《Colossus Hunter》


 Chapter 0 - Prologue

    <h4>Prologue</h4>


    Life is a series of choices. But if everything is predetermined, what is the point of a ¡®choice¡¯?


    ¡®It¡¯s all in vain.


    The world was falling towards its destruction. I endeavored to dy its arrival. Surviving battlefields where I should have died tens, hundreds of times, I slew all enemies that stood in my way. Then at some point, they¡¯d begun calling me hero.


    Thest hero, Hansung Oh. It was because the only person who stood against the emergence of the Demon Lord was I.


    But the Demon Lord was merely the beginning. More powerful monsters had been lurking within the depths of the abyss.


    The apocalypse, was inevitable from the start.


    Furthermore, monsters of the abyss weren¡¯t the only enemies.


    Foes from within.


    Aletheia, the religious Order of evil.


    ¡°Sir. That ce is the sanctuary of Aletheia.¡±


    I saw the great tower, in the midst of many mountains.


    I nodded my head. Finally, this drawn out game of tag woulde to an end.


    ¡°We finally found it after 10 years. Just give us the order.¡±


    Hwii!


    The wind blew harshly.


    Standing atop the huge boat flying in the sky, the ¡®Ark¡¯, I slowly spoke.


    Behind me were a thousand or so silver knights, all lined up.


    Aletheia. A pack of vermin that reared monsters and attacked mankind. Clearing that ce out would extend humanity¡¯s expiration date, at the very least, by a year.


    Today, I will exterminate them.


    ¡°Purge...them all.¡±


    The words left my mouth as I flung myself down from the boat¡¯s railings, towards the ground.


    ..


    Inside the spear-like tower that reached the skies.


    I saw a man that brought Jesus to mind. Standing at the very top of a tower of thousands of corpses, both his hands nailed through.


    The nearby priests were chanting prayers as they drew a circle.


    ¡°We have the favor of Kronos! Yet you think the mere likes of yourself can stop us!?¡±


    The chief priest raged at me as I walked further inside the tower, having ughtered countless monsters on the way. They remained brimming with confidence even though I, their worst enemy, had arrived.


    It was not long until I realized what was the source of their courage.


    Kururururung!


    KUAAAAAAAAA!


    Shaking its great wings, a ck dragon emerged from underground the sacrificial altar.


    A demon dragon!


    I clicked my tongue. It appeared these madmen had even tamed a dragon in the end.


    A demon dragon was the strongest among its kind, to the extent that my knights and I alone would be hard-pressed to contend against it.


    ¡®I will not die.¡¯


    I shook my head. I would have already died back when I fought against the advent of the Demon Lord if my destiny were to lose my life to a mere Demon Dragon. Yet I did not die.


    And so, this is not where I die.


    Surung!


    I held my sword in my right hand, as I circted a magic spell of the four elements in my left.


    ¡°Wait for me.¡±


    I spoke toward the man tied up in the center of the altar. Thest friend that I remember, who also remembers me, Minshik. An executive of Aletheia.


    I could more or less figure out the reason for him being there.


    He was the human chosen as a live offering!


    Twitch!


    Minshik¡¯s body reacted as if in response to my voice.


    That was all I needed. It was enough that he was alive.


    ¡°Demon dragon! Kill that heretic!¡±


    Chijijijijik!


    When chief priest finished speaking, at the same time, the energy of lightning gathered in my hand.


    Demon dragons were weak to powers rted to electricity.


    I fused the energy into my sword, and electric currents began flowing wildly along the entire de.


    ¡®I, will not die.¡¯


    I leaped toward the demon dragon.


    ..


    I waspletely soaked in blood, and my mind on the verge of giving out.


    By the time the Demon Dragon was in along with the priest and the rest of the followers, not even half of the Silver-d knights remained.


    Still we won. The ritual was stopped.


    But my eyes burned with mixed emotions. I approached the man who¡¯d been tied up in the center of the ritual, Minshik, and held up his upper body.


    ¡®A terrible curse. He won¡¯t live.¡¯


    There were a few among my followers who had the ability to heal wounds. But the moment I saw Kronos¡¯ Mark carved on Minshik¡¯s heart, I shook my head.


    The curse hadpletely taken hold. Even I have never seen a curse of this level before. For what reason could the zealots of the Order have offered up Minshik as the sacrifice?


    ¡°Sorry...I¡¯m sorry...¡±


    It was Minshik¡¯s voice.


    He was fortunately still alive. But only just barely, like a candle about to go out.


    ¡°What are you so sorry about?¡±


    ¡°Everything. If our god had turned back time, I would have wanted so much to be a hero like you, an even greater one...¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s passed can¡¯t be reverted.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps...so.¡±


    Minshik smiled with great difficulty.


    I couldn¡¯t do the same.


    ¡°You¡¯ve yet to pay for your sins. Dying now is much too unfair.¡±


    He used to be a good guy. But after turning to Aletheia, he changed. Rearing monsters with his own hands, attacking people. There was no longer room for sympathy for him.


    Minshik reached out with a hand to caress my cheek. As if about to say hisst words.


    ¡°If I am reborn... I refuse to live the life of regrets again. All the sins I havemitted... I will atone for them all.¡±


    I didn¡¯t respond.


    Then Minshik continued speaking.


    ¡°Hansung...you were my idol and hero. I was always envious of you. So envious, I¡¯d wished I could hate you to death.¡±


    I understand. I could understand him. Aside from my mind that was rotting away in hopelessness, it was understandable that he could be jealous of his friend who lived a contrasting life from his own.


    ¡°Even though it was all foolishness. Really...sorry...¡±


    Thud!


    His hand fell. His breathing stopped. His heart stopped.


    My friend...died.


    ?Hansung. Kronos will turn back time. I¡¯m going to return. Return and be a hero like you.


    ?You think I¡¯d wanted to join that lot? You think I didn¡¯t want to shine like you!? But Hansung. For an unremarkable guy like me to survive in this crazy world, there was no other choice.


    Thest time I¡¯d seen Minshik 5 years ago, he was a viin. He was, what wasmonly called, a mid level boss. An existence forever exposed to uncertain peril.


    At that time he¡¯d said something along the lines of, ¡®if I serve Kronos and devote everything to him, then I can return to the past and earn unending glory¡¯.


    I told him off then, to stop daydreaming ande back to reality, but at least his aspiration to be a hero had seemed unchanged.


    ¡°.....Yes. I hope you do.¡±


    I carefully ced down Minshik¡¯s body.


    ¡°Captain.¡±


    I turned my head around to see a man standing there, wearing a uniform stained with blood. Bits of flesh and fur and the like, decorated the de of his sword.


    ¡°We must quickly get rid of the surrounding monsters and return. The president has summoned us.¡±


    ¡°President who?¡±


    I furrowed my brows.


    ¡°It¡¯s the president of the World Government, John Bross-nim. He has requested for you to stop the level 9 cmity urring in LA. The situation has invoked code name ¡®Andanius¡¯.¡±


    How long has it been since we¡¯ve attacked Aletheia¡¯s sanctuary? Yet, anothermand was given. The world was like a bottomless pit, never giving a moment of rest.


    A humorlessugh escaped my lips.


    ¡°Level 9? 3 hours and LA would be vaporized.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no time to make jokes. The only person who is able to stop a disaster of level 9 severity is the one and only hero, ¡®Hansung Oh¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Tell them to wait.¡±


    ¡°Even as we speak, a great many lives are-¡±


    ¡°There are plenty of others besides me! Cry of the mountain Bullem, Sword God Arken, Saintess Syria! Send the request to them.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ve all died, have they not.¡±


    Ahh. That¡¯s right.


    The only one left who could be called hero was just me now. They had all died in the wake of the Demon Lord¡¯s advent. Out of 500 heroes, only I remained.


    I suppressed the profanities that threatened to burst out of me, and for an instant my mind went cold.


    ¡°...We walked different paths, but he was the only person left to remember me. My parents, passed away. Korea, destroyed. He had been thest one.¡±


    Perhaps this was how it felt to bepletely alone in the world.


    A world gone insane. I, too, wanted to go insane.


    I looked at Minshik¡¯s body, now a corpse.


    ¡®Foolish guy.¡¯


    I had known him from a young age. He was, by nature, benevolent to the core.


    I took away the ring Minshik was holding. Even as he died, he had continued clutching onto it.


    Now that I think of it, he cared for the ring as if it was a part of himself.


    ¡®Hero. What¡¯s so great about it.¡¯


    If I could return to the past, I wouldn¡¯t be the likes of a hero. Did he know that forcing augh is harder than killing monsters?


    ¡°Let us go.¡±


    I stood up.


    I had a duty to fulfill as thest remaining hero.


    ..


    Huuu!


    I exhaled hard-


    Retch!


    -and coughed up blood at the same time.


    My half-ruined heart beated violently.


    I seeded in eliminating Andanius, a gigantic snake reaching the heavens, but it came with a price.


    Death.


    I was always prepared for it, but still the word felt so unreal.


    ¡®One hill after the next.¡¯


    Of all days, I never thought I would end up dying on the day I witnessed Minshik¡¯s death.


    The lower half of my body was gone. With half my heart ruined and only my upper body remaining, even I won¡¯t be living through this.


    I let out a dryugh.


    The people would most likely fly into a panic upon confirming my death. Perhaps...all the despair that they had been keping at bay woulde over them all at once withpound interest.


    Even so, I felt carefree. I let go of everything.


    In that moment I felt a heavy burden lift from my shoulders.


    For a while Iid my body down, on thatnd of death where no buildings stood intact, and countless lives were lost.


    Finally closing my eyes.


    Shuaang!


    The ring kept in my bosom shone with light.


    ..


    My head pounding, I opened my eyes to intense sunlight-


    ¡°What on earth....¡±


    -and couldn¡¯t help but panic.


    I found my surroundings familiar. A messy desk. All sorts of rubbish strewn across the floor. Stale air that needed venttion. Aputer, and a pile of cup noodle containers.


    If memory serves me right, this was my room.


    My very own ce, which I had lost a good ten or so years ago!


    ¡®Is this a dream?¡¯


    I pinched my cheek. Pain. There was sensation.


    But I utterly could not feel any of the potent powers that used to lie dormant in my body, as if they¡¯d vanished into thin air.


    This was a first for me. I was distinctly aware of myself dying. Was this a sort of illusion shown after death?


    ¡®No.¡¯


    I shook my head.


    Death is the end. The conclusion of everything.


    Of one thing I was certain though. After the level 10 cmity, the Demon Lord¡¯s advent, and the loss of so many heroes, I had experienced the aftermath of death.


    Nothingness. Endless futility!


    Therefore, what I was experiencing in this moment was no fantasy.


    Not to mention...


    ¡®The ring.¡¯


    The ring I¡¯d taken from Minshik was on my left hand. Engraved on the ring was a hexagram, which wasn¡¯t there originally, and it felt as if a strange energy was infused within it.


    ¡®I can¡¯t take it off.¡¯


    The ring wouldn¡¯t budge even when I applied strength. It remained bound to my index finger, like a curse.


    ¡°I...returned?¡±


    A short silence ensued.


    It was far from a normal situation, but I soon regainedposure.


    ¡®March 2nd, 2015¡¯


    I checked the date from the cellphone lying on top of the desk.


    March 2nd, 2015.


    Ah!


    I cried out.


    I returned, but it wasn¡¯t as if the horrible memories of the past had disappeared.


    ¡®Mother, Father.¡¯


    I remember this day. The events that happened 10 days ago from this day to be exact.


    It was a car ident. They were hit by a drunk driver as they were making their way back home together after work. An incident big enough to make it on the news. It was a multiple-vehicle collision which left my parents¡¯ car in nearly unrecognizable shape.


    It was...my birthday.


    Inside of the car a pair of sneakers had been discovered; the ones I¡¯ve been begging them to get for me.


    ¡®You turned back time, but didn¡¯t give me what I truly wanted.¡¯


    I looked up towards the ceiling, even though there was no hope of receiving a response.


    God was cruel. He giveth, and he taketh.


    Creaak!


    In that moment, someone barrelled through the gap of the half-open door to my room.


    ¡°Hansung!¡±


    I was slightly surprised. The person who¡¯de finding me was Minshik.


    But in my memories, there was no incident of Minshik visiting me for several months after my parents passed away.


    ¡®Because I cursed and chased him away.¡¯


    When Minshik came to me on the day of the ident, I told him to get lost, swinging my fist at him. I hadshed out at him, telling him to never contact me again.


    I was too young then.


    Later on I transferred school, and the next time I met Minshik was after the world had descended into chaos.


    But now...Minshik suddenly burst into tears when he saw me. Then he clutched both of my shoulders, sobbing as he spoke.


    ¡°Hansung, I¡¯m sorry. If only my wish were a bit more sincere, I might have been able toe back in time to stop the ident from happening.¡¯


    He was really crying uncontrobly. I hesitated for a moment, my hand half raised in the air, before patting him on the back.


    Then, at the end of his tears, Minshik barely raised his head to speak.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. From now on I¡¯ll take care of everything. You...you just watch. I¡¯ll help you. Okay?¡±


    ¡°What are you...¡±


    ¡°And never go to Yang-ahjussi. Those sons of bitches. Him and his lot are just eyeing the insurance money. Okay? You mustn¡¯t ever go to them!¡±


    Minshik hurried out of the room as if being chased by something.


    I couldn¡¯t help creasing my brows because of the words he left behind. Because those words could never have been spoken in this situation.


    It was like he knew of the future.


    For a moment, the ce where Minshik had died shed through my mind.


    Kronos. God of Time.


    The great ritual that was being carried out in Aletheia¡¯s sanctuary!


    ¡®Does this mean that it was a ritual rted to time?¡¯


    But the ritual was definitely stopped. The priests were all killed, even the chief priest beheaded.


    My mind went cold. I stared at the ring worn on my left hand. It was originally Minshik¡¯s.


    The ring had shined with light before I died. My return to the past must have something to do with this ring. What¡¯s more, there had to be a corrtion to the owner of this ring, Minshik.


    ¡®Minshik also returned.¡¯


    Or to be specific,


    ¡®I must have been pulled along when Minshik returned to the past.¡¯


    ¡ª¡ª¨C


    Posting the announcement post here in case people came straight to the chapter.


    Regarding Colossus Hunter


    Back when we announced it we had recruited a new trantor who was given this novel to trante. Over time we had collected a number of chapters as he kept tranting and our n was to have these chapters checked by another trantor and edited after that. BUT, as readers of our work have seen, we kept on having some issue whether medical or professional and couldn¡¯t work on our own novels much less check this. We even talked about this with you readers and many of you suggested to release it as is but we hesitated with this idea.


    So we have been mulling recently what to do about it since this work has been with us kept for a while and we just dont have the time even now to check the trantion or edit it. And after discussion we thought we will just release it as is. The novel might have a few errors and will have some grammatical issues. It is not upto par with our current releases. But from what I¡¯ve read it is still pretty solid. So here¡¯s the novel:)

 Chapter 1 - Followed my friend into the past (1)

    <h4>Chapter 1 ¨C Followed my friend into the past (1)</h4>


    I breathed in deeply.


    It wasn¡¯t long before I recognized the situation for what it was and epted it. The sun was still shining outside, and my heart was beating with fervor like never before.


    I sat down on the char in the messy room, and then picked up the remote to turn on the TV.


    -Allow me introduce: The group that set the world aze with their debut! The girls as sweet as cotton candy, Sweet Honey!


    At the same time 11 young girls appeared on stage and danced adorably. Countless people in the audience went wild with excitement, and I also couldn¡¯t take away my eyes from them. But the reason for my excitement slightly differed from that of the audience.


    I remembered that young girls¡¯ group, as well as the other idols and singers that appeared after them.


    ¡®It is March of 2015.¡¯


    I verified once more.


    I was currently drifting through time. I had to think and act with caution in order to control the flow of the future.


    I made a note of this in my mind.


    ¡®Since leaving a real record would be dangerous...¡¯


    Nothing was clear yet. And there might be other dangers if Minshik also has returned with me. Therefore, I had to keep it in my mind.


    First off...2nd of March 2015. 10 days had passed since my parents passed away. I was 19 years old, in my senior year of high school. A ser-loving high schooler that didn¡¯t stand out in particr. From then on I had been living as a shut-in.


    ¡®And after that I added my name onto Yang-ahjussi¡¯s family register, living with them for 2 years.¡¯


    It was as Minshik had said; for 2 years I was bound to the man called Yang-ahjussi who had his eye on the insurance money. How very much like a modern Korean Cindere. But thatsted only 2 years.


    2 yearster, the world would change. The existence of gates, tunnels which connected to the abyss and the monsters within them, would surface.


    I had fortunately awakened as a Magic Swordsman. Having been singled out by a government agency, I began walking the path of a hero.


    ¡®But even now, the gates are already open.¡¯


    I hadn¡¯t known at that time. But I was someone called thest hero. Of course I knew of countless secrets in the world.


    The gates were already open, in 2015, around this time of the year. They only went undiscovered because either someone covered them up on purpose or because they were few in number.


    ¡®So to say...I¡¯ve gained 2 years of time.¡¯


    Monsters and awakened humans. It would be 2 yearster when ¡®superhuman¡¯ existences would ben on the rise. But they existed even at this very moment, albeit extremely few in number.


    Of course, they might not even be self-aware of it. The reason being, even if they fulfilled specific conditions to be superhuman, they would need to hunt monsters in order to develop their abilities. A recently awakened state would grant no more than a small increase in strength.


    In contrast, although I had awakened 2 yearste, I was able to grow stronger faster than anyone else. The ¡®Magic Swordsman¡¯ ss I earned had yed arge part in my growth.


    But a 2 year advantage? It¡¯s as if I¡¯ve been given a foothold to leap ever higher.


    ¡®Magic Swordsman was the only ss that could simultaneously raise the level of both magic and swordsmanship. However, a Magic Swordsman isn¡¯t capable of reaching the pinnacle in either path.¡¯


    For a moment I mused over the power I had in the past.


    A Magic Swordsman was guaranteed incredible speed of growth thanks to wielding two kinds of powers. But the ss¡¯ limitation became apparent as time passed. I was called thest hero, but I couldn¡¯t reach the true end.


    I rubbed my chin.


    Now that I¡¯ve returned, I had to choose a path to walk.


    ¡®The gates are already open and if I want, it¡¯s not like I can¡¯t gain other hidden sses.¡¯


    The higher the concentration of human poption in an area, the greater the number of gates that opened which lead into the abyss.


    It went without saying there were already gates that were open in Korea in 2015. And I knew their locations.


    However, I wasn¡¯t inclined to immediately go and find them.


    ¡®Minshik. That fellow returned as well...¡¯


    Minshik was kind. He just couldn¡¯t ignore people in need of help. When he saw crying children, he would console them with candy; it was in his nature. What¡¯s more, he was innocent to the point that he wouldn¡¯t watch a single adult video.


    Then the world went to hell, and he had re-appeared as an executive of the newly rising religious cult Aletheia.


    The up-anding religious cult, Aletheia.


    The axis of evil, rearing monsters and killing humans.


    There was no excuse for him. Bing an executive of that kind of group signified that he already had the blood of a thousand on his hands. It meant that he was no longer innocent.


    Nevertheless, he hade running helter-skelter to find and embrace me.


    Did he want to restore our past friendship?


    ¡®A new life, a new friendship, huh.¡¯


    Even before attacking their sanctuary, I attempted to take out Aletheia numerous times. And on my third attempt, I met Minshik, who spoke of envying my brilliance,menting his own circumstances.


    He spoke of turning back time and bing a hero. Like me, but even greater!


    Seeing him crying like a child, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to kill him. I couldn¡¯t stab his heart as he backed away from me, wetting his pants.


    ¡®I have to think rationally.¡¯


    I was not overconfident nor did I underestimate my current self.


    If Minshik realized that I came back to the past with him, in the worst case scenario, he may go as far as to turn against me. Because all of the information I held were ssified secrets. The only one who could use that information in its entirety, was me alone.


    Although he said that he was going to be a hero, he had already stepped into evil once.


    ¡®What if Minshik wasn¡¯t the only one to return?¡¯


    This bothered me the most. What if the followers of Kronos truly borrowed his strength toe back to the past?


    As someone who repeatedly tried getting rid of them, I was a nemesis to Aletheia. Having set foot in their very sanctuary, I must be number 1 on their hit list.


    Thus, I needed to see how the situation yed out.


    Minshik and the followers of Aletheia may even be connected. I had to do away with the presumption that only Minshik and I returned to the past. There is a real possibility that someone is keeping track of my whereabouts.


    I had to consider every possible situation, up to the worst of circumstances, before acting.


    ¡®I¡¯ll have to pretend for a while.¡¯


    To be the young boy in his teens, grieving the loss of his parents.


    ..


    ..


    I spent 5 more days in that enclosed space with no venttion, filling my stomach with cup ramen only. I hadn¡¯t a clue if someone would appear or not, much less when or in what manner, so I refrained from even washing my face. So I was a mess.


    Of course, I had installed a few simple traps, in preparation for the worst.


    ¡®No one¡¯s watching me for the time being.¡¯


    It was the result of carefully, ever so carefully, observing my surroundings over the few days.


    I had firmly pressed down my head with a cap before feigning trips to the convenience store, all the while checking my vicinity, but nothing stood out.


    My range of activity would widen if there were no observers.


    Afterwards, through TV and the inte, I strove to find anything that hinted at the world changing.


    ¡®And there aren¡¯t any noticeable changes.¡¯


    Over the 5 days, I received a few calls on the phone, but I ignored them all. Instead I paid closer attention to the news on TV and searching the inte.


    For now as far as my memory goes, there was no real difference.


    ¡®What if arge number of Aletheia¡¯s followers had returned as well?¡¯


    I couldn¡¯t ascertain it, merely counting it as one possibility.


    They were an aggressive group. If many of them did return, there should have been at least one unusual event.


    Slurp!


    I drank up the soup of the finished cup of ramen. I had been eating cup ramen for 5 day straight. I tired of the taste, but it didn¡¯t matter.


    During the time I was on active duty, most production of industrial goods had halted, and so cup ramen became something of a rarity. I could have still eaten some had I wanted of course, but as thest hero, I had to keep up appearances.


    My most agonizing experience back then, was when the monster hunting ended and I had to stand behind a rostrum to smile against my will.


    That¡¯s why, I would be fine with eating cup ramen for even a month.


    Tuk. Tuk.


    It was then.


    The thread I had connected to the outside of my window moved as if being swayed by the wind.


    I immediately turned around to look at the small hand mirror beside theputer. The mirror reflected the corridor outside the door. I had set it up so that I could confirm anyone approaching.


    ¡®It¡¯s Yang-ahjussi...and his daughter.¡¯


    Yang-ahjussi¡¯s full name was Manwoo Yang, while his daughter was named Eunha Yang. He used to work together with my father. I remember him frequently visiting our home and going out for drinks with my father.


    Manwoo Yang hovered by the door for a moment before calling out.


    ¡°Hansung! Will you open the door. Eh? How long are you going to stay cooped up for?¡±


    Bang bang bang!


    Manwoo Yang was relentless.


    ¡°I was worried for you, so I even received a key from the janitor. If you won¡¯t open up then I¡¯ll enter myself.¡±


    Creeak!


    I reluctantly opened the door.


    Upon seeing my haggard face, Manwoo Yang heavily sighed, then embraced me with wide open arms.


    ¡°You, this kid. How can you be so foolish? Eh? You should have at least eaten well. It¡¯s not like the dead cane back to life. Life has to go on.¡±


    Thump! Thump!


    Pressuring me from all directions, he patted my back with force.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go inside first. Let¡¯s go in and talk. I have a lot to say.¡±


    Without even considering my feelings, he walked through the door. Manwoo Yang was that kind of person. He never spared a thought for others. Manwoo Yang¡¯s daughter, Eunha Yang, also carefully followed him inside.


    The girl looked like she was in her 2nd year of high school, and even from an objective standpoint, she looked extremely pretty. She had a refreshing height, and natural long ck hair that well-suited her exemr profile. A beautiful girl that could draw the attention of most men by simply walking past, wearing nothing more than a t-shirt and hot pants.


    Compared to the idols like Sweet Honey that I saw on TV, she didn¡¯t lose out one bit.


    ¡®I remember now.¡¯


    I had often met Manwoo Yang before, but it was years since I saw Eunha Yang. This was most likely the first time seeing her since middle school. At the time, my past self felt as if I glimpsed a flower blooming in the midst of despair. Although I¡¯m sure that that was the intended purpose of bringing along Eunha Yang....


    ¡°Ugh, it smells.¡±


    The moment Eunha Yang entered the room, she pinched her nose, frowning. Then she looked at me with an expression of dislike on her face.


    She was a haughty girl. She probably did note here voluntarily. Most likely dragged along by Manwoo Yang. His intention was obvious.


    ¡°Eunha, you should be understanding. Hansung is going through a difficult time. Especially at times like this, don¡¯t you think that we should take good care of him?¡±


    ¡°Dad. This really isn¡¯t a ce fit for people to live in.¡±


    ¡°Woah now. Ah, Hansung. You¡¯ve met her when you were in middle school right? She¡¯s my daughter. She¡¯scking a little in manners but she¡¯s a good kid at heart. She was so stubborn abouting over to clean for you that I had no choice but to bring her along.¡±


    I sat down and leaned against the sofa for a while.


    My past self did nothing but nkly stare at Eunha Yang. Manwoo Yang took advantage of that and coaxed me into moving as he willed.


    All with the intention of taking away my life insurance benefit and my inheritance.

 Chapter 2 - Followed my friend into the past (2)

    <h4>Chapter 2 ¨C Followed my friend into the past (2)</h4>


    ¡®What should I do.¡¯


    I briefly considered it.


    I had matured far too much to be unable to see through Manwoo Yang¡¯s dark intentions. At the time when I was young, I was scared by his oppressive manner of speech and actions, so I reluctantly obeyed him then, but now? In my eyes, Manwoo Yang was far too small and pathetic.


    It would be a blow to my pride if I were to be dragged around by someone inferior. Before my return to the past, I wouldn¡¯t have tolerated such impertinence.


    The problem looming over my head now was that my actions would influence the future: the unknown changes that would ur upon choosing differently.


    ¡®For now.¡¯


    I gazed at Eunha Yang in a slightly nk manner. Showing a look of understanding towards my gaze, she began to move about with confidence. She first put on a pair of rubber gloves to wash the dishes. Of course, she was terrible at it, doing no more than coating the dishes with water, looking like she had almost zero experience doing housework.


    Meanwhile, Manwoo Yang smiled, full of self-satisfaction, on looking at the expression on my face.


    ¡°Hansung. You can¡¯t live alone forever in thisrge house, no? Leave the rest for me to handle, and let¡¯s first go to our home. I would be too ashamed to see your father in heaven if something happened to you.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°The world is harsh. You someone to lean on. Ahjussi will be a reliable pir of support for you. If you wish so, I would be happy for you to call me your dad.¡±


    Manwoo Yang knew my family circumstances well. My father was an orphan, and mother had married him despite the intense opposition from her own family. Thanks to that, all contact with my mother¡¯s side of the family was cut, and there were no rtives that came to take me under their wings at the funeral.


    He was surely thinking now that I was all alone in the world, I would grab onto his proffered hand.


    I didn¡¯t bother wasting my words on this man. Truthfully, most of what he spoke didn¡¯t enter my ears. I was merely weighing my options. epting his offer would mean losing freedom. Refusing would catch the attention of Minshik.


    Misreading the look on my face as ¡®acquiescent¡¯, Manwoo Yang continued speaking.


    ¡°I¡¯ll transfer you to the same school as Eunha if you want. She¡¯ll take good care of you. Eunha is a year below you Hansung, but she can introduce you to many friends, so you won¡¯t have any trouble fitting in.¡±


    Eunha Yang certainly did take ¡®good¡¯ care of me. The problem was that she treated me like a peon. Thanks to that I had no time to study properly and in the end, failed to enter a university. Not that I was good at studying in the first ce.


    I had already been expecting this since five days ago. I knew that Manwoo Yang and Eunha Yang woulde find me, which was why I had alreadye to a conclusion somewhat, but still I deliberated with utmost prudence.


    ¡®I¡¯ll choose freedom.¡¯


    At any rate, this was an opportunity. Minshiking to me straight after returning to the past shouldn¡¯t have been a dream. The given assignment, was merely a matter of how I should wrap it up.


    Manwoo Yang was making an expression full of confidence. He must be thinking of me as a fish already caught on the hook.


    I made up my mind and shook my head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need it.¡±


    ¡°...What are you saying? You don¡¯t need what?¡±


    Manwoo Yang¡¯s face instantly hardened, a hint of anger showing through. But that made no difference to my decision.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be concerned about me. I want to look after myself.¡±


    Manwoo Yang groaned.


    ¡°Just look at the state you¡¯re in. Looking after yourself like that? A passing beggar would mock you.¡±


    He swooped down on me with an oppressive look and the words to match it. I didn¡¯t avoid his eyes. Since I decided to refuse, I had to do it properly so he wouldn¡¯t be able to cling to me again.


    ¡°I¡¯ve reflected a lot after hearing ahjussi¡¯s words. I¡¯ve realized that I was in such a serious condition that I would be in danger without being cared. You¡¯re right, life has to go on.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be too hard on your own. We need to stick together especially in these moments. There are so many unsolved matters to attend to, can you figure it all out on your own?¡±


    Manwoo Yang was desperate. There was a huge debt looming over his head. Gambling. That one word exined it all by itself. That is why he coveted the money I possessed.


    ¡°I want to try on my own. I¡¯ve been doing a lot of thinking over the fortnight. Listening to ahjussi speak has convinced me. Wouldn¡¯t Father and Mother worry if they saw me like this?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s...¡±


    Manwoo Yang¡¯s eyes shook with disbelief at how I was staring him in the eye with an upright look on my face. I was clearly a different person from that time during the funeral.


    ¡°Thank you for worrying for me. You can go now. I¡¯ll clean up myself. It doesn¡¯t look like she can do it properly anyway.¡±


    Eunha Yang paused washing the dishes to re at me with a look appearing to say, ¡®How dare you?¡¯.


    ¡®Too young.¡¯ I shrugged my shoulders.


    The girl was bold and pretty, but that was all. I was powerful enough to be called thest hero of humanity. I¡¯ve met and embraced plenty of women whose beauty exceeded hers. Among them were models and top stars from all over the world. The standard of the girl before me just wasn¡¯t enough to move my heart. Even supposing she could move me, I had experienced too much to be attracted by simple appearances alone.


    Gulp!


    Manwoo Yang swallowed gulped nervously.


    ¡°Will you really be alright? I¡¯m just worried for you. Drink a ss of water first and-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to stop discussing this.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re just feeling uneasy right now. Eun Ha! You say something as well.¡±


    Eunha Yang snorted as she stopped dishwashing. Putting away the rubber gloves, she coolly walked over and sat right before my eyes. She had a look on that said, ¡®what can you say now that I¡¯m right before you?¡¯. Her subtle flirting would have turned the heads of many men.


    ¡°Come with us. By the look of things, you probably don¡¯t have many friends. I¡¯ll be your friend.¡±


    Eunha Yang smiled disinterestedly, as if to say I should be honored that a beauty like her would be my friend and held out her hand.


    I spoke while ignoring the proffered hand.


    ¡°Having many friends isn¡¯t necessarily a good thing.¡±


    Especially in the world toe, you had to choose friends wisely. I also knew that by ¡®friend¡¯, Eunha Yang meant ¡®ve¡¯, or ¡®peon¡¯.


    Eunha Yang raised her brows at my nonchnt words.


    ¡°Still, isn¡¯t it better than being alone?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d rather be alone.¡±


    I looked away, clearly showing my disregard for her. Eunha Yang looked infuriated, but I paid no mind to that. Eunha Yang¡¯s actions were of no consequence to me.


    ¡°Ahjussi. Have youe to make fun of me?¡±


    ¡°How could I! It was purely because I wanted to help you-¡±


    ¡°I think leaving would be the way to help me. I want to be alone right now.¡±


    I was openly chasing them out. Manwoo Yang¡¯s face became red with fury.


    I put the final nail in the coffin.


    ¡°Please take care on your way. The door is that way.¡±


    Manwoo Yang stood up with difficulty from his seat. It seemed like he¡¯d never expected me to so obstinately turn him down.


    ¡°Eun Ha. Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Hearing him, Eunha Yang whipped her head around to re at me before turning away.


    m!


    The door closed, and now that I was alone, I immediately headed to the bathroom.


    ¡®I should wash first.¡¯


    I¡¯ve sent away Manwoo Yang and Eunha Yang, so that was one crisis resolved. Manwoo Yang was especially stubborn, so for the time being he shouldn¡¯te making trouble for me. With this, I¡¯ve secured myself some freedom. No one was spying on me either.


    I looked into the mirror. I was in horrid shape due to not washing for half a month, but at the very least, my eyes appeared lively. I could finallye to terms with returning to the past.


    The future, could be changed.


    ..


    ..


    The next day,te at night. As if he¡¯d made a promise to, Minshik came to my house. I was vaguely expecting him so I wasn¡¯t surprised. Besides that, his appearance was shocking. His clothes were torn, his hair disheveled, his body covered all over in dirt.


    But Minshik was looking at me with even greater surprise in his eyes.


    ¡°You....¡±


    ¡°Did you meet a disaster or what?¡±


    ¡°Just what happened?¡±


    Minshik¡¯s pupils were trembling at the sight of my clean appearance and clean room.


    ¡°What do you mean? I should be asking what happened to you.¡±


    I asked naturally. Even I could tell my acting was perfect. Truthfully, I could roughly guess at what Minshik had been doing these past few days.


    ¡®He went to awaken.¡¯


    He must have searched for a gate to the abyss. Because one of the conditions required to awaken was making contact with a ¡®gate¡¯. Seeing as he came back, he must have seeded.


    I furtively turned my gaze to Minshik¡¯s left shoulder. 3 dots that hadn¡¯t been there before. And in his chest pocket there was a single worn parchment. It was clear what these things entailed.


    ¡®Magic swordsman. He became a magic swordsman.¡¯

 Chapter 3 - Followed my friend into the past (Fin)

    <h4>Chapter 3 ¨C Followed my friend into the past (Fin)</h4>


    It was surprising. The magic swordsman ss I had earned in the past was something I¡¯d found 2 yearster, and only a mere handful of people knew of its location.


    ¡®He did say he wanted to be a greater hero than me.¡¯


    However, magic swordsman, without a doubt, was a ss that was limited in its potential. As a former magic swordsman, I was aware of that more than anybody. I couldn¡¯t erase the feeling that he had chosen me as his role model.


    ¡®You have my sympathy.¡¯


    The path I had walked was the Asura path. Deceiving everyone, even myself. Would Minshik be able to walk that path? Of course, I more than weed it. If he rose to the center of attention, I would have more freedom moving in the shadows.


    Finishing my thoughts, I feigned calmness and rested my gaze on Minshik, and seeing this, Minshik took a step back as he spoke.


    ¡°No way, you too....?¡±


    ¡°What are you saying? If you¡¯reing in thene, if not then don¡¯t. What time do you think it is?¡±


    Yawwn!


    I yawned with gusto, and then turned around to show my back in apletely defenseless manner. But I was actually observing Minshik¡¯s behavior through the mirror I¡¯d ced across me.


    I was prepared to strike back if, by any chance, Minshik showed any funny movements.


    ¡®It¡¯s better to be safe than sorry.¡¯


    I wanted to trust him so I had to test him. He was a man who had once stepped into evil. That¡¯s why I had to make sure whether he wanted to repent for his sins or not.


    ¡®It hasn¡¯t been long since he awakened.¡¯


    Even if he has awakened, it must have been a mere day or two since. That meant he was only a little stronger than the normal person. When ites to closebat, I was more experienced and still had the upper hand.


    Minshik scratched his head as he looked at my vulnerable back. Then, he walked inside the house with uncertain steps. He seemed to be in a state of slight wariness, suspicious but without conviction.


    I pretended to run toward the fridge, casually flipping over the mirror on the way before taking out some juice to pour in a ss.


    ¡°So what¡¯s the matter? What¡¯s with your appearance?¡±


    ¡°I just had something to do in the mountains.¡±


    I smiled slightly.


    ¡°You went to the mountains? How unusual for a guy like you who hates exercise.¡±


    I passed over the ss of juice but Minshik didn¡¯t drink. He seemed much more strained than I was.


    ¡°Hansung. And just what happened to you? Why did you suddenly...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Yang-ahjussi came looking for me.¡±


    ¡°.....! You didn¡¯t say you¡¯d go right?¡±


    Minshik was greatly surprised, jumping up from his seat. An expression of simple-minded worry. It wasn¡¯t something a fanatic of Aletheia could show.


    ¡®That¡¯s a relief.¡¯


    It was an instantaneous reaction without pretense. I hoped that this served as a small proof that Minshik¡¯s nature hadn¡¯t changed.


    I calmly replied to him.


    ¡°Why would I go there? You told me so. That they were aiming for my parents¡¯ insurance money.¡±


    ¡°Just from that brief exchange...?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I looked closely. And what you said seemed to be right. Can you believe that I could almost see the hunger in Yang-ahjussi¡¯s eyes? He looked so unfamiliar then.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    Minshik had his lips pressed shut. Was he thinking that his few spoken words had changed the future?


    I continued speaking.


    ¡°If I don¡¯t straighten up, won¡¯t there be more peopleing at me? I don¡¯t want to give away my parents¡¯ belongings to strangers. That¡¯s why, thank you. And I¡¯m sorry about hitting you before. You know I wasn¡¯t in my right mind then, right?¡±


    It was an apology for the violence I hurled towards Minshik when he visited me at my parents funeral. I held out my hand to reconcile with him.


    Minshik appeared slightly absent-minded. He must be feeling turmoil inside from his first time experiencing the butterfly effect.


    Seeing his absent-minded face, I surreptitiously raised my hand and scratched my head.


    ¡°Ah, I feel goosebumps. Anyhow, quickly go wash up. You look less like havinge from the mountains and more like you¡¯ve been kicked out of your house. If you¡¯ve got no ce to sleep, then stay over before you go. There¡¯s no need to hide things between us.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that....¡±


    Minshik seemed to be worried about how to take in my change. There was a possibility of him noticing something off if I let him think too deeply.


    ¡°Is that so? But what¡¯s with that paper? It looks really old.¡±


    p!


