<h1>Chapter 243</h1>
Past Life Returner</a>
[Sensitive has been deactivated.]
[Gifted has been deactivated.]
…
[Passion has been activated. (Level Two)]
[The probability of trait and item activation has significantly increased.]
…
[Forerunner has been deactivated.]
…
[Passion has been activated. (Level Three)]
[Physical Resistance and Magic Resistance have been significantly enhanced.]
…
[Passion has been activated. (Level Four)]
[Cooldown times have been slightly reduced.]
Everything around me was dead.
[Warning: Your physical deterioration has reached level 10. You are in the worst condition.]
The System was sending me obvious warnings about my poor state while I was stepping on corpses to climb up the mountain of bodies.
[Warning: The root of death continues to affect you.]
[Warning: Remove the Ban brown poison.]
[Warning: Your phobia toward Mother Nature is making you weak.]
The sun beaming down on me felt as hot asva. I wondered if those who had been trapped in my tripled-up mes were destroyed by heat like this. Nevertheless, the sky was as clear as a calm ocean and seemed tough at me.
Hwaaaaak-!
An enemy created a gust of wind, pushing me away.
"Ugh.”
Every time I rolled over the bodies, more blood came rushing into my nose and mouth. I couldn’t even tell if it was the enemy’s or my own blood at this point. I tried grabbing something and it turned out to be a Ban’s crushed head. Then, a huge shadow canopied the sky and covered the ground.
"Wooh! Wooh wooh!”
It wasn’t until I squinted that I was able to see an outrageous Wyvern Rider barreling toward me. There was nothing else left behind; this monster was thest one in the area. My whole body felt heavy, hot and in terrible pain. I hadn’t caught fire, but it felt like my blood vessels were filled withva.
Whoosh-
The wind pressure crashed into me first, then the ax from the Ban fell. I couldn’t avoid it, so I immediately thought to at least protect my heart.
[Strongman has been activated.]
[Warning: Your activation ability has been significantly reduced due to the effects of the root of death.]
If Strongman had been activated to its full potential, one of the Wyvern Rider’s arms would have been squashed, but I could barely manage to flick the ax away this time. Then, the monster kicked my chest more violently.
Crack!
I heard something in me snap.
Cough.
More than half of the blood I vomited out flowed back into my mouth. I couldn’t even clear my eyes now, and the image of the Wyvern Rider trampling on my chest became blurry again. However, the clogged blood that had fallen back into my esophagus suffocated me more than the pressure on my heart. Aside from being short of breath, my esophagus seemed to be burning as my blood was extremely hot.
My entire body was out of control, and I no longer had the energy to stop my limbs from twitching randomly. I slowly lost my sight, and all I could see in the end was darkness. It was a familiar sensation, and this was the moment I had been waiting for.
A new realm, the new world of SS-ss, was waiting for me.
[The Man Who Ovees Adversity has been activated.]
[The Man Who Ovees Adversity (Trait)
Effect: The moment you are unable to fight, all of your skills and capability levels are boosted by one rank. In addition, you will feel no pain and will be healed greatly until the duration ends.
ss: A (5)
Duration: 2 hourooldown time: 5 days]
***
The Ban who was stepping on me instantly noticed that my presence had changed. The monster was summoning all of its strength to its feet as it contorted its face, but it fell down as soon as I raised my upper body.
Bang- Crush!
I immediately destroyed its head by stamping it. Nothing else was in front of me. All the Wyvern Riders, who had dyed the sky ck, and the Bans who had joined the battlete were all gone. The rest were around Yeon-Hee and Seong-Il. Even the sorcerers were there as they had lost their escort team and were convinced that I would die soon.
"Fuck. Fuck!!!”
I heard Seong-Il scream in the distance, and Yeon-Hee was also short of breath. I jumped over the bodies of Bans and wyverns. I passed by the devastated area where the over three-hour battle had urred, then crossed the empty meadow. Soon, I was able to begin to see Yeon-Hee’s collection of dead foes. While I was fighting against the high-ss monsters, the low-ss Bans had been all concentrated there. There were ten times more than the number I had killed. Although they were engaged in battle, there were more Bans waiting in the back.
I decided to be a hammer and demolish everything stuck there. Just as how the Eight Evils and the Eight Virtues had no choice but to coborate when Doom Caso freaked us out, the Ban King woulde out here.
Yes, I had to be Doom Caso for the Bans.
***
The thunderstorm that S-ss Odin’s Wrath had caused was still roaming the earth and sending sparks of lightning between the bodies. Seong-Il couldn’t stand up, and Yeon-Hee was sitting on the stomach of a corpse and looking at me. They were both far away from the shing lightning bolts. She looked to be in good shape despite the chaotic fight. I saw her hunger for victory.
