knees, eyes fixed on the horizon.
"This world doesn't know what's coming," he murmured.
"The Tower was just the beginning."
For nearly an hour, he sat there in silence. The wind brushed his hair gently, birds chirped somewhere in the distance. The peace felt… undeserved.
But it was something.
Eventually, Lee stood. His body, no longer bound by human limits, made the descent from the mountain seem effortless. Each leap and stride carried grace and power fused into one.
By the time he returned to the city, the streets had quieted. The stars were out.
Lee walked through the hidden side entrance of his private villa, a massive estate nestled away from the eyes of both government and guild. It was a sanctuary built after his early rise as a Ranker, though he hadn't returned here in months.
The villa was empty, cold, but familiar.
The lights flickered on with a voice recognition system as soon as he stepped inside.
"Welcome home, Mr. Lee Hwan."
He didn't respond. Instead, he headed straight down the marble hallway, past glass displays of ancient weapons and rare artifacts, toward the heavily reinforced Training Chamber below ground level.
As he entered, the door sealed shut behind him.
This was where it all began. Where he forged his body and mind before climbing the Tower. The room still smelled of sweat, steel, and focused fury.
Lee stood silently in the middle of the room. No monsters here. No system notifications. No audience.
He dropped to the floor.
And began push-ups.
One.
Two.
Three.
Each movement was slow, deliberate, and steady. No aura. No buffs. Just him and his own strength.
By the time he reached a thousand, sweat dripped from his brow.
By the time he passed five thousand, the floor cracked slightly beneath the pressure of each repetition.
But he didn't stop.
"I've relied too much on power…" he thought.
"Too much on skills, dragons, and systems."
Ten thousand push-ups.
His body roared in protest.
His muscles screamed.
Still, he kept going.
This wasn't about leveling up. It was about grounding himself.
About remembering who he was before the Tower, before the titles, before the throne of dragons.
And as he collapsed onto the mat, panting, drenched in sweat, he whispered:
"Before I'm a Monarch… I'm a warrior."
He laid there for a while, staring at the ceiling.
Tomorrow, the Tower would call him again.
Tomorrow, Chronos would be one step closer.
Tomorrow, the world would learn he had returned.
But tonight?
Tonight, he was just Lee Hwan—training alone in silence.
[End of Chapter 41]