    When I reached my hand out toward that old parchment, the symbol of a magic swordsman, Minshik hastily swatted my hand away.


    I creased my brows as I opened my mouth.


    ¡°Ah! What¡¯re you doing?¡±


    Minshik instinctively covered up his chest pocket.


    ¡°No, n-not this.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s going to steal it? Overreaction much.¡±


    ¡°Never. Touch it.¡±


    Minshik¡¯s expression turned fierce.


    I raised both my hands up in a gesture ofplete disinterest.


    ¡°Alright, alright. You are one funny guy.¡±


    After that, Minshik nced at my expression for a moment before coughing dryly and sat down. He drank the ss of juice I¡¯d poured him with big gulps and then took something out from his back pocket.


    Drinking the juice meant that his vignce had gone down a notch. I was smiling when a momentter, Minshik took out a talisman.


    ¡°And this...you take it.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this? A talisman?¡±


    I idly remarked on the item.


    Rune characters were inscribed on the slip of paper Minshik passed to me. It was a talisman containing ¡®shield¡¯ magic. A magic array was drawn on it, which automatically activated when the user¡¯s body fell into peril.


    There was nothing better than a treasure like this for a novice.


    ¡®To think it¡¯d be automatic magic. He gave me something precious.¡¯


    Just the shield by itself was rare, but he gave me an automatic one! Novices wouldn¡¯t be able to easily get their hands on one even if they wanted to. It was the same as gaining an extra life.


    Minshik showed a dead serious expression.


    ¡°Keep it and don¡¯t lose it. This will save you at least once.¡±


    ¡°Did you perhaps meet a skilled exorcist on the mountain?¡±


    ¡°Nothing like that. Anyhow, just never lose it.¡±


    Minshik stood up like he¡¯d finished what he came to do.


    ¡°Going? You should wash up first.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Rather than that...Hansung. I¡¯m going to change. I won¡¯t live like I did before. I¡¯ll do a right for everything that¡¯s wrong.¡±


    It was like he was making a vow: I could see the sincerity in his eyes.


    I suddenly recalled the words he¡¯d spoken right before returning to the past.


    -Hansung, I¡¯m sorry. If only I were a little more desperate in my wish, I could have properly returned to prevent the ident.


    Prevent, he¡¯d said. Perhaps Minshik had wanted to return before the ident befell my parents, to stop my life from falling apart.


    However, he had failed. That¡¯s why he was now seeking my approval, uncertain about whether he could change or not.


    ¡®I should consider the magic swordsman ss as a present to him.¡¯


    He disyed his sincerity in his own way, and thanks to him I could also return to the past. I could consider that trifling magic swordsman ss as a gift and be done with it. I could care less as long as he didn¡¯t go back to Aletheia.


    ¡°Alright. Do your best.¡±


    So I¡¯ll trust him this once.


    But make no mistake. My trust doesn¡¯te cheap.


    If he starts to walk the wrong path...


    If he were to betray my trust.


    I will truly kill him. Twist his neck in one breath, rip him apart limb by limb, and throw him to the dogs to eat.


    Minshik, who was about to leave through the door, stopped in his tracks.


    ¡°....Thanks.¡±


    He stayed like that for around 3 seconds, before opening the door and heading out. His shoulders were shaking with emotion, like he had been waiting for those words. Minshik was crying. He was obviously trying hard to hold it in.


    After seeing him off, I nodded to myself.


    ¡®I can¡¯t fall behind any further.¡¯


    Minshik had made his move. At least from how I saw it, Minshik truly meant it. He seriously wanted to be a hero.


    Since I¡¯ve confirmed it, that was that. It was time for me to start moving. As luck would have it, I had something to do. I had been mulling over it for a while, and it was only now that I hade to a decision.


    I reviewed, with utmost prudence, all of the possibilities held by each of the countless sses, numbering in the tens of thousands, and finally came to a conclusion.


    ¡®The keys hidden in this world. A power that can select those keys.¡¯


    A ¡®gate¡¯ was just like pandora¡¯s box. It not only released all kinds of despair, but hope too. Among there was one that pulled at my interest.


    ¡®Ancient One.¡¯


    An ancient power that has lost its owner!


    The one who possessed that power in the past had chosen wrong and ended up destroying himself. The power went out of control, and a megacity was obliterated as a result of the aftermath. Only after the event had the truthe to light.


    The Ancient One was a huge mass of power, which allowed the user to ¡®create¡¯ a ss. However, that power would only be safely granted to the user under the condition that the ss befitted the Ancient One¡¯s ¡®calibre¡¯.


    The previous user had aspired to be an ¡®emperor¡¯ using the Ancient One¡¯s power. An Emperor. This meant that a mere emperor wouldn¡¯t be able to handle the Ancient One¡¯s power in one piece.


    I had defined the Ancient One¡¯s power as such,


    ¡®A weapon that won¡¯t turn you into a God, but can allow you to kill one.¡¯


    The problemid in the image. The Ancient One¡¯s power would only work by clearly visualizing a power with a concrete base to it. The Ancient One¡¯s power couldn¡¯t be used with a vague image.


    God? There was no way of vividly envisioning something I¡¯ve never seen before, and had no idea of what it¡¯s made up of. As of this moment, the strongest monster I knew of was the Demon Lord. In the past I sundered his flesh and pierced his heart with my sword, so I could doubtlessly create a ss rted to him. Demon Lord yer, for example. Or perhaps something beyond that. It would be better than an emperor, at the least.


    I nodded to myself. The path was decided, and now it was time to move forward.


    ¡®I¡¯ll create my own job.¡¯

 Chapter 4 - Transfer (1)

    <h4>Chapter 4 ¨C Transfer (1)</h4>


    It was a massacre.


    The sudden emergence of monsters, and the sudden emergence of the Demon Lord. Humanity adapted and grew stronger, but it wasn¡¯t enough to stop them all. It was especially the case...for the Demon Lord, the king of monsters.


    He was in an entirely different league. The 500-man assault of humanity¡¯s strongest heroes had only just barely defeated him. A sword, zing with ck mes, was plunged into his massive heart by me thest survivor, magic swordsman Hansung Oh.


    Drenched in his blood, from head to toe, I thought to myself: it was over. This ursed drawn out war was finally over.


    ¡°I am but the beginning.¡±


    The king of monsters, fallen onto the ground, intoned quietly. The 500ncers that followed him and the Queen of Terror who toyed with the heroes, were no longer by his side.


    Despite it all he was triumphant.


    ¡°You shall despair. You shall suffer in anguish, time and time again in the great chasm of chaos that is toe. For I am but one fallen king...¡±


    At the same time, I glimpsed the depths of the abyss. The Demon Lord was using thest dregs of his power to slightly open a gate to his original world. And I was overwhelmed.


    I trembled all over, my spirit feeling like it was on the verge of copse.


    Innumerable monsters. Gargantuan existences.


    Truly, was it not the end?


    It was unbelievable. So much had been invested just to kill one Demon Lord!


    There was no going back for humanity because we had gone all in, thinking it would be the end. That alone spoke volumes of just how much the Demon Lord¡¯s existence threatened the world.


    ¡°Live on within empty hope during this period of grace, human who shall wear the mask of lies.¡±


    The Demon Lordughed, and ceased to breathe.


    I looked around myself. At the blood still flowing at my feet.


    All were dead. Death brought equality.


    I clenched my fist hard, to the point of crushing it. Gritting my teeth, I held in the tears that threatened to pour forth. But I couldn¡¯t not return. This victory had to be reported even if it were to bring a small hope to humanity that was blotched with the color of despair.


    Henceforth...


    Iughed. As foretold, I wore a mask of lies. Whenever powerful monsters emerged, I mobilized without fail and raised my bloody sword.


    ¡°The mightiest and thest remaining hero, Hansung Oh! As long as he is here, humanity is safe! We can be victorious!¡±


    ¡°Hansung Oh! Hansung Oh!¡±


    ¡°Ahh, thank you! Thank you!¡±


    And when the battle ended, I would climb atop a tform to wave my hand. Showing no weakness. For if even the smallest of cracks appeared, they would interpret it as they wished and fall into despair.


    I was their hope. Their light and their raging seas.


    During that short period of grace, the hero wore a liar¡¯s mask and simplyughed, tiresome though it may have been. Only I knew the truth that the world would soon be destroyed, and so I alone wallowed in suffering.


    But it was at that moment, that another¡¯s voice rang in my ears.


    -Come,e to me,e back.....


    ..


    ..


    ¡°Gasp!¡±


    Waking up from my sleep while sweating bullets and feeling dizzy, I scrunched my brows in displeasure.


    ¡®What a shit dream.¡¯


    Of all things, to dream so deeply of the past. There won¡¯t be a second dream like this.


    I got up from the bed and went toward the kitchen. After downing a ss of water, I recalled the voice I¡¯d heard at the end.


    ¡®What was that voice?¡¯


    I creased my brows. It was a familiar voice, but my head throbbed with pain every time I focused on it. I was definitely familiar with that voice, I had heard of it at somece, but whenever I was on the verge of remembering, the memory immediately faded away.


    It wasn¡¯t a normal phenomenon.


    ¡®Is this a side effect of returning to the past?¡¯


    Come,e to me,e back..e back where? Was there even a ce to go back to in the first ce?


    Clicking my tongue, I chalked it up to auditory hallucinations. Then, I went to open the curtains to the veranda, shaking my head as I did so.


    The sun was high up in the sky, ring to my eyes. It must already be around lunch time.


    Bang bang bang!


    Someone banged on the front door at that moment.


    ¡°Delivery! Is this the right address for Hansung Oh-ssi?¡±


    I stretched my back and smiled faintly.


    ¡®It¡¯s finally here.¡¯


    Everything I needed to head toward the gate.


    The tools of civilization that would be lost in the future...especially among them, the inte was truly convenient.


    ..


    ...


    After preparing a rucksack for mountain climbing, a shlight, high calorie foods like chocte,fortable sneakers, and clothings good for keeping out the cold, I took a taxi.


    ¡°Ahjussi, to Mt. Bukhan.¡±


    Mt. Bukhan. A ¡®gate¡¯ opened there.


    Of course there wasn¡¯t just one gate. Since Minshik earned the magic swordsman ss, he must have headed to Mt. Ha, not Mt. Bukhan. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able toe back within the span of a few days.


    Monsters didn¡¯t immediately start jumping out even when a gate opened. It was unknown why, but the monsters took turns to emerge. Starting slowly from the weakest kind. We could only specte that there was some sort of ¡®rule¡¯ taking ce.


    ¡®However weak a monster may be, it¡¯s still simple work for them tear apart the flesh of a human.¡¯


    I nned to enter the inner areas of the gate, as that was the only way I could gain the ¡®Ancient One¡¯s¡¯ power. I wasn¡¯t going to truly step into the abyss: If the gate was likened to a house, it would be like going in up until the shoe rack. From there, following a hidden path would lead you to a number of broken altars.


    The ¡®Ancient One¡¯s Altar¡¯ was among those.


    ¡®The method to restore the altars is to clear the given trial.¡¯


    The trials differed from altar to altar. I knew where the Ancient One¡¯s altar was, but didn¡¯t know anything regarding its trial. I had to go there to find out. The person who¡¯d gained the Ancient One¡¯s power in the past, though, cleared the trial without any abilities. That being the case, it shouldn¡¯t be impossible for me either


    After 30 minutes of driving, a huge mountain peak came into view.


    Mt. Bukhan. There weren¡¯t many people here, since it was a weekday andte in the afternoon.


    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll get off here.¡±


    I paid the fee and got off the taxi. The refreshing spring wind gently blew in the surroundings. No one would be able to guess that this ce, filled with the scent of fresh grass, would be the entrance to hell.


    I firmly tied theces on my shoes and began climbing the mountain.


    ¡®A lot has changed.¡¯


    It felt like I was taking a casual stroll as I looked around my surroundings.


    Despair was always evident in the vicinity of a ¡®gate¡¯. You wouldn¡¯t be able to find anything green or the like even if you washed your eyes and looked. Everything including mountains, the earth, and the ocean would be tainted, and living creatures would go extinct.


    Which was why I was rather unfamiliar with this kind of environment.


    ¡®But not yet. Not just yet.¡¯


    2 years. It was enough time to change a lot of things. Things I could change.


    I would be grateful If Minshik really walked the path of a hero. After all, a hero was necessary. A hero to take charge and lead the people had to exist, regardless of whichever era.


    I simply didn¡¯t want to take up that role again, that¡¯s all.


    ¡®A gate constantly moves location.¡¯


    The gate located in Mt Bukhan would never stay in one spot. It had only just opened, so it must have attached itself to some small animal. The real gate would momentarily appear if the animal is hunted. All I had to do was enter the gate before it could move to another animal.


    ¡®It¡¯s part of the reason why gates are hard to find.¡¯


    But that would also onlyst until 2 years from now.


    When the monsters begin to make their full-blown appearance 2 yearster, the ¡®gates¡¯ would be fixed in a location. Like a ck hole turned inside out, the gates would ooze with endless darkness, spitting monsters out one after another.


    At that time, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to venture inside the gates, whether you wanted to or not.


    I broke away from the main path and moved deeper into the mountain. As I did so, I took out a slingshot from my bag.


    ¡®There¡¯s nothing more suited to hunting small animals than a slingshot.¡¯


    A slingshot was one of the best weapons for killing and injuring with the least amount of effort. It was cheap and easy to get. If you could procure iron marbles made for slingshots instead of pebbles, you could even y the role of an archer.


    The slingshot I¡¯d brought was sized at 9.52mm in diameter with a ball-in-tube attachment. As long as you knew how, it was possible to pierce flesh and break bones using just this slingshot, even without putting in great strength.


    Whoosh!


    Thunk!


    For practice, I loaded an iron marble into my slingshot, drew it back, and let go. The tree branch I aimed for fell off with a ¡®crunch!¡¯.


    ¡°My skills haven¡¯t gotten rusty.¡±


    When I had just be a magic swordsman, the first weapon I used was a slingshot because I couldn¡¯t find any other. At the time, I was a little afraid of closebat, and bows were out of the question unless you were an national level archer.


    Monsters at the level of goblins could be hunted with the slingshot. The short firing range was a w, but that was just a matter of how fast your reflexes were.


    I practiced for a few more times, singing my own praises as I did so, before beginning to move again.


    ¡®Let¡¯s see.¡¯


    There was a high possibility of the ¡®gate¡¯ possessing a small animal. What¡¯s more, as time goes on a gate would move on to possessrger animals excluding humans, as if growing. Normally after around 2 or 3 years pass, it would beplete and halt its migration, taking root in a specific location.


    Every gate lead to a different ce. ces with monsters, ces with treasures, ces that would drop you intova, etcetera. And in the gate located in Mt. Bukhan, there existed numerous broken altars.


    To find that ¡®gate¡¯, I had to find the small animal possessed by the gate. Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t a bird. A few gates rted to birds did exist, but all of the gates found in Mt Bukhan were definitely grounded at the time.


    ¡®A change would ur to the animal possessed by the gate.¡¯


    It wouldn¡¯t be hard to find; I¡¯d learned how to track animals long ago. I could instantly identify it upon discovery.


    ¡®There¡¯ll be no going back until I find it.¡¯


    I made a firm resolution to myself.


    I was famous for my tenacity in the past. Once I held onto something, I would never let go. It was precisely because I had such persistence that I could kill the Demon Lord, and drive Aletheia to the brink of annihtion.


    It would be same this time. Before finding the gate, I wasn¡¯t nning on ever climbing down the mountain.


    Starting from where the forest was thick nearby, I began chasing the traces of small animals.

 Chapter 5 - Transfer (2)

    <h4>Chapter 5 ¨C Transfer (2)</h4>


    As a result of investigating the mountain over 2 days, I gained several pieces of information.


    Firstly: There were a veryrge number of wild animals all over Mt Bukhan.


    Secondly: The kinds of small animals varied from rabbits, squirrels, badgers, roons, to hedgehogs.


    Thirdly: Dead animals with marks of being ripped apart with long ws were notablymon.


    Fourthly: Many traps had been recently set up.


    The first and second were normal on a lush green mountain area, but the third and fourth bothered me. Especially the fourth.


    ¡®Is it simply for hunting animals? Or...?


    The traps were all over the mountain. The amount set up over the past month was especially overwhelming in number. It meant that there were either huntsmen or illegal poachers. Or perhaps...I couldn¡¯t be sure of it. I still couldn¡¯t throw away the likelihood that the fanatics of Aletheia had also returned to the past.


    This was why I was hiding my tracks and searching for them. In case their aim was the ¡®gate¡¯, I had to be ready forbat. Fortunately, I had a slingshot. I would be able to put up a good fight if they¡¯d only recently awakened. But if they possessed hunting rifles, air rifles, and the like?


    ¡®It would be a pain in the ass.¡¯


    There was a limit to my current body. Dodging bullets were a feat only possible if the body was physically capable. The range at which slingshots could kill or maim was at most around 20m. A hunting rifle had almost twice this range.


    Still, it wasn¡¯t as if there was no chance of victory. While they weren¡¯t aware of my existence, I knew that they were somewhere on this mountain. Ambush them and my odds of winning would be sufficient.


    Erasing all hints of myself passing through, I chased after their traces the best I could. It was hardly difficult. They hadn¡¯t covered up after themselves in the least, perhaps having never considered that someone would chase after them. Thanks to that, I could discover them just after a few hours.


    ¡®Three people.¡¯


    Having set up a small tent, three people were sitting together and cooking ramen on a gas burner. All men, aged between 30 and 40. Their faces were unfamiliar to me. At the very least, they weren¡¯t high ranking executives of Aletheia. They also didn¡¯t give off that ¡®fanaticism¡¯ aura particr to Aletheia.


    Hidden in the shadows of a tree, I eavesdropped on them talk,


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m going nuts. Hyung-nim! How long do we have to stay in this mountain?¡±


    ¡°Until we find the golden red squirrel! As long as we catch it, we¡¯ll be rolling in money.¡±


    ¡°Is it even really here? We¡¯ve searched around for a whole month, but we haven¡¯t had a glimpse of its torso, much less its tail.¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you seen the photo? It was my first time seeing something so beautiful. Golden fur that shined.¡±


    ¡°Enough of that. One more time and my ears will scab over.¡±


    While the two were heatedly arguing, the other one pointed his chopsticks at a serving of ramen.


    ¡°Hyung-nims. Stop fighting and let¡¯s eat, so we can quickly catch it and go back. We¡¯ve still made some progress haven¡¯t we?


    The man with a grizzled beard that appeared to be the eldest coughed dryly.


    ¡°So let¡¯s bear with it for a few more days. It¡¯ll definitely be near Insubong peak.¡±


    ¡°This is thest time I¡¯m believing in you, for real.¡±


    Their conversation ended, entering a lull as they quickly began devouring the ramen, while behind them I was in the midst of smiling to myself. What an unexpected gain. I was right to track these men.


    ¡®A golden red squirrel!¡¯


    They weren¡¯t followers of Aletheia, but the thing they were chasing after just might be rted to the ¡®gate¡¯.


    A change would ur to the animal harboring a ¡®gate¡¯. For starters, the differences that could be detected by the naked eye was size or color. Apart from that they would be faster and stronger.


    The animal corpses scattered all around the mountain. I had confirmed that they were ughtered by something with long ws. Having heard those three people¡¯s conversation, it was extremely likely that this ¡®golden squirrel¡¯ was the culprit.


    ¡®Gold is the color of the gate leading to the Ancient One¡¯s altar.¡¯


    That was why I had been carefully listening to them talk. An animal was colored differently ording to the type of ¡®gate¡¯ it harbored, and it took on one of 6 different colors: Gold, orange, purple, blue, white and ck.


    Golden gates mainly led to ancient relics, orange to something special, purple to the dwellings of powerful monsters or even false gods, and blue to ces that other races inhabited. Most were white. Gates with colors were few and far in between, gold and orange being almost non-existent.


    Andst of all, ck gates led into the depths of the abyss. These gates were never to be entered. Nobody had ever made it back alive one. It was spected that beings like the Demon Lord existed on the other side.


    However, I was slightly puzzled by one thing.


    ¡®There¡¯s too many dead animals.¡¯


    Even when mutation was taken into ount, it was still just a red squirrel; the great multitude of corpses buried all over the mountain couldn¡¯t have been possible even if it were assumed that it had the strength of a feral beast. It may have buried its victims into the ground, but that couldn¡¯t fool my eyes.


    It had such an intense desire for murder that it made me admire the fact that it hadn¡¯t attacked any humans yet. At first, I¡¯d thought something like a boar had done the deed. That was why I had felt something was up and widened my field of investigation, but to think it was a red squirrel.


    ¡®An abnormal mutation.¡¯


    Perhaps it wasn¡¯t a normal mutation? If that was the case, meeting these people may have turned out for the best. An abnormally mutated animal was practically a monster, and taking care of it alone would be difficult.


    ¡®The golden red squirrel is near Insu Peak.¡¯


    My biggest gain was that I¡¯d pinpointed its general location. Insu Peak was a rockface of granite, and it was within the scope of where I¡¯d expected to find the mutated squirrel. I¡¯d always suspected it to be near Insu Peak, but I could confirm it through those people¡¯s conversation.


    Although an abnormal mutation entailed danger...


    Nodding to myself, I turned my gaze to the trio of men who were frantically eating ramen.


    ¡®I¡¯m sorry but you guys will have to be bait.¡¯


    ..


    The surroundings of Insu Peak wasn¡¯t a small area, but I could still find traces of the golden red squirrel. Footprints that were hugepared to regr red squirrels. I was definitely onto it. I spent a whole day chasing after its trail.


    ¡®It¡¯s got a tremendous appetite. There¡¯s not even an ant crawling nearby Insu Peak.¡¯


    The golden red squirrel¡¯s desire for bloodshed went beyond my imagination, yet it still remained quite clever in its actions. It didn¡¯t attack humans, and it buried its victims into the ground.


    Even so, it appeared that it couldn¡¯t fully restrain its own urges.


    ¡®Looks like I¡¯ll have to lure it.¡¯


    Rather than barging into its home ground in a frontal confrontation, I would be much better off fighting it by luring it to where I wanted it to be. Even better would be to have it face off with the trio of men.


    The trio were going around and setting traps opposite to me, even though there was next to no chance of that mutated red squirrel getting caught in the likes of those traps. While they were off wasting time in that manner, I was hunting animals and gathering their ¡®blood¡¯.


    I filled up 2 pet bottles with what I¡¯d gathered, thoroughly blending the myriad kinds of animal blood; the resulting concoction giving off an unpleasant tang. This would be the means to sufficiently rousing the squirrel¡¯s appetite.


    ¡®I¡¯m done preparing.¡¯


    I then closed the cap on the pet bottle to prevent the smell from escaping, and waiting for nightfall.


    ¡°Ah-oh, I¡¯m tired.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s sleep already. We have to hunt it down starting tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Yan!¡±


    When night fell, the trio were soon dead asleep owing to the fact that they¡¯d used up all their stamina, having set up traps for the entire day while keeping a lookout on their surroundings.


    Erasing all signs of my presence, I approached their tent. The golden red squirrel would mainly would about in this area. Any unusual event would immediately catch its attention, not to mention the smell of blood, which it would most likely drive it nuts.


    Opening one of the pet bottles, I directly poured it around the tent. I tied up and hung the other one at the tent entrance at just the right angle so that it would pour onto the trio when theye out of the tent.


    Kya-!


    Kyaaa-!


    It wasn¡¯t long before a sharp scream pierced my ears. The sound of a crazily agitated beast came closer by the minute.


    ¡°Wha-, what¡¯s that sound?¡±


    ¡°Oi! Wake up. Something¡¯sing.¡±


    ¡°Fu-...why¡¯d you kick my head? Just what exactly ising?¡±


    The awakened trio of men was terrified out of their wits. And soon after, they picked up their guns and opened the entrance of their tent.


    Ssh!


    ¡°Aack!¡±


    ¡°Wh-, why did water fall all of a sudden!?¡±


    ¡°Blood! It¡¯s not water but blood! It looks like some bastard pranked us?¡±


    Soaked from the blood spilled from the pet bottle, the trio cursed in resentment. However, this situation didn¡¯tst long.


    ¡°Wait...and just what is that?¡±


    The man who looked to be the eldest was blinking repeatedly as he asked. In the distant darkness of the night, lit only by the moon, two pupils had appeared.


    I watched this scene y out, hidden in the shadows.


    Not long after, one among the trio raised his shlight and illuminated the red squirrel. It was enormous in size, reaching the waist of an adult, and had razor sharp ws that looked as if they could cut steel; this was definitely no normal red squirrel.


    It sniffed at the stink of blood given off by the trio of men, who all appeared mentally disturbed.


    ¡°Hyung-nim. Were red squirrels...always that big? It looks bigger than it seemed in the photo.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely the right one. Look, golden fur that shines even in the dark! It¡¯s jackpot if we catch it and put it up for auction!¡±


    ¡°It looks dangerous, so let¡¯s put it to sleep with tranquilizer shots.¡±


    ¡°Right. Let¡¯s do that.¡±


    Chul-kuk!


    All together, the trio reced their hunting rifles with tranquilizer guns, aiming them at the red squirrel.


    The air was thick with tension.


    ¡®Golden...you say?¡¯


    Right in the middle of that situation, I felt skeptical. Bewildered even.


    ¡®Why does it look ck to me?¡¯


    The trio spoke as if it was golden, but to my eyes, it appeared ck. I had never heard of such a phenomenon; that there existed a gate whose color appeared different ording to the eye of the beholder.


    But more importantly...this wasn¡¯t a problem to be simply ignored. ck signified that the gate lead into the abyss; the Demon Lord himself had made his appearance through one such gate. That vicious demon had eradicated Korea and killed 499 heroes. A ck gate was the kind that one could never dare to touch, nor even look at.


    It was at that moment.


    The gigantic red squirrel turned its head to stare at me who was hiding out of sight. The instant my eyes made contact with its pupils dyed in ck, I felt electrified, a tremor running throughout my entire body. Simultaneously,


    ?Come,e to me,e back.....


    Ah!


    I heard that voice.


    ?Come,e to me,e back.....


    It was like a spell was being woven over me. I gripped my head as a tremendous wave of pain came crashing down upon it. So much pain, as if my mind and body would fall to pieces!


    Kyaaa!


    Turning its attention away from the trio of men that stank of blood, it charged towards me as ifpelled to get rid of the abnormality that was me.


    ?Come,e to me,e back.....!


    [Spirit Synchronization waspleted.]


    [Temporary Spirit Transfer will ur.]


    [Remaining time: 2,880 minutes.]


    [The 3rd eye of truesight, ¡®Mind¡¯s Eye¡¯, has been attained.]


    [To protect the user from external impact, the spell of protection will activate.]


    A line of messages I shouldn¡¯t have been able to see in my current unawakened state.


    ¡°Shoot it!¡±


    Baaang!


    ..


    It felt like I was being sucked in by something. When I opened my eyes once again, the environment I was looking at had changed. The scenery, the people; everything looked out of the ordinary.


    ¡°Ahh, Father! Finally! You have finally opened your eyes!¡±


    Someone was holding onto my leg. Lowering my head, I saw that a young, beautiful woman with six wings had been gripping my leg, her face full of delight.


    However, something felt strange. This height. This body. At the very least, it was far from what a ¡®human¡¯ should be. There was a sense of foreignness, as if this body didn¡¯t belong to me.


    Not to mention, the woman holding onto my leg was someone I was awfully familiar with.


    ¡®The Queen of Terror!¡¯


    I was dumbstruck.


    The right hand of the Demon Lord who had toyed with humanity: the Queen of Terror. Her red hair that was like burning mes and her otherworldly beauty heavily contrasted with her cruelty. Over a hundred heroes had died at her hands, their hearts ripped out and hacked to pieces.


    I still couldn¡¯t forget those scenes, the anguish I felt then still fresh in my mind!


    ¡°You have been asleep for far too long. I shall be attending to Father from now on.¡±


    The Queen of Terror lightly stepped back and got down on one knee.


    What was this? Was I seeing illusions? She was supposed to look at humans like they were insects. For what reason would she kneel to me?


    A momentter she opened her mouth in a most reverent manner.


    ¡°The All-seeing one, my lord!¡±

 Chapter 6 - Transfer (3)

    <h4>Chapter 6 ¨C Transfer (3)</h4>


    What was she saying?


    Even I could never have foreseen this kind of situation. Could anyone not have been mystified in the face of this sort of unimaginable turn of events?


    Not to mention, The one who sees all. My lord? what?


    Oh what I would give to see what was going on inside her head...


    The Queen of Terror, or to be urate, the ¡®Queen of Terror and Carnage¡¯. To think that cold-blooded and cruel woman could show such loyalty.


    Calming my shaking pupils, I struggled to assume a deadpan expression.


    A few candles lit up the otherwise pitch-ck room. The room was enormous beyond measure, yet because of this, it seemed deste. Here, Ibored to make sense of this situation.


    ¡°Why will you not speak? Ahh, perhaps?¡±


    The Queen of Terror with her head tilted in confusion suddenly made an expression of surprise as if having realized her mistake, then sprung to her feet and yelled,


    ¡°Your master has awoken! What are you doing? Assemble at once!¡±


    The look of ferocity on her face waspletely different to when she gazed at me. Momentster the huge door in the distance opened, revealing the figures of five hundred horsemen. Upon seeing them, a small sigh escaped my lips.


    Oh...god.


    Not just the Queen of Terror, there were also the five hundredncers that had followed the Demon Lord. It was definitely them. The atrocious bastards that rode horses of death formed out of dragon bones, and left my whole country in shambles!


    For a moment it felt like I was dreaming.


    ¡°Uh...my Lord.¡±


    The Queen of Terror quietly stole a look at me. There was a clear difference in the way she looked at mepared to when she looked at humans or thencers. But right now the Queen of Terror appeared uneasy. It was likely that my silence had pressured her.


    ¡°My apologies. Due to waging war for so long...this is all that remains of our forces in the ¡®abyss¡¯. Are you perhaps disappointed?¡±


    ¡°Mirror.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    I didn¡¯t speak twice.


    But I was secretly surprised after opening my mouth, because even my voice had changed. I was slowlying to confirm my suspicions; I just needed that final evidence.


    The Queen of Terror fretted over my words for a moment before nodding her head.


    ¡°Ahh, mirror! I understand.¡±


    Click!


    The moment she clicked her fingers, a vast space appeared in midair. A Demi-ne!


    A space originally not existing within reality, this word and magic represented an independent form of world. Among humanity, there were only a handful that were capable of handling such a space, yet the Queen of Terror could summon one with the snap of a finger.


    The inside of the Demi-ne was almost empty for some reason, but the the sheer size of it alone was something I¡¯d never seen before.


    Crash!


    Finally a giant mirror fell out of the Demi-ne. I involuntarily lost my breath when I saw what was in the mirrorrge enough to reflect my entire figure.


    ¡®This can¡¯t be.¡¯


    I screamed in silence. The figure reflected in the mirror wasn¡¯t one that I knew.


    No. I did know.


    This appearance. This great demon.


    ¡®Demon Lord...!¡±


    Eight wings, prominent goat horns that protruded from the forehead, ck skin, robust muscles, and silver armor that protected the shoulders and vital areas all strangely harmonized to result in an image that spewed out an intense aura.


    I lifted my hand to touch my chin and to my amazement, the Demon Lord in the mirror made the same movements.


    Now there was nothing I could do but acknowledge it. I had be the Demon Lord.


    Why? How? Various questions poured out of my mind.


    I climbed Mt Bukhan and discovered a mutated red squirrel. After that, a spell was etched into my mind, and I opened my eyes only to find myself snugly residing inside of this body.


    ¡®Now that I remember.¡¯


    There were those messages before I had fainted. Messages disyed in midair that was supposed to be only visible to those who had awakened.


    ¡®There was something about a temporary spirit transfer.¡¯


    This body was definitely the Demon Lord¡¯s. But something felt off. If it was only my spirit that had been transferred, I could¡¯ve epted it. However, I currently had the body of the Demon Lord. Why did this happen? I had stabbed my sword into the Demon Lord¡¯s heart in the past and went back covered in his blood, living the remainder of my life as a hero.


    Was that why? Because I had killed him? Because I was drenched in his blood?


    Seeing me continue to maintain my silence, the Queen of Terror opened her mouth.


    ¡°It has already been a hundred years since my Lord went to sleep. There was never a day that this girl did not gaze upon my Lord, the most exalted and beautiful in the world.¡±


    I could feel her sincerity. It was no mere ttery.


    There was genuine ¡®love¡¯ in her eyes.


    Heavens.


    The Queen of Terror, love? Not to mention, didn¡¯t she call this body ¡®father¡¯?


    Of course, putting her on human standards might be out of the question. Incestuous rtions among demons may be as normal as having meals.


    Just in case, I drew the mark of a cross(Ê®) with my right hand. This symbol was the key to calling forth information windows and the like. It was a privilege only given to those who had awakened, and, if my memory serves me correct, the Demon Lord had also used this ability.


    [Updating user information.]


    Name: Uriel Diablo


    upation: Demon Lord


    Race: Dragonic Demon


    Titles:


    ?? Demon Lord(Lv10, All Status +8)


    ?? All-seeing One(Lv9, Magic Power +15)


    Stats


    Strength 108(100+8)


    Agility 108(100+8)


    Constitution 108(100+8)


    Intelligence 108(100+8)


    Magic Power 123(100+23)


    Potential(500+55/500)


    Special Note: Currently in a state of spirit synchronization(2,864 minutes remaining).


    Skills: ck Star(Lv10), Mind¡¯s Eye(Lv9), Dragon Tongue(Lv9), Stygian Touch(lv9), Dominator(lv9)


    I was stunned by the status window that casually popped up.


    The pleted¡¯ status window disyed beneath Uriel Diablo¡¯s name made me feel the shivers. 100 was the limit for each status ability. A total of 500 was the extreme limit for intelligent lifeforms, and there were none among humanity to have reached that domain.


    Even when I was a magic swordsman as well as thest hero, the most I could do was to fill about 450 of the total potential. Although that was the limit of my potential in the first ce.


    ¡®Potential literally meant the height of power an individual can possess; the size of a vessel.¡¯


    And yet, Uriel Diablo had 500, a domain of power which I had only heard of. I suppose it only made sense that he was this strong , considering he faced hundreds of heroes all by himself. His Lv10 title and skill made me go dumb with amazement.


    ¡®God damn it all.¡¯


    No matter how I cursed to myself, it didn¡¯t even serve as self-constion.


    Then I turned my sight towards the special notes.


    ¡®2,864 minutes remaining.¡¯


    Roughly 2 days worth of time was given. If this transfer was temporary, a change was bound to ur after this timer was up.


    ¡°My Lord. Please lead us. You are our true Lord. May you punish those imposters and attainplete victory, obtaining the soul of the ¡®Colossus¡¯.¡±


    The atmosphere was solemn as the Queen of Terror kneeled once again while thencers fell into rank.


    I moved my eyes to look at the Queen of Terror. Then, surprisingly, my ¡®eyes¡¯ began to react.


    [Mind¡¯s Eye(Lv9) has been activated.]


    Name: La Diablo(value-300,000)


    upation: Queen of Thorns


    Race: Dragonic Demon


    Titles:


    ?? Queen of Thorns(Lv9, Magic Power +13)


    ?? ughterer(Lv8, Strength +10)


    ?? Ruler of the Battlefield(Lv7, All Status +4)


    Status Ability


    Strength 104(90+14)


    Agility 87(83+4)


    Constitution 88(84+4)


    Intelligence 90(86+4)


    Magic Power 105(88+17)


    Potential (431+43/495)


    Special note: Though fond of blood and ughter, she has a pure side to her, willing to throw everything away for the sake of one person. Unfortunately, her love is bound to be fruitless.


    Skills: Thorn Hell(Lv9), Thorn de(Lv8), Heartless(Lv8), Leopard of the Battlefield(Lv7)


    It was astonishing. To think that this was an ability that allowed one to peek at the status window of another. It activated even though I hadn¡¯t intended to. Unlike before, it seemed that a change had urred after voluntarily calling up my status window.


    ¡®Value?¡¯


    Nothing else differed from my own status window, but the description that came after the name bothered me. Value, as in the literal meaning.


    I reached out to gently touch that part.


    [Dominator(lv9) has been activated. Dominator is a power that allows you to forcefully dominate the desired target upon paying for its value.]


    [Purchase impossible. ¡®La Diablo¡¯ is already bound to the user.]


    I removed my hand, and the messages disappeared.


    So this kind of power existed too. This was a power I never knew this demon had.


    The Queen of Terror drew my attention at that moment.


    ¡°I will announce to all the false kings that my Lord has awakened. ¡®Carpediem the Destroyer¡¯ invaded us, coveting our territory, but when he learns of this truth, he will surely hide his tail!¡±


    While she appeared excited at the fact that the Demon Lord had awakened, at the same time I could tell that she was feeling some urgency. As if there was some need to wage war without fail.


    Her beautiful eyes were wide open as she said,


    ¡°We must go to war!¡±


    ¡°Halt.¡±


    War my ass. This situation in itself was already war to me.


    I held out my hand to keep The Queen of Terror, La, in check.

 Chapter 7 - Transfer (4)

    <h4>Chapter 7 ¨C Transfer (4)</h4>


    ¡°My Lord. What is the matter?¡±


    La looked incredibly confused. For this long awaited day, she must have thought it was only natural that I would approve. But as long as the dangerous word ¡®war¡¯ was concerned, I needed to first figure things out.


    ¡®Uriel Diablo¡¯ wasn¡¯t the only Demon Lord within the abyss. I came to know that truth when I killed him, and perhaps this war mentioned by ¡®La Diablo¡¯ may also be rted to him after all.


    ¡®I need to find out before going back to my original body.¡¯


    Roughly 48 hours were given to me, after which my transfer would end and a change would ur. I would most likely return to my original body. That¡¯s what I strongly felt, an instinct to return.


    That¡¯s why I had to make good use of these 48 hours to crack the secrets of these powerful existences called Demon Lords, Uriel Diablo included, since there was no guarantee ofing back to this body again.


    More than anything, the ¡®Colossus¡¯ she mentioned bugged me.


    ¡®This is an opportunity.¡¯


    I was surprised at first, but I recovered my usualposure. I studied the situation thoroughly with calm. Who knew when such an opportunity woulde by again? The chance of a lifetime to better know my enemy and myself.