"Will the king…e?”
Yeon-Hee asked, then wiped her face with one hand. Lots of blood dripped out of her hand.
Drip. Drip.
[The Man Who Ovees Adversity Duration: 1 hour 31 minutes 12 seconds]
[The battle has been paused.]
[Passion (Level Five) Duration: 0 hours 59 minutes 51 seconds]
If more Ban units wereing to fight instead of the king, then we would have to spend the rest of the time escaping from this area. Also, we would have to change the n, relying on gueri warfare tactics instead. We would likely have to use Yeon-Hee’s returning stone to provoke the king by damaging the Bans with hit-and-run missions.
I first supported Seong-Il up andid him down where he could liefortably. He looked miserable as he had barely managed to keep one arm and one leg intact. When Yeon-Hee approached us while saying that her healing skill would be recharged after another ten minutes passed, Seong-Il could finally look up at me with unfocused eyes.
"I got… trait… Fist Destroyer… The fight… is now more doable. Huff. Huff. Shit
However, all he could do was swear as his body refused to listen to hismands. Instead of standing, he ended up sitting down. Then, he looked far ahead and said, “Is that the king?”
Arge-scale corps that was arranged in a formation had appeared from the side. Seong-Il was asking about thergest monster in the center. It was even more gigantic than the one that had emerged during the Act One, Stage One wave. Its appearance was clearly different from the Bans, who were two-legged with cow heads. Therefore, the huge and hideous monster was quite noticeable.
Its six hands were holdingrge rocks as if it was carrying a mountain. I knew the traits of that monster well. When the magic of the sorcerers reinforced those rocks, they would turn into explosives and fly at us.
It was an S-ss monster that only appeared in gate battles, not in the dungeons. I didn’t need to answer Seong-Il’s question because each section of the unit had one. Therefore, they were obviously not kings as there could be only one king.
Wooh! Wooh! Wooh-
The surrounding area was filled with Bans’ roar again. Theposition of the soldiers varied, but I didn’t care because I had no intention of fighting every single one of them. If the king didn’t show up at the end of my calcted time, we would destroy the rear side of their formation and run away.
[The Man Who Ovees Adversity Duration: 1 hour 3 minutes 9 seconds]
[Passion (Level Five) Duration: 0 hours 31 minutes 48 seconds]
Tik Tok. Tik Tok.
As time went by, I could feel their tense atmosphere with my transcended Sense. They were breathing heavily, magic energy surrounded their entire bodies, and the mana stones inside them were more concentrated with power than usual. They must have prepared, thinking there was no retreat from the battlefield.
‘The king is noting out? Are they trying to kill us without the king?’
I focused my Sense towards the rear side of the Bans, and the corps were cluttered across the top of the mountain, where Lee Soo-Ah and Shin Kyung-Ah were left behind. There was no newly added unit, but they also had the same tense atmosphere as the other group.
I realized they were preparing to greet the king instead ofing to fight us. My instincts were right as two powerful spirits soon flew toward us.
"It’sing. If thebat quest pops up, never get involved under any circumstances,” I warned.
It was likely that this would be abat quest like it did in the past. Seong-Il nodded silently, then I looked up at the sky after hearing an affirmative response from Yeon-Hee. The two spirits becamebined into one when I was able to see them with my eyes. I concentrated my Sense, then zoomed into the king and its ride.
[Ban King (Species)
The king of his kind and the greatest among the millions of Ban warriors. He is also the chief priest who leads the worshipers of Doom Arukuda, so the power of Doom Arukuda always stays in him.
ss: ?
Total Physical Defense: 210000 / 210000
Total Magic Defense: 300000 / 300000]
[The Dragon that Crosses the Prairihe dragon that was born on the prairie has sworn obedience to the Ban King.
ss: otal Physical Defense: 135000 / 135000
Total Magic Defense: 120000 / 120000]
At that moment.
[Hidden quest ‘Proof’ has begun.]
Yes! The deciding match was finally about to start, but the title of the quest was different from what I had expected.
[Proof (Hidden Quest)
The Ban King has been waiting for an opponent like you. He has proven himself and has gotten the opportunity to go further.
Mission: Exterminate the Ban King.
Reward: Linked quest ‘Birth of Doom Man (1)’
* If you fail, the Ban King will win the same opportunity and be Doom Ban.]
[Doom Arukuda watches with interest.]
[It’s amazing! Almighty Doom Kaos watches with great interest.]
This had never happened in the past. Even the strongest Awakened in my previous life, the First Evil and the First Virtue, likely would have never seen notifications such as these from the System. Doom Arukuda and Doom Kaos were watching with interest… But from where and how? Doom Ban and Doom Man? Those were the weirdest names that I had ever seen.
Something must have changed to a great extent. Or… things were going too fast.