    ¡°First tell me of the matters I need to know.¡±


    But I had to cautious because La Diablo was an ardent follower of Uriel Diablo.


    One wrong move, one wrong word could raise her suspicions!


    ¡®I mostly remember his manner of speech and behaviour.¡¯


    It was fortunate that I had been the one to kill him. I was well aware of Uriel Diablo¡¯s tyrannical ways and his pride. That being the case, all I had to do was behave in a simr manner.


    I sneaked a nce at La.


    Thankfully she wasn¡¯t suspicious but instead realized her own blunder and cried out,


    ¡°Truly! Truly a personage of prudence! When waging war, ¡®knowing¡¯es first. This girl had forgotten such a simple thing. Forgive me.¡±


    Thank goodness. La had a ir for interpreting things on her own. Amon case of being blinded by love. She had the most dazzling, dangerous kind of imagination.


    I continued to wait, and La nodded her head, continuing to exin.


    ¡°It has already been a hundred years since my Lord went to slumber. During that time, Carpediem the Destroyer and our-.¡±


    ¡°From the beginning.¡±


    ¡°From the beginning, you mean?¡±


    I refrained from speaking as much as I could without breaking character. What I wanted to know was his background. I wanted to confirm the history of Uriel Diablo and the other Demon Lords.


    ¡®Just what exactly are you all?¡¯


    Perhaps, I would be the first of humanity to arrive at the truth. The truth behind the abyss. The cause behind the emergence of Demon Lords and monsters. I intended to get to the bottom of the circumstances that lead to them targeting Earth in order to prepare a countermeasure.


    This was literally a ¡®war against myself¡¯, one that I alone would prepare for and fight in. A war of utmost secrecy, deceiving myself in pursuit of ¡®perfection¡¯!


    In the past I acted as the hero, and this time I would be a viin.


    La was lost in thought for a while.


    ¡°The day I was born, my Lord gifted me an eternal blue flower. My mother had said that on that day, unicorns danced in the heavens showering down blessings.¡±


    She pushed out her chest straight, revealing a small blue flower from which emanated a queer blue colored energy. She proudly gazed at me with softness in her eyes, as if implying it was a precious treasure to her.


    Sure, it was touching, but the beginning I wanted wasn¡¯t about La¡¯s birth.


    ¡°I mean from the beginning of the war.¡±


    ¡°The start of the war was....¡±


    La was slightly blushing.


    What in the world! To think that the Queen of Terror could feel embarrassed!


    I barely managed to keep my mouth gaping from the shock.


    La continued to speak,


    ¡°There was chaos within the abyss. Every being in existence struggled against one another with their lives on the line. It was then that the ¡®Great Star¡¯ arose. The Great Star spoke, that it would grant its ¡®prestige¡¯ upon the strongest. And then everything changed.¡±


    Changed?


    Was the ¡®Great Star¡¯ that tempting? To the extent that even the powerhouses of the abyss would make a move for it?


    Finally, La waved her hand once, causing the space to shake, and the surrounding background changed to show a vast expanse of barrennd. The number of corpses lying nearby was numerous beyond imagination. It wasn¡¯t at the level of a mere ten thousand or hundred thousand.


    A hundred million...or perhaps more.


    And yet, the war didn¡¯t end. Uriel Diablo was at the center of it, along with the most powerful beings.


    ¡°We fought, and my Lord was entered among the ranks of the ¡®Final Seventy-Two¡¯. The ¡®Great Star¡¯ bestowed castles upon them, and they were given the right to be a true god. My Lord came to inherit the name of ¡®Diablo¡¯ and, of course, I did too.¡±


    She appeared proud of having the name of Diablo.


    Seventy-two. It meant that there were seventy-one more like him. It took all we had to take down one, yet there were another seventy-one!


    Overwhelmed, I burned with silent indignation.


    ¡®Uriel Diablo....!¡¯


    Was that why you said this was the beginning? That it wasn¡¯t the end, and I should keep on despairing?


    Opening her small, full lips, La continued to speak.


    ¡°However, only we are of the true ¡®bloodline¡¯ of the demon god. It is on a whole different dimensionpared to seeding the name of small fishes like Carpediem! Among the imposters... Bruxelles, Arheim, Zero, Falcon are the only ones to have at least managed to borrow legitimate names.¡±


    I knew those names.


    Diablo, Bruxelles, Arheim, Zero, Falcon. The names of the ¡®gods¡¯ that monsters and those other races worshipped.


    ¡°The gods of all dimensions are closely observing the ¡®abyss¡¯ to witness the emergence of a god among gods should our war end: the birth of the Dimension God! This girl hasplete faith that my Lord will rise to that position of glory.¡±


    I could see her hoping and believing that she could rise to that glorious position together.


    In any case...was the act of Diablo lending his name, simply put, an investment?


    The rtions between gods and monsters were still unclear to me.


    But one thing was certain.


    ¡®Their war spread to Earth.¡¯


    I had personally experienced how intense thest vestiges of their war was.


    It wouldn¡¯t happen yet. Perhaps their n was to advance to Earth only after somewhat settling their war within the abyss.


    However...Uriel Diablo. He waspletely alone. He hadn¡¯t allied with the other Demon Lords.


    I suddenly recalled the words he¡¯d spoken then.


    ?You shall despair. You shall suffer anguish and misery in the great chasm of chaos that is toe. For I am but one fallen king....


    One fallen king.


    Was that an implication of the threat even he had felt from the attack of the other Demon Lords? Was he suggesting that he had run away from them?


    ¡°Only, my Lord went into slumber in order to heal the wounds sustained in the war 100 years ago. During that time I governed the territory in the ce of my Lord; however...recently, ¡®Carpediem the Destroyer¡¯ has been acting with fierce hunger to take over thisnd and consequently, I lost many of our troops.¡±


    There was a gloomy look on La¡¯s face. She appeared to be aggrieved, as if having suffered a blow to her pride. Nevertheless, she soon showed a bright expression: as expected, to ¡®me¡¯ alone.


    ¡°Now that my Lord has returned, how could the likes of Carpediem the Destroyer dare to oppose my Lord. We must announce your return and attack and in doing so, put those other false kings on their guard.¡±


    It seemed like she had kept her emotions bottled up all this time, for the past 100 years. Indeed, she didn¡¯t possess the ¡®prestige¡¯ to act in ce of Uriel Diablo.


    But war. War, huh.


    Uriel Diablo lost in the end. I was almost certain of my guess that he was defeated in battle and fleed to Earth in order to escape. Him walking down the same path would no doubt end up in a repeat of defeat.


    From my standing, theter he came to earth the better. Even better if he died in the abyss together with the other Demon Lords.


    I had despaired once. But it wouldn¡¯t happen again. I would utilize this opportunity to the fullest.


    A momentter the background turned back to normal, and I rose from my seat.


    ¡°I will take a look around.¡±


    ..


    Truthfully, it would be a lie to say that I had no expectations as to how grand and magnificent the ¡®territory¡¯ of one such as Uriel Diablo, who held the prestige of a Demon Lord, would be.


    Looking around the ce, I had thought that I would at least catch a faint glimpse of it, but I couldn¡¯t help being disappointed by the result of my examination. I couldn¡¯t find any treasure, gold, or silver no matter how much I blinked. No portraits or swords befitting the medieval age.


    Indeed, this ce was the very definition of empty.


    Really, truly empty.


    I supposed the onepliment I could offer was that there was not a speck of dust anywhere. The castle was big, its spire towering, but that was all.


    I secretly clicked my tongue.


    ¡®Isn¡¯t he basically a beggar?¡¯

 Chapter 8 - Transfer (Fin)

    <h4>Chapter 8 ¨C Transfer (Fin)</h4>


    La spoke as if having read my mind,


    ¡°Our finance has greatly deteriorated due to 100 years of war. I did my utmost to conserve but...¡±


    Thus began a long line of excuses: of how everything was the fault of Carpediem the Destroyer and how she had put in her all to protect Uriel Diablo¡¯s territory. Needless to say, I could vaguely tell from the state of the castle how hard it must have been for her, and seeing how she kept the castle this clean despite the hardship, I could say that she was amazingly devoted.


    ¡°Um, father.¡±


    La quietly spoke after a full round of the castle.


    It seemed that she would address me as ¡®father¡¯ whenever it would be just the two of us.


    As I turned my head toward her, La gave a short sigh before revealing the truth.


    ¡°The truth is that the dark merchants have taken this castle along with the territory...as coteral.¡±


    Dark merchants?


    Ahh. I nodded in my mind. I was able to asionally run into them when I entered the blue ¡®gate¡¯s where other races dwelled. There was nothing that they didn¡¯t sell. Although one had to pay in treasure of equal value, if your luck was good, it was possible to obtain quality weapons.


    Of course, there were some who attacked them in hopes of stealing their goods. It ended tragically. Those people, who were known as being powerful in their own right, lost their powers, had their minds shackled, and were shut in a pig pen. Used like ves, they died from the abuse.


    It was a warning towards humanity.


    After that, humanity didn¡¯t provoke them. It was already too much to face the monsters, and we couldn¡¯t afford taking them on as well.


    ¡®So it seems that even monsters can¡¯t lightly provoke them.¡¯


    Even with the Demon Lord backing her up, La seemed to be unable to recklessly make a move on dark merchants.


    Ha! The more I came to know about the abyss, the moreplex it appeared.


    ¡°That is why we must wage war. With all the wealth and territory in Carpediem the Destroyer¡¯s hands, we could repay the debt with plenty to spare.¡±


    ¡°What happens when the debt goes unpaid?¡±


    ¡°I imagine the territory and castle would be...taken away. And we would receive focused fire from the false kings.¡±


    It appeared that this territory was ast barrier, almost as if it would be safe as long as we were here, if that made sense. Perhaps one would be an easy meal for the other Demon Lords when this barrier disappeared.


    ¡®Damned Uriel. You did run away.¡¯


    I became even more certain in my conjecture. Humanity had struggled so much facing someone who was chased out of the abyss.


    Goddamned!


    I couldn¡¯t help but curse.


    Could Minshik be a hero great enough to turn this situation around?


    ¡®It¡¯ll be faster for me to stop this.¡¯


    Truthfully, I had been harboring thoughts of leaving about half the work to Minshik and just ying around a bit in the background. Unfortunately, this situation couldn¡¯t be treated so lightly. It was possible that even staking my life wouldn¡¯t be enough.


    ¡°Then do we head towards Earth?¡±


    ¡°Father. Are you truly asking out of ignorance?¡±


    Mm.


    I winced internally but didn¡¯t let it show outside.


    ¡°I have been asleep for a long time. I merely wanted to confirm the degree to which my memory is urate.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, but of course. This girl was thinking of something else for a moment. Forgive me.¡±


    Whew! I nodded my head as I sighed.


    Digging in too deeply was dangerous after all. If I slipped up and made a mistake, I could end up losing this dream-like opportunity.


    La continued on from where she left off.


    ¡°Earth is the final battleground. It is where the ¡®Great Star¡¯ will descend and hidden preparations are being made as of now. From what I hear, it seems that they will be awakening humans to use them as ¡®catalysts¡¯.¡±


    Catalysts...


    I was chewing on that word when La¡¯s expression hardened.


    ¡°Heading towards that ce before the final battle is an extreme dishonor because the points that can be earned from killing those ant-like humans won¡¯t amount to much. The ¡®Great Star¡¯ and a few others seem to ce the potential of humans in high regard, but in the end, they¡¯re nothing more than insects.¡±


    Hearing La, the Queen of Terror, speak, I became certain.


    I must never let the Demon Lords go to Earth unimpeded. Catalysts? Didn¡¯t that mean humans were the sacrifices needed for them to be a ¡®god¡¯?


    ¡®Damn it.¡¯


    I burned with fury, barely holding back from grinding my teeth.


    I had tried so hard, fought with no regard for my life! Ultimately, it seemed those monsters had viewed it as merely struggling in vain.


    ¡°Where is the Great Star?¡±


    ¡°Do you wish to see it?¡±


    I nodded.


    The cause behind everything, the Great Star.


    I had to see it with my own two eyes.


    ..


    ..


    We moved through the huge gate of the altar. On the other side, there was a gathering of dark merchants.


    They were a strange bunch whose bodies were entirely ck and wore nothing but a hat. They had no eyes, noses, or ears. Only a mouth. If I saw them from afar, I would believe them to be ck cylindrical balls with two pairs of limbs stuck onto them.


    The dark merchants¡¯ only fashion was their hats. I could tell apart their ranks by their hats to a certain extent. The lowest ranked wore brown berets. The higher the rank, the more decorated or impressive the hat became.


    ¡®This must be their headquarters.¡¯


    I had met the dark merchants in the past, but never before had I seen such arge-scale operation like this. There were rows of buildings that reached the skies, and the ce was overflowing with of all kinds of treasures, ves, and monsters.


    ¡°Lord Uriel. Thank you foring to our Merchants Association.¡±


    A dark merchant came to greet us as we reached the entrance with a crimson jewel, swaying to and fro, hung on its hat.


    ¡°I am called Alm. I would like to wee Lord Uriel¡¯s first visit here.¡±


    Alm? Even the name was peculiar.


    Although it was hard to pronounce, on the contrary, that made it easier to remember.


    Having seen Alm, La spoke with her usual blunt expression,


    ¡°My Lord wishes to see the ¡®Great Star¡¯. Make way.¡±


    ¡°Seeing that it has been 100 years since yourst appearance, it is natural that you would be curious about it. However, you must wait a while.¡±


    ¡°Must wait? You dare..do you not know who this is?¡±


    La red with wide eyes. True to her moniker, Queen of Terror, her eyes contained a ferocity that would cause a man to feel chills with a mere look. Yet when she looked at me, that expression would turn around 180 degrees.


    They say women are guiltless in their fickle moods, but in La¡¯s case, she went over the top.


    Seemingly troubled, Alm scratched its hairless head.


    ¡°There is someone who made the first visit to see the ¡®Great Star¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Who is that?¡±


    ¡°It is Lord Andalton Bruxelles.¡±


    ¡°...Hmph.¡±


    La btedly snorted.


    The Demon Lord who inherited the name Bruxelles. So he was here. Even La couldn¡¯t recklessly make a fuss before that name.


    ¡°Even so it makes no sense to wait. When was it ever necessary to take turns in seeing the ¡®Great Star¡¯?¡±


    It was a reasonable argument.


    Appearing troubled, Alm couldn¡¯t easilye up with a response. Perhaps that was proof of how influential Andalton Bruxelles was.


    After a while of hesitation, Alm sighed.


    ¡°I understand. I will put in a word. The doors to the castle tower where the ¡®Great Star¡¯ can be viewed will open an hourter. After an hour, please make your way before the castle tower.¡±


    Alm bowed its head, and then turning around, he spoke to La in a quiet voice.


    ¡°La-nim. Your debt will soon be overdue. When the timees...you understand. La-nim is part of the coteral after all.¡±


    La¡¯s face slightly reddened, as if she was embarrassed to have her pride stepped on. All the worse, most likely, because I was by her side.


    ¡®Coteral, huh.¡¯


    So La had used herself as coteral for the sake of borrowing war funds.


    Finally, Alm went away for good.


    ¡°My Lord. Allow me to guide you.¡±


    La didn¡¯t turn back, walking in front with her body shaking.


    I didn¡¯t think it necessary to ask further.


    ..


    ..


    With the remaining time, we looked around the dark merchants¡¯ headquarters. From goblins to vampires to cerberuses, there was nothing that wasn¡¯t sold. At the sight of treasures I had never even seen before strewn about like it was nothing, I went speechless with admiration.


    ¡®On the off chance that a Demon Lord gathered up the treasures in this ce and invaded Earth...¡¯


    Not to mention killing it, we would be running away to escape extinction. But La opened her mouth to reveal an even bigger surprise.


    ¡°The ves and goods here are nothing more than samples for disy. The ¡®real¡¯ items are traded through ¡®auction¡¯. My Lord has not participated in it before, but the auction is held once a year.¡±


    If it was held once a year, then it must have already been held a hundred times.


    ¡°If you are fortunate, it is possible to obtain excellent items or ves for low prices. I have been participating in your ce until now, but henceforth, my Lord must personally participate.¡±


    In a manner that implied her familiarity within this spacious ce, La busily exined in detail all the things she thought I didn¡¯t know.


    The more I saw of the Merchants Association, the more I realized what kind of a small cage humanity was locked in.


    ¡®We should have adventured. Aggressively at that.¡¯


    Humanity was passive, including me.


    All kinds of gates had emerged, but scarcely few moved to explore and pioneer the locations within. I should have done so, even alone if needed be. Regretfully, all I did was y the hero and fend off the enemies that charged in. But not this time. I couldn¡¯t afford to remain the frog in a well.


    The dark merchants busily moved around. It was like looking at an orderly ant hole.


    Monsters would also asionally look my way.


    ¡°It¡¯s been 100 years since hest appeared.¡±


    ¡°So the rumours of his death was a lie?¡±


    ¡°I hear he¡¯s being eyed by ¡®Carpediem the Destroyer¡¯. Kikik. How unlucky.¡±


    At the very least, I could tell was that their looks weren¡¯t friendly. Every time it happened, La would re back with fire in her eyes, and the monsters would be quick to turn their heads away.


    This was an area of non-aggression. All fights were forbidden.


    ¡°It appears to be time.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, already...!¡±


    La eximed with regret, but we had an appointment. La made her way toward the enormous tower ced in the center of the Association. That was the castle tower.


    ..


    ..


    There was a long row formed by all kinds of demons and monsters in front of the castle tower, roughly numbering in the thousands. And the being who was at the very front was-


    ¡®A Demon Lord...!¡¯


    Andalton Bruxelles!


    I could tell at a nce.


    But it was surprising. The monster army¡¯s breathing and mana control didn¡¯t get tangled together at all and moved in unison.


    ¡®They¡¯ve been trained properly.¡¯


    Each and every one of these monsters appeared to be at least Lv6.


    Lv6 was the standard of an Ogre. You needed a potential of at least 300 in order to face one. Yet these kind of monsters had been trained to be even stronger, and they numbered in the thousands.


    It was overwhelming.


    Feeling ufortable inside, I approached the fore of the castle tower.


    La was on her guard. This may have been an area of non-aggression, but the pressure they emanated was like a sharp spear.


    When I finally stood before the door to the castle tower, I could see him.


    Andalton Bruxelles. A devil with two horns!


    He had eight wings just as I did, but they were much smaller in size. Around 2m in height, his body wasposed of firm muscles, and his eyes were extremely cold.


    At the time I was a hero, I had never seen him before. Even so, I felt more nervous than I did than the time I saw Uriel Diablo.


    One thing was certain: Andalton Bruxelles counted as one of the ¡®apex¡¯ figures among the Demon Lords!


    He didn¡¯t even look at me.


    ¡®Not worth your interest, is that it?¡¯


    As it had been 100 years since Uriel Diablo made an appearance, it would be normal to at least spare a nce out of curiosity, but Andalton Bruxelles didn¡¯t bother. Perhaps he didn¡¯t consider Uriel an equal.


    A Demon Lord who had inherited a ¡®legitimate name¡¯ which even La acknowledges. Bruxelles was the name of a powerful evil god. The name was so famous that even I knew of it.


    Creeak!


    The door of the castle tower soon opened.


    ¡°Only Demon Lords may enter the castle tower. If you would, please.¡±


    La deferentially bowed her head. Showing my understanding, I moved my feet. At the side, Andalton Bruxelles was also moving.


    ..


    ..


    The inside of the castle tower was silent.


    I quietly climbed the stairs leading up to where the tower top connected with the skies.


    Andalton Bruxelles, as expected, simply continued walking with an emotionless face.


    I wondered how much time passed like that. It felt like an eternity to me.


    In the first ce, I didn¡¯t have much time left.


    -Remaining time: 221 minutes.


    2,440 minutes. It could be considered long or short, but now roughly a tenth of that was left.


    ¡®What happens if the time runs out in the middle of things?¡¯


    I couldn¡¯t help but hold doubts.


    The stairs continued without end. The castle tower might have been a ce that lead to heaven, or perhaps even beyond.


    If the time did run out as I was right now, what would happen to this body at the end of the spirit transfer?


    It was possible that it would simply fall over.


    I couldn¡¯t help but wonder, wouldn¡¯t it be better to take down Andalton Bruxelles instead of dragging out time with uncertainty, doing nothing in the end?


    But I dismissed the notion soon enough. That choice could be madeter.


    ¡®I can see the end.¡¯


    It was a long period of endless silence.


    ¡®15 minutes.¡¯


    I was able to arrive before the ¡®Great Star¡¯ with a mere 15 minutes remaining.


    What waited beyond the end of the stairs was a huge group of clouds.


    Pure white clouds and harsh winds. The world was bright, and an immense ¡®light¡¯ was visible between those clouds.


    It was a colossal god made up of light!


    If that wasn¡¯t a god, then what else could be called as such?


    No, whatever ¡®god¡¯ there was, it couldn¡¯t bepared to that existence. The sheer size of it and its ¡®prestige¡¯ was breathtaking, rivaling the cosmos.


    But the god was in slumber.


    ¡°You belong to me alone,¡± said Andalton Bruxelles who suddenly began moving toward that light.


    Sizzle-!


    His body was burned with mes. His entire being was stuck in a loop of melting and regenerating, yet he did not stop.


    He finally managed toe close to it, but the moment he reached out his hand toward the god of light-


    Taak!


    His hand was flung away.


    ¡°...Impudent.¡±


    Once again he reached out with his hand.


    He held a powerful obsession towards it, but Andalton Bruxellescked the capacity to contain that colossal ¡®being¡¯.


    That¡¯s right. He wascking.


    I could tell.


    The moment I saw that god, I lost my mind. It wrested my attention from me.


    It was so gigantic despite being iplete. So serene. It was this serenity that threatened to swallow everything...


    But at the same time it sparked my rage.


    ¡®The beginning of everything.¡¯


    Was that the Great Star?


    All that had happened was just because of something like that?


    Step!


    I walked.


    Hwaruruk!


    My flesh peeled away as I approached further. My whole body was on fire.


    My wings ripped and broke apart, and my body couldn¡¯t withstand it. The power that repelled Andalton Bruxelles was turned on me, but I didn¡¯t stop.


    He cherished his life, but I was different. This body wasn¡¯t mine, and even if it was, I would have continued to walk without giving up.


    Alright. If I had to stake my life I would do it,


    If that was the condition to reach you!


    If that was the path to erasing all misery and despair...!


    ¡°Colossus!¡±


    [All the time for ¡®Transfer¡¯ has been used up.]


    [Beginning ¡®Return¡¯.]


    ..


    ..


    I was engulfed in an immense light.


    When I opened my eyes again, several lines of messages appeared in my sight.


    [58% spirit synchronization rate with Uriel Diablo]


    [The skills ¡®Mind¡¯s eye(Lv9)¡¯, ¡®Dominator(Lv9)¡¯ has been synchronized.]


    [¡®Transfer(???)¡¯ skill has been created.]


    [Awakeningplete.]


    [Potential has greatly increased due to synchronizing with an overwhelming existence.]


    [5,000pt has been obtained.]


    My head was spinning. I felt like I had dreamt a long dream.


    The cool wind tickled my cheeks. It was morning, and I remembered seeing this scenery before.


    ¡®Mt Bukhan.¡¯


    This was at the foot of Mt Bukhan. I had been lying down on top of a pile of grass. What¡¯s more, it wasn¡¯t just nature that was waking me.


    ¡°His eyes opened!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve awoken!¡±


    ¡°Binaida. Binaida1. We¡¯ve sinned greatly for disturbing the mountain. May you forgive and deliver us from our sins.¡±


    I turned my head.


    Gathered by my feet were the hunter trio, the ones who had been trying to catch the golden red squirrel.


    1:Binaida Binaida(Lit. I pray I pray): a prayer, containing an extremely important wish, made to a mountain god. (rted to ancient Korean shamanism)

 Chapter 9 - Ancient One (1)

    <h4>Chapter 9 ¨C Ancient One (1)</h4>


    But right now the trio didn¡¯t enter my eyes.


    My hand curled into a fist without my knowing.


    The Great Star, Colossus. I had seen it for myself and burned its image into my eyes.


    But I couldn¡¯t reach it. I might have reached it somehow, but time ran out and I came back to my own body. A body I could move naturally.


    ¡®I think it said I awakened.¡¯


    There were a few ways to awaken, but the easiest was to make contact with a ¡®gate¡¯. However, I didn¡¯t awaken through contact with a ¡®gate¡¯ but through possessing a ¡®Demon Lord¡¯.


    Every now and then, there would be cases of people with crazy potentials awakening on their own, but chances of this happening was literally one in a million. There were no precedents of my case.


    What was more surprising was that I had skills.


    ¡®Skills appeared even though I didn¡¯t obtain a ss.¡¯


    Although I obtained them through the synchronization, they weren¡¯t just any skills.


    Mind¡¯s Eye and Dominator!


    These were Lv9 skills which was on an equal level to the innate magic of dragons. Even though they weren¡¯t offensive types, they would doubtlessly prove helpful just by having them.


    I spread out my hand and drew the mark of a cross.


    [Updating user information.]


    Name: Hansung Oh


    upation: N/A


    Titles: N/A


    Status Ability:


    Strength 11


    Agility 11


    Constitution 10


    Intelligence 9


    Magic Power 10


    Potential(51/456)


    Special note: Potential has greatly increased due to the influence of an unknown power.


    Skill: Mind¡¯s Eye(Lv9), Dominator(Lv9), Transfer(???)


    ¡°...!¡±


    It was short, but impactful.


    I couldn¡¯t not be surprised nor suppress the shock.


    My status was slightly above the average adult male¡¯s. However, the amount of my potential differed from the past.


    ¡®My limit used to be 450.¡¯


    Potential indicated the maximum strength that a person could attain. Filling 450 potential was the most I could do even when I had be thest hero. No matter how much I struggled, I couldn¡¯t go over that number. Yet it increased. An increase of ¡®6¡¯ wasn¡¯t such a simple matter.


    ¡®I had be stronger by consuming every kind of treasure in the world at the time. My current potential...I can¡¯t even...¡¯


    A human with a potential greater than 450?


    Statistically speaking, it was one in 10 million, so that meant there were only 600~700 of such people throughout the world. I myself wasn¡¯t able to reach 450 in the beginning.


    Precious medicines blessed by god,monly known as miracle drugs.


    My former potential was the result of madly consuming such medicines. Before that, I was stuck at 400. It was thanks to the magic swordsman¡¯s fast rate of development that I caught the attention of the world¡¯s government, and to groom me into a hero, they invested an unbelievable amount of resources in me.


    That¡¯s how it was...and yet.


    ¡®456!¡¯


    I closed my eyes and opened them again, but I hadn¡¯t seen wrong. The number was definitely 456.


    The number that was definitely different from the past caused me to make an expression like my soul had escaped.


    ¡®To think I¡¯d get such numbers right after awakening.¡¯


    If I could sweep up treasures like I did in the past and increase my potential, it may just be the emergence of the first human ever to reach 500.


    No, going even above that may be possible.


    I had memories. I had information. I had plenty of time as well.


    I broke out into cold sweats. Was I shivering? I might have been so tense that my body didn¡¯t even shake. As if inpensation for this, the inside of my mouth was dry, and my eyes restlessly trembled.


    ¡®I¡¯ll reach them. I can reach them.¡¯


    Those monsters; Demon Lords!


    Following that, I examined the added skills.


    ¡®Transfer...¡¯


    It was because of this Transfer skill that I could enter Uriel Diablo¡¯s body. I tried using it again just in case it would work.


    [2,880 minutes cooldown time remaining for ¡®Transfer(???)¡¯.]


    I couldn¡¯t use it.


    My eyes immediately went to the cooldown time.


    ¡®It¡¯s the same as the amount of time I moved.¡¯


    I spent 2,880 minutes in Uriel Diablo¡¯s body, and the cooldown time was the same as that. A ratio of 1:1 perhaps?


    I breathed in deeply.


    My quivering heart didn¡¯t know how to calm down. It was beating madly, making it difficult to breathe.


    ¡°Um...¡±


    One of the trio timidly spoke out.


    ¡®Ahh. These guys were here.¡¯


    I was so absorbed in the more important matters that I forgot the trio in front of me.


    I barely calmed down my excitement and reorganized my mind. Right after getting attacked by the golden red squirrel, I transferred, used up all my time, and came back. But when I opened my eyes, these men were here.


    ¡®Something must have happened.¡¯


    There was no way they would be like this if nothing had happened.


    ¡®Now that I think about it.¡¯


    I retraced my memories.


    Right before transferring, the red squirrel charged towards me. At the same time, the ¡®protection magic¡¯ I got from Minshik had activated. A cyan protective shield materialized and blocked the red squirrel¡¯s attack thereby safeguarding me.


    Was that why I was being treated as a ¡®mountain god¡¯?


    ¡°Are you really a mountain god?¡±


    Scarily enough, he took the question right out of my mind.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a mountain god, but...¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    I was about to speak before I stopped to ponder.


    It would be a good thing for me if they misunderstood. There would be no way of exining the protective shield if they thought of me as an ordinary person. Unnecessary suspicions would give rise to other rumours. It may be better off showing myself as a celestial being.


    I sat up, taking proper poise, and spoke,


    ¡°Something simr.¡±


    ¡°You scoundrels. Whether this person is a mountain god or not, it¡¯s clear that he¡¯s an exalted being. Where¡¯s your manners!¡±


    The manrgest among them scolded the other two. He must be the eldest hyung.


    ¡°So was it you three who looked after me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it was. We moved the unconscious mountain god-nim here.¡±


    Truthfully, the title didn¡¯t matter that much.


    The man was quite respectful. At the very least he didn¡¯t seem to be without manners.


    Rubbing my chin, I spoke,


    ¡°How much time has passed since I fell unconscious?¡±


    ¡°A day, exactly a day has passed.¡±


    Indeed. The time spent in the abyss differed from the time spent here. Roughly 2:1. So a day in here roughly equaled two in the abyss.


    I couldn¡¯t help but ask,


    ¡°What happened to the golden red squirrel?¡±


    ¡°It ran away. It must have been frightened by mountain god-nim¡¯s power.¡±


    Seeing as he mentioned my power, he must have seen the cyan protective shield after all.


    Still, it was a relief that they couldn¡¯t catch it. When the mutated animal is caught and the ¡®gate¡¯ appears, after a day it wouldtch on to another animal. Then I would have to start from the beginning again.


    I stared at the trio for a moment.


    It must have been purely their faith in shamanism that spurred them to look after me, but they did save me even though they could have simply run away when the red squirrel was onto me. Following that they did their all and gathered grass to make a ce for me to rest.


    ¡®How admirable.¡¯


    They were good people at heart.


    I did feel a slight jab of guilt. To think I used these kinds of people as bait to lure the red squirrel.


    ¡°Ehem.¡±


    Although I could quietly pass over it like nothing, it was my belief that what I¡¯ve received, I should return, whether it be grudges or favors. I had resolved to do what I could to survive, but I was a former hero after all. I haven¡¯t thrown away that bit of dignity in me yet.


    Moreover...


    ¡®Good people are worth protecting just for the virtue of being good.¡¯


    In a world full of evil, the good people died first and foremost.


    Preventing such a world toe about again was the least I could do.


    ¡°I would like to reward you all for looking after me...perchance, do you have paper and ink stone?¡±


    ¡°Though I have no inkstone, I do have a pen...¡±


    I expected that. There was no way people would be carrying around ink stones in these modern times.


    I only asked to sound the part.


    ¡°Then that will do.¡±


    The eldest looking one among the trio rummaged inside his pocket, taking out a yellow notepad and a pen.


    ¡°Here it is.¡±


    ¡°Is there norger paper than this?¡±


    ¡°This notepad is all I have.¡±


    I clicked my tongue in my mind because the paper size was too small. Rune characters were hard to recognize in the first ce, and to make matters worse, I could only write one tiny character. With bad handwriting like mine, it would turn out to look like a child¡¯s scribbles.


    If there ever was a bad handwriting contest held somewhere in the world, I was confident to be a prizewinner. Thankfully, I could be relieved that no one but myself needed to recognize this character.


    I casually drew a rune character on a yellow note using the pen. The letters were arranged like worms, ovepping horizontally and vertically before connecting. It was the epitome of terrible handwriting. Even if someone who knew rune characters saw this, they would consider it as scribbles for an obnoxious prank!


    ¡°Take it. You must never lose it.¡±


    ¡°Wha-, what is this?¡±


    ¡°My gift. If ever a great trouble befalls you, write your name in this empty space and stick it on your front door.¡±


    ¡°Ah! It must be a talisman!¡±


    The trio all stared at the yellow note with strange glints in their eyes.


    Jiaaang!


    The letters within the paper soon began to emit light.


    ¡°Huuk!¡±


    ¡°Li-, light from the character!¡±


    Their eyes went round from the surprise.


    But that was all. They merely believed it to be the powers of a mountain god, unable to realize how incredible of a thing this was.


    [¡®User¡¯s ¡®provisional contract¡¯ has beenpleted.]


    [It is a contract with the user ¡®Hansung Oh¡¯s¡¯ name written on it. If the contractor so wishes, user ¡®Hansung Oh¡¯ must help the contractor once within his ability and conscience.]


    [If the contract is not abided by, the user will inflicted with the ¡®Curse of Magic Power¡¯.]


    It was a contract made by the awakened.


    The ¡®Curse of Magic Power¡¯ inflicted upon going against the contract impaired one¡¯s magic power and slowed down their rate of development. Magic power was the most important stat among all, so as long as it was reasonable, the contract basically had to be obliged no matter what.


    Of course, it didn¡¯t matter if you ignored requests outside your ability.


    But this was a contract with my name, Hansung Oh, written on it. Something that couldn¡¯t be bought with a thousand gold, nor ten thousand gold!


    If it was before my return to the past, there would have been people willing to fork over an entire city just to earn that slip of paper. Not even a lottery couldpare.


    A momentter, when the light on the note faded, one of the trio tentatively asked,


    ¡°But mountain god-nim. Is this one slip all? It was three of us that looked after you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t bite off more than you can chew.¡±


    It appeared they believed that the talisman would really work. Following the disy of this ¡®wonder¡¯, the suspicion in their eyes disappeared. I imagined they thought of me as a mountain god or, at the very least, an extremely skilled shaman.


    At any rate, giving out another was impossible. If it were regr talismans I would hand over several, but this was a contract with my name on it. To be frank, just one was already too much.


    When I sped my hands behind my back and postured, the man could only pout.


    Groaning in reluctance, the man spoke again. ¡°Then Hyung-nim should take it. I don¡¯t need it.¡±


    ¡°Me too. Aren¡¯t you going to use it for that child anyway?¡±


    It seemed to have ended up going to the eldest hyung.


    He stared for a moment at the yellow note handed over to him, then nodded his head as if having resolved upon something.


    ¡°There¡¯s a child I think of as my own daughter. She caught a rare disease, and I feel regret that she can only lie in a sickbed. She¡¯s at the age where she should be prancing about, trying make-up, experiencing love...I want to cure that child.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll use it not for yourself but for that child?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve lived long enough after all.¡±


    I could feel his sincerity.


    How unexpected that he would use a wish for someone else; it was someone who wasn¡¯t his real daughter, but a child of another¡¯s household no less. I couldn¡¯t believe that someone so pure would go poaching. So I asked with a nagging suspicion,


    ¡°So then you tried catching the golden red squirrel for a simr reason?¡±


    ¡°It was half the reason. That child is so kind as to gift a flower even to a beggar like me. But because our appearances are like this...the child¡¯s parents very much dislike us. I hoped that if we could earn some money and took on a more respectable appearance, we could repay her kindness...¡±


    It seemed like there was a deep story behind their circumstances.


    But it wasn¡¯t possible at the moment. I would need at least several months to obtain the kinds of medicines that cured all kinds of diseases and forcefully reconnected severed nerves. And that was under the assumption of my ns going smoothly.


    If I was requested to help with that immediately, then it wouldn¡¯t matter if I didn¡¯t oblige due to it being ¡®out of my capability¡¯. But I was in a situation where I had already told them I would help, even to the point of writing up a contract.


    I spoke gravely,


    ¡°For that talisman to take effect, it must be kept on one¡¯s body for at least 3 months, and it must not be taken off for even a moment.¡±


    ¡°Ah...The-, then truly 3 months is all it takes?¡±


    ¡°It will be so if your sincerity is strong enough to even reach the heavens. However.¡±


    Following that I put on a serious countenance.


    A favor was a favor, but I had to make things clear.


    ¡°If youmit a sin during that period, the effect will disappear. You three have greatly sinned on the mountain. Unnecessary bloodshed thus, will inevitably disrupt the bnce of righteousness. From now on you must live a life of helping others, cherishing lives.¡±


    ¡°I swear it and will do as told.¡±


    ¡°Since you have sworn so, then immediately descent the mountain.¡±


    ¡°Uh...but what about the golden red squirrel...?¡±


    ¡°That thing isn¡¯t a spiritual animal like you believe it to be. That being is an evil spirit that disturbs the world and a subject for my punishment.¡±


    ¡°S-, so it was like that after all.¡±


    He kept nodding his head as if having understood.


    It wasn¡¯t possible for a spiritual animal to appear so strange and violent. That aggressiveness and ill-intent was definitely simr to an evil spirit.


    While I stood still in wait, hands sped behind my back, they started packing their things without any needless words, preparing to go down the mountain.


    Having finally finished their preparation, they kowtowed to me.


    ¡°Mountain god-nim, I wish you a long life.¡±


    ¡°I wish you a long life as well.¡±


    I gently waved them goodbye with my right hand, and they began moving their feet down the mountain.


    I quietly watched their receding figures.


    ¡®Indeed, you shouldn¡¯t judge a person by their looks.¡¯


    Who would have known that those folks who looked so much like bandits would be so pure inside.


    A while after the figures of the triopletely disappeared from sight, I erased the grave expression I¡¯d been making all the while.


    ¡®Now, the hindrances are gone.¡¯


    All that was left was to confront the golden red squirrel.


    The trio who had been hunting the golden red squirrel were sent down the mountain, so now I just had to take my sweet time in pursuing the thing. Fromst time¡¯s assault, I could more or less figure out where its nest was.


    ¡®It¡¯s a good day.¡¯


    Does good lucke in droves the way bad luck does?


    I gained unbelievable power due to awakening at an unexpected time, and in an unexpected ce, I met a trio of rather fine men. I could feel the depression I had been feeling lighten; failing to reach the colossus with the Demon Lord¡¯s body had been bothering me. And now I was about to achieve the objective I had foring to Mt Bukhan in the first ce.


    Who knew?


    Perhaps the golden red squirrel would present me an unexpected gift as well.


    The sky was bright, with not a speck of cloud.


    I hummed a song as I went on my way with confident strides.

 Chapter 10 - Ancient (2)

    <h4>Chapter 10 ¨C Ancient (2)</h4>


    The trio went from ce to ce around the foot of the mountain, removing all the traps they¡¯did. Afterwards, they went down to the entrance of Mt Bukhan where they stood with flushed faces, staring at the yellow note.


    ¡°Well now, I don¡¯t think it was a dream but...was he really a mountain god?¡±


    ¡°Even if he isn¡¯t a mountain god, he must be an expert shaman. Didn¡¯t you see it too?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he turned out to be a high schooler from his appearance though.¡±


    Their suspicions were reasonable. That mountain god was, in fact, wearing ordinary clothes. But the eldest hyung believed in him, even if the younger ones didn¡¯t.


    ¡°He¡¯s a rare personage. A nobleman I say. It was by heaven¡¯s will that we met with him, so stop with the pointless doubts. There are things in this world that are beyond ourprehension, outside ofmon sense.¡±


    ¡°Again, again with that nonsense. Hyung-nim certainly has changed after meeting that child. At this rate, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if you suddenly joined a religion.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s only natural to change after meeting an angel. You guys don¡¯t know, that child¡¯s parents don¡¯t know, but I saw.¡±


    ¡°Are you talking about that one wing?¡±


    The younger men picked at their ears, as if they¡¯d already heard this on multiple asions before.


    Where on earth would you find someone with one wing?


    They thought it was just a figment of his imagination, but the eldest appeared steadfast in his belief.


    ¡°The nobleman will cure that child. This is all fate and karma. The reason I met those two was precisely for this. It was all heaven¡¯s guidance.¡±


    ¡°Aigo, the Buddha himself has descended among us.¡±


    Knowing that the younger ones wouldn¡¯t listen any further, he closed his mouth, but his expression was obviously full of life as he looked at the yellow note. He had the face of a man who had witnessed a miracle; except this was already his second time.


    He respectfully held on to that note as he kowtowed once more in the direction of Mt Bukhan.


    ..


    ..


    Supat!


    Sparks flew before my eyes, caused by the golden red squirrel¡¯s sharp ws scratching past right beneath my nose.


    ¡°This damn bastard!¡±


    Cursing with no semnce of nobility at all, I pulled the rubber band of my slingshot.


    Shuung!


    Paak!


    It was a hit. The iron marble pierced the red squirrel¡¯s head, however, it didn¡¯t die. It continued to run amok despite the many shots it took, as if immortal.


    ¡®So you won¡¯t go down quietly huh?¡¯


    Determining the golden red squirrel¡¯s location and finding it had been easy, but I encountered a setback during my ambush. I didn¡¯t consider that it might not die instantly from an iron marble shot directly to its head.


    ¡®Its movements have slowed quite a bit though.¡¯


    Compared to the start of the fight, the difference was clear, so it wasn¡¯t as if there was no effect at all.


    Breathing in deeply, I pushed my movements to the extreme limit.


    This was the first time I had worked my body this hard since my return to the past, making my movements feel awkward.


    ¡®Hu! I feel like a sponge full of water.¡¯


    In my prime, before my return to the past, I was a superhuman who could fly in the skies and run 100m in a second, but my current body was the definition of average itself. The discrepancy between my old body and the current one made moving feel like a chore.


    I had been too full of myself. I thought it would be easy since it was just finding a gate.


    ¡®I knew my day was going too well.¡¯


    Nheless, humans were adapting animals.


    My ability to adjust was especially out of the ordinary.


    Kyaaaaa!


    The golden red squirrel¡¯s attacks were akin to frantic struggles, evidence that it also wasn¡¯t having an easy time.


    However, it was definitely gold colored. It had appeared as ck before my spirit transferred to Uriel Diablo, but it was now returned to its original color.


    My breathing was irregr; I couldn¡¯t afford the time for proper deep breaths. My heart inched towards its limit along with the increased number of wed wounds I received.


    At the same time I was angry at myself for struggling with a mere beast.


    ¡®A skill. I¡¯ll have to use one.¡¯


    I did have a n: the skills I had earned through synchronizing with Uriel Diablo.


    I hadn¡¯t used them, saving them forst measures. They were Lv9 skills after all. My body could explode from being unable to withstand the recoil of using them. Of course, Mind¡¯s Eye was a probing skill so the possibility of that happening was extremely low, but it didn¡¯t hurt to be careful.


    But at this rate neither myself nor the beast would get out of this in one piece.


    I sank into brief consideration, before nodding to myself.


    ¡®Mind¡¯s eye.¡¯


    It was at that moment.


    My sight brightened, my concentration sharpened, and simultaneously a message rose before my eyes.


    [¡®Mind¡¯s Eye(Lv9)¡¯ has been activated.]


    Name: Golden Red Squirrel(value-???)


    Stats:


    Strength 17 Agility 25 Constitution 13


    Intelligence 10 Magic Power 15


    Potential(80/80)


    Special note: Its value cannot be appraised due to its possession of the ¡®gate¡¯. It is capable of shifting the organs inside its body at will. Its heart and brain currently resides in its right arm and left leg respectively.


    So it wasn¡¯t possible to use Dominator due to being unable to calcte its value.


    But I gained information more important than that.


    First of all, there was no recoil from using the skill. If Mind¡¯s Eye was so, Dominator would be the same. And although it wasn¡¯t detailed, it showed me exactly what I wanted to see.


    Its weakness!


    ¡®To think it could shift its organs at will.¡¯


    What a preposterous ability1.


    How could it even move its brain, this wasn¡¯t some manga!


    I continued to activate Mind¡¯s Eye as I took out three iron marbles from the piece of cloth wrapped around my waist, one of which I quickly loaded onto the slingshot.


    Hwiing!


    Puuk!


    The iron marble pierced its heart.


    Gaaaak!


    The red squirrel let out a strange scream, but it didn¡¯t fall down.


    I continued to shoot iron marbles while it faltered.


    Tuung!


    Puok!


    I shot its throat, then aimed for its leg.


    Having its heart and brain shot through and its spine broken, the beast copsed.


    It had taken over ten iron marbles embedded in its body to kill it.


    ¡°Whew!¡±


    I mopped the cold sweat from my face.


    If it wasn¡¯t for my previous life experience, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to beat it. Not to mention its superior stats, the fact that I didn¡ät run away after being bewildered by it surviving the piercing shot in the head was already a good thing.


    [The battle against the ¡®golden red squirrel¡¯ has ended.]


    [100pt has been obtained.]


    [Strength and Constitution has each risen by ¡®1¡¯.]


    [¡®Lowest-grade ruby¡¯ has been obtained.]


    My stats rose, and the point gain was pretty good too.


    Stats could only be raised in this manner after awakening, by hunting monsters or going through special experiences. There was a definite, low limit to raising stats through pure bodily strength, and more than anything, it was slow. It was a hundred-times better to hunt instead.


    ¡°A lowest-grade ruby?¡±


    My mind snapped to attention when I read thest message.


    A lowest-grade ruby!


    The thumb-sized crimson ruby that floated up from the red squirrels corpse was slowly flying towards me. I snatched it out of the air and smiled.


    To think I¡¯d gain a jewel here of all ces!


    As I held it in my hand and concentrated, its rted exnation came into view.


    Name: Lowest-grade ruby


    Ability: +1 strength if embedded in equipment with sockets


    Exnation: A jewel created from the magic power inside a monster¡¯s body.


    ¡®Ha. It¡¯s a good start.¡¯


    I exaled without realizing it.


    Gems had an atrocious chance of appearing when hunting monsters.


    Ruby, topaz, emerald, sapphire, diamond!


    These jewels respectively raised strength, agility, constitution, intelligence, and magic power. Regardless of type or grade, these five kinds of jewels absolutely had to be gathered if possible because using them together with equipment that can be socketed maximizes their effect.


    By gathering 5 of the same grade jewels and either handing them to someone with a craftsman ss, or cing them into a ¡®Mixer¡¯ which can be acquiredter, a higher grade jewel can be obtained.


    But even I had never possessed anything higher than a high-grade jewel. That¡¯s just how terrible the chances ofing across jewels were.


    ¡®Jewels are goods that are traded at astronomical prices. A bit of a pity that it¡¯s not a diamond, but still, it¡¯s not bad.¡¯


    Although this would only happen in the future, their value was to the point that a single lowest-grade ruby would be enough to buy a pretty good building in the city. Of course, it couldn¡¯t bepared to diamonds. The very name of this jewel that raises magic power screams of worth.


    Even so, it wasn¡¯t a bad reward for defeating a beginner type of monster.


    I put away the ruby and once again turned to look at the red squirrel¡¯s corpse, waiting for the ¡®phenomenon¡¯ that would soon ur.


    Jiiiing!


    Finally, the golden red squirrels corpse began to shake uncontrobly. The golden light of its fur seemed to evaporate, rising into the air like smoke, gathering together to form a shape.


    It was a round, golden space. A roughly 3 diameter space had appeared in midair, shining a brilliant, pure gold color.


    That was a gate, and a golden gate was one of the most special among them.


    I walked towards the ¡®gate¡¯ that had abruptly materialized.


    The moment I put my hand on the gate,


    Suaaaak!


    I was engulfed by the golden light, like it was eating away at me.


    [The gate leading to the ¡®Ancient Altar(Lv1~Lv5)¡¯ has been discovered.]


    [Only those with stats lower than a total of 150 can enter.]


    [You are the pioneer; first to discover this ce. 1,000 points have been obtained.]


    1: this sentence was originally a pun on the word ?? which can both mean internal organs or strength/advantage/specialty.

 Chapter 11 - Ancient One (3)

    <h4>Chapter 11 ¨C Ancient One (3)</h4>


    It was a harsh wilderness; the other side of the ¡®gate¡¯ was a terribly barrennd.


    I stepped into the wilderness and took a look around my surroundings. But whichever way I looked, nothing but the asional rock came into view.


    ¡®If I remember correctly, the altar is to the west.¡¯


    I had never been here before. All I knew of this ce was either from documented information, or rumours and the like; because my original beginning had been at Mt Ha, not Mt Bukhan. But right now, Minshik was at Mt Ha instead of me.


    For now, there was nothing but to hope for the best and try walking westwards.


    ¡®At any rate, a pioneer huh.¡¯


    It had been so long since I¡¯ve seen such messages like the one from before entering here; I was almost d to see it. Now that I think about it, there were various benefits to being the pioneer. Points were one of them, and asionally you could receive blessings that raised stats or halfpleted maps.


    But at the same time, the pioneer¡¯s reward was a poison to humanity.


    ¡®Because of those who concealed everything in order to monopolize the rewards.¡¯


    It was the biggest reason why the existence of ¡®gates¡¯ came to be known muchter!


    The superhumans quickly convened and intentionally kept information to themselves, finding ¡®gates¡¯ and monopolizing the pioneer¡¯s reward. This happened throughout the entire world. It was to the point that there was even an official paper that pointed out how humanity¡¯s advance towards the superhuman era was dyed by a year because of this.


    If they had lessened their greed, it was possible that hundreds of powerful heroes may havee into being. Many more could havee across opportunities, sharing information with one another and growing stronger together.


    ¡®Minshik. Which path will you walk?¡¯


    I mused to myself, looking in the direction of Mt Ha where Minshik should be training the basics of a magic swordsman. He had said that he wanted to be a hero. A hero that would outshine me and save the world.


    A forked roady before him.


    To publicise information, or to monopolize it!


    But someone who could be swayed by desire, unable to part with worldly gains, could not be a hero. The title of hero, belonged to one who could be humble, who could let everything go, giving it all away.


    ¡®That¡¯s why I hate being a hero.¡¯


    Once was enough. In this lifetime, I was going to indulge in a life of staying in the shade. I was going to choose the path of solitary peace, not burdening myself with the expectation of others.


    But that did not mean I was going to ruin myself.


    The ¡®conscience¡¯ I had from the time when I was a hero still remained. It could be called dignity, even. If even that small line did not exist, how would I differ from an uncivilized gangster?


    Putting away my thoughts, I turned my gaze once again.


    ¡®Let¡¯s go towards the west.¡¯


    Lightly clicking my tongue, I began to move.


    Monsters would be more active when night falls. Before that, I had to move as far as I could and secure a safe ce.


    <hr ss="wp-block-separator">


    Hwiing!


    Puk!


    The iron marble shot through the air, lodging itself in the head of a gnoll.


    A gnoll was a small monster with the appearance of a dog that walked on its two feet. At best, it was a lowest-grade Lv1 monster, but they often moved around in packs.


    ¡®So there was a den of gnolls nearby.¡¯


    I took off my clothes; gnolls had a good sense of smell. With a den of them nearby, simply wearing clothes with the scent of humans could incur danger.


    Approaching the instantly killed gnoll¡¯s corpse, I carefully collected its blood and then smeared it all over my nude body. It would at least reduce the frequency of sudden gnoll attacks.


    I only took along the rucksack as I began to move again. I had spent around 3 hours like that, moving west, when I came across strange gigantic flowers.


    ¡®Since there are giant man-eating flowers here, the surrounding area should be safe.¡¯


    The identity of these giant flowers were monsters determined to be at Lv4. Normally, it would only gobble up anything that passed by its side. But when it sensed noise, it would stretch out its tentacles to snatch up prey up to 30m away.


    As long as it wasn¡¯t provoked, however, it happened to provide you with a surprisingly safe shelter; it wasn¡¯t often that other monsters would reside near giant man-eating flowers.


    I took out the small shovel in my rucksack to dig a hole in the ground, thenid down inside of it.


    Nights in the wilderness were bitterly cold. There was no other way to maintain body temperatures but to rely on the earth for instion, because starting a fire could attract a bunch of nocturnal monsters.


    ¡®I should try using the Dominator skill tomorrow.¡¯


    I decided to take it easy. Searching for the altar would take at least several days anyway. So I made up my mind to spare no time but to fully use it to grow stronger.


    As I closed my eyes, drowsiness immediately overtook me.


    <hr ss="wp-block-separator">


    There was no end to the territory of the gnolls.


    There were hordes of gnolls, warring among themselves in the distance. It appeared that even gnolls fought over territory.


    [¡®Dominator(Lv9)¡¯ skill has been activated.]


    [Dominationplete. 50pt consumed.]


    [¡®Gnoll 5¡¯ has joined the group.]


    [You may now exercise the authority of a master. You may issuemands that will be obeyed within the limits of the dominated target¡¯s intelligence.]


    Kaa?


    The instant the Dominator skill was activated, a change came over the gnoll that had discovered me and was about to attack; it was now like an innocentmb. It stayed confused over the sudden change for a long while, then right after that it ended up following me.


    This was an extraordinary matter. How unexpected that its hostility would be instantly removed, insteadpelling it to follow me.


    It wasn¡¯t a coincidence. This was already the fifth gnoll.


    ¡®It shares simrities with the Taming skill.¡¯


    At the end of five experiments, I had grasped a certain amount of understanding regarding the ¡®Dominator¡¯ skill.


    First of all, the Dominator skill exhibitedpulsion. I surmised that it even influenced the mind to an extent. But the extent of that influence differed by the individual. There was one that followedmands, but wasn¡¯t proactive about it, while another was confused and tried running away.


    And then there was one with a friendly attitude, treating me like a parent. After taking everything into consideration, it may be that there was some other standard dictating the degree of control. But they all shared amon point in that they would, at the least, carry out my mand¡¯.


    Like this for instance,


    ¡°Kill that gnoll.¡±


    Imanded my gnolls to kill the stray gnoll that I had lured out. That gnoll had shared the same territory as the five gnolls under my lead. I was curious as to whether even this sort ofmand would be followed..


    The result was surprising.


    [¡®Gnoll Group¡¯ has sessfully ended their hunt.]


    [The points obtained by ¡®Gnoll Group¡¯ is bound to their master.]


    [5pt has been obtained.]


    Sess!


    Moreover, the points they earned from killing the gnoll entered my pockets; this feature of transferring points was simr to Summoners or Tamers.


    I stilled, rubbing my chin.


    ¡®I might even be able to create an army of monsters if I use this well.¡¯


    Just like Mind¡¯s Eye, Dominator was indeed an unbelievable skill. Actually, it was better than what Summoners or Tamers could do. Dominator boasted an instantaneous effect upon activation, while on the other hand, summons or beasts required time to be tamed.


    Taming a summon usually took an average of three months. It took dozens of days even for a genius Summoner with god-given talents. That much time was needed to bind a summon, bringing it under control, after which the Summoner would use his skills to form a master and servant contract, and then imprint rules upon it.


    ¡®It¡¯s possible to use Dominator in a strategical way. If only I could figure out how value is determined.¡¯


    I required much more specimens. Even the amount of points that went into dominating gnolls weren¡¯t the same. Was it simply the difference in stats? Or were skills and potential counted as well? If that wasn¡¯t it either, was it some other element at work?


    In any case, I would be able to control the President, or even a world-renowned expert, as long as I put my mind to it. And not just that, I would be able to make even a unique monster like ¡®Andanius¡¯, the sky-sized snake that killed me, into doing my bidding. I probably had to be filthy rich with points though, of course.


    ¡®I remember that La Diablo needed 300,000 points.¡¯


    I had a long way to go naturally. The total amount of points I had earned between the time I had first awakened up to the point where I became thest hero was around 500,000. Furthermore, the La Diablo at present wasn¡¯t at a state ofplete development. She was much stronger at the time she invaded Earth in the past. If I used the past as the basis then much less 300,000, even 500,000 would most likely be insufficient.


    ¡®To think a mere skill could make up for an entire ss.¡¯


    No matter how I thought of it, the potential worth of this skill was amazing.


    I couldn¡¯t help chuckling.


    The synchronization with Uriel Diablo was a blessing for me. The skills ¡®Mind¡¯s Eye¡¯ and ¡®Dominator¡¯ he gifted me were the perfect ofbinations. It would be a weapon stronger than anything depending on its usage.


    ¡®I can gather a maximum of 130 gnolls with the amount of points I have right now.¡¯


    Dominator. A power that could create an army if you wanted to.


    Points had to be used with caution, but it was a matter of testing a Lv9 skill after all. It was worth investing this much.


    I briefly considered it, and then made the decision...to give it a go.

 Chapter 12 - Ancient One (4)

    <h4>Chapter 12 ¨C Ancient One (4)</h4>


    Kaaak!


    Kaaaak!


    Over a hundred gnolls had be as one and were terrorizing a small group of gnolls. It was an extremely rare scene, but I wasughing as I looked at it with satisfaction.


    ¡®Powerless before numbers.¡¯


    I used close to 6,000 points to dominate exactly 127 gnolls, a feat impossible for the average Summoner or Tamer. There may possibly be no hard limit to the number of individuals that can be dominated using this ¡®Dominator¡¯ skill.


    And before my eyes was the result of my doing. If I was alone, I would have had to back off from this pack of gnolls and sound things out, but now, ¡®Lo and behold, the beautiful scene of crushing others with numbers!


    [¡®Gnoll 46¡¯ has died.]


    [¡®Gnoll Group¡¯ has sessfully ended their battle.]


    [The points obtained by ¡®Gnoll Group¡¯ is bound to their master.]


    [130pt has been obtained.]


    [The buff ¡®From This Day Onward, We Are One(Str/Agi/Con +1)¡¯ is now being applied to ¡®Gnoll Group¡¯.]


    A group buff!


    A buff that raised stats by an impressive total of 3 was being applied to the Gnoll Group. The effect didn¡¯t extend to me regretfully, but the stats of over 100 gnolls rising all at once was an extraordinary urrence. Although one did end up dying, the gain outweighed the loss.


    ¡®Mind¡¯s Eye.¡¯


    I activated Mind¡¯s Eye and inspected the gnolls.


    Name: Gnoll 1(value-51)


    Race: Gnoll


    Stats:


    Str 13(12+1) Agi 14(13+1) Con 11(10+1)


    Int 5 Mag 6


    Potential(51+3/110)


    Special Note: Currently bound to ¡®Hansung Oh¡¯. Currently under the effect of the buff ¡®From This Day Onward, We Are One¡¯.


    The stats of most gnolls didn¡¯t differ much from the one above. Gnolls grew stronger as they hunted, and they would at the least continue to develop until their potential was filled.


    ¡®Being gnolls after all, their limits are clear to see.¡¯


    A mere limit of 110. The one with the highest potential among the 100 plus gnolls had 115. I suppose I had to bear in mind that they could grow until Lv2. But then again, gnolls were the lowest among lowest-grade monsters so some things couldn¡¯t be helped. Humans had a much higher average as far as potential went.


    ¡®The average potential of a human is about 250.¡¯


    The levels are structured so that every total of 50 stats would raise one level, so an average potential of 250...in other words, a mere Lv5 was the average for humans.


    ¡®The number of humans naturally born with high potentials, starting from 300, gradually increase in rarity.¡¯


    Although this was purely limited to humans, there was indeed statistics regarding this.


    Those born with above 300 potential were 1 in 10,000.


    Above 350 were 1 in 100,000.


    Above 400 were 1 in 1,000,000


    Above 450 were 1 in 10,000,000


    After 450, the scale for potential values is broken down from 50 to 10 with the improbability of possessing higher potentials rising exponentially. The current, total potential that I possess is 456. This was considered a miracle with a ¡®1/20,000,000¡¯ probability of happening.


    If your potential was lower than expected, though, it wasn¡¯t as if the possibility of seeing those numbers go higher didn¡¯t exist, whether it be through skill effects, titles, jewels, or even a strange yet fated encounter with a miracle.


    ¡®I can¡¯t be spectating like this any longer.¡¯


    Watching the gnolls battle made me grow unnecessarily excited. I could grow stronger much faster if I carried out my battles together with the 100 plus gnolls.


    I headed towards the west, hunting down every single gnoll I came across. When they were asionally great in number, I ughtered them in small numbers as I lured them out, and with the points gathered in this manner, I further increased the number of my gnolls. To the original reigning gnolls of this territory, it was an emergency.


    I was an ecological disaster.


    ..


    ..


    [¡®Gnoll 161¡¯ has joined ¡®Gnoll Group¡¯.]


    [The level of ¡®Gnoll Group¡¯ has risen to 3.


    There had been 120 gnolls at the start, but in just 7 days or so, the numbers rose to 150. The problem was that as my stats developed and my army increased in size, I could no longer earn much points from hunting gnolls.


    ¡®I suppose gnoll hunting ends here.¡¯


    This was the reason why gathering points was hard. The stronger you be, the less points points you earned, while on the other hand, defeating a stronger opponent when you were weaker would you so much more ¡ª but this hardly ever happened. I had now reached the limit of gaining points through hunting regr gnolls, and the speed at which my stats grew had noticeably slowed.


    I drew a cross mark in midair.


    [Updating User Information.]


    Name: Hansung Oh


    upation: N/A


    Titles:


    ?? Merciless Gnoll ughterer(Lv3, Con +4)


    Stats:


    Str 29


    Agi 25


    Cons 28(24+4)


    Int 15


    Mag 16


    Potential(109+4/456)


    Special Note: Potential has greatly increased due to the influence of an unknown power.


    Skills: Mind¡¯s Eye(Lv9), Dominator(Lv9), Transfer(???)


    [Before and After Comparison]


    Str 11 Agi 11 Con 10 Int 9 Mag 10 Potential(51/456)


    Str 29 Agi 25 Con 28 Int 15 Mag 16 Potential(109+4/456)


    If my growth was graphed, the curve would look like a sheer cliff. If I had been alone, then I wouldn¡¯t have managed this kind of growth within the same time frame; it was only possible because I had fought alongside my gnolls. I even gained a title. No matter how many titles you had, it wasn¡¯t enough because they were one of the few methods of breaking through your own potential. The conditions to earn them were that much stringent and difficult, but they were worth it even if one had to go through the pain of shitting bricks.


    ¡®Now if I could take down the chief then the title¡¯s level would rise however...¡¯


    I fell into contemtion. As far as I know, there were approximately three gnoll chieftains that ruled over this wilderness. But my strength was a littlecking for a confrontation with them. A gnoll chief was a Lv5 monster, and they stayed with amunity of gnolls that numbered in the thousands. Going against them right now would spell annihtion.


    ¡®The Ancient One¡¯s poweres first.¡¯


    It was extremely important to decide on priority. I had to avoid overestimating myself, and besides, there was no need to gamble at this point.


    Hunting regr gnolls woulde to an end here. It was now time to seriously search for the altar. Fortunately, I could vaguely see some structures in the distance: temples, towers and altars, all in ruins. Heading towards west I barely managed to reach the location.


    ¡®Soon, the moment of truth will arrive.¡¯


    My fortune would depend on whether or not I can safely get my hands on the Ancient One¡¯s power.


    I clenched my fist as I quickly walked onwards. Behind me were roughly 150 gnolls, all following after me.


    ..


    ..


    There was an especiallyrge number of half-ruined altars in this ce. All the altars here would pass down a ¡®trial¡¯. Every trial was different in nature, and those who passed them would earn fitting rewards. On the other hand, those who couldn¡¯t ovee the trial, would be headed straight for the river styx because the ones who fail the trial cannot not exit the altar ever again.


    ¡®The number of altars here was 56.¡¯


    There sure were a lot. But even though there were 56 altars, each could be explored by one person only. That meant there were enough opportunities for a grand total of 56 people, but without any information, it was literally a gamble. The altars rose in difficulty the closer you went to the center. And the altar of the ¡®Ancient One¡¯ was right at the center.


    ¡®Ancient One. The first dragon...¡¯


    I stood in front of it. It was muchrger and magnificent than the other altars. An iparably gargantuan image of a dragon was engraved at the top of the entrance, preserved in its appearance regardless of the passage of time.


    The Ancient One. The first ever and most powerful dragon to exist. It had a familiar ring to it. It was quite like how I was at one time, thest ever hero to remain.


    There were no proper ounts regarding the trial of this ce. No one could re-enter and attempt an altar that was alreadypleted once, and as such, there were no guidebooks floating around anywhere. Simply put, I had to explore it myself.


    When I approached the semi-ruined entrance, a warning message popped up.


    [This is the Ancient One¡¯s altar.]


    [Difficulty: Impossible.]


    [Will you enter?]


    The difficulty was measured ording to the stats of the challenger. It only took stats into consideration, however, so external elements were excluded. It was deemed ¡®impossible¡¯ with my current stats, but I had Mind¡¯s Eye and Dominator. What¡¯s more, I had an abundance of experience like no other. If that guy who imploded to death could ovee this trial, there was no reason why I couldn¡¯t.


    Will I enter you ask?


    ¡®Obviously.¡¯


    I directly went through the entrance, and fortunately, the 150 gnolls seemed to have been determined as ¡®my belongings¡¯. When all the gnolls passed through, the entry closed with a resounding m.


    ..


    ..


    Shwiing!


    Puok!


    It was dismally dark inside, and the first thing that greeted me was an arrow.


    [¡®Gnoll 23¡¯ has died.]


    I be tense with the violent death of one gnoll as I studied my surroundings.


    There was a passageway. A long passageway with no end in sight. Could it be that arrows will continuously shoot out until I traverse this passage?


    ¡®It¡¯s possible.¡¯


    I wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge arrows flying at me from the front because of my low Agility, but I was still capable of reading the trajectory of an arrow in advance and evading it.


    But as if mocking me for my thoughts, I could hear a deafening noiseing from behind.


    Tung. Tung. Turururung!


    This sound...it was the sound of something rolling.


    I looked back.


    And saw a giant iron hoop rolling straight towards me from the entrance.


    ¡°Run!¡±


    I was already running before I opened my mouth to give themand.


    Shwiiik!


    Puok!


    [¡®Gnoll 121¡¯ has died.]


    There was no time to read the message, and even less time to read the trajectory of arrows.


    ¡°God, damn it all!¡±


    I used the gnolls as shields and ran like my feet was on fire.

 Chapter 13 - Ancient One (Fin)

    <h4>Chapter 13 ¨C Ancient One (Fin)</h4>


    Huk, huk, huk...!


    I felt like I was about to die. The iron hoop and arrows weren¡¯t the end of it. I had to pass throughva erupting from the ground at fixed intervals, gigantic icicles falling from above at random times, a path of fire that burned unendingly, and a marsnd full of flesh-eating bats. My hair waspletely burnt away and not a spot on my body remained untouched because of this, and the 150 gnolls that had followed me were now reduced to 30 or so.


    ¡®It wasn¡¯t deemed impossible for nothing.¡¯


    There was no end to it. I now understood why it was determined as ¡®impossible¡¯.


    ¡®How the hell did the previous guy pass this?¡¯


    Dying a hundred deaths to these traps wouldn¡¯t be strange, unless you happened to have fully invested in the luck stat to the limit; even I had almost died at least five times.


    But now I was almost at the end of it. As I followed the path, continuing to head underground, a wideke came into sight. Theke was beautiful and its waters were clear, as far as the eye could see, and on the other side of theke there was the corpse of a dragon.


    ¡®Is that the Ancient One?¡¯


    I turned my gaze upwards as I scratched at my half-burned head. The size of it seemed to reach about 100m; big enough to be considered a ¡®behemoth¡¯. When you consider that most dragons can¡¯t even surpass 50m, that corpse was truly tremendous. It appeared to have been left alone as it was for thousands of years. Nothing but bones was left of it, appearing a little deste even.


    But wait, there was still an orgain remaining.


    ¡®The heart.¡¯


    I did a double-take in disbelief, yet my eyes weren¡¯t deceiving me. The heart alone remained and was beating intensely.


    I took half a step into theke but then, at the same time-


    Kururururung!


    The entire cave shook and the waters of theke sshed everywhere. Finally, theke water whirled around in a circle and gathered into a spot to form a figure.


    [Altar Guardian ¡®Al Araxar¡¯ has appeared.]


    It was a knight of water. A man who wore an undting armor of water stood floating above theke and stared down at me. There was a towering presence to him. A presence of this level was something I had almost never felt before. The only time I experienced something simr was when I first encountered the Demon Lord and Queen of Terror.


    ¡®Mind¡¯s Eye.¡¯


    I used Mind¡¯s Eye out of a desire to know the specifics of this knight that had appeared.


    Name: Al Araxar (Value ¨C 500,000)


    Race: Dragon Soldier


    upation: Altar Guardian


    Titles:


    ?? Ancient One¡¯s Guardian(Lv9)


    ?? One Who Wields Water(Lv8)


    Stats:


    Str 90 Agi 90 Con 90


    Int 90 Mag 90


    Potential(450/450)


    Special Note: He is a knight that the Ancient One poured its heart and soul into creating.


    That was all I could see of him. I tried examining him further, however, it seemed that I couldn¡¯t find out everything about the knight even with the power of Mind¡¯s Eye, but it was enough to have seen that much. It was clear, at the very least, that in this situation he was ¡®an existence that mustn¡¯t be provoked¡¯. The moment I did, it would be the end. I would be sent on my way to the other world before I could even take a breath.


    ¡®Definitely not something that should be in a beginner dungeon.¡¯


    The entry to this altar could only be passed by those with stats totalling 150 or below. The trial would only be set within the limits of that stat restriction. It wasn¡¯t as if there wasn¡¯t a chance of sess even though the difficulty was dered as impossible. But on the contrary, the knight before my eyes was literally ¡®impossible¡¯.


    I swallowed with a gulp.


    It was like I had been climbing a mountain, only to find out midway that I was really on an express highway straight to heaven.


    ¡°It¡¯s been so long since a guest hase.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯vee to receive the Ancient One¡¯s power.¡±


    It was my deration of war; it was best to be clear with your objective. But the words that left the knight¡¯s mouth took me by surprise.


    ¡°Fine. I shall grant you that power if you return the way you came.¡±


    ¡°What...?¡±


    I frowned instinctively. It was all too easily granted. You would give me the Ancient One¡¯s power as long as I went back like this?


    The knight then spoke as if having read my mind.


    ¡°You have proven your right just by reaching this point. You are sufficiently worthy to share in the power of the Ancient One.¡±


    I felt myself deting all of a sudden.


    However, thetter part of his speech bothered me strangely.


    ¡®The right to share, is it.¡¯


    Not to have, but to share. Simply put, it meant that he wouldn¡¯t hand over the Ancient One¡¯s power.


    I hadn¡¯te all this way just so I could receive someone¡¯s ¡®borrowed power¡¯.


    I came to take it. I was here to fight for it.


    As such, I held nothing back as I spoke,


    ¡°What I want is the Ancient One¡¯s power in its entirety. I didn¡¯te here to receive a share of power.¡±


    ¡°Such excessive greed. You must defeat me if you so desire it.¡±


    Al Araxar held out his right hand.


    Sukung!


    Kwaang!


    Water stretched out like a whip to strike my cheek and thrashed me to the ground on the spot, forming a deep crater where I fell. This was all it took to make the difference in our abilities clear. There was real need to take it any further.


    However...


    ¡°Al Araxar! Knight of water. I shall ept your trial.¡±


    ¡°You mean to duel me?¡±


    ¡°If I must!¡±


    I took a bold stand, looking him straight in the eyes, and at that moment I felt a chill spreading all over me. My body shivered uncontrobly and sweat poured out from everywhere.


    ¡®Killing intent.¡¯


    I could literally feel his intent to kill. The gap between Al Araxar and me was like heaven and earth. The knight before my eyes could kill me a mere nce.


    ¡®And yet he hasn¡¯t killed me. This is a test.¡¯


    A restriction was ced upon entering this ce. Even a novice could definitely achieve something here. A monster like this shouldn¡¯t have been here in the first ce, but if this was another ¡®trial¡¯, then I could understand. Al Araxar¡¯s attitude helped to further add to my belief; his actions were as if on purpose to provoke me. He was humorously observerving me to see how long I could stand the killing intent he exuded.


    This was a test. A desire to see how far I could go was in his eyes. The previous challenger must have given up at this point, however, I was different.


    Kkwaduduk!


    I clenched my jaw so hard that my teeth bled, feeling like it would break. I roused every single cell in my body, exerting myself to the point I started seeing red and I felt my head emitting steam. Time continued to trickle, every moment feeling like an eternity. Finally, Al Araxar eximed in admiration,


    ¡°How unexpected that you could withstand my aura. You are no ordinary man.¡±


    ¡°I desire the Ancient One¡¯s power. I have no intention of going back until I obtain it.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    Al Araxarughed with ridicule and stepped across the surface of the water to stand before me.


    ¡°There is a saying that water is a mirror which reflects the beholder. Likewise, I am capable of morphing into any other.¡±


    Al Araxar¡¯s form began to change the moment he finished speaking.


    ¡°My present self is identical to you. I cannot exhibit strength that exceeds your own. If you can defeat me in this form, I shall relinquish to you the entirety of the Ancient One¡¯s power. But if you lose, your life will be forfeit.¡±


    Al Araxar transformed into me. Going so far as to replicate my half-burned hair slightly irked me, but his appearance now was like a mirror ced before me. He looked so much like me, even down to the veryst hair, that it was almost repulsive.


    At any rate, was he truly the same as me?


    The extent of how ¡®identical¡¯ he was remained to be seen.


    I warmed up my body. The likeness between him and I should end at my stats and appearance. Common sense dictates that he shouldn¡¯t be able to take on my experience and memories as well. If that was the case, I had a chance at victory. This may even be easier than the obstacles I had ovee to reach this point.


    ¡°Al Araxar! This duel, I dly ept.¡±


    ¡°Lamentable human. Is there perhaps a weapon you desire?¡±


    I could tell that Al Araxar was certain of his own victory by his nonchnt disy of giving a weapon to his opponent. Nodding my head, I said,


    ¡°A sword. All I need is a sword with a proper de.¡±


    I was once a magic swordsman. It was a given that my swordsmanship was close to the peak, befitting my identity. I had actually preferred the sword over magic, because rather than killing with magic, that feeling of cutting down my foes fit right with me. The type of sword didn¡¯t matter in particr. I could somewhat handle any sword using a simr style.


    ¡°Take it.¡±


    Al Araxar barely finished uttering his words when a long sword flew out from theke. I directly snatched the oing sword midair and leveled it at Al Araxar. Al Araxar, however, appeared as rxed as ever.


    ¡°You shall regret having chosen the sword to face me. For I am an existence the Ancient One had created with the knowledge of every sword technique there is.¡±


    ¡°Enough nonsense.¡±


    ¡°Will you be able to keep that attitude while you die I wonder. Foolish-¡±


    Chumbong!


    Chiaaang!


    I made the first move, unable to stand listening any further. The distaste I felt at the sight of someone who looked exactly as I did was much more intense than I could have imagined.


    Al Araxar¡¯s expression further hardened as he blocked my sword, and finished speaking with slight anger in his voice,


    ¡°-human.¡±


    ..


    ..


    (Al Araxar perspective)


    What an insolent human. I had felt some curiosity regarding the first guest in thousands of years, but that was all. I no longer wished to speak with such a disrespectful human. Since he had chosen a sword, the human would not be able to best me no matter how much he struggled.


    The Ancient One had had interest in all things in the world, especially in something as systematically organized as swordsmanship. The Ancient One had gathered andpiled all the sword techniques in the world into his creation: I, Al Araxar.


    However, I felt a strangeness the more I exchanged blows with the human.


    ¡®He has quite the attainments in the sword I see.¡¯


    The human¡¯s talent in the sword was something even I had to acknowledge. But even so, a human could only live for a mere hundred years. No matter how much he trained, he would meet a limit. I had existed for thousands of years. He had no way of defeating me.


    Cheng! Cheng! Chaaang!


    The sounds of shing swords resounded throughout the cave.


    I was surprised to find that I was being pushed back step by step. The human¡¯s swordsmanship was extremely aggressive. He abandoned everything else and focused only on attacking.


    ¡®Was a human¡¯s swordsmanship supposed to be this exquisite?¡¯


    Even his style slightly surprised me. My swordsmanship was something taken from all kinds of races; but this sort of purely attack oriented swordsmanship did not exist in my knowledge. He moved as if attacking was the best defence, denying me the time to even disy my prided swordsmanship.


    Crushing pressure!


    He, a human, was literally trampling over me, the incarnation of swordsmanship!


    ¡®This cannot be happening.¡¯


    I changed my stance from defense to offense. It was clear I could not win by defending alone. I abandoned my defense to match the human, paying no mind to the small wounds I received.


    As for exquisite, systematic sword techniques?


    The very notion of it was nowhere to be found, as I swung my sword for nothing but the sake of victory.


    Chaaang!


    And after a series of nearly two hundred exchanges, one sword left the hand of its owner, flying into the air.


    ..


    ..


    (Hansung Oh perspective)


    I deeply smiled.


    ¡®I won.¡¯


    The sword that was blown away belonged to Al Araxar.


    Right away I ced my sword at his neck.


    Al Araxar seemed to be in confusion. His expressionless face remained the same, but I could tell that he was practically bursting with questions.


    ¡°Just what happened then. How could a mere human¡¯s swordsmanship-¡±


    ¡°Swordsmanship happens to be something I¡¯m rather confident at.¡±


    Al Araxar then spoke as if having grasped onto a bit of hope,


    ¡°Is that right. So I take it that you are the most skilled at using the sword even among all humans.¡±


    Assuming that two shing sides possess the same abilities, pure skill would be the determining factor in victory. It appeared that he would be able to ept his loss if I happened to possess attainments in the sword that surpassed the extreme.


    But regretfully, there were quite a few who could handle the sword much better than me.


    ¡°I¡¯m quite good at it yes. I¡¯m about the seventh best I¡¯d say?¡±


    Technically, if only looking at swordsmanship, I was about seventh best at using the sword.


    Al Araxar¡¯s expression wavered for the first time.


    ¡°What is the meaning of that?¡±


    ¡°It means that there are geniuses, far more talented in the sword than me, Al Araxar.¡±


    I considered myself to be a dull-witted, which was why I put my life on the line to learn swordsmanship, but I couldn¡¯t best those who put in the effort as well as having the talent. I couldn¡¯t join the ranks of those individuals who possessed titles such as sword god, sword sage, and sword demon. But excluding them, it was fact that there was no one who could best me with the sword.


    ¡°The seventh best...¡±


    Al Araxar closed his eyes. He appeared to be deep in thought. The blow to his pride must not have been light.


    Shwiiik!


    Soon after, Al Araxar reverted to his original form. He then held out his hand, and the heart that was in between the Ancient One¡¯s bones slowly came flying towards me.


    ¡°This is the Ancient One¡¯s heart. It has lost much of its power after so long, yet it still remains supreme.¡±


    ¡°How do I gain its power?¡±


    Al Araxar¡¯s reply was sinct.


    ¡°Eat it!¡±


    Eat it?


    I couldn¡¯t help going nk at the brevity of his reply.


    Dugun! Dugun!


    The heart was beating violently. I felt dizzy just looking at it. The violent beating of the heart felt as if it was roaring at the world.


    ¡°Do so, and the Ancient One¡¯s power shall belong to you.¡±


    A bted way of exining indeed.


    I received the Ancient One¡¯s heart.


    It did happen to be the most certain method, albeit primitive. This didn¡¯t sicken me at all, because I had eaten far worse things before. Only, the heart¡¯s heaviness wasn¡¯t something tough at.


    I deeply took a breath, and opened my mouth.


    Wagujak! Wagujak!


    Then and there, I began munching away at the Ancient One¡¯s heart.

 Chapter 14 - Odin’s Treasury (1)

    <h4>Chapter 14 ¨C Odin¡¯s Treasury (1)</h4>


    Blood trickled down the corners of my lips, but I paid no heed. The taste was so-so; appropriately bloody and disgusting. The texture was like chewing on rubber and each time I swallowed it stuck to the walls of my throat, as if it was coated in glue, but as long as it was something beneficial to my body I would readily chow down on even steel.


    But it was...strange. Normally miracle elixirs like these, or no, perhaps this should be called a god elixir? At any rate, there was no particr change to my body even though I was consuming the heart of the first ever dragon in existence. Normally, the first mouthful should have sent a zap through my entire body, and a boiling sense of magic power should have welled up from within; the countless miracle elixirs I had consumed in the past was like this.


    ¡®No way it could be a fake could it?¡¯


    I swallowed the rest of the heart and stared at Al Araxar with a frown fixed on my forehead. Al Araxar was remaining still, posturing as ever, and looking at me. There was no sign of breathing from him, although he didn¡¯t need to breathe in the first ce, but he was much too unusually still.


    I immediately turned around. The gnolls were stuck in the middle of various movements. Even the waters of theke didn¡¯t show a ripple of movement.


    ¡®...Time has stopped.¡¯


    Indeed, there was a change. It wasn¡¯t a change inside my body, but the world itself had stopped. I had never experienced something like this before. Even during the times when I drunk water mixed with the powdered horn of a unicorn or eaten the heart of a phoenix, the changes I had experienced was limited to my body only, and yet...to think time would stop.


    No. Perhaps it was that I was merely standing in a separate timeline. If that was so, then perhaps it was correct to say that it was indeed a change that ured to myself only.


    Moving in this state was dangerous. If my body was still in the midst of going through change then there was the risk of the magic power in me going out of control. Thus I decided to wait for now.


    1 hour, 2 hours, a day, 2 days...


    ¡®How long do I have to wait?¡¯


    There was no change even after having waited a week. The world was as unmoving as ever. Even with my super human patience, I couldn¡¯t help feeling that something wasn¡¯t right.


    Something was...wrong. Very wrong.


    I tried poking Al Araxar but he didn¡¯t budge an inch. The gnolls as well stayed fixed in their spots. Everything in the world couldn¡¯t be influenced by me.


    ¡®This is a space that¡¯s left thews of physics. Or else it¡¯s that I¡¯ve shedded my physical body.¡¯


    I thought up two hypothesis¡¯. However, time itself had stopped; I couldn¡¯t always keep my thoughts constrained within the ordinaryws of nature. That being the case, I considered the second hypothesis. I had broken away from my body, my spirit alone separating!


    I originally didn¡¯t believe in the existence of souls, but after having returned to the past, I did consider the notion of it. Although, I had never expected I would be in such a state.


    ¡®I see. So this is the world of spirits.¡¯


    It was a small realisation. The moment I realised I had left behind my physical body, I started separating from it. My body remained in frozen time while my consciousness rose up and floated away. And then six doors appeared in the vicinity of my soul.


    ¡®Six worlds.¡¯


    The Ancient One was showing me these worlds. The six doors were entrances that each lead to different ¡®worlds¡¯.


    That¡¯s right...those six worlds were the Six Realms, worlds reigned by chaos, inhabited by the dead and monsters. This was the Ancient One¡¯s power. It seemed that it was the ¡®guardian¡¯ as well as the ¡®Keeper¡¯ that managed the gates. It was preventing the beings of those six worlds from intruding in this world. But it had died, and so a connection formed between the abyss and human realm. The death of ¡®great beings¡¯ like the Ancient One must have been the beginning of why all kinds of monsters and Demon Lords had invaded us.


    ¡®The great beings that used to overseer the human realm. They all died. All of them killed by...someone.¡¯


    Fragments of the Ancient One¡¯s memory poured into my mind. Thanks to that I could naturally ¡®understand¡¯. The history of the world, and the beginning of everything that had happened. There was no way of knowing the perpetrator behind it, however, I had a hunch. The Colossus. Great Star. It was either that, or some other rted to it.


    I observed the six worlds. Five of the six worlds already had owners. I picked one world, where sinners go after death; hell realm!


    Ururung!


    Kwakwakwakwang!


    It was a world where ck lightning fell endlessly. A dark as pitch world of monsters, different from the abyss. I discovered an unusual being in the center of the world. It raised its gigantic wings and stared at me, and at the same time, I was hit by an impact that made me feel as if my soul would shatter. I knew that being. No, the Ancient One knew that great being.


    ¡°Scram. This is no ce for a cub like you.¡±


    Evil God, Randalf Bruxelles!


    A true god that managed and supervised the Hell realm. The Demon Lord Andalton Bruxelles¡¯ patron...


    He slightly twitched his finger and at the same time, I was sted out through the dimension gate.


    ¡°Urrrghh!¡±


    I dry heaved the moment I was sted back into my world. Gripping my head, I rolled around on the ground, screaming bloody murder, and for about 30 days I couldn¡¯t do a thing. The slightest mistake and my soul would have just broken to pieces.


    ¡®I should...be careful.¡¯


    Barely recovered after 30 or so days, I shook my head. Just a twitch of a finger amounted to this much damage. But I was still lucky. Evil God though he may be, his intent didn¡¯t go beyond ¡®chasing¡¯ me out. He was a Keeper, so all he did was to send me back to where I belonged. But if he had harbored even the slightest of ill-will, I would have been disintegrated on the spot. Eliminated just like that.


    I couldn¡¯t even muster the thought of directly going into other worlds now. Instead I looked from the entrances and observed.


    The worlds of gods. Some worlds were ruled by an absolute being, like the Hell realm, while there were even cases of numerous gods ruling over a world as one. But the Keepers of the human realm were all dead. That was why the abyss had surfaced; the human realm became connected to all kinds of worlds, bringing catastrophe upon itself.


    ¡®Then what is the Colossus?


    Was it a god that was born in ce of the Keepers like the Ancient One?


    I quietly clicked my tongue. There was nothing more dangerous than jumping to a hasty conclusion in my current state. I had to put together all the information and make an objective conclusion. That¡¯s how grave the situation was.


    I then stared toward the empty gate. The human realm, where I was standing now.


    ¡®I¡¯ll take a look around.¡¯


    I was born and raised here, but there wasn¡¯t much I knew of this beautiful, because monsters roamed freely and everything was destroyed in the world I remembered. But before the invasion of all that, the world must surely shine brightly.


    I decided to take a look at this beautiful world for myself with my own two eyes.


    ..


    ..


    A floating spirit.


    I became an aimlessly wandering ghost. Starting from Korea I traversed the world, taking in the world through my eyes. All things were frozen in my perspective so it was like I was looking at a picture. But it wasn¡¯t just nature that I took in.


    ¡®Wow.¡¯


    When I stared at a person stopped in time, I could see that person¡¯s past. It showed a panoramic view of the person¡¯s most important of moments in life, albeit in fragments. It didn¡¯t happen for all people though; I could only take a peek at those who hadpelling memories.


    Their memories made me feel so vitalized. My determination grew stronger as I watched their lives. Was this ability gained by bing an Keeper?


    asionally I would meet those whom I knew of; like this man in a strip bar, holding a beer mug full of cash, shaking it about, as he sauntered about with women.


    ¡®Wizard of Integrity Alex. Always did pretend to be so upright by himself, but turns out he was hiding his nature.¡¯


    At the same time his memories rose into view.


    Born in wealthy household, he was unable toply by their standards and so ran away from home to live as a host. ¡®Integrity¡¯ could be defined as such: Mad for women.


    How interesting this was. When would I ever get a second chance like this?


    After going round the world once anding back to Korea again, this time I went towards Mt Ha.


    ¡®This guy Minshik is already hunting orcs.¡¯


    Minshik was on the other side of Mt Ha¡¯s ¡®gate¡¯. He was single-handedly hunting an orc and polishing the foundations of a magic swordsman. He was growing fast indeed. The bloody wounds all over his body seemed to show his resolve in this lifetime. At the same time I could even read Minshik¡¯s past.


    I saw through his eyes the cmity that befell the world, and the days he spent as a powerless person. I saw him being kidnapped and experimented on, and saw his life after joining Aletheia. He became addicted to drugs, spending his waking moments longing for the light, day after day, but heaven forced Minshik to taint his hand with blood. And in the background of his life...was always me.


    ¡®Of all people to envy. Why me, you fool.¡¯


    I had been sick and tired of it all. If I could have given up my role I would have tossed it far. I may have appeared so glorious on the outside but my insides had further rotted with each passing day, for I no longer had any hope. The envy and faith of the people was so heavy that when I defeated Andanius and died, I couldn¡¯t helpughing.


    Whether or not he would be able to walk that road, I didn¡¯t know. But in my heart I was rooting for him.


    Afterwards I turned back to return.


    To the altar once again.


    ¡°Ancient One. Were you curious as to what I wanted to do?¡±


    I spoke toward the dragon¡¯s corpse across theke. I had the feeling that it had stopped time and observed in order to see through my purpose. Moreover, I had stolen a peek at a fraction of its memory. The Ancient One wasn¡¯t a fair Keeper.


    I approached the Ancient One.


    ¡°Now I can understand. Why you would have the one you shared power with make their own ss. You merely wanted to see their desire. And you would cast them away if their desires did not correspond to your own.¡±


    What Ancient One¡¯s truly wanted to find was a Keeper for the world. In other words, its sessor. But the dreams of men were colorful; they each had their own desires. Back then, the Ancient One simply wasn¡¯t satisfied with the person who dreamed of being an ¡®emperor¡¯, that was all; because that dream was a desire in the end. The Keeper who managed the world needed to be a person of purity. But even the Ancient One actually failed to be pure.


    ¡°I, however, have no intention of managing the world ording to your wish. My only desire and objective is the Colossus! Killing it is my sole purpose. And yet...¡±


    The Demon Lords were trying to be the Colossus. They hoped to obtain its soul and be a true god.


    I will shatter their hopes. At the very moment they believe themselves at the cusp of attaining their desires, I will let them know that it was all a dream.


    I held out my index finger in pointed usation.


    ¡°Damned bastard. Why didn¡¯t you search yourself even with this kind of ability in your hand? Why did you think someone who would satisfy you woulde knocking on your doorstep?¡±


    Kurururung!


    The Ancient One¡¯s corpse began shaking in this frozen world. Was it angry at the insult? But I had no thoughts of taking back my words. Everything I experienced just then was due to the Ancient One¡¯s power. I couldn¡¯tprehend why it would do nothing but wait for a sessor toe finding it. It would have been fine if it had Al Araxar take a look around the world, then it would have definitely found one or two sessors.


    Simply put, this was all nothing more than its ¡®pastime¡¯. If I had followed Al Araxar¡¯s suggestion to go back and receive a share of the power then created a ss, my body would have exploded like a balloon regardless of what I did, unless my choice suited the tastes of this whimsical Ancient One. I couldn¡¯t hold back my fury now that I knew.


    I stretched out my leg and began fiercely kicking its bones.


    ¡°We are not your toys. And so...I will use the power in your heart for no one¡¯s but only my own intents and purposes. You should just stay there and watch, desperating hoping, praying, that I would seed your ce.¡±


    I had no intention of having my life swayed by others. In this lifetime, at least, I would live freely.


    Only after giving plenty vent to my rage did I return to stand before my frozen body. Then I spoke as if to dere,


    ¡°I will be a human. A human that moves like wildfire ording to desire and emotions! I will warn you, my desire can¡¯t be stopped with the likes of your whimsy. The mes of desire only grow stronger when wind blows!¡±


    I was the embodiment of desire. It had been piling up and up, and finally it began to explode like a volcano. There was no way the whims of a mere dragon could stop it. Moreover as I travelled the world and saw its people, my soul had expanded. I was able to hold much more now, and see more things from a much higher ce. My ¡®prestige¡¯ had risen, should I say. That small realization had intended up instigating my desires.


    I returned to my body, and the frozen time started moving again.


    [¡®Six Realms¡¯ has been attained.]


    [User awakened to the basics of ¡®Human Realm¡¯.]


    [Creation of authority! You have created a new power using the Ancient One¡¯s power!]


    [The power that can be anything, beome vessel to everything, the authority of ¡®Universal Man¡¯ now resides in the user¡¯s soul.]


    [User has achieved what should been impossible with the current user¡¯s ability, user has stepped into the domain of iprehensibility.]


    [User has been given one chance to enter ¡®Odin¡¯s Treasury(Lv3)¡¯.]


    [Magic Power has risen by 20.]


    [7,000pt has been obtained.]

 Chapter 15 - Odin’s Treasury (2)

    <h4>Chapter 15 ¨C Odin¡¯s Treasury (2)</h4>


    Tick tock tick tock!


    It was like I was hearing the sounds of a ticking clock. When I opened my eyes again, the first thing I saw was Al Araxar who was wearing a most unpleasant expression on his face.


    ¡°What on earth have you done?¡±


    Al Araxar. The one who watches over the altar and acts guardian to the Ancient One. He was so powerful an existence that most monsters weren¡¯t even worth being mentioned in the same sentence as him. And yet here he was, making a face that betrayed how clueless he was as to what I had done.


    ¡°How...how have you assimted the Ancient One¡¯s power? This, this is iprehensible!¡±


    Was he hoping that I would fail to take in the Ancient One¡¯s power and die? Although if I hadn¡¯t newly reconstructed that power with my personal desires, there would have been serious issues in receiving the Ancient One¡¯s power.


    My newly gained authority unique to me, Universal Man. It was the possibility of everything. A power that didn¡¯t set my limit, but only pushed on forward! What could I do? Anything was possible, and at the same time it was an ability that could reach the pinnacle. The moment my authority was named Universal Man I gained a small enlightenment on how to use it.


    ¡®Magic, swordsmanship, sorcery, and even summoning...¡¯


    Magic swordsman? It wielded both magic and the sword but it was a ss that wasn¡¯t capable of reaching the pinnacle, however, Heaven Man Earth was different. It could rise to the top, even go beyond it. It was even possible to go for so much more than just magic and swordsmanship.


    ¡®As long as my effort and desire is sufficient!¡¯


    It wouldn¡¯t be easy, however, nothing was impossible. More than anything, I was confident that I would lose to no one when it came to effort alone; to strive forward tirelessly no matter what. The reason I could even get near those who were hailed as true ¡®geniuses¡¯ was because of my efforts. Desire was also something that couldn¡¯t be done without, because it was what fueled the possibilities of Heaven Man Earth.


    ¡®20 Magic power...!¡¯


    What shocked me the most was that 20 Magic Power had risen, for it was the most difficult among all stats to raise. Magic Power increased the utility or destructive power of skills, but more importantly it would raise the ¡®prestige¡¯ of a person. Some would joke that reaching 150 Magic Power would turn you into a god.


    Especially among special beings there were those who wouldn¡¯t give you the time of day if your prestige was low. Sealed weapons and the like also chose their owners ording to prestige. On the contrary, strength was simply strength; it could grant you herculean power. Agility was rted to momentary bursts of speed. Constitution increased endurance and allowed you to withstand the recoil of magic and the like. Intelligence determined learning speed. Even if two people learned the same skill, the one with higher intelligence would be faster in raising proficiency or skill levels, and it was also arge factor in magical defense.


    All stats were important, but if the best had to be named then it was definitely ¡®Magic Power¡¯. Even in my previous life I couldn¡¯t raise my Magic Power over 90.


    ¡°For thousands of years I had safeguarded the Ancient One¡¯s Heart. Most who came here heeded my advice, turned back where they came from and power was ¡®shared¡¯ with them, although there was none who could properly take it in. At times, truly rarely, there were some who would ept my trial but they were all defeated in the fight against themselves. And yet you overcame all of this and even conquered the final trial of the heart. How was that possible?¡±


    Al Araxar¡¯s questioning was almost akin to a scream. He didn¡¯t believe, could not believe, yet it was already reality. If he was speaking the truth, then only by oveing three trials of the ¡®Ancient One¡¯s Altar¡¯ would a challenger be able to obtain theplete authority.


    ¡®Because I jumped back in time.¡¯


    I couldn¡¯t tell the truth. Simply put my existence was a cheat. But it was strange...trial of the heart? So it wasn¡¯t a simple matter of my choosing?


    ¡°Al Araxar. What do you mean by trial of the heart?¡±


    ¡°It means that you have won against the Ancient One¡¯s specter.¡±


    Specter he said. It had a strange ring to it.


    Al Araxar appeared half-resigned.


    ¡°More specifically.¡±


    ¡°The one who consumes the heart is swallowed within the Ancient One¡¯s soul. You were supposed to have lost your sense of self and be the Ancient One¡¯s puppet.¡±


    Whew!


    I gave a short whistle.


    So it meant that if I was charmed by that power of ¡®observation¡¯ and tried walking the road of a ¡®Keeper¡¯, tried topletely take in that power, then I would have been swallowed up by the Ancient One. But I acted in defiance, drawing out my desires and thus re-created the Ancient One¡¯s power to suit me.


    ¡®Detestable to the very end.¡¯


    When I toured the world and observed its people I became ¡®aware¡¯ to an extent. I learned of the six worlds and realized how humanity came to be ced on the road to destruction, which triggered me to resolve more strongly than ever to live as I ¡®desired¡¯ ¡ª this was clearly far from an ordinary reaction. Of course if it were a normal person they would have lost themselves in that ability and power, simply nodding in eptance to say: I would dly seed you, Ancient One.


    ¡°However I didn¡¯t be its puppet. Will you y me?¡±


    I took abative stance as I questioned Al Araxar.


    He was a knight. From what I saw of his behaviour, he truly followed the ¡®knight¡¯s conduct¡¯. I had already won and obtained the Ancient One¡¯s power, fair and square. It should be only normal if he felt all the more remorse for not having warned me of the previous dangers.


    Al Araxar shook his head as expected.


    ¡°I will not. I have no such right.¡±


    ¡°Then will you follow me? I have assimted the Ancient One¡¯s power, so it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to call me your new master.¡±


    ¡°That is not so. Your power is already different from that of the Ancient One. The spell binding me has also been lifted. However...I have been ced under an even greater binding.¡±


    That was a pity. Gaining Al Araxar would have been the equivalent of gaining a one-man army. However, the following words spoken by Al Araxar came to me as quite the shock.


    ¡°Now that the Ancient One¡¯s protection has disappeared my sanity will gradually wear away. ording to the will of the ¡°Great Star¡±, as time passes I will turn into a monster and invade other worlds. This is the fate of all beings that exist within the abyss.¡±


    Suaaaaaa!


    The space itself was fluctuating.


    Finally, countless holes began appearing around Al Araxar. They were ¡®gates¡¯. If my eyes did not deceive, they were gates. And all of them...were purple. Within those gates dwelled unique monsters; unimaginably powerful beings. The monsters within purple gates were designed to invade Earth after a fixed period of time, and that time would be clearly written in runenguage at the top part of a gate.


    ¡®5 years.¡¯


    That was the number written on the purple gate. 5 yearster, Al Araxar would attack Earth. It was also my first time seeing this kind of phenomenon. Could it be that this was how purple gates were formed? If so, was there a process as well in the creation of the other gates?


    ¡°It appears time is up.¡±


    Al Araxar spoke with a look of resignation on his face, as if resistance was futile, and then chains flew out from the gate. The iron chains bound Al Araxar, and a spot of ck began to very slowly taint his ocean colored body.


    ¡°I...From the beginning I was fated to follow the will of the ¡®Great Star¡¯. I had only resisted until now with the Ancient One¡¯s power. If you truly mean to walk a different path, I hope that you will take into your hands all of the Keepers¡¯ powers and save us all.¡±


    One of the chains came flying toward me.


    Ssh!


    In the same instant the waters of theke surged to block that chain. Al Araxar had squeezed out thest of his strength and protected me.


    ¡°Go!¡±


    Al Araxar shouted to me, and I instinctively began to run. Staying here further was dangerous; my instincts were yelling at me.


    ¡°Guaarrrggh!¡±


    The further I ran, the more clearly his screams sounded in my ears from behind me.


    ..


    ..


    Kururung!


    The altar copsed. Even the engraving of the Ancient One cracked to pieces and scattered onto the ground.


    I dropped onto the coarse ground and took deep breaths. The gnolls that followed me out also flopped around onto the ground.


    ¡°Huk, Huk, Hu-uk!¡±


    The ragged sounds of my breathing didn¡¯t calm down, but my mind was clear. So clear that I almost felt sick.


    ¡®A purple gate appeared. Al Araxar¡¯s gate.¡¯


    There were six types of gates: golden, orange, purple, blue, white and ck!


    The most dangerous among these were purple and ck. Transcendental monsters with unique traits were all lined up waiting within the purple gates. Like a promise, they would wait until the indicated time on the gate passed before emerging and invading Earth. As for ck gates, it was spected that they lead deep within the abyss where beings such as Demon Lords existed, but the biggest immediate threat to humanity was the purple gates.


    Who could have known that purple gates were created this way. This was a truth that no one of humanity knew. But the bigger problem was that ¡®Al Araxar ising to town after 5 years¡¯.


    ¡®It¡¯s too soon.¡¯


    Damn it.


    My expression hardened.


    The only reason I won that time against Al Araxar was because he had matched my physique; if he were to get serious that Seoul would disappear off the map within hours. Monsters of this level were supposed to have started emerging at least 10 yearster. Maybe it was because he was only barely holding on with the Ancient One¡¯s Power, but a mere 5 yearster Earth, Korea, will be attacked by Al Araxar. Will Minshik grow fast enough to be able to face Al Araxar during those 5 years?


    ¡®Impossible!¡¯


    No matter how much a fast development the magic swordsman ss could provide, it wasn¡¯t possible within 5 years. Even if we fended him off one way or another, it would end up in staggering losses. In the end, I had to do something about it. I was the one to sow the seed, thus it was only right that I reap it.


    ¡®I¡¯ll have to pack my schedules tight.¡¯


    The power of Universal Man. I may just turn the impossible into the possible if I moved with my life on the line for 5 years.


    But then abruptly, an popped up in my head and I hastily rummaged around my pockets.


    ¡®It¡¯s here.¡¯


    My hand grasped onto a key in my pocket.


    It was an orange key; the other reward I had obtained at the same time I gained the Ancient One¡¯s Power.


    ¡®Odin¡¯s Treasury.¡¯

 Chapter 16 - Odin’s Treasury (Fin)

    <h4>Chapter 16 ¨C Odin¡¯s Treasury (Fin)</h4>


    The key was sometimes given to those who reached the domain of iprehensibility. I had stepped into it two times in the past: once when I defeated the Demon Lord, the other time when I simultaneously hunted three dragons. The highest level treasury I had entered back then was 6, however, the one I got this time was 3.


    ¡®The rarity of a treasury went up in levels of 3.¡¯


    They were divided into 3, 6, and 9. The number of those who had entered a treasury even once in their lifetime was extremely low, and even I had never set foot into a level 9 treasury. But the items that were in a level 6 treasury were enough to send thrills down my spine. The ce was abound with innumerable equipment, contracts and the like, yet not a single one failed to qualify as ¡®legendary¡¯. Although there was a restriction of only taking one item out, just the ¡®Cape of Extermination¡¯ that I¡¯d chosen then was worth the equivalent of all of my equipmentsbined.


    There were plenty of rumours that level 9 treasurys contained god-grade items such as Mimir¡¯s Spring Water and Gungnir, although their authenticity couldn¡¯t be confirmed since there were none who actually entered a level 9 treasury.


    Just a level 3 treasury was amazing enough; as far as I knew, a mere fifty or so people had entered one in the past. This was honestly the best of rewards that I could earn at present. Even if I did obtain a powerful piece of equipment, an item of that level would most definitely be choosy about its master.


    ¡®What should I take that¡¯ll allow me to prevent disaster?¡¯


    The time given to me was 5 years. A monster that I would barely be able to confront in 10 years would make its appearance in the center of Seoul. As such I had to act with two times the haste, and I needed something to help me out of this predicament.


    ¡®Giant¡¯s Halberd, Life-reaping Scythe, Dark Moon Bow, Ivory Shield of the White Silver...¡¯


    I recalled the equipment that were in a level 3 Odin¡¯s Treasury. They were amazing items that guaranteed a swift development until at least a total stat of 350, and I would be able to hunt monsters one or two levels higher if I took out even one of them. But even didn¡¯t know everything that was there; that¡¯s just how much items there were. It was only barely possible to take a look around the ce once within the time limit.


    ¡®I should avoid limiting my choice to the type of equipment.¡¯


    Naturally, I had a wide range of options because I was Universal Man. I could make anything mine as long as I had the effort and desire. Everything, in addition to equipment and skills.


    I had to go in first before I could know. It wasn¡¯t a suchfortable space that would let me easily find what I wanted. I had no choice but to trust in my eyes, and luck.


    Nodding to myself I turned the key midair.


    Clunk!


    Together with the sound, a huge door shining with orange light appeared before my eyes like a mirage.


    Creeeeak!


    It dragged across the ground before finally opening.


    I steadily moved towards the inside of the door.


    [User has entered Odin¡¯s Treasury(Lv3).]


    [The time limit is 3 days, and only one item may be brought out.]


    ..


    ..


    It was a banquet of treasures, as far as the eye could see. Tens, no, hundreds of thousands of equipments, books and the like, all lined up as if organized by someone.


    It was vast, overwhelming, and beautiful.


    I had no idea who could have gathered up so many treasures and ced them here. It may have been ¡®Odin¡¯ himself, who knew.


    Taking a look around my surroundings, there was nothing nearby that wasn¡¯t of excellence.


    < ck Iron Helm of Life (value-8,000) >


    ?? Con +1


    ?? 0.1 Str increased each time a target defined as an ¡®enemy¡¯ is killed. Takes effect a maximum of 2 times.


    ¡ºA ck iron helm that was used by an elite dark knight of a Fallen Empire. Enchanted with ck magic.¡»


    < Glove of the Stealthy Spy (value-5,500) >


    ?? Having this equipped increases your favorability with whoever is facing you. A must-have for spies.


    ?? Grants stealthy upon standing still for at least 10 seconds.


    ¡ºAn item that was well used and beloved by high ranking spies. It was highly valued. It is said to have been used by high nobility affected with voyeurism.¡»


    It was all pretty much like the above.


    Equipment that raised stats was especially hard to find. A cksmith had to be at least level 6 to even have a slim chance of creating an equipment with a tiny stat increase. And yet, whether it be a helm that raised a total of 3 stats, or the Glove of the Stealthy Spy which was versatile depending on the usage, these kinds of items were practically all over the ce in Odin¡¯s Treasury.


    My eyes were on the items that couldn¡¯t be found anywhere. The diamond in the heap.


    I casually scanned weapons and the like as I passed by.


    The time given to me was a mere 72 hours. I couldn¡¯t rest for even a moment if I wanted to examine everything here within that time. I was tired, exhausted, from escaping the altar not too long ago, but the moment I entered Odin¡¯s Treasury the fatigue disappeared like it was never there before. In fact...


    Thump! Thump!


    ...my heart was racing. It was like the time I was young when I¡¯d just discovered a toy I liked.


    ..


    ..


    I wondered how long I¡¯d been walking like this.


    [Mind¡¯s Eye(Lv9) has been activated.]


    [Hidden information is being revealed.]


    < Greatsword of Dusk >


    ?? Str +3


    ?? Inflicts ¡®Bleeding¡¯ effect when used during nightfall.


    ?? Very light(3kg) due to being enchanted with lightweight magic.


    ???? ¡®Dusk Hound¡¯ is summoned when the de is soaked with arge amount of the user¡¯s blood.


    ¡°...!!¡±


    I momentarily froze on the spot with my eyes wide open. The reveal of hidden information was unexpected.


    ¡®So I hadn¡¯t known all there was to know...about the uses of Mind¡¯s Eye.¡¯


    It was an amazing thing to be able to identify the hidden information of equipment, because even most probing skills weren¡¯t capable of discovering equipment exclusive hidden options.


    I stood still as I rubbed my jaw.


    That being the case, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if there was a ¡®pearl¡¯ here that couldn¡¯t be found by any other hero. The Greatsword of Dusk wasn¡¯t a bad weapon but it was regretfullycking that 2%. Hound Dusk must be a summon, but if it needed arge amount of blood to summon then it couldn¡¯t be used whenever, while the bleeding effect was a means to hampering an opponent¡¯s healing, so unless you were facing something like a troll with high regenerative abilities, it really wasn¡¯t of much use.


    ¡®There has to be more. The real goods that no one could find.¡¯


    I wanted to find those real goods; The Excaliburs and Mj?lnirs.


    The items in Odin¡¯s Treasury numbered in the hundreds of thousands. Within 72 hours I had to go through them all and pinpoint the ¡®authentic goods¡¯. The chances of that happening was as likely as a camel passing through the eye of a needle, but I wouldn¡¯t back down. I would not give up, for ¡®effort¡¯ was one of the words I liked the most.


    I explored the Treasury. A day had passed, and then two days, but my eyes knew no rest. When drowsiness came over me I forcefully pinched and pped my own cheeks. I couldn¡¯t lose sight of a single item among these here. I was going to scan them all with my two eyes and discover that pearl among the pebbles.


    ¡®This isn¡¯t it either.¡¯


    The Silver Crusader¡¯s Hammer!


    This weapon was used in the past by ¡®Silver Hammer Orsha¡¯. It was especially effective when used against undead, and a swing of this monstrous hammer would even cause a mountain to yield. Normally I would have definitely went head over heels for it, however...


    ¡®If this is truly a ce that¡¯s meant for bestowing a reward, then finding the reward you desire must be yet another trial.¡¯


    Trials made this world go round. Those who overcame the trials reaped sweet rewards, while those who suffered defeat would earn a horrifying end. While this ce was called Odin¡¯s Treasury, items that weren¡¯t actual treasures were here also.


    Daring to disgrace the name of a ¡®god¡¯, why would such items amassed here?


    Because this was yet another ce of a trial. To see through the potential of items and assess your own abilities in order to gain the best result.


    60 hours had passed and I was still searching. Weapons that once belonged to dozens of past heroes, skills that could only be found and learnt here, rare elixirs that elerated development...


    I had scoured through a third of the treasury but there was nothing that truly hooked my heart.


    Was I expecting too much?


    Had I lost sight of myself...as a result of looking too high up?


    ¡®Am I to abandon my greed andpromise?¡¯


    I clenched my jaws, because this kind of greed was indeed another one of my ¡®desires¡¯ that was part of me. But it wasn¡¯t too long ago that I swore to not give up my desires. Even if my greed lead me to find nothing in the end, then I would simply cope with that result. Only by moving forward with craving desire would I be able to take down ¡®Al Araxar¡¯ 5 yearster, and not only that, if I were to reach the Colossus then I had to sever the ¡®moderation of desire¡¯.


    ¡®Not yet. Not just yet.¡¯


    I would continue to search.


    I raised my speed.


    Tak! Tak! Tadadadak!


    I just...sprinted.


    My eyes darted around scanning through the mountains of treasures.


    [Remaining time: 58 minutes.]


    Even as I ran time continued to flow. It was time for me to soon make a choice between all the things I¡¯d seen up until now. But I did not stop searching. Now I was almost delirious. My head waspletely empty, and I merely followed my instinct in repeating the process of scanning and rejecting whatever I saw.


    Tuk!


    In that moment as I was running by, my hand had caught onto something as if drawn to it; like iron to a ma. It was a figure in the shape of a snake.


    Hiss! Hissss!


    It was as if it were alive. I was probably just hearing things, even though I clearly heard it hissing. The snake finally slithered up my hand and wrapped around my shoulders, then once again returned to my right hand and coiled its own body around it.


    I hadn¡¯t chosen it.


    ¡®I was chosen.¡¯


    I was chosen ording to its will. This kind of phenomenon was hardly ever heard of. Weapons that chose their masters were generally known to the likes of holy swords set inkes, and demon swords ced in locations steeped in darkness. And yet...a snake?


    < J?rmungandr (value-???) >


    ?? Int +5


    ?? Mag +5


    ?? Form change influenced by ego


    ?? King of all snakes


    ?? Infinitely growing snake(Lv1, Exp-0)


    ?? The Contractor is free from all ¡®Curses of the night¡¯.


    ¡ºA mythological gigantic snake of J?rmungandr. It was once an existencerge enough to coil itself around the world but due to an unknown it was weakened and locked away in ¡®Odin¡¯s Treasury¡¯.¡»


    Shaak!


    It bit my neck, not even leaving any room for surprise.


    In that instant.


    [Contract with ¡®J?rmungandr¡¯ has beenpleted.]


    My consciousness started rapidly fading away.


    ..


    ..


    When I came to, I found myselfying down outside Odin¡¯s Treasury. Squinting towards the ringly bright sky, I raised my upper body.


    ¡®Just what was that?¡¯


    My body felt heavy all over.


    I hastily looked toward my right hand.


    ¡®J?rmungandr.¡¯


    A snake was wrapped around my arm. It seemed to be alive back then, but was I imagining it? Its silver scales felt hard to the touch, but it didn¡¯t move like before. Frowning, I tried shaking it and even smacking it with force, but it didn¡¯t budge an inch.


    ¡®For now...I should go back for now.¡¯


    My whole body felt swollen like cotton soaked in water while my head felt so hot, like it was on fire. I forced myself to stand, wobbling as I did so. I made my way towards the ¡®gate¡¯ I hade through and the gnolls followed after me.


    ..


    ..


    I couldn¡¯t remember how I made it back home, but when I came to my senses I was definitely in front of my house. I felt like if I went to sleep now I wouldn¡¯t wake up until at least a weekter. I came this far because I needed a safe ¡®ce of my own¡¯.


    Opening the door to my home, I entered and immediately slumped into my bed.


    Budilbudil


    My body uncontrobly trembled. I growing cold all over as time passed; my teeth chattered and I sweated cold bullets. Drawing up the nkets to the tip of my head, I close my eyes and was immediately ovee by sleep.


    Slither.


    At the same time, the snake that was coiled around my whole right arm began moving, wandering about my body.

 Chapter 17 - Odin’s Treasury (Fin)

    <h4>Chapter 17 ¨C J?rmungandr (1)</h4>


    Dream. One of the phenomenons of the mind that urs when consciousness is faint. A virtual world that could possibly show you what was real, or a glimpse of the unknown world I yearned for. Dreams were the tool that perfectly illustrated the ¡®desires¡¯ of humans, And right now I was dreaming.


    ¡°Haak!¡±


    Breathing raggedly, sweating all over, I experienced an explosive release. My spasming body quivered entirely as I felt violent ecstasy, but that small ball of fire soon revived more vigorous than before.


    It was a snake-like woman. Once she sunk her fangs in, she would never let go.


    For the past several days, we had intercoursed without rest. When the woman¡¯s tongue touched my body without fail I rose back up like a spring, and the woman¡¯s seductive cries would grow in volume. It was only when all energy was sucked out of me when I couldy my tired body to rest.


    A dream. This was a dream. Coming together in a fiery exchange with a beautiful woman I¡¯d never before seen in my life was possible precisely because it was a dream. That was most definitely it...it had to be.


    ¡®Did I have a wet dream or what?¡¯


    Right before I was about to open my eyes from that strange dream, I felt a strange sensation.


    My lower parts felt damp.


    This was a body full of young vigor after all. No matter how good I was at controlling lust, the body was honest.


    I quickly rolled up the nkets.


    ¡®It¡¯s blood.¡¯


    The bed was sttered all over with blood.


    It appeared it wasn¡¯t a wet dream, but just whose blood was this? There was no one around, and no oney on the bed but me.


    After hastily doing theundry and finishing a shower, I thought over it carefully.


    First of all, I couldn¡¯t quite remember...


    ¡®How did Ie back home?¡¯


    My memories were blurry from the time I entered and exited ¡®Odin¡¯s Treasury¡¯, and even moreso for the time I came back home. What¡¯s more, my body felt light and heavy. Although all my small injuries were healed, and my mind felt brighter, but I felt drained of every bit of my energy as if my two balls down there were hollowed...


    I checked my cellphone, and saw piles upon piles of messages and missing calls, but what drew my eye was the numbers at the top of it: 30th of March.


    ¡®I did nothing but sleep for about 10 days.¡¯


    I had a pretty urate sense of time if I may say so myself. It was roughly 20 days ago that I entered Odin¡¯s Treasury and spent 3 days there, so I had slept for almost 10 days. This was definitely not normal. And as I recalled the events up to that point, a certain name popped up.


    ¡®J?rmungandr!¡¯


    I pped my hands in remembrance.


    That¡¯s right. I was told my contract with J?rmungandr waspleted, right after which I was bitten by the snake coiled around my right hand and lost consciousness. I supposed that the strange dream I had was rted to that contract.


    ¡®The snake is still here though.¡¯


    The snake on my right hand hadn¡¯t moved from where it was before, not an inch. It felt more like an ornament than a living creature, but as I looked closely at it, its rted information popped up.


    ????? ¨C J?rmungandr


    ?? Int +5


    ?? Mag +5


    ?? Form change influenced by ego


    ?? King of all snakes


    ?? Infinitely growing snake(Lv1, Growth ¨C 24)


    ?? The Contractor is free from all ¡®Curses of the night¡¯.


    ¡ºA mythological gigantic snake of J?rmungandr. It was once an existencerge enough to coil itself around the world but due to an unknown it was weakened and locked away in ¡®Odin¡¯s Treasury¡¯.¡»


    An unimaginably rare and overpowered equipment that raised Magic Power and Intelligence by a whopping 5 each. Even in the past I had not once equipped an item of this level; the Cape of Extermination I had worn then did no more than raise Strength and Agility by 4 each. Not to mention that along with the total stat increase of 10, it raised the most important among stats: Magic Power.


    ¡®Unbelievable.¡¯


    It wasn¡¯t something that belonged in a level 3 treasury, that was for sure. The boost it gave was truly unbelievable.


    A shiver ran down my spine.


    The information on J?rmungandr was the same as before I lost my consciousness. No, it was the same, yet different.


    ¡®Its growth went up.¡¯


    The snake¡¯s growth had be 24. It should have been 0.


    What? Had I fed it something?


    Abruptly the dream came to mind, but I shook my head hard.


    No way...


    ¡®Status window.¡¯


    Name: Hansung Oh


    upation: Universal Man(ÌìµØÈË)


    Titles:


    ?? Merciless Gnoll ughterer(Lv3, Con+4)


    Stats:


    Str 29 Agi 24 Con 26(22+4)


    Int 25(20+5) Mag 44(39+5)


    Potential(134+14/456)


    Special Note: Potential has greatly increased due to the influence of an unknown power. Haspleted a contract with J?rmungandr.


    Skills: Mind¡¯s Eye(Lv9), Dominator(Lv9), Transfer(???)


    [Before and After Comparison]


    Str 29 Agi 25 Con 28 Int 15 Mag 16 Potential(109+4/456)


    Str 29 Agi 24 Con 26 Int 25 Mag 44 Potential(134+14/456)


    Ironically, my highest stat was Magic Power thanks to the 20 increase I received from clearing the Ancient One¡¯s trial. Considering that the most important and most difficult stat to raise was Magic Power, I couldn¡¯t have had a better start in this lifetime.


    Also, it was clearly shown that I was contracted.


    ¡®So it wasn¡¯t that I¡¯d dreamed the contract with J?rmungandr as well.¡¯


    J?rmungandr was, however, a mythical existence. I had never heard of contracting with an existence as such. There was a precedent of Saintess Syria contracting a pegasus, but that was nothing like a fearsome existence like J?rmungandr.


    ¡®It was told that Thor, God of Thunder, smashed J?rmungandr¡¯s head and killed it, but the poison it sprayed out upon death was so potent that even Thorsted no more than seven steps before dying.¡¯


    Had I perhaps contracted the original from the myth?


    But if I¡¯ve contracted it, why does it merely stay coiled around my wrist?


    More than anything, the J?rmungandr of myth was supposed to be dead; head smashed in by Thor who was the God of Thunder as well as the God of War. Although Thor also died...


    ¡®Well it¡¯s not like there aren¡¯t any equipment named after beings of myth...¡¯


    It would have been strange for it to be in a level 3 treasury if it was the real J?rmungandr. A wicked existence like J?rmungandr had to be in at least a level 9 treasury, or above. The piece of equipment I had most likely only had the same name, but was something else. It wasn¡¯t as if there weren¡¯t such equipment, and each and every one of these items did possess amazing abilities.


    I sat on the chair in front of myputer and pressed its power button.


    ¡®Mt Bukhan. I should try digging up things from there.¡¯


    In order to rekindle my vague memories, I searched ¡®Mt Bukhan¡¯ on the for recent news within a month, and got hundreds of results.


    There was so many...and a sensational title hanged from each and every article.


    ¡¸The truth behind the appearance of the monstrous creature on Mt Bukhan!?¡¹


    ¡¸Photoshop Controversy! Monster Appears on Mt Bukhan.¡¹


    ¡¸Take Care When Climbing Mt Bukhan!¡¹


    ¡¸Mountain Climber Attacked by Dog-headed Monster.¡¹


    ¡¸Monster of Mt Bukhan, Turns Out to be a Bulldog Mutation.¡¹


    ¡°Shit.¡±


    A curse was the first thing to pop out of my mouth after looking through a couple of vague photos.


    It was gnolls. The photos were of the gnolls I had Dominated, roving about Mt Bukhan.


    Smack!


    I palmed my forehead.


    The gnolls must have also crossed over the ¡®Gate¡¯ with me while I returned to my house in a stupor. It was a mistake I¡¯d never have made normally, thanks to which people were crowding at Mt Bukhan, meaning I couldn¡¯t recklessly go back until things calmed down. I supposed the one thing to be relieved about was that they didn¡¯te into the city.


    ¡®It¡¯s been just two days since this incident was publicized.¡¯


    In any case, I had to take care of this. It wasn¡¯t toote, so I could still do something about it now.


    Ding- Dong!


    The moment I came to a decision and was about to stand, the bell at the front door rang. I went up to the inte to see who it was, and the middle of my forehead creased into a frown.


    ¡®Of all times toe.¡¯


    It was Minshik. What¡¯s more, he wasn¡¯t alone.


    I turned off theputer, went to open the door, and was greeted by four people.


    ¡°Hansung...¡±


    Minshik opened his mouth first


    I was on my guard. Seeing as he hade down from Mt Ha, he must have heard of the news regarding Mt Bukhan. It made sense that I would be the first person he would suspect.


    ¡°Why is your hair like that?¡±


    ¡°...It¡¯s a recently trending fashion.¡±


    ¡°H-, how unique.¡±


    My half-burned hair looked as if I¡¯d done a perm; the damage I sustained from entering the Ancient One¡¯s altar. The other wounds on my body were healed, but the hair remained the same.


    ¡°I heard you weren¡¯t even going to school. You are doing well, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to do well. But who are the people next to you?¡±


    Two women, and one man. It was a bnced group.


    The two women were extremely pretty, while the man was a macho-man so muscr that the outerwear he wore failed to hide his muscles.


    ¡®All of them are Awakened.¡¯


    It was my first time meeting them except for one


    The woman with a voice that even celebrities envied. She had milky white skin, and short golden hair that matched especially well with her elegant features.


    ¡®Saintess Syria.¡¯


    She was definitely Saintess Syria. She wasn¡¯t a Saintess right now, but Minshik must have chosen her as the very first party member.


    I did expect this to a certain degree. Saintess Syria was a woman of extremely high potential, and she was a peerless when it came to ¡®Healing¡¯ rted skills. However, she was a foreigner who came from Russia.


    I wondered why she would be in Korea.


    Of course, a Saintess and Magic Swordsman was a goodbo. He must have put a fair amount of consideration before recruiting her, but a small doubt remained in my mind. Besides her, it was my first meeting with the other two.


    ¡®I would win by a hair if we fought.¡¯


    That was how I judged it with my countless battle experiences as the base. These people were indeed Awakened, but in my eyes they were all nothing more than novices. It must been at most 3 months since they awakened. Their stats should be simr or a bit lower than mine. While Minshik was indeed a cause for concern, I knew more about the Magic Swordsman ss than anyone. The skills he would use and the methods to countering them still remained in my head.


    Minshik spoke.


    ¡°This is Syria. And these two Linlin and Shaoting are siblings.¡±


    In any case, they sure were a global lot.


    It was my first time hearing thetter names. Seeing as how he emphasized on Syria¡¯s side, was he measuring my reaction?


    I responded tly,


    ¡°They¡¯re all foreigners?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Syria is from Russia, and it¡¯s been a few days since Linlin and Shaoting arrived from China.¡±


    I gave a small nod to them.


    Their attitudes were chilly though. I mean, their expression didn¡¯t even twitch in the slightest. Was I to take it that I didn¡¯t even enter their eyes?


    ¡°Well,e in first. I haven¡¯t much to show but since you¡¯vee, I might as well serve some tea.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t just leave them standing there so I invited them in, but the moment they entered, the woman called Linlin pinched her nose and said,


    ¡°Smells of blood.¡±


    So she can even speak Korean. I had opened all the windows in an attempt to ventte the ce but it seemed the smell still lingered.


    I made some green tea, and after cing the teacups before my guests I spoke,


    ¡°Wow, nose like a dog¡¯s1. Actually I made a girlfriend not too long ago...¡±


    ¡°Really? Good for you! Is it someone I know?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s someone you don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡®And someone I don¡¯t know as well.¡¯


    In fact, I didn¡¯t even know if it was a person at all.


    Minshik responded with glee to my words, like it was his own business. It didn¡¯t feel too bad seeing him so d. A shadow of suspicion did remain in my heart, but anyhow, I believed that he definitely intended to be a ¡®hero¡¯.


    ¡°You have to introduce meter.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t too keen on this subject.


    Syria and Linlin¡¯s gazes directed at me were as if they were looking at a beast.


    Clicking my tongue inside my mind, I changed the topic immediately.


    ¡°Anyhow, what¡¯s the matter? Crowding at my ce all of a sudden. I never knew you were such an international guy.¡±


    ¡°It hasn¡¯t been long since I¡¯ve made friends with them. I contacted them so I could see them in Korea.¡±


    I blinked my eyes in apparent confusion.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t been friends for long but they scheduled flights and came to Korea?¡±


    ¡°There are some reasons for that. In any case, I have some things I want to tell you about regarding that as well.


    I took a mouthful of green tea before cing down the teacup. It looked like we were about to enter the main subject.


    I was silently concentrating on the words toe, when Minshik grabbed onto both my hands.


    ¡°Hansung. Together with us, let¡¯s do it.¡±


    ¡°Do what?¡±


    I asked questioned him in a doubtful tone, and then his eyes practically gleamed as he replied,


    ¡°Together, the world. Let¡¯s save the world.¡±


    ...What the hell?


    1: Nose like a dog as in, great sense of smell.


    ¡ª¡ª

 Chapter 18 - J?rmungandr (2)

    <h4>Chapter 18 ¨C J?rmungandr (2)</h4>


    I ended up being confused momentarily by Minshik¡¯s absurd outburst. When I saw Syria, I did get the feeling that ¡®this guy is trying to form the Avengers!¡¯, but I hadn¡¯t expected him to fit me in as well.


    It¡¯s because this guy Minshik knew...just how sick and tired I was of ying hero. He had also said it himself, how he envied me to the point of hate. After the both of us returned to the past, I had thought that maybe our rtionship could have gone differently but we remained the same, unable to escape our ¡®love and hate rtionship¡¯. And yet, he would have me join him?


    ¡°Is the world going to be destroyed or something?¡±


    ¡°It will be destroyed, in the near future. But if you follow me, you can obtain a special power beyond ordinary people.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all too sudden so I can¡¯t quite understand.¡±


    It felt like I just got uppercutted right in the chin.


    A month was just barely about to pass since I¡¯ve returned to the past, and yet Minshik had already contacted Syria, recruited a pair of unusual Chinese, and also wanted me in his team to boot.


    ¡®Looks like the future is going to turn out alot more differently than before.¡¯


    I was cautious when it came to this point. I took action while considering and predicting as much variables as I could, but it looked like Minshik was thinking of creating a big scene of things. I could tell he intended to make his moves with even greater haste while taking into ount that the future will deviate from its course.


    ¡®He¡¯s just like a speeding train.¡¯


    The problem was whether or not Minshik knew when to put on the brakes. His current pace was going too fast. Of course the current situation was urgent so acting with haste on its own was alright. The problem was that Minshik was about to take things to the surface.


    People were more narrow-minded than you could expect. Would the people ept those ¡®beings¡¯ that escaped the boundaries of their own understandings and simply ept them as heroes? No, it was the opposite. They would definitely bebelled as evil and shunned as such.


    In my case (in the past) I had made my appearance after the existence of ¡®Gates¡¯ and ¡®Awakened¡¯ rose to public attention so I hadn¡¯t met much opposition, but Minshik would be no different than Superman dropped into the middle of Seoul city all of a sudden.


    Ordinary humans and Superman. A Superman who didn¡¯t know how to control his own power was bound to cause problems even if unintentional. Tough times would definitely be ahead, and there was no guarantee that Minshik¡¯s heart wouldn¡¯t change through it all.


    ¡®Mind¡¯s Eye.¡¯


    I opened Mind¡¯s Eye just in case, keeping the possibility of going as far as using ¡®Dominate¡¯ on Minshik.


    Name: Minshik Kim (Value ¨C Impossible to Dominate)


    upation: Magic Swordsman


    Titles:


    ?? Outstanding Novice (Lv1, Str+1)


    Stats:


    Str 35(45+1)


    Agi 24


    Con 30


    Int 20


    Mag 15


    Potential(123+1/399)


    Special Note: None


    Skills: Three Form Sword Art(Lv2), Elemental Magic(Lv3)


    His value was disyed as ¡®impossible to Dominate¡¯.


    What? Was there some sort of criterion to this? This had never happened with the gnolls.


    Frowning inside, I looked at Syria and the two Chinese siblings.


    Name: Syria (Value ¨C 30,000)


    upation: Priest of Light


    Titles:


    ?? Holy Light (Lv3, Int+5)


    Stats:


    Str 24


    Agi 21


    Con 20


    Int 31(26+5)


    Mag 30


    Potential(121+5/455)


    Special Note: She is under the effect of the Blessing of Light.


    Skills: Holy Light(Lv3), Providence of Light(Lv2)


    Name: Linlin (Value ¨C 23,500)


    upation: Cait Sith(è×å)


    Titles:


    ?? Fearsome She-cat (Lv3, Agi+5)


    Stats:


    Str 29


    Agi 35(30+5)


    Con 21


    Int 20


    Mag 15


    Potential(115+5/433)


    Special Note: She has made a contract with the King of the Cait Siths.


    Skills: Scratch(Lv2), Instant Reflexes(Lv2), Breakfall(Lv2)


    Name: Shaoting (Value ¨C 20,000)


    upation: Beast Warrior


    Titles: None


    Stats:


    Str 40


    Agi 18


    Con 32


    Int 11


    Mag 10


    Potential(111/420)


    Special Notes: None


    Skills: Beast Transformation(Lv3)


    The number of their values were clearly shown. Perhaps because their potential exceeded 400, their assessed values were all high. There may be some other reason to it, but I couldn¡¯t find a reason why only Minshik¡¯s value turned out as ¡®impossible to Dominate¡¯.


    ¡®Is it because he returned to the past with me?¡¯


    Was that why he wasn¡¯t a target of Dominate? At any rate, this was the first variable of its kind I hade across; I couldn¡¯t Dominate Minshik no matter how much points I gathered.


    As I sat there nkly, Minshik asked,


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°No...I was just, doing some thinking. It¡¯s hard to ept having to leave home so abruptly.¡±


    ¡°I understand. You¡¯re also going through a hard time. But you won¡¯t have to leave forever. It¡¯s okay toe back at any time.¡±


    I tried putting up a reluctant act, but it appeared he wouldn¡¯t give up.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bitplicated for me right now.¡±


    ¡°I know. But seeing how you¡¯ve even made a girlfriend and did your hair, you¡¯re trying to move on aren¡¯t you? That¡¯s great. Because what we¡¯re going to do will definitely change you.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t say no at this point.


    Minshik nodded once and continued to speak,


    ¡°I thought over it as well, but I think it¡¯ll be faster if I show you through actions rather than words. Look closely.¡±


    Minshik held out his right hand-


    Hwaak!


    -and at the same time conjured a small me from it.


    I was expecting it to a certain extent, nevertheless I politely jerked my body backwards and made a surprised face.


    ¡°Wh-, what? Why did firee out of your hand all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°This is fire magic. You can use this kind of ability too if you follow me. It just so happens that I¡¯ve prepared something for you.¡±


    ¡°Real magic, not just a trick?¡±


    ¡°If you still doubt me then I¡¯ll show you something else.¡±


    Water, fire, air, earth. Four kinds of magic were manifested through Minshik¡¯s hand. He looked like he was having a pretty fun time.


    ¡®That¡¯s cute.¡¯


    It couldn¡¯t hold a candle to the magic I¡¯d used in the past, but he was definitely learning fast. A cup was sliced in half before my eyes, and water appeared out of nowhere.


    I decided that was enough and opened my mouth,


    ¡°I, I get it. Enough! I¡¯ll believe you. All my tableware will be broken at this rate.¡±


    ¡°As long as you believe me.¡±


    Jolt!


    It was then.


    It felt like the snake I had hidden in the sleeve of my clothing was moving.


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡±


    I spoke while hiding my right arm behind me.


    ¡°I was just, too surprised. Magic you say. I¡¯d never have imagined that I¡¯d actuallye across something out of a fantasy. I¡¯m not being secretly filmed or anything right?¡±


    The snake slithered up my wrist and finally came to rest near my heart region. This had never happened before; J?rmungandr hadn¡¯t budged an inch until now. Its size was small so thankfully it wasn¡¯t noticed. I was trying hard to ignore it when Minshik put on a grave expression and shook his head.


    ¡°Hansung, I¡¯m being very serious right now. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s difficult for you to make a decision. It must feel so sudden. It¡¯s only been a month since that incident. But I would still like for us to be together.¡±


    Was this a love confession?


    He sure was being persistent unlike his usual self, so eager in his intention to take me away. If I refused him here then that would be a problem in itself.


    ¡®What a fastball out of the blues.¡¯


    Just how many boys in their teens could resist and turn down the temptation of having the chance to gain a mysterious power? If it were my friend asking, the answer should be obvious.


    ¡®I should y along appropriately.¡¯


    I didn¡¯t want to keep using my parents as an excuse. I barely had any thoughts about my parents during that time when I was in the Ancient One¡¯s altar. I was terribly unfilial. If I had no photos of them then even their appearances would be hazy in my memory. The time they weren¡¯t here was far longer than the time they were here, after all.


    Anyhow, unlike Minshik, I didn¡¯t have the slightest of intentions of revealing myself to the world. Hadn¡¯t I resolved to be a hunter of the shadows, to be a sword with no other purpose than to behead the enemy?


    So I would y along appropriately. I would have had to go through this once at least, so I may as well get it over with quickly. If I drew disappointment on myself then I would be able to get myself naturally dismissed from the ¡®Avengers¡¯ group.


    ¡°I have a condition in exchange.¡±


    ¡°Condition? Just say the word.¡±


    ¡°Give me permanent leave when I want, not just allowing me to simplye back home. This feels like multi-level marketing from how I hear it.


    ¡°...Alright. It hurts my pride a little to bepared to multi-level marketing, but I can¡¯t force you. Is there anything else?¡±


    I nodded, and Minshik gave out a smallugh. I supposed he was confident that I would end up being spellbound after a single wondrous encounter. Although it was true that my past self would have been immersed in games at this time. It was a period of time when I went several days without sleep to y games. A couch-potato to the extreme. Minshik had also lost important people before so he was well familiar with such phases. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if he thought it was better to let me experience the unknown and make me fascinated in magic instead of leaving me be to be a couch-potato.


    ¡®He doesn¡¯t seem to hold any bad intentions.¡¯


    Minshik definitely didn¡¯t suit being an executive of Aletheia. His current self was more natural.


    However, I was thinking of leaving them when the time came. That, or distancing myself from them appropriately. There was no information I held that wasn¡¯t of utmost secrecy. Only I could control these information, and other meddlesome variables weren¡¯t exactly wee.


    ¡°What should I be doing by the way?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be going to Mt Bukhan.¡±


    ¡°Ahem! Mt Bukhan? That ce where all themotion is right now?¡±


    I calmly acted ignorant. The hubbub was caused by the gnolls I had Dominated but I couldn¡¯t reveal the truth.


    ¡°It seems like there¡¯s another Gate over there. Ahh, Gates are entrances to another world and...¡±


    Minshik entered into a long-winded exnation.


    Apparently Minshik didn¡¯t know about the ¡®gate¡¯ in Mt Bukhan.


    ¡®So it¡¯s not like he knows everything.¡¯


    The golden Gate of Mt Bukhan was quite the secret as well. Only 56 people could pass the trials and gain something from the altars, so not much was known about it, not to mention that the only monsters there were gnolls.


    I casually listened to Minshik¡¯s exnation and then nodded.


    ¡°Mt Bukhan...I got it. So I have to pack my stuff is that it?¡±


    ¡°Pack clothes only. I¡¯ll take care of the rest.¡±


    ¡°O-, okay. Whew, really. Just what is all this.¡±


    I put up a naive appearance as I went into my room. Then I closed the door, made a casual show of packing things, and eavesdropped on the conversation in the living room.


    ¡°Seems like an ordinary person, will he really be of help?¡±


    ¡°Linlin. He is someone amazing. He will definitely be of help.¡±


    ¡°If you say so then it must be. Though my cat senses don¡¯t really agree.¡±


    ¡°Elder sister. We mustn¡¯t forget the promise we made. We follow Minshik.¡±


    ¡°Shaoting, thank you.¡±


    Distrust in me was being expressed in passing. What¡¯s more, Minshik¡¯s attitude toward them was slightly different than the one he disyed toward me.


    I shrugged my shoulders.


    The powers, and potential, of those people were too amazing, to the point I wondered how he could have gathered them in this short period.


    Syria was quiet. She wasn¡¯t someone of many words to begin with.


    ¡®I never expected for us to meet again in this way.¡¯


    Saintess Syria. We were once lovers, albeit for a fleeting time.


    Iughed bitterly as I continued packing.


    ..


    ..


    Mt Bukhan!


    A scenery full of life, quiet and serene. How could I have known I would return here like this. Minshik gave orders to the four people, including me, in a familiar manner.


    ¡°Hansung and I will search near Insu Peak. Syria will take the south, Linlin and Shaoting take west. Make immediate contact upon finding the mutant harboring the ¡®Gate¡¯. Otherwise we will meet here again 6 hourster.¡±


    It appeared that Minshik was the leader of this team. The others moved quite cooperatively.


    I ended up being together with Minshik...


    ¡®I¡¯m gonna go crazy.¡¯


    ...but it wasn¡¯t long before I was despairing over myck of luck.


    ¡°Ha! So there really were monsters than crossed over the Gate.¡±


    ¡°Mo-, monsters?¡±


    ¡°To think there were 20 gnolls. Damn, Hansung. Take cover. I¡¯ll buy us time.¡±


    It had been 3 hours or so since we¡¯d been wandering around Insu Peak and we ended up encountering 20 gnolls. Minshik wasn¡¯t capable of handling 20 gnolls at present. This was a crucial moment, yet I was merely sighing inside.


    The gnolls held no hostility. How could they?


    Contrary to expectation, they were simply looking toward me with innocent, sparkling gazes.

 Chapter 19 - J?rmungandr (3)

    <h4>Chapter 19 ¨C J?rmungandr (3)</h4>


    ¡®They must have followed my smell here.¡¯


    Gnolls were basically a dog species of monsters. That¡¯s just how astounding their sense of smell alone was. They had most likely caught onto my presence from the moment I started climbing Mt Bukhan. Or it may just have been the influence of ¡®Dominator¡¯ attracting them.


    At any rate, this was a troublesome situation. Minshik was holding onto a sword before I knew it. To be specific, he was holding onto a sword made of fire. A style I used to enjoy using.


    Minshik nced at me.


    ¡°Hurry up and run I said!¡±


    ¡°Wait. Those are monsters?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t take them lightly even if they¡¯re the lowest-grade monsters. It takes no work for them to tear apart a person¡¯s fles-.¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t look like monsters to me.¡±


    It was all or nothing now. I decided to unlock a new ability.


    I crouched over and slowly moved my hand up and down, and then the gnolls fixed their sights on my hand, shaking their heads up and down.


    ¡°What on earth...!¡±


    Minshik¡¯s eyes became the size of tes, his jaws gaping wide. His surprise was in to see.


    However you looked at them, the gnolls held no hostility. In fact, they were following me. It was only natural from my point of view, but to Minshik it must appear very much like a miracle. Finally, the gnolls were gathered around me in an orderly manner. Minshik was being wary, but he couldn¡¯t attack recklessly.


    ¡°I saw it on the news. A mutation of bulldogs they said? They do look a bit strange though.¡±


    ¡°No...how could that be. These are gnolls I tell you.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s alot of dog breeds in the first ce.¡±


    As I merrily yed with the gnolls contrary to his expectations, Minshik spoke as if confused,


    ¡°...didn¡¯t used to have such an ability...¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°Tamer, you must have the talent for a Tamer. It¡¯s not like there were no Monster Tamers before.¡±


    Monster Tamer. Every priest of Aletheia had some sort of talent rted to it. However, making monsters follow you at first sight meant that talent was of overwhelming degree. A talent almost rivaling that of a chief priest. In theirst bitter moments, they had even tamed a Demon Dragon.


    Minshik¡¯s gaze grewplicated.


    ¡°These fellows are really obedient. Got anything to eat?¡±


    ¡°Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°I get the feeling they¡¯re hungry.¡±


    I hadn¡¯t intended for this result but since I had decided on a course, I had to see it through to the end.


    Minshik¡¯s expressionpletely went stiff.


    ¡°No way, can you hear their voices?¡±


    ¡°Not their voices really. But I think I can at least tell what they want. Does being a Tamer mean I can raise these guys?¡±


    ¡°Do you see any messages popping up? Tha-, that¡¯s not right. You haven¡¯t even Awakened yet. Man!¡±


    Minshik gave a dry cough. He then took out a few strips of dried meat from a pocket and threw them over at me before falling into deep thought.


    ¡°Had his original talent regressed after changing upation to Magic Swordsman? Then that would mean that this was his true calling to begin with...¡±


    ¡°What have you been talking to yourself about for a while?¡±


    ¡°This means that you¡¯re an unbelievable genius! This is something totally unbelievable!¡±


    Ultimately, Minshik ended up raising his voice. What an overreaction.


    Augh escaped my lips.


    ¡°I can¡¯t see any messages though?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s a relief. My bad habit might have acted up again otherwise.¡±


    Bad habit. By that he must mean being envious to the point of resentment. After all, his motivation came from the gloriously shining figure of my past self. That¡¯s how my existence must have appeared to Minshik, though my insides were rotting at that point.


    Ti-ri-ri-ring!


    Minshik¡¯s cellphone began ringing at the moment. He took the call, and had a short conversation before nodding and opening his mouth to say,


    ¡°Linlin says she found the mutant. Let¡¯s head there.¡±


    ¡°What about these guys? Can I bring them?¡±


    I pointed to the 20 gnolls. Before I knew it they were circled all around me. They looked at me as if I was their owner, shaking their tails and they went round and round myself.


    Minshik spoke in a half-resigned manner,


    ¡°...Do as you like.¡±


    ..


    ..


    Everyone was of one mind.


    The moment they spotted me, and the gnolls following me, they readied themselves to attack, but soon after listening to Minshik¡¯s exnation they turned their gazes full of disbelief towards me.


    Linlin spoke from a distance far from the gnolls.


    ¡°Does this even make sense?¡±


    She was a warrior granted power by the Cait Siths. It didn¡¯t seem like she was particrly fond of the dog-resembling gnolls.


    ¡°What an extremely unusual talent.¡±


    Shaoting chipped in as well.


    On the other hand, Syria was merely staring nkly at the gnolls.


    ¡®I recall that Syria liked dogs.¡¯


    We were lovers for no more than a few months, but the time we spent together was quite long. She counted as one among the heroes, and her ¡®Saintess¡¯ power was especially needed by everyone.


    I did have my suspicions at the start when Minshik brought over Syria. But there was no one who knew that Syria and I were once lovers. It was a romance only between the two of us. He must have brought her because a Saintess was crucial to walking the path of a hero, so I hadn¡¯t thought much of it, but now that I saw her again before my eyes, I couldn¡¯t help feeling slightly nostalgic.


    ¡°The gnolls do not seem to have any intention of attacking. The reason why the gnolls are so obedient to him is because he possesses a peerless talent as a Tamer.¡±


    Minshik spoke in quite the severe tone.


    Linlin and Shaoting had been watching me as if worried I would drag them down, but the looks in their eyes changed after hearing Minshik speak.


    Linlin abruptly raised her hand and asked,


    ¡°Has he really not even awakened?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. He has yet toe into contact with a ¡®Gate¡¯ after all.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve met a few other Awakened before but never have I seen someone who stands out so much before awakening. He¡¯s not actually already awakened and fooling us, yes?¡±


    ¡°Is there any reason for him to do so?¡±


    Linlin stared at me nkly.


    ¡°So there was a reason why you picked him. As well as there being a reason why my cat senses were rejecting him.¡±


    She further inched away from the gnolls even as she spoke.


    Shaoting nodded and also interjected,


    ¡°If he awakens then our fighting power will instantly rise. A Saintess and Warrior, Magician and Cait Sith, and a Tamer on top of it all!¡±


    ¡°Shaoting. Is this not quite a goodbination?¡±


    ¡°I do think so indeed.¡±


    Shaoting nodded in satisfaction.


    Separate from them, I was throwing dried meat at the gnolls while in the midst of thinking.


    ¡®This does happen to be a chance to measure his current disposition...¡¯


    ...to see if he would be a hero, or an evil-doer.


    If I ever caught a hint of him turning into an evil-doer then I would have no other choice than to pick the easiest, yet hardest path. The path of staining my hands with blood!


    His words were sincere. But I hoped that he would show it not with words but through actions and not disappoint me.


    p!


    Minshik pped his hands, drawing everyone¡¯s attention, and then spoke,


    ¡°Now, let us go hunt the mutant.¡±


    ..


    ..


    The hunt for the mutant was simple. Linlin and Shaoting cornered it while Minshik swung his de of fire from the front. The situation came to a close within merely 10 minutes after the battle had begun, so it could be said that this was indeed a capable party.


    ¡®He really studied me alot.¡±


    The performance he showed was simr to the way I used to lead a team to hunt. It wasn¡¯t a performance that was possible by simply watching me. It was evident that he had tried hard to be like me or had experimented on it. Had he done such preparation out of expectation that he woulde back to the past?


    Riiip!


    Soon a golden Gate rose from the mutant¡¯s corpse.


    ¡°Hansung, follow me. A whole different world will unfold before you.¡±


    Minshik was the first to enter, and then after Linlin, Shaoting and Syria, finally it was my turn.


    ¡°A different world huh.¡±


    I had seen so much of it that it wasn¡¯t much different to me anymore.


    I picked at my ear once before cing a hand on the golden Gate, after which golden streams engulfed my body and then my surroundings soon changed.


    [You have discovered a ¡®Gate¡¯ leading toward the ¡®Altar of Ancients(Lv1~Lv5)¡¯.]


    [Only those with a total stat of 150 and below may enter.]


    Words that I¡¯d seen before.


    Thankfully my current stat total was 148, below 150.


    I took a look at the surroundings. Spacious wilderness all around. Minshik, who had entered ahead of the others, was making a serious face.


    ¡°Someone had entered before us after all.¡±


    Minshik¡¯s expression hardened at the fact that there was no reward for being first inside, however, it was me that had taken that reward. 1,000 points. It was only natural that there was no reward.


    ¡°The gnolls must have escaped at that time...just who was it?¡±


    Minshik was frowning hard.


    ¡°Had someone apart from me also returned? Someone among the devotees?¡±


    He had spoken very quietly, but I definitely heard it because my attention was concentrated on him.


    ¡®It seems that even he doesn¡¯t know how many seeded during Aletheia¡¯s ritual.¡¯


    Aletheia had carried out a ritual of time. I had stopped it, but seeing how Minshik had returned, the possibility of someone else also having returned couldn¡¯t be ruled out. Indeed it made more sense to suspect whether another devotee had returned rather than doubting me. I was an outsider (to Aletheia) after all.


    For an instant, killing intent sprouted from Minshik¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°We move quickly. There has to be a path leading to the altar.¡±


    His footsteps hastened, perhaps out of impatience.


    ..


    ..


    The altar was to the west, but it appeared that Minshik didn¡¯t know the altar¡¯s exact location. We moved to the east without rest, however, there were much more gnolls waiting in the east. More than anything, the direction we were going in ovepped with the territory belonging to the ¡®chieftains¡¯ that were after me.


    I was the main culprit behind disrupting the ecology of the gnolls of this ce. The three gnoll chiefs who ruled over this territory were also aware of my existence. I had hunted their gnolls bit by bit, luring them away in small numbers at a time, so they were surely full of rage.


    ¡®How unexpected that a gnoll chief would set a trap.¡¯


    We were ambushed.


    Or to be precise, they had attacked aiming for me in particr. The gnolls came at us from behind, having hidden themselves behind rocks and in holes they had dug out.


    The problem was the number of gnolls. They appeared to number about a thousand. No ordinary gnoll could have gathered this many. They were definitely under the lead of a gnoll chief.


    We had no other choice but to scatter, because everyone had no thought to spare as they fended off the gnolls that assailed us like hail. The gnoll chief¡¯s intent was obvious. To separate us all!


    ¡®Pretty good thinking for the likes of a gnoll.¡¯


    A chief it may be called, but a gnoll was still a gnoll. And yet to think it could employ tactics.


    Puaaak!


    I shed open the stomach of a Giant Man-eating Flower and stepped outside. The gnolls I had Dominated had also been in there. I had thrown myself into the mouth of a Giant Man-eating Flower for the sake of throwing off the gnolls that were on my tail. I was sopping wet all over, covered in digestive fluids, but it was better than dying. Thankfully the gnolls that were chasing were nowhere to be found nearby.


    I gave my head a shake, and turned my gaze around. My gnolls were carrying someone with their hands held up. I just stood there and called out a name.


    ¡°Syria.¡±


    Saintess Syria!


    Syria was the first person to be targeted during the chief gnoll¡¯s ambush. I didn¡¯t know whether it noticed her instinctively or not, but it was true that it wasn¡¯t possible to battle for long without Syria¡¯s healing. That was the reason why our ranks quickly fell. Still, I was barely able to save her with the Dominated gnolls.


    I scrunched my brows.


    ¡®This turned out for the better actually.¡¯


    Linlin, Shaoting or Minshik, they were all people who were capable of looking after themselves on their own. I wasn¡¯t worried for them. My ns were knocked out of course due to the gnolls¡¯ ambush, but this was fine as well. I could freely move as I wished now that it hase to this. Of course Syria was still left, but she was someone I knew well. I knew alot when it came to ways of winning her over.


    Right now my eyes were gleaming with annoyance. It was truly filthy unpleasant, this feeling of the hunter bing the hunted. By gnolls, of all things.


    ¡®I¡¯ll sweep them all off the face of the earth.¡¯


    As such, gnoll chief. I will have you clearly know just who you dared to provoke.

 Chapter 20 - J?rmungandr (Fin)

    <h4>Chapter 20 ¨C J?rmungandr (Fin)</h4>


    The first thing I did was to check our remaining fighters.


    17 gnolls, an unconscious Syria, and me.


    ¡®The gnolls have grown quite stronger.¡¯


    In fact, the gnolls I Dominated had a fast rate of growth. Their stats were 50% morepared to regr gnolls. I picked the strongest one among them and examined it using Mind¡¯s Eye.


    [Updating the information of ¡®Gnoll 22¡¯.]


    Name: Gnoll 22 (Value ¨C 134)


    Race: Gnoll


    Str 25(24+1) Agi 23(22+1) Con 24(23+1)


    Int 12 Mag 11


    Potential(92+3/115)


    Special Note: Currently Dominated by ¡®Hansung Oh¡¯ and is receiving the buff effect of ¡®From This Day We Are One(Str/Agi/Con +1)¡¯.


    This gnoll had survived the longest and had the highest potential among them. Its size was also biggerpared to the others; its body had developed along with the increase of its stats.


    ¡®The growth rate of the gnolls I had Dominated is much faster than regr gnolls.¡¯


    This was a conclusion I came to after previous observations: Regr gnolls wandering about in the wilderness that I hadn¡¯t Dominated also grew on their own. The total average stat of regr gnolls was about 50 while on the other hand, my Dominated gnolls reached around 80.


    Why was this so? What was the cause of this difference?


    ¡®Was it because I had them survive for longer?¡¯


    I shook my head, denying it in my mind. If it was simply a matter of survival then the potential of all the followers of a chief gnoll should have been filled. But it wasn¡¯t so. This difference was definitely rted to the power of the ¡®Dominator¡¯ skill I had.


    ¡®It¡¯s the same with Uriel Diablo¡¯s Authority.¡¯


    Just like Mind¡¯s Eye, it was an ability which employed an absolute kind of power. It seemed that there was something more to this skill which I didn¡¯t know.


    I rubbed my chin.


    ¡®The points I hold amount to 7,700.¡¯


    This also counted as a power in my arsenal. Clearing the Ancient One¡¯s trial paid off with an earning of over 7,000 points. With this, I could Dominate around 150 ordinary gnolls, but I had a different idea.


    ¡®There are three gnoll chiefs. What if I used Dominate on one of them?¡¯


    There were a total of three gnoll chieftains that ruled over the nearby territories. I was attacked by one of them, but there were still two others remaining. My only concern was the value of the ruling gnoll chief. Their followers numbered, on average, a thousand or so, as such even 7,700 points may be insufficient.


    ¡®There¡¯s too many variables to how the decided value is calcted.¡¯


    But it was still worth challenging.


    I still hadn¡¯t finished hunting gnolls so I could probably gather some more. Of course there was a limit to the amount of points I could gain through hunting regr gnolls. That was because strong opponents gave many points when killed, while weak opponents gave little.


    ¡°Mmm...¡±


    Upon hearing a groan, I turned my head around to see that Syria had regained consciousness.


    The sun was still up at this time. Syria looked at the dusk sky about to turn nightfall, and then at myself in turn, afterwards opening her mouth for the first time,


    ¡°Where...is this?¡±


    ¡°Hell.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood to joke.¡±


    There was a big discrepancy between her personality and her usual attitude, as usual. Syria was always like this. She just didn¡¯t talk much, that was all.


    ¡®She hasn¡¯t changed.¡¯


    Iughed inside. It seemed that there truly were things that didn¡¯t change with time.


    Syria looked at her own sticky body and gave a small frown.


    ¡°Will you wipe that carefree look off your mug, and exin why I¡¯m in this state please.¡±


    Not to mention that once she opened her mouth, a torrent of words would rush out, most of it profanity. And to think, she waster called the Saintess.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±


    ¡°How could you throw such words at the face of your saviour, isn¡¯t that too harsh?¡±


    ¡°Were you the one to save me? Where are the others?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t me that did the rescuing but my gnolls. And the others were scattered due to the gnolls¡¯ ambush. It¡¯s just the two of us here now.¡±


    I answered her questions in turn.


    Before long Syria was staring at the gnolls lined up beside me. The gnolls were panting like dogs as they went to Syria¡¯s side right away. Their faces were simr to dogs so it was fortunate that she showed no signs of aversion in particr. Surrounded by the lively gnolls, Syria ended up copsing to the ground.


    ¡°Ah...!¡±


    ¡°Looks like you go weak at the knees when you see cute things. Even though you¡¯ve just been ambushed by gnolls.¡±


    ¡°Those were bad gnolls though. By the way...our conversation isn¡¯t being tranted. So, you know how to speak Russian.¡±


    Conversations between Awakened were automatically tranted between each other, so they couldmunicate. Linlin and Shaoting could speak Korean fluently, but not Syria. The person who taught Korean to Syria was me after all, while it was Syria who had taught me Russian.


    ¡°I can speak a bit. Anyway, how about you go and wash up a little?¡±


    Syria¡¯s face burned red when I pinched my nose. The odor given off by the Giant Man-eating Flower¡¯s gastric juices she was covered in was worsening as time passed.


    ¡°Maybe I should have cleaned you up when you were unconscious?¡±


    ¡°Where can I wash up?¡±


    ¡°There.¡±


    A small spring was over where my hand pointed to. Syria got up from her spot and started quickly moving. But after she had walked for a distance, she came to an abrupt stop as she turned toward me and said,


    ¡°Thank you for saving me.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t quite hear that?¡±


    ¡°Was your personality always like this?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°...Thank you.¡±


    And then she ran toward the spring, not sparing a nce back.


    That easily embarrassed part of her remained the same as always. The reason behind her usual aloofness was for the sake of hiding her personality. I had always known...about her household. Her circumstances. Why she couldn¡¯t show outward weakness. Everything. She was an enchanting beauty, but she cut her hair short because she disliked giving off adylike impression. She would grow it outter on, but that¡¯s how she was at present.


    Pant pant pant!


    The gnolls were taking turns in looking at Syria, heading towards the spring, and me. This was most likely Dominator¡¯s influence. Because I, as the Dominator, felt good-will towards Syria, these fellows were also feeling good-will towards her too.


    ¡®I¡¯ll be going all-out from tomorrow.¡¯


    Gnolls had good eyesight at night. If we move carelessly and get taken from behind again, there was no guarantee that we would be able to escape in one piece like this time. The gnoll chief that ambushed us was quite smart. Prudence at all times was needed; looking carefully in all directions was necessary in order to ovee our disadvantage in numbers.


    ..


    ..


    I was tossing and turning where Iy, feeling as if a snake was creeping all over my body.


    ¡®The same dream again.¡¯


    A dream where I intercoursed with the snake-like woman. The woman possessed a beauty to die for, but I was helpless once I was in her grasp. It all started from that day when I had fallen asleep for 7 days straight. From that day onwards I dreamt the same dream every night.


    ¡°Ahh!¡±


    I was pressed down on, unable to do a thing. This situation had repeated several times over already...


    ¡®I won¡¯t just be on the receiving side today.¡¯


    ..but this time it was different. Was it because of the conversations I had with Syria? I had no clue, but my body was given a certain amount of freedom. I changed my position. I pinned down the Snake Woman and then grasped onto her head by her hair. And then the Snake Womanughed.


    I couldn¡¯t not ask,


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°You have quite the strong and firm lower parts for a false god.¡±


    And she was right. I had definitely gained freedom of my body, but my lower body was moving without rest to the point of exhaustion. It felt just as if I had fallen into a swamp. Her voice, which I was hearing for the first time, contained dignity, as well as a bewitching quality.


    ¡°A false god?¡±


    ¡°Did you not posture as a god within that Treasury? I mean the thing on your left hand.¡±


    A ring was all there was on my left hand. It used to belong to Minshik. Its current appearance with a magic circle engraved on it was a little different than before, but it was indeed not mine to begin with. However, there was no one who had seen it until, not even Minshik. That¡¯s why I had thought it was something only I could see and yet...


    ¡°That was the reason why Itched onto you.¡±


    ¡°J?rmungandr!¡±


    ¡°The name is unimportant. For I was once an existence who swallowed the world. My goal is to borrow your strength and kill Odin...however, you are also not bad. If you can unravel the power of origin as well as the other power within you, then you shall be deemed worthy of the right to be my servant.¡±


    J?rmungandr¡¯s smile deepened, and the movements of my body became even more frantic. Finally, this world began to blur once again.


    ¡°The King¡¯s power resides within you. When will you draw it out? I ask you, who contains two souls in one body.¡±


    ..


    ..


    ¡°...!¡±


    I raised up my upper body, entirely covered in cold sweat.


    ¡®Nothing but skin and bones will be left of me at this rate.¡¯


    Spectrophilia of all things.


    I felt like every drop of vitality was drained from me. It felt so real to the point of doubting whether it was really a dream or not. However, I wasn¡¯t merely on the receiving end unlike usual. For the first time I heard the Snake Woman¡¯s, J?rmungandr¡¯s voice. I lightly touched the silver snake wrapped around my heart region as I fell into thought, recalling the words I¡¯d heard at the end of the dream.


    ¡®The King¡¯s power.¡¯


    Two souls in one body, the King¡¯s power...was she referring to the Demon Lord? Apparently J?rmungandr was aware that the Demon Lord¡¯s and my soul were connected. However, draw out that power, she said.


    ¡®If I could bring over other skills apart from Mind¡¯s Eye and Dominator...¡¯


    I would do it a hundred times i that were possible. All of Uriel Diablo¡¯s skills were alike in that none of them were not powerful. That was especially true for his trademark skill, ¡®ck Star¡¯. But as ever, the question of how I would bring them over remained. Perhaps I was supposed to use Transfer and once more enter the abyss.


    ¡°You¡¯ve awoken.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you the early bird. Are you the type who can¡¯t sleep well except on your usual bed?¡±


    Syria put on a stony expression.


    ¡°...That¡¯s not it.¡±


    Syria was already wearing her dry clothes before I knew it, while my clothes had been carefully folded and ced beside my head. I had temporarily lended her my clothes because Syria had nothing to wear after washing hers. Iughed quietly before wearing my clothes and getting up.


    I was feeling a slight sense of guilt because of the dream J?rmungandr showed me. Shaking my head to myself, I then looked toward the far horizon.


    ¡®I should begin.¡¯


    The time to hunt hade.


    ..


    ..


    Kyaaa!


    Krrrrr!


    The 17 gnolls followed after me like one entity as I once again set foot into the ¡®gnoll¡¯s ecology¡¯. I picked out and attacked only the small groups of gnolls as I slowly drew near to the ¡®gnoll chief¡¯s¡¯ territory. It wasn¡¯t the gnoll chief that had ambushed us, but another one which I nicknamed ¡®Hulk¡¯.


    ¡®It¡¯s the biggest and dumbest one among them.¡¯


    However, gnoll chief ¡®Hulk¡¯ was being protected by around a thousand gnolls as expected. I needed a fighting power that matched up to those numbers if I wanted to go closer. As such, I was in the middle of quickly developing my 17 gnolls. The hunting was endless thanks to Syria¡¯s presence. In fact, they were growing so fast that I almost couldn¡¯t cope with it. At the same time I searched for the others who were scattered and missing, but it wasn¡¯t easy to find traces of them.


    In this manner we continued to hunt for a whole two days when a change ured.


    [¡®Gnoll Group¡¯ has ended their hunt.]


    [19pt has been obtained.]


    [¡®Gnoll 22¡¯ has reached the limit of growth.]


    [¡®Gnoll 22¡¯ has evolved to ¡®Gnoll Warrior¡¯.]


    [The potential of ¡®Gnoll Warrior 1¡¯ has increased from 115 to 180!]


    Gnoll 22 was the strongest among the pack of gnolls I lead. A light began to shine from Gnoll 22¡¯s entire body.


    Finally, two small horns protruded from Gnoll 22¡¯s head while its body grew in size by about two times. It sweeped its surroundings with a fearsome gaze while extending its sharp ws as if showing them off.


    ¡®It evolved?¡¯


    I stood there dumbstruck, blinking repeatedly, as I nkly stared at the unimaginable scene that had ured before me.

 Chapter 21 - Absolute Domination (1)

    <h4>Chapter 21 ¨C Absolute Domination (1)</h4>


    What is evolution? It is the gradual change of form over a long period of time. It was possible for a caterpir to change into a butterfly but that was still not evolution. There was another word for that: Metamorphosis(׃‘B), which meant to literally change shape.


    But amon gnoll had be a gnoll warrior. It smashed through its limitations on its own and was reborn as a ¡®higher species¡¯. Such a phenomenon could only be witnessed by a Spirit Caller. Formless spirits could be evolved into higher-grade spirits with the investment of time, Magic power, and such, however, spirits were not living creatures. Their origins were still yet unclear but they couldn¡¯t be counted among regr living creatures. On the other hand, what about gnolls?


    ¡®How is this possible?¡¯


    I, at the very least, had never seen it happen before. And since it was my first time seeing such a thing, it meant that there were none among humanity who could give a definite answer regarding this phenomenon. Even a Beast Master wasn¡¯t capable of evolving their beasts into a higher species; the most they could do was to enhance the power of their beasts using skills, equipment and the like.


    I had credited their fast growth to the Dominator skill. But ¡®domination¡¯ and ¡®evolution¡¯ clearly belonged to different areas. There had to be something else.


    And then I ended up eximing inside,


    ¡®Universal.¡¯


    It was a small realization: Universal. J?rmungandr had called it a power of origin. An Authority that opened up a new world, exclusive to me. If this Authority influenced all skills then I could ept this phenomenon, to a certain extent, which urred from the gnolls I made mine using the skill Dominator.


    ¡®So it was like this.¡¯


    It was only now that my understanding of Universal increased a little. An overpowered ability indeed, which removed limits and evolved all things to a higher realm. And it was this overpowered ability which met the ¡®Dominator¡¯ skill resulting in a powerful synergy.


    Growl!


    The gnoll warrior approached me.


    It had be a gnoll warrior from a gnoll, so this meant that it was most certainly possible that it could evolve to a higher form of its species; gnoll chief, and even a gnoll lord. No, perhaps there was something even further above that. I shouldn¡¯t assume a limit on this Authority.


    This new discovery was causing me to tremble. When I held out my hand toward the gnoll warrior, it rubbed its face against my hand.


    ¡°Just what is happening here?¡±


    Syria. She had also witnessed the gnoll¡¯s evolution, but it hadn¡¯t been long since here awakening so she only thought of it as strange. If this had happened during the time when she was a Saintess, then her worldview would have overturned upon itself.


    ¡°Are you disappointed now that it¡¯s not cute all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡®Th-, that¡¯s not it. The gnoll just up and...you still haven¡¯t gained any ss, isn¡¯t that so?¡±


    ¡°I can still use skills even without a ss.¡±


    ¡°You, were you not someone who he awakened?¡±


    Syria sent a suspicious gaze toward me.


    Her suspicion stemmed from the fact that my performance during the past two days definitely didn¡¯t resemble that of a ¡®novice¡¯. In fact, the way I explored this side of the Gate was much more masterful than their group of four.


    I figured that it was about time now. I met her gaze with a serious look of my own and spoke.


    ¡°Just like how you can hear someone¡¯s voice, I can hear a voice too. That voice tells me the right answers.¡±


    ¡°...!¡±


    Syria froze on the spot, staring at me with wide eyes as if in disbelief.


    From childhood, she had said that she could hear someone¡¯s voice; this was due to her natural ¡®talent¡¯. She was called a Saintess and yet, ironically, she was a master at handling ¡®Spirits¡¯, especially spirits of light. She possessed an affinity with a spirit considered special even among spirits, which was why she could hear their voice. The chances of this happening to anyone was 1/100,000,000, the equivalent of being born with 470 potential. She wasn¡¯t called a Saintess for nothing.


    And of course, the voice that I could hear was the information that my ¡®future self¡¯ remembered.


    ¡°You can also...hear the voices?¡±


    ¡°It would be nice if you called me Hansung instead of ¡®you¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Hansung. Can you hear their voices?¡±


    Syria was dead serious, and I couldn¡¯t me her for that. She had gone through all kinds of rough experiences because of these ¡®voices¡¯. In the end she had to protect herself by pretending she couldn¡¯t hear them anymore.


    She must feel as if she¡¯d just met arade. I was different from those fake exorcists; I had known even though no one requested me of anything. At the same time she must feel threatened at having her secret found out. Aware of her worries, I nodded and said,


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep your secret, if you¡¯ll keep mine.¡±


    ¡°I will. So...tell me. Just who are they?¡±


    ¡°They don¡¯t mean harm. You also know this don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°At first...¡±


    Syria took a bold step closer to stand right before me, staring me face to face.


    ¡°At first I thought they were ghosts. And then thought them guardian spirits. But now I don¡¯t know. They always talk to me. They talked about you as well...told me to be careful of you, to not go near you. They said you...were a very scary and dangerous being.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t suppress augh. That¡¯s what the spirits of light said about me? Perhaps, just like how J?rmungandr saw through me, the spirits of light may have seen through the darkness, the Demon Lord, inside of me. Maybe the reason why she had been quietly following me up until now was due to the warnings of those spirits.


    However, unfortunately, I had nil affinity with spirits. The Spirit Caller ss was impossible to obtain without being born with the talent in the first ce. Although I had obtained the Universal Authority, as usual, I still couldn¡¯t hear the voices of spirits. But I still knew the method to help her.


    ¡®Syria can be trusted.¡¯


    She was one of the most trustworthy people when it came to promises and the like. It wasn¡¯t merely because of our former lover rtion, but because she was just that kind of person.


    Her expression was serious, full of desperate hope that I would tell her the answer. And it was that desperation that showed me something different; scenes flitted through my mind like a reel of film being projected.


    ¡®The Keeper¡¯s power.¡¯


    Indeed. The power which could show another¡¯s past had once again manifested in my body and activated.


    ?The family¡¯s disgrace. I cannot send a possessed child out into the world. Lock her away in the basement for the rest of her life!


    ?Ahhk! You horrible man! Even so she¡¯s your daughter!


    ?I had believed her to be of superior quality! You are also at fault for giving birth to a possessed brat! Outrageous, simply outrageous!


    ?Syria...my daughter. Mother lovers you more than anyone. May you be able to live happily in that ce. Forget about something like family...and butler Royce will apany you.


    ?Miss. Someone who possesses the same power as miss has sent a letter. Someone called Minshik Kim. Will you send a reply?


    What I saw was much more appalling than what I¡¯d heard. I staggered for a moment, holding onto my head.


    ¡®What¡¯s so great about family.¡¯


    She desired to be stronger, and by doing so bing free of ¡®disgrace¡¯. She struggled all for the sake of saving her mother.


    I knew, however, that her family will meet downfall in the end. After the emergence of monsters and the casualties sustained by the new family, Syria¡¯s family would fail to endure in the midst of the chaos toe.


    Was it alright for me to change her future?


    ¡®She has the right to happiness.¡¯


    I didn¡¯t want to be a mere bystander when her suffering was in to see. She would be called Saintess and revered as such in the future, but all her life she had carried a burden in her heart. At the very least...when considering the devotion she showed toward humanity and myself, she deserved the right to live happily.


    ¡°Do you resent them?¡±


    ¡°In the beginning...I did. But not anymore...not ever since I came to know they meant me no harm.¡±


    ¡°Do you wish to converse with them?¡±


    Nod!


    Syria fervently nodded her head.


    It was always one-sided up until now; she could only listen to them. They were the cause of all her suffering. It may have been difficult if she was still in a state of resentment, but if she had let go of it now, then conversing should be possible.


    I took out the lowest-grade ruby from a pocket, drew a magic circle on the sandy ground and ced it there. After that I wrote characters rted to a ¡®Spirit Contract¡¯ in runenguage.


    ¡°Drip a drop of your blood on this ruby.¡±


    Syria drew out a hidden dagger from her thigh. She had taken out herst weapon of defense without reservation, which signified that she had let down her guard against me somewhat. Following that she lightly cut her finger and let the blood drip onto the ruby.


    Suaaaaa!


    At the same time, the magic circle shined with light which meant that there was a spirit reacting to it. There wouldn¡¯t have been any reaction if it was my blood; I couldn¡¯t hear the voice of spirits after all.


    ¡°Ah...!¡±


    She let out a joyous shout not long after, looking about herself excitedly. Aside from the surroundings only appearing a little brighter to me, I saw nothing. But she must be seeing the spirits of light right now, and it looked like there were a considerable number of them. I was also surprised though. I would never have expected there to be so many to the point of even having an effect on the nearby environment! Was it because she was still pure at this point?


    ¡°Were you all calling for me all this time?¡±


    Syria began talking to them, tears glimmering in her eyes. I quietly looked away, and she finally began crying. And then after a while she was kicking up augh, having a good time.


    ¡®It¡¯s good to see.¡¯


    I smiled. How long had it been since I¡¯d seen her smiling so brightly? Even when we were lovers I hardly ever saw her looking happy. A lowest-grade ruby was cheappared to that smile.


    The light dimmed after an hour or so passed. She looked regretful as she turned her gaze to me.


    ¡°They su-, suddenly disappeared.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because your Magic Power ran out.¡±


    ¡°Can I call them again?¡±


    ¡°If you wish to in the future. Did you hear their names?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Arisa, Maram, Gus...¡±


    ¡°Stop. Only you must know the names of contracted spirits. Remember that.¡±


    I let out a small sigh. Spirits didn¡¯t exist physically, but they gained power upon sharing their ¡®name¡¯, however, they weren¡¯t capable of attacking those who knew their name. Which meant that even if I held bad intentions, her spirits couldn¡¯t be able to attack me in any way.


    ¡°I under...stand.¡±


    ¡°As long as you know.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°When ites to saying some words of thanks, even I could do it a hundred times.¡±


    Syria looked troubled at my words. Then as if having resolved on something, she approached and pushed her face close to mine. Was she going to kiss me or something?


    Grabbing both my hands she then said,


    ¡°Benefactor. May I call you benefactor?¡±


    Ah, that¡¯s right. She waspletely ignorant when it came to love. She had no interest in romance between men and women after all.


    ¡°I would appreciate it if you just called me by name.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do as benefactor, I mean, Hansung-nim wishes. Tell me if you have anything you want. I¡¯ll do anything.¡±


    She appeared unburdened now that the secret, which she had agonized over all her life, was now solved. She must have never imagined that I could solve that problem in an instant, however, such a thing was as easy as breathing to me. If she had spoken those words to any other man then it was obvious what would be requested of her. But I knew that she didn¡¯t mean her words in that way.


    [¡®Dominator(Lv9) has been activated.]


    [Her status has changed from ¡®distrust, wary¡¯ to ¡®trust, gratitude¡¯. If it is now, it is possible to Dominate her at 50% value: ¡®15,000pt¡¯.]


    [It is even possible to Dominate a target without using points ording to their status. Dominator¡¯s Authority will automatically activate when a targetpletely trusts and unconditionally follows the user.]


    ¡®Huh?¡¯


    There was such a feature?


    I wascking points, of course, but to think there was another method.


    Although La Diablo was assessed with a value, there was no particr need to use Dominate on her, because she unconditionally trusted and followed Uriel Diablo, and so she automatically entered the state of being ¡®Dominated¡¯. This feature meant that the same could happen to Syria, and perhaps to any other existence apart from her!

 Chapter 22 - Absolute Domination (2)

    <h4>Chapter 22 ¨C Absolute Domination (2)</h4>


    But it wasn¡¯t as if there were no problems at all.


    ¡®If she came to love me once again...¡¯


    We had maintained a shortsting lover¡¯s rtionship in the past, however, I wasn¡¯t capable of curing her of her darkness because her mind was already too taken within the shadows of her ruined family. And back then I was also not so whole; harboring a festering rot inside of me. Thest hero, the only hope...I was being strangled by the things expected of me. I had to put up a pretense even though it was all heading towards despair. We only ended up hurting each other as a result. We couldn¡¯t care for each other, because we simply didn¡¯t have the mind to spare.


    But if it¡¯s now, it may turn out differently. Even so...I couldn¡¯t force it. Al Araxar would make his appearance 5 yearster. I had caused this disaster, but even before that it wasn¡¯t as if there were no problems. Big incidents would continue to ur from now on. It was uncertain whether she could even wait for me until the end of everything, if love did bloom. Not to mention, it was ridiculous to think that ¡®absolute domination¡¯ may be what¡¯s waiting at that end.


    ¡®Love my ass.¡¯


    I shook my head.


    I was satisfied with our current rtionship...there was just too much work to do in my future. I hadn¡¯t even gained a proper understanding regarding Demon Lords and J?rmungandr. It went without saying that even I couldn¡¯t be certain of victory in the events toe. ¡®Wait for me, pray for me¡¯...I couldn¡¯t say such irresponsible words.


    ¡®6 monthster, sinkholes will appear all over the world.¡¯


    This was the most pressing matter at hand; the precursor to change would ur 6 monthster! Countless lives had been lost in the past, incidents happening on a global scale, and no one could identify the reason behind its urence. It was onlyter that a rumour spread, of how a certain ¡®trial¡¯ had appeared in the depths of the sinkholes. The sinkholes wouldter be interconnected while people from all over the world would gather, and...the ce they arrived at was an enormous arena as well as a library.


    It was unknown as to whom had made this happen, but it was certain that a ¡®transcendent being¡¯ had been involved. Everyone who reached that ce awakened while extremely few among them gained amazing abilities, sses, equipments and such. But at the same time, a great many people had died


    ¡®The truth of this matter was dyed because of a secret pact.¡¯


    It was the reason why those who managed to leave that ce had no choice but to keep silent. A prohibition that wasid down by the transcendent being who had been involved. Eventer on, it was unknown whether that being was actually one existence or many. There were even some called hero among those people who had explored the sinkholes, but seeing how even they were influenced by the prohibition, the whole matter was doubtless extraordinary.


    I had to go there...and find out the truth; to determine whether they were allies, enemies, or perhaps something else. I needed to obtain some things as well.


    ¡®The Seven Heavenly Virtues...from among them I need to obtain Patience.¡¯


    The opposite concept of the Seven Deadly Sins were the Seven Heavenly Virtues: Purity, Temperance, Love, Diligence, Endurance, Benevolence, Humility!


    It was possible to obtain one of the Virtues ¡®Endurance¡¯ from that ce. Hero Graxio the Indomitable had imed to have seen it there. He¡¯d said that no one was able to obtain it, but Endurance was definitely there. There weren¡¯t many of the Seven Heavenly Virtues that were discovered on the surface, but every single one of them were on the level of ¡®miracles¡¯; they were objects of such iparable power to the point that it was rumoured, that all evil could be defeated if every piece of the Virtues were gathered. Endurance would no doubt live up its fame.


    ¡°Hansung-nim?¡±


    Syria had tentatively called out, seeing that I showed no movement with my mouth shut.


    ¡°Drop the -nim.¡±


    ¡°That I can¡¯t do.¡±


    She was obstinate. I knew just how stubborn she could me, and it looked like her gratitude was leading her to treat me with more respect.


    ¡°Then at the very least just call me by name when there¡¯s otherpany.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Syria then hesitated for a moment after replying, but soon took a step back and closed her mouth. I could roughly guess at what she wanted to ask.


    ¡®The rtionship between Minshik and me.¡¯


    It hadn¡¯t been more than a few days since she hade to Korea. There was no way a feeling of camaraderie would have sprouted within that time. Only, she was sure to have some curiosity as to how Minshik and I were rted. Seeing how she didn¡¯t ask regardless, she most likely assumed there were circumstances that couldn¡¯t be spoken of, just like how it was for her. All this time until meeting me, hadn¡¯t she pretended to not hear the voices of spirits? As such...she would probably cope well without me having to go out of my way to exin.


    ¡®He¡¯s not one to die easily.¡¯


    His persistence in returning to the past to be a hero even left me at awe. I knew he hadn¡¯te back just to die in a ce like this, so I rxed my mind. More than anything, it was possible to escape from peril of this level with the abilities of a Magic Swordsman. Rather than that, I was in more of a rush to Dominate a gnoll chief and hunt.


    ..


    (Syria Perspective)


    I took a look around me.


    After a mere three days of hunting, the 17 gnolls had all evolved into gnoll warriors and then hunting had gained much more momentum. At the same time, he...Hansung Oh had also begun to act.


    ¡®Is he really human?¡¯


    I couldn¡¯t help doubting in my heart. Hansung¡¯s movements far exceeded those I¡¯d witnessed of the Chinese siblings and Minshik. He was currently crushing gnolls faster, and more powerfully than even the strongest people I hade across.


    ¡°A sword made of stone is also quite useful.¡±


    What was most surprising was that he had sharpened a sword out of stone within a mere few hours. It appeared unimpressive at first nce, but it was a sword well-bnced. He had already ughtered dozens of gnolls using that sword.


    His swordsmanship was incredible. I had never seen anyone handle the sword like that, even among Russia¡¯s militants. A precise, practical sword technique used along with an insane attacking style of neglecting defense. It was, however, surprisingly used with such skill that the unimpressive stone sword was able to endure without breaking.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be entering the center of the gnoll chief¡¯s territory. Follow me closely.¡±


    He didn¡¯t rest. He began moving to take down his original target after finishing all maintenance.


    ¡®Maybe he¡¯s not a human.¡¯


    I continued to experience amazing things after discovered a ¡®Gate¡¯ and awakening, such as beings that didn¡¯t originate from Earth. I could even meet the ¡®spirits of light¡¯, thanks to Hansung. And the person, who wasn¡¯t like a person, who had all these abilities...that was Hansung.


    I summoned a spirit of light, Maram; the name of the biggest and strongest spirit I knew.


    ¡°Please help Hansung-nim.¡±


    But something strange happened.


    Shake shake!


    The spirit of light, Maram, shook its head. I could feel his fear.


    Why? He wasn¡¯t capable of going near Hansung like the other spirits, even though he was the strongest of the spirits. Was it because he really was a ¡®dangerous existence¡¯?


    ¡°Won¡¯t you tell me why?¡±


    ?I¡¯m scared! He¡¯s a really scary existence!


    ¡®I don¡¯t think he¡¯s so scary though.¡¯


    Scared, was the only reason. He wouldn¡¯t exin any further than that.


    But I wasn¡¯t scared. In fact, he was gentle. I had hardly ever felt this kind of warmth before. It wasn¡¯t only because he had solved my problem for me. From the very first time I saw him, there was a curious warmth in his eyes. In the way he had looked at me...there was definitely affection.


    I reacted sensitively to the emotion of others; I was born in that kind of environment. That¡¯s why I was confused at first. It was the first time anyone had looked at me like that, apart from my mother. Moreover, he was helping me with truly pure intentions. And to that help, I wanted to respond in kind however I could.


    Maram spoke then.


    ?Something hase. It¡¯s a very ominous being. Be careful.


    An ominous being? Was he referring to Hansung-nim?


    But that wasn¡¯t it. Maram was clearly looking somewhere else. It was quite a far distance away, almost impossible to make out with the naked eye.


    There was an old gnoll donning a ck robe in that ce. The old gnoll was holding a wand in its grasp, unlike the other gnolls, and was in the middle of chanting a spell. And then as it waved its wand once, ck mes red to life and began flying toward Hansung.


    ¡°There¡¯s danger!!¡±


    I began to run out of instinct, but the speed at which the ck mes travelled was much faster. It looked like Hansung was unable to spare his attention because of the gnolls he was facing.


    Boom!


    ..


    (MC Perspective)


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    I heard Syria scream, but that was all. My ears were deafened as I rolled on the ground.


    ¡°Cough!¡±


    I spat out blood.


    Damn it! I was slow to detect the Magic Power since my Intelligence was low. The ck mes were already upon me by the time I realized.


    [You have been affected by ¡®Curse of Spiderwebs¡¯.]


    [It is a powerful curse. All healing effects are dyed.]


    ¡°Gnoll shaman...!¡±


    ¡°Ar-, are you alright? Don¡¯t move. I¡¯ll heal you immediately!¡±


    Bright light began to shine from Syria¡¯s hands. Together with the spirits of light, her power of healing was twice as effective, however...


    ¡°Just wh-, why won¡¯t it heal...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s futile.¡±


    It was a waste of Magic Power. The spiderweb-like ck stain entirely covering my body was a curse that interfered with the healing of wounds, causing holy power to be ineffective. Syria didn¡¯t yet have the ability to remove curses.


    As I shook my head, Syria¡¯s eyes filled with worry. I then turned my gaze towards the ce where the ck me flew out from.


    Gnoll shaman! I¡¯d never have expected a gnoll who¡¯d achieved spiritual enlightenment to be here. It was apanied by countless gnolls, and even a chief gnoll. Having stumbled into the center of their territory unawares, it looked like I¡¯d stuck my head into the mouth of a lion this time.


    I wrinkled my brows.


    ¡®So that¡¯s the ringleader.¡¯


    The gnolls ambush, and the gnoll chief¡¯s strange movements...I did think it was strange how clever they were for regr gnolls.


    ¡®A gnoll shaman of all things.¡¯


    A gnoll shaman was an existence that has attained enlightenment; a unique monster with an extremely low chance of appearing. It was definitely not something that should have appeared in this kind of ce. If I¡¯d known it was here then I wouldn¡¯t have even set foot in the chief gnoll¡¯s territory.


    What a disaster. I had tried acting with as much information as possible, but I wasn¡¯t capable of foreseeing such variables. Naturally it was a difficult opponent for me at present, not to mention it was also difficult to fend off the other gnolls nearby.


    My insides were churning. If winning was impossible then I had to fall back. But would I even be able to run...


    I calmly went into thought.


    ¡®Only one of us two can survive.¡¯


    It would be hard for Syria and I to both escape. Someone had to be a sacrifice for the other to live. I was injured, and Syria was slow footed. For the sake of the far future, of course I had to live. But even so, was it the right choice to sacrifice Syria?


    My rationality and emotions shed fiercely.


    What should I do? How can I turn this situation around?


    ¡®Dominator.¡¯


    I tried to Dominate the gnoll chief. I couldn¡¯t buy the gnoll shaman with the amount of points I had right now because it was a Lv6 monster, which required 10,000 points to Dominate.


    [¡®Gnoll Chief¡¯ is impossible to Dominate. It is being controlled by ¡®Gnoll Shaman¡¯.]


    Shit!


    Was it impossible to use Dominator when the target is already in a state of being controlled?


    My two pupils trembled incessantly, and I grinded my teeth.


    But it was at that moment. I grasped onto the silver snake that was near my heart area, as if in a trance. It was an almost instinctive movement.


    ¡®Maybe.¡¯


    J?rmungandr. If it¡¯s her, everything else aside, she may be able to eat away the ¡®curse¡¯ I was affected by. After all, she was an existence feared by the spirits of light, who even drains me of my vitality!


    I didn¡¯t think it was impossible, and the width of my understanding expanded the moment I acknowledged J?rmungandr¡¯s existence. It was an abrupt enlightenment.


    I opened my mouth.


    ¡°Devour it all.¡±


    Slither!


    At the same time, the snake opened its mouth and began to move. It slithered all around my body, eating the ck stains as it went. And finally, after all the ck stains disappeared, something else happened.


    [The user contracted with ¡®J?rmungandr¡¯ is immune from ¡®all Curses of the Night¡¯.]


    [¡®J?rmungandr¡¯ has devoured ¡®Curse of Spiderwebs¡¯.]


    [¡®J?rmungandr¡¯ has leveled up from 1->2.]


    [¡®J?rmungandr¡¯ is beginning to undergo a change of form.]


    Change of form!


    The silver snake fell off me and began to change, its body expanding.

 Chapter 23 - Absolute Domination (3)

    <h4>Chapter 23 ¨C Absolute Domination (3)</h4>


    Following that, dark rays began to wound up and split apart, repeating over and over until it formed the appearance of a woman. Purple hair, cold pupils like a snake¡¯s, enchanting lips and a majestic figure. I definitely remember having seen this naked woman.


    ¡®She didn¡¯t just exist in my dreams?¡¯


    I had met her dozens of times, or if it were just counting the number of times I had intercoursed with her in my dreams, even more than that. If only that was taken into ount, it may seem to be a weird object that kept lonely menpany at night, but regardless I never had doubts regarding the lofty ¡®Prestige¡¯ embodied in her appearance. However, she had assimted into reality.


    Her beauty was mind-blowing. The feeling I got from seeing her in the dream and in reality waspletely different, however, she had an atmosphere about her that didn¡¯t allow easy approach. It was like a ck hole that you would be forever unable to escape from if youid a hand on it.


    ¡°I have finally be able to take form.¡±


    J?rmungandrughed leisurely and turned her gaze to me.


    Jolt!


    In that moment I felt my senses enhanced. I felt my blood roiling and the world heavily shaking. Was this how it felt to witness the creation of a universe? My Magic Power was amplified, going out of control, and it felt like my mind was going to tear to pieces.


    ¡°Huhu! The ¡®blood¡¯ I had injected must have begun to awaken. Endure. If you are incapable of even that, you have no right to stand before me.¡±


    Blood?


    I involuntarily recalled the day when my bed was drenched with blood. I was unconscious on my way back home. Of course I didn¡¯t know who the owner of that ¡®blood¡¯ was, however, if the blood going wild in my body right now belonged to J?rmungandr, then it meant that that blood back then must have been mine.


    J?rmungandr came close and stroked my cheek.


    ¡°I usually never help anyone. But I am in a very good mood today, for I have waited eons to finally manifest!¡±


    I grit my teeth.


    I never expected J?rmungandr to appear but at least it was good news. The gnoll shaman recognized the ¡®Prestige¡¯ she held and was currently unable to make any rash movements. No, it wasn¡¯t just the gnoll shaman. Every single creature on the scene appeared to be petrified, unable to move.


    ¡°Clearly, however, my body of now is different to that of the past. It is weak, as if it would break at a touch. As such, my help onlyes with ¡®equivalent exchange¡¯.¡±


    Even now I felt like my body was on the verge of falling apart into pieces, but I clenched my jaw and spoke.


    ¡°So...you mean to request something of me.¡±


    If I copsed at this point then J?rmungandr wouldn¡¯t hesitate to show her back; I could feel it strongly. She was a snake that existed solely for her own sake, an omnipotent being that had oncepletely coiled itself around world. It was nonsense to even think that she woulde forth on her own to help somebody. It was only because I held that small bit of ¡®Prestige¡¯ that she proffered her hand in humour, as if havinge across an amusing toy.


    J?rmungandrughed. Her looks were definitely of an otherworldly beauty, but herughter was so cold.


    ¡°Your capacity. That is what I eat and grow.¡±


    [It is possible to borrow the power of ¡®J?rmungandr¡¯ using 10 potential.]


    Potential equaled capacity...the size of my vessel, the size of which would hardly ever change unless I were to consume age-old wondrous elixirs like eating rice, and only then would it increase in small amounts. My potential was 456, however, it wasn¡¯t normally worth exchanging any of it in the long run. But J?rmungandr was requesting for it, and If I refused her now then she would turn back into her previous form.


    But I had the ultimate weapon in the form of powerful ¡®information¡¯. If I were to utilize this then it would be easy to restore the lost potential. It was to that point that I only needed to think for a moment and dozens of such methods would flit through my mind.


    I nodded my head.


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s trade.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t lose my life out of begrudging 10 potential. More than that, I needed a way to break out of this dangerous situation.


    Hup!


    J?rmungandrughed and forced her lips onto mine the instant I nodded my head. Her tongue extended like a snakes and stirred the inside of my mouth, feeling as if it would even reach my brain. And then...


    [¡®Forced Awakening¡¯ has begun due to ¡®J?rmungandr¡¯.]


    All stats be (60+6*Lv=72) upon Forced Awakening.


    Stats will slowly decay during the 30 minute duration.


    10 potential is permanently lost upon the end of duration, and user will enter a state of ¡®Forced Sleep¡¯.


    The power of ¡®Cold-blood(Lv1) has been attained due to the Authority of Universal Man.


    Power began to overflow from my entire body. I felt the air around me change, and even the way I saw things had be different. I felt a vigor as if I had returned to my prime as all my stats became 72. Of course, it was far fromparable to myst moments in the past, but it was still amazing nheless.


    ¡®Whew.¡¯


    Most importantly, the special function of increasing stat by level multiplied by 6 meant that if J?rmungandr¡¯s level were to reach 10, then it would even be possible to raise every stats to 120. This was truly unbelievable, because a total stat of 600 overwhelmed even a Demon Lord! You may well be called a half-god at that level.


    J?rmungandr released my lips and then spoke.


    ¡°It will be hard to adjust to the sudden gain of power. If you fail to clean up those ugly things then running would also-.¡±


    Thump!


    I kicked off the ground, and rose high above before falling down into the center of the gnolls.


    ¡®I have 30 minutes.¡¯


    I could do it. A total stat of 350 equaled the strength of a level 7. I outstripped the gnoll shaman in terms of raw numbers, but I was restricted by the 30 minute time limit, moreover, I would grow weaker the more time passed. As such, even the time to listen to J?rmungandr¡¯s words was precious. Cold-blood(Lv1) made my mind colder than before. The Authority of Universal Man...the ability to take in, and make mine, all kinds of powers!


    Thwack!


    I chopped down on a gnoll¡¯s head. I could even smash rock with 72 Strength; I knew this better than anyone because I had already experienced before. Contrary to J?rmungandr¡¯s expectation, I had already finished ¡®adjusting¡¯ regardless of it being borrowed power.


    The gnoll¡¯s skull was shattered and brain matter sttered everywhere, however, the blood spilled by the gnoll instantly gathered into my hand. This was another usage of Cold-blood; it appeared that it wasn¡¯t limited to simply enhancing the mind.


    Weak resistance to mind-affecting statuses.


    Able to draw blood from corpses and shape it ording to the user¡¯s will. Its duration and usable amount of blood is proportional to the skill level and user¡¯s Intelligence, while the density and destructive power of the shaped blood is proportional to the skill level and user¡¯s Magic Power.


    ¡®Cold-blood...not bad.¡¯


    Actually, this skill wasn¡¯t just ¡®not bad¡¯, but simply amazing. It had an infinite potential on the battlefield. I could give a nod to obtaining this skill at the cost of 10 potential. This skill shined especially in times like now where I had no equipment to use.


    I smashed open the heads of several more gnolls. This sensation I hadn¡¯t felt in a long time was quite wonderful. The feeling of tearing flesh, destroying bones and innards directly ran up my fist. My body had felt so stuffy like a sponge full of water, but now I could move it as I wished. And so, the first thing I shaped with blood was a pair of gauntlets; my fists were more receptive than swords. After that I made a helmet and armor. Crimson blood rolled like mesh to cover my entire body. I literally became a man of blood(ѪÈË). Perhaps this was what it would be like to be a knight armed with blood.


    ¡°Arata-...Arataum!¡±


    The gnoll shaman waved its wand, and a magic me gathered from all directions to rush toward me. I created a shield, and then together with a ¡®Bang!¡¯ sound the shield made of blood blocked the fireball before dissipating.


    It was too far away. The gnoll shaman was under the protection of the other gnolls, numbering nearly a thousand. Going close to deliver a blow within a short period of time wasn¡¯t feasible. I could shorten the distance with another leap, but it would be difficult to block every fireball.


    ¡®Spear.¡¯


    And so I made a spear. A single spear for the sole purpose of piercing. After creating it, I immediately hurled it toward the gnoll shaman; it was a javelin.


    Puok!


    But it was blocked; the gnoll chief had stood in its way.


    I quietly clicked my tongue. What should have been a finishing blow was blocked so they would no doubt be prepared for it. It was hard to expect another surprise attack like this to go through.


    ¡®Chain.¡¯


    I twisted, and twisted again, the blood of the gnolls I hunted and created a long chain. I held the chain with both hands and powerfully swept it across the ground. The smaller-sized gnolls instantly lost their bnce and fell over.


    Crash!


    Following that Ished the ground with the chain like a whip. Arge groove had appeared on the ground, and the gnolls that were previously there were now mashed beyond the point of recognition. But the chain made of blood couldn¡¯t withstand the strength behind that strike and disappeared. It was shaped using a mere level 1 skill so its durability was a joke, however, there were plenty of gnolls nearby. Plenty of blood. During this 30 minutes, at the least, I would be able to create weapons infinitely.


    Grar!


    The gnoll chief roared as he charged at me. It was the final defense that protected the gnoll shaman. I would be able to reach the gnoll shaman in a jiffy, as long as I could get past it.


    ¡®Sword.¡¯


    Finally, I shaped a sword. I knew how to handle all kinds of weapons, but among them I was best at using the sword. But the reason why I hadn¡¯t used the sword from the start was rted to my ¡®sword art¡¯.


    ¡®Heartless Soul Stealer de.¡¯


    A sword art created for the sole purpose of attacking. I didn¡¯t know who its creator was; an old man, on the verge of death, who had introduced himself as ¡®Rakshasa¡¯ had left me the sword manual. But through this sword manual my skill in the sword had progressed rapidly. Furthermore, I had dozens of years of experience in this sword art, so I was capable of naturally emting the Heartless Soul Stealer de Art just by holding a sword.


    It waspletely attack-oriented, endlessly consuming stamina to sh open a path, which was why I couldn¡¯t wield the sword for a long period. I had madly focused on this sword art all for the sake of catching up to those genuine geniuses. I would feel awkward whenever I used the sword in any other way, as if my body and my sword weren¡¯t my own.


    This was why I didn¡¯t easily use the sword. I only wielded the sword when I absolutely needed to win.


    ¡®If it¡¯s now...¡¯


    ...then I may be able to properly disy the capabilities of the Heartless Soul Stealer de, not simply emting it.


    I breathed in deeply, and took a step toward the gnoll chief. Boasting a sturdiness that matched its huge bodily frame, it didn¡¯t seem bothered in the least even after being struck by the spear I¡¯d tossed, however, the moment it met my eyes, it flinched.


    ¡®I¡¯m capable of using it up to the 6th stage.¡¯


    But even I had yet to reach the pinnacle of Heartless Soul Stealer de. I had only learnt up to its 9 stage out of 12 stages. Indeed, I had considered this as the limitation of a Magic Swordsman.


    I should be able to disy the sword art up to the 6th stage at present; that was more than enough to face off with the gnoll chief.


    The very moment I began using it, my entire body blurred; I elerated like a phantom. This sword art which was centered around speed and offense wasn¡¯t simple. It was a true ¡®Martial Art¡¯ which contained the methods to utilizing the entirety of the body; to detect the very motions of the breath, beating of the heart, and even the small vibrations of trembling skin and bone, thereby taking control of the surrounding ¡®space¡¯.


    Right at this very moment, the gnoll chief was controlled within my space. I synchronized my breathing, heart beat and the like with the gnoll chief, making it impossible for it to see through me. And at that moment, I dashed within its reach.


    sh!


    Blood sttered, and just like that, a head was sent flying above.


    I didn¡¯t stop there. I re-shaped the broken sword and began mercilessly ughtering the gnolls. I controlled their life and death, as long as they were within my space.


    ¡°Arataum! Arataum!¡±


    The gnoll shaman wildly continued to throw fireballs at me, but they weren¡¯t allowed to explode; I raised my sword and cleaved through them. The mes lost strength and dissipated when I cut the fireballs exactly into two halves, and the gnoll shaman retreated falteringly.


    ¡®First to strike wins.¡¯


    Staying in control of every aspect of myself and my opponent was much too straining on my stamina and my mental strength. It was possible that I may even copse before the time limit was up.


    I coolly studied my surroundings before making a beeline toward the gnoll shaman. The nearby gnolls attempted to block me, but the mere likes of gnolls weren¡¯t capable of stopping me as I was now.


    <¡¯Cold-blood¡¯ has leveled up from 1->2.>


    The duration and destructive power of shaped blood is increased by a small amount.


    <¡¯Heartless Soul Stealer de(6th Stage) has been added to the skill line.>


    The messages that popped up didn¡¯t even enter my eyes.


    I merely shed, shed, and shed again. I was in a state of trance.


    Suaak!


    I was able to lop off the gnoll shaman¡¯s head before the time limit was up. As the gnoll shaman that controlled them disappeared, the remaining hundreds of gnolls scattered on the spot and began to flee.


    [Battle has ended.]


    [5,600pt has been obtained.]


    [The title ¡®Merciless Gnoll ughterer(Lv3)¡¯ has been promoted to ¡®Gnoll Annihtor(Lv5).]


    ¡°Gasp! Gasp!¡±


    Everything I had created out of blood fell apart, returning to regr blood, and pooled on the ground.


    I copsed onto both my knees, breathing raggedly.


    ¡°Hu! I am impressed. You handled the power I lent as if it were your own. I shallpliment you on that.¡±


    J?rmungandr approached me. The way she spoke was as ifplimenting me was something amazing. But assuming that she was indeed that being which had once swallowed the world, it didn¡¯t feel bad.


    Syria took up a spot next to her, and immediately began healing me. The small wounds I¡¯d received were being healed, but nothing could be done about the stamina and mental strength I¡¯d expended.


    Syria had her mouth shut tight. She was feeling fear, because my disy of strength must have resembled a demon from hell.


    J?rmungandr said to Syria,


    ¡°Pitiful creature. But you are praiseworthy. It should be hard for the likes of an ordinary human to take in his power.¡±


    I stood up with difficulty.


    ¡°There are people...captured. The gnoll shaman kept them confined. I have to go and save them.¡±


    I managed to peek into its memory as I killed the gnoll shaman. They had Minshik and the Chinese siblings confined for the sake of a ritual of the gnolls. Fortunately they weren¡¯t far; 5 minutes away at most. But the ritual was about to begin.


    My eyes lost focus, and following that my mind began nking out.


    ¡°I leave the rest...¡±


    I was barely able to speak a few words as I looked toward Syria. I didn¡¯t know about other people, but Syria could be trusted.


    ¡°Hansung-nim? Hansung-nim!¡±


    Syria¡¯s urgent voice was thest thing I heard before I let go of my consciousness.


    [The time limit of ¡®Forced Awakening¡¯ hase to an end.]


    [Entering ¡®Forced Sleep¡¯. It willst for 240 hours.]


    [¡®Transfer(???)¡¯ has been activated.]


    <hr ss="wp-block-separator">

 Chapter 24 - Absolute Domination (4)

    <h4>Chapter 24 ¨C Absolute Domination (4)</h4>


    ?Looks like ¡®seeing¡¯ is all you are capable of. I wonder how a half-wit like you was born among the children of the ¡®Sun King¡¯.


    ?There can be only one to inherit the name of the Sun King. Kill, and then kill some more! If you cannot do that...


    ?Uriel. You are one foppish coward. I need not even spill blood by my hand. Live on for eternity, driven by your cowardice, for the only reason I let you live is so that I will not fall into ¡®sloth¡¯.


    ?I hear a daughter was born to you? A daughter that ate her mother¡¯s centa, gnawing her to death! The newly crowned Sun King has taken an interest in your daughter. Send her to the Sun King, and your safety shall be provided for.


    I felt dizzy, like vomiting.


    What was this? A never before seen scene was ying out in front of my eyes. This was definitely due to the Universal Authority, but it was clearly different from what I¡¯d experienced up until now. I was in the midst of synchronization; being swallowed by the ¡®memories¡¯ ying out before my eyes like a dream.


    I had never seen such a enormous castle before. It looked like all the powerful monsters of the abyss were gathered here. The Sun King was one of the four absolute ruling figures since the beginning of the abyss. One man crossed his boundaries, escaping from the castle.


    Uriel...Uriel Diablo. This was his memories before he seeded the name of Diablo.


    ?I am weak. Thus I must grow stronger by feeding on those weaker than I.


    Fortunately Uriel was blessed with the power of piercing sight; a power exclusive to him alone. No one apart from him knew of the proper usage of this power because he had intentionally hidden it.


    Uriel exactly identified those weaker than himself and hunted them, and that way he grew stronger, bit by bit, over a long period of time. And as time passed he even became renown throughout the abyss.


    ?La. The abyss is a ce where only the strong survive. You possess countless possibilities, unlike me, so you must never give up.


    ?Yes! Father. I will be strong.


    ?Finally the ¡®Great Star¡¯ has risen. Battle for and obtain the Star, and it is possible to be a true god. It is told that only a select 72 individuals are given that chance.


    ?I have also heard that rumour. Even the Four Rulers are apparently having their followers participate. The Sun King, Hell King, Heaven King, even the Lion King...I wonder why they do not personally participate?


    ?They desire to be a true god that rules over a god. They are arrogant, but they are indeed qualified to be so.


    ?We should also participate. I do not believe Father to becking in qualification.


    The two had then set forth on a challenge. More than a hundred million of monsters killed, and killed one another for the sake of entering the roster of that select 72. This time, even Uriel didn¡¯t avoid confrontation. Thanks to his eye of piercing sight, he steadily rose to the peak. And then after hundreds, thousands of days had passed in that manner, he heard a ¡®voice.¡¯


    ?Henceforth you are Uriel Diablo. May the Dominator¡¯s Authority make you furtherplete.


    It was a peerless being. I could tell just by the voice. However, Uriel hadn¡¯t kneeled. While receiving his Authority in the presence of the other gods, of the other monsters, Uriel alone was gritting his teeth and staring toward the sky. For he was no longer the weakling of the past, or so he wished to believe...


    ?May that insolence of yours lead you to victory, I hope.


    Diablo¡¯s voice disappeared, and at the same time Uriel Diablo fell into a long slumber. The other Demon Lords were the same, however...his slumber hadsted especially long. And when he had awoken once more, I had be Uriel Diablo.


    ..


    ..


    I lifted my heavy body up, feeling as if I¡¯d dreamt an amazing dream. However, I was soon able toe to reality; it was no dream but the memories of ¡®Uriel Diablo¡¯, and that I had once again returned to his body.


    [¡®Transfer¡¯ will be mainted for 480 hours.]


    Two days in abyss was equivalent to one day in reality. I had fallen into a forced sleepsting 240 hours due to J?rmungandr. It was then, apparently, that Transfer had activated. I didn¡¯t know whether I¡¯d used it out of instinct, or because


    Uriel Diablo¡¯s body had summoned me, in any case I had returned to the abyss.


    ¡®Tower.¡¯


    I remembered; I had climbed the castle tower. Upon finding the ¡®Colossus¡¯, I had charged toward it before I was sent back due to the time limit having run out.


    Where was this?


    ¡®Looks like I¡¯m still on the top of the tower.¡¯


    I hadn¡¯t moved from where I¡¯d been, to my relief. Apparently this body would simply stay still unless I used Transfer.


    ¡®This body¡¯s in a mess.¡¯


    I feltpletely out of energy. I examined my body and frowned.


    ¡®The wounds I received...are still there?¡¯


    The injuries I had incurred during the fight with the gnoll shaman were mostly healed by Syria, but those that weren¡¯t healed remained where they were on Uriel Diablo¡¯s body. It was obvious what this phenomenon entailed.


    ¡®Is my body and Uriel Diablo¡¯s truly influenced by one another?¡¯


    I felt my heart drop.


    If wounds were shared, death may also be shared. It wasn¡¯t a simple synchronization at this point. This being the case...


    ¡®I am Uriel Diablo, and Uriel Diablo is me.¡¯


    Maybe because I had a glimpse of his memories, but I strongly felt the notion. And if my body mirrored the wounds incurred by Uriel Diablo¡¯s body...then I was truly blessed by luck. If this body had died charging toward the Colossus then my self in reality would have also died, and if I¡¯d raised amotion prior to that, going out with a bang, then I would have met the same result.


    ¡®I should be careful.¡¯


    For now I simply decided to be careful. It was much too early toe to any other conclusions.


    I turned my gaze around.


    The Colossus was still there. When I reached my hand toward it, my fingers were repelled. Apparently I wasn¡¯t able to go any closer like before.


    ¡°What are you?¡±


    I heard a voice from the side. I turned my head around and eximed internally: Andalton Bruxelles!


    He was also here, now that I looked. The other fool who had recklessly charged the Colossus.


    ¡°Were you watching me all this time?¡±


    ¡°Because it was my first time seeing a suicidal Demon Lord.¡±


    Andalton Bruxelles had previously never spoken a word toward me. Bruxelles, the Demon Lord who had inherited the name of the ultimate evil god. He must have thought Urielcking in ¡®Prestige¡¯, even if he had inherited the name of Diablo. But it was true that the monster army he had brought along would make one tremble.


    ¡®Was that something to wait 100 or so days for?¡¯


    It was a mystery. Taking into ount the time I¡¯d spent in reality, close to 100 days must have passed in the abyss...and he had waited on the spot, watching me all this time?


    ¡®An oddball.¡¯


    He wasn¡¯t sound in his head, that¡¯s for sure.


    Now that I thought about it, Andalton Bruxelles was a Demon Lord who didn¡¯t belong to any faction, if Uriel¡¯s memory served correctly. Actually, before that, wasn¡¯t it normal to take some kind of action if you saw something unmoving for close to 100 days?


    ¡°I was curious, whether that was the reason why you could enter a ce I couldn¡¯t.¡±


    After hearing Andalton Bruxelles words, I took a look around myself.


    Now that I realized...I was currently in a spot that was a nose distance away from the Colossus. He had always been obstructed in a spot far from where I was.


    ¡°Who knows. Perhaps the Great Star deems me more worthy.¡±


    Andalton Bruxelles creased his brows. But I felt as if I¡¯d seen a look simr to his before.


    ¡®Ah...it was then.¡¯


    I had seen the real Bruxelles once. There was an incident where I was chased out of another dimension, which I had crossed over into when I had gained the Keeper¡¯s power, by Bruxelles, the evil god of that ce. Indeed, the atmosphere around these two were strangely simr. I vaguely felt like I knew why he was chosen.


    ¡°You meant to say I amcking than the likes of you?¡±


    ¡°Ask your god. He would give you an answer.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°Exactly what I said.¡±


    I truly didn¡¯t mean anything else.


    I rose from the spot, and slowly walked out. I felt like my consciousness would fly away again if I stayed here any longer.


    ¡°What is your name.¡±


    I once more heard Andalton Bruxelles voice from behind. Perhaps it was because he hadn¡¯t made an appearance in 100 years, or because Uriel Diablo didn¡¯t have much of a presence...in any case, I clicked my tongue internally and replied.


    ¡°...Uriel. It is Uriel Diablo...Andalton Bruxelles.¡±


    ¡°Uriel Diablo.¡±


    He repeated.


    I winced inside. Did this mean he keep an eye on me from now?


    I shook my head and thought,


    ¡®It¡¯s now confirmed that I can return again.¡¯


    I hadn¡¯t tried using Transfer all this time, just in case, because I had to consider the possibility of being unable to return once again. But seeing as how there was a time limit this time also, it looked like that wasn¡¯t the case.


    ¡®The time limit is pretty long this time.¡¯


    I had earned quite a bit of things thest time I used Transfer. The time limit this time round was many times more than the other time. I was a little worried for my body in reality, but there shouldn¡¯t be an immediate danger with J?rmungandr and Syria there.


    ¡®If two bodies can influence one another...¡¯


    The extent of the influence wasn¡¯t limited to simply sharing wounds. Just like how I¡¯d gained Mind¡¯s Eye and Dominator, gaining other things may also be possible. Like Uriel Diablo¡¯s trademark great magic, ck Star, or perhaps something else.


    ¡®I¡¯ll have to find out whatever I can.¡¯


    I breathed in deeply.


    I needed to know just how much I could influence, not just regarding skills. For example...would I be able to interfere in the affairs of Earth right now? If so, to what extent? Etc, etc...


    That¡¯s why, there was much work to be done.

 Chapter 25 - Absolute Domination (Fin)

    <h4>Chapter 25 ¨C Absolute Domination (Fin)</h4>


    As I descended the castle tower, the doors automatically opened. At the same time I was greeted by a crowd of murderous res. It was the thousands of monsters that followed Andalton Bruxelles. The look in their eyes was fierce enough to cause a man to shiver down to his bowels.


    I felt faint when I imagined an army like this assaulting Earth.


    They looked like they were ready to fight already. There was no way their gazes toward me would be any good, considering that their master hadn¡¯te down from the castle tower for a hundred or so days.


    ¡°Ah...!¡±


    I heard another sound of exmation.


    It was La Diablo. She was like an active volcano in the way she was ring at Andalton Bruxelles¡¯ army, however, the moment she saw my face she was like a fair flower blooming.


    ¡°Father! So you were alright!¡±


    La ran over and clung to my legs. La¡¯s height reached 1.8m, not on the small side, but right now my body was twice that size, which was why she appeared to me like a cicada stuck to an old tree.


    My forehead creased a little. For some reason I felt an emotion which Uriel should have been feeling instead. To think, that Queen of Terror and ughter appeared loveable!


    ¡®Maniac!¡¯


    I cursed at myself and shook my head internally. She was the Queen of Terror and ughter. ughter! Why would she be called thus? I still couldn¡¯t forget the look on the faces of my fallenrades. It had be something that didn¡¯t happen now, but I couldn¡¯t forget. At the very least...I mustn¡¯t feel any sentiments for her.


    La then realized her own blunder and took a step back.


    ¡°Apo-...logies, my Lord. I felt too d.¡±


    ¡°Uriel Diablo! Why is our Lord noting down?¡±


    I turned my head at hearing an extremely cold voice.


    A doom knight was staring at me. It was a higher species of the death knight, d in ck armor with the wings of a dragon. It was an awe-inspiring monster which even I had only seen once through a ¡®purple Gate¡¯.


    ¡®Its attitude is as if ready for war.¡¯


    It was well trained, and more than anything it truly followed Andalton Bruxelles; its eyes said it all. It was fiercely staring at me as if it wouldn¡¯t mind overturning this ce into hell if I were to have done him harm...but that was a pointless worry.


    I shrugged my shoulders.


    ¡°What is all this noise.¡±


    Following that voice I turned to look toward the castle door to see Andalton Bruxelles walking out like he owned the ce.


    ¡°We greet the Lord.¡±


    Chuk!


    The monsters, including the doom knight, all moved as one and kneeled on one side.


    ¡°You have made a fuss out of nothing.¡±


    Having immediately figured out the situation, Andalton Bruxelles gave a dismissive click of his tongue before simply walking away, as if he no longer had any business here of interest.


    He also left some words for me.


    ¡°Let us meet again, Uriel Diablo.¡±


    That made the doom knight flinch, and give me a once over before he roused the army and followed after Andalton Bruxelles. The surroundings became quiet in mere moments.


    La looked at me with disbelief in her eyes.


    ¡°He...has remembered my Lord¡¯s name.¡±


    ¡°Is that something strange?¡±


    ¡°There are only two cases where Andalton Bruxelles remembers a name. When he must kill someone at all costs, or else when he feels a ¡®deep interest¡¯.¡±


    La followed up with a question.


    ¡°Perchance, did my Lord fight with him?¡±


    ¡°Something along the lines of that.¡±


    Although unintentional, victory was decided between who drew closer to the Colossus, and I was the victor.


    La¡¯s expression greatly darkened at my response.


    ¡°He is an existence iparable to the likes of Carpediem the Destroyer who is targeting our territory. He is the sole person to have risen to the top without the protection of the Four Great Kings after all. It is said that even Four Great Kings greatly desire him. Of course I believe in my Lord¡¯s victory without a doubt however...I am bothered by his inclination to meet again.¡±


    ¡°The meaning behind his words should be different from you are thinking.¡±


    If he considered me an enemy just because of that, the he truly wouldn¡¯t be doing the name Bruxelles justice.


    I didn¡¯t mind it at all as I moved my feet. Perhaps it was because I had seen her once already, but now I had a better grasp on how I should face La Diablo.


    ¡°Let us return. There is much work to be done.¡±


    ..


    ..


    The first thing I looked into upon returning to the territory was the corrtion between the abyss and reality. I meant...for example, the amount of points I held.


    [User currently has ¡®13,300¡¯ points.]


    [A debt of ¡®160,000¡¯ points exists.]


    User has a debt of 160,000 points with La Diablo and other assets as coteral.


    540 days remain until the deadline of repayment.


    The territory and all assets used as coteral will be handed over to the ¡®dark merchants¡¯ to be auctioned upon failure of repayment.


    Loss of territory will result in being stripped of the Demon Lord¡¯s right.


    I felt my vision grow dark for a moment.


    The above messages had popped up when I had ced my hands on the huge crystal in the center of the castle.


    ¡®The points are linked...!¡±


    I almost yelled out in surprise, my body slightly trembling. This was an unimaginable urrence.


    13,300 was the number of points I originally had. The points I had were directly linked, which meant that the opposite should also be possible; Obtaining points using Uriel¡¯s body and using them as Hansung Oh!


    ¡®Never say never indeed.¡¯


    I was sorely in doubt, but to think even this would be connected!


    Points were important. With it, it was possible to aplish certain achievements and purchase special items from dark merchants and the like. Sealed equipments would asionally require points as well. In particr, Dominator was a power that was characteristicallypletely reliant on points.


    This may be the opportunity to further promote my rate of development. It may even be possible to catch up to the power of Al Araxar within 5 years. Excluding the 160,000 points debt, there couldn¡¯t be a better situation than this one.


    ¡°Until now I have tried to maintain all aspects of the territory. But because Carpediem the Destroyer has been targeting the territory in the past few years, time and time again...I had made use of several mercenarypanies, however, there was a limit to that. Thencers were thest line of defense after all.¡±


    Contrary to what I was feeling inside, La¡¯s expression was dark.


    Uriel did indeed have 500ncers following him. Those soldiers made of dragon bones had devastated humanity with their dreadful power. They were thest line of defense, meaning, La had made use of mercenaries and the like for the sake preserving them and fended off Carpediem the Destroyer¡¯s attacks until recently.


    ¡°Were the circumstances so harsh as to be forced to employ mercenaries?¡±


    ¡°The Lords who have received assistance of the Four Great Kings have no need to recruit their own troops. Aside from that, there were those who revered the Lords who made themselves renown in the abyss. Otherwise there are outsiders who voluntarily offer their service for the sake of future glory. At first there were aspiring candidatesing to our territory, however...Perhaps 100 years was too long...¡±


    La¡¯s words faded into mumbles.


    Sure enough, I understood. I had finally awoken in 100 years. Who would have continued to wait when I did nothing but sleep for such a long time? And so they had all left already which meant that this territory was literally empty. So that must have been why she could only borrow mercenaries from the outside in order to put up a defense, and to cover the expenses she had sold most things in the castle, and made a loan with herself as coteral. La had done all this out of desperation while she waited for me.


    ¡®Both sides influence one another. I need strength to protect myself.¡¯


    I rubbed my chin.


    First I needed something to protect myself, whether it be here, or on Earth. To put it bluntly, I may be killed by others while I was using Transfer, which was why I needed strength to protect myself. It should be possible to keep the other Demon Lords at bay if I grew stronger. Slowing their advance toward Earth as much as possible, thus buying myself time to develop, was the ideal situation.


    ¡®It¡¯s perfect in theory.¡¯


    It was a wless n. I could make preparations on both sides, meaning that it was possible for me to shake up the Demon Lords in the abyss, while I sharpened and toughened my ws on earth so as to send their heads flying when they came. The problem was...debt.


    ¡®Even if I deducted 13,300 points from the debt, roughly 150,000 remains.¡¯


    I was supposed to repay this debt within 540 days.


    However, I couldn¡¯t lose La Diablo to just that amount of points. Her value amounted to 300,000 points. She would continue to grow stronger, and at least she was definitely the most trustworthy existence who would assist this body.


    ¡®A great amount of information is contained in this crystal.¡¯


    The crystal which existed in the center of the castle was a tool that allowed me to control the overall functions of the territory.


    I continued to ce my hand on it to further understand those functions.


    [Territory Management] [Structure Management] [Dark Merchant Store]...


    There were many, but these three were the most important. I had no business for now with territory management so I skipped it. Structure management was rted to building temples in honor of the god who gave a Demon Lord his name, or building other special structures, so it wasn¡¯t of immediate concern.


    ¡®Dark merchant store, huh.¡¯


    Perhaps it held the key to breaking out of this danger.


    I moved my finger to the dark merchant store on the crystal, and then numerous words began to line up before my eyes.


    [Wee to the Dark Merchant Store.]


    [Weapons] [Armor] [Skill Books] [General]...


    I burned everything into my eyes. There were indeed a lot of umon items on disy, but there was no powerful equipment befitting the use of a Demon Lord. What was unusual was that the creators of each items were all different. Apparently you could personally register an item through a dark mechant.


    I turned my gaze to General. I went through the item list in depth and came across two things.


    Creates a Gate in a certain location of Earth which leads into the abyss upon purchase.


    The dimensional rift is currently 8.3% open. The criteria for what is allowed to cross over differs ording to the status of the dimensional rift.


    At present, a maximum of five Lv5 or below creatures may pass through a Gate each.


    Dark Gate! How unexpected that Gates leading into the abyss could be created!


    I was freshly shocked, although It was my first timeing across the term ¡®dimensional rift¡¯. Had Uriel Diablo also set foot on Earth through this Gate?


    ¡®Hu. Is this something like a special right exclusive to Demon Lords?¡¯


    I marvelled at it a little. The gap between the potential of humans and Demon Lord¡¯s was toorge; it was only natural to be daunted by this. But I was now able to utilize such functions. Things were definitely different from the past now. If I could use this well...I may be able to make a huge impact to Earth, even to myself.


    I shifted my gaze to the other item.


    Carry things no longer, now you can pocket them! This jewel provides the user a small demi-ne.


    Water can flow inside, you can even grow flowers.


    Only things Lv5 and below can go inside.


    It was specially designed so that you can see what is inside at a nce. (Creator, Gourmandi)


    99 in stock.


    A jewel which contained a demi-ne. I didn¡¯t know how wide it would be inside the demi-ne, but it was certain to be quite useful depending on its use. In particr, its ws may be covered if it was used in tandem with my ¡®Dominator¡¯. For example, I wasn¡¯t able to bring my gnolls around separately, however, with the use of this jewel it should be possible to summon the gnolls when I wanted, where I wanted.


    ¡®Tempting.¡¯


    To take away even that bit of freedom!


    If I were capable of summon whenever and wherever I wanted, This would be another powerful weapon in my hand.


    I decided to purchase one jewel. Some messages popped up when I moved my hand to do so.


    [¡®Jewel of Space¡¯ has been purchased.]


    [2,000 points has been deducted. 11,000 points remaining.]


    Shuaang!


    An object the size of an egg formed above the palm of my hand. It looked like a jewel that wasn¡¯t crafted well. To be specific, something like an LCD was stuck in the middle of this round item, and below that were some small buttons.


    It was familiar for some reason. I¡¯d definitely seen a lot of it somewhere. I think I used it especially often back in my childhood. There was a small house drawn in dot pixels in the screen, and the inside of the house waspletely empty. This was just like...


    ¡®Tamagotchi?¡¯


    That¡¯s right. The Jewel of Space was without a doubt, a Tamagotchi.


    I picked up a pebble fallen on the ground and tried cing it into the demi-ne, just in case. And then a small pebble was added inside the pixel house. The pebble was disyed in pixels also.


    ¡®A Tamagotchi for real.¡¯


    Although it waspletely empty of content.


    It seemed like it was designed this way in order to easily be able to see what was inside it, not to raise anything. For a product of coincidence, it was rather cute. But thanks to its resemnce to Tamagotchi, I came to an abrupt realization.


    ¡®If I use this well...¡¯


    I rubbed my chin, and at the same time a small business began to take form in my mind; I had realized an idea involving my Authority and this item which could perhaps prove to be a total reversal of fortune. Moreover, I needed much more points if I wanted to make the most out of the power of Dominator. Business was the right direction to go, not war.


    ¡®The points earned will be linked as well. This is an opportunity.¡¯


    A small shiver ran down my spine. Crisis was another word for chance, or so it¡¯s told, and indeed that was the case. Because right now, rather myself as Hansung Oh, my chances of gaining great amounts of points was overwhelmingly higher as Uriel Diablo!


    A small smile hung around my lips. I¡¯d chosen my path, and a name for the business too.


    ¡®Absolute Domination Company.¡¯


    An expression of my ambition to sweep up points, to dominate and trample over everything!


    From time immemorial, drawing aggro properly was the right way to go. I would brave the path which Uriel Diablo had never chosen in the past.

 Chapter 26 - I Choose You (1)

    <h4>Chapter 26 ¨C I Choose You (1)</h4>


    I traversed around the vicinity of my territory while hunting small monsters. When I left the castle I easily came across the figures of all sorts of monsters, perhaps due to theck of manpower and almost no management. The middle- and lower-grade monsters such as wyverns and arachne went fleeing at the mere sight of me. I burst outughing at such a refreshing scene.


    ¡®Slime.¡¯


    One slime wasn¡¯t moving at all, but they had barely any Intelligence after all. These things which wobbled around like jelly would attack and eat small animals or insects. The slime¡¯s general information popped up as I opened Mind¡¯s Eye.


    Name: Slime (Value ¨C 25)


    Race: Slime


    Str 10 Agi 5 Con 9


    Int 1 Mag 5


    Potential(30/45)


    Its stats were a joke, as well as its potential. Slimes were monsters that were treated even lower than gnolls. I decided to catch 10 of these.


    [Dominator Skill has been activated.]


    235pt has been consumed.


    Slime 1~10 has been sesfully dominated.


    Following that I ced the captured slimes into the ¡®Jewel of Space¡¯, and 10 slimes appeared in it pixels, busily crawling around the house.


    ¡®It¡¯s no fun to stop here.¡¯


    Together with the added pair of Authorities in my possession, ¡®Universal Man¡¯ and ¡®Dominator¡¯, the creatures dominated by me was able to ¡®evolve¡¯ or in other words, be ¡®promoted¡¯.


    I went around indiscriminately searching for things to feed slimes. The strongest monsters near my territory were only around Lv5. At the same time I carried out my search, I took this chance to check out Uriel Diablo¡¯s powers and began to do some warming up.


    ¡®Stygian Touch.¡¯


    About 500m of the ground in sight was stained with darkness as ck hands burst out from within. They appeared to number in the thousands, and any living creature that came in contact with the hands were drained of all their vitality, bing shriveled corpses.


    [Battle has ended.]


    [The disparity in strength was too extreme. No points could be obtained.]


    It was like this. I needed to hunt at the least a Lv6 Bugbear if I wanted to gain some points through pure hunting with this body.


    ¡®This isn¡¯t the right way after all.¡¯


    It was peerlessly powerful, but didn¡¯t seem to be meant for capturing things alive. However, the sheer magnitude of it was definitely as I had seen in the past; nothing but pure deathid in the hundreds of metres before my eyes. I got the feeling that I could turn at least half the forest into and of death if I wished to.


    ¡®This means I have to catch them with my own hands.¡¯


    It wouldn¡¯t make for a great image, but I didn¡¯t have a choice. I went through the forest, personally catching orcs, harpies, trolls and the like without discrimination. The creatures caught by me trembled in fear. Even monsters were able to instinctively recognize a disparity in overwhelming strength and rank.


    ¡°Do not move.¡±


    Dragonish(Lv9) was activated. I suspected this was another skill passed down by Diablo. It imbued the power of dragons into words and immobilized those who hear it.


    The monsters froze as if possessed upon hearing those words, and then I tossed these helpless monsters to the slimes for them to eat. The slimes slowly inched over to the monsters to swallow and digest them. Then a change urred as I continued this process for the whole day.


    [¡®Slime 1¡¯ has evolved to ¡®Fire Slime.¡¯]


    [The growth limit of ¡®Fire Slime¡¯ has increased by 50.]


    [¡®Slime 2¡¯ has evolved to ¡®Dark Slime¡¯.]


    [The growth limit of ¡®Dark Slime¡¯ has increased by 65.]


    What¡¯s more was that they didn¡¯t evolve in a certain way. The type of evolution varied along with the ways they were fed or raised. It seemed there was a slight element of luck involved, or perhaps the environment they grew up in until now seemed to have an effect.


    ¡®This is jackpot.¡¯


    If I were to dominate and raise weak monsters, there was no need at all to go out of my way and pay high amounts of points to recruit mercenaries or monsters. Furthermore...this was quite fun.


    ¡®Can they continue to infinitely evolve?¡¯


    I wanted to experiment. For 3 long days I tossed food to the slimes as if obsessed. 10 slimes were raised up in no time as a Demon Lord toiled without rest.


    [¡®Giant Slime¡¯ has evolved to ¡®King Slime¡¯.]


    [The growth limit of ¡®King Slime¡¯ has increased by 50.]


    [Further evolution is impossible.]


    9 out of the 10 slimes became a ¡®King¡¯ or ¡®Queen¡¯ and were determined impossible to further evolve. They had all be like this at the end or two or three evolutions. Their potentials were at most 250 or so, which was just right for Lv5 monsters. Did this mean their limits were determined from the start?


    However, only one slime showed a different appearance.


    [¡®Death Slime¡¯ has evolved to ¡®Shadow Kaim¡¯.]


    [The growth limit of ¡®Shadow Kaim¡¯ has increased by 100.]


    I observed this scene with newly lit interest in my eyes because light shined from the death slime¡¯s entire body and soon its form began to change.


    It turned into a monster in the form of a small rabbit with small ck wings. It was known to be a savage and fairly strong monster, contrary to its cute appearance, but its color and figure slightly differed from the normal kaim; normally its body should be colored orange and without wings. I¡¯d never expected a slime would end up bing a kaim.


    Name: Shadow Kaim (Value ¨C 4,400)


    Race: Beast


    Str 40


    Agi 50


    Con 45


    Int 30


    Mag 60


    Potential(225/300)


    Special Note: A kaim that has involved to due a special power. It is able to fly and is able to use the special ability ¡®Shadows¡¯.


    ¡ù Shadows: Turns invisible when in a dark ce.


    Kyu?


    The shadow kaim made a cute noise, and it turned invisible as it entered the shadows beneath a tree. I could see where it was by using Magic Power, of course, but it was otherwise perfectly hidden.


    ¡®Other kaims don¡¯t have this ability.¡¯


    I was surprised at this time. Kaims were fast, and were capable of firingser beams by gathering Magic Power in both of their long ears. However, they had weak Constitution by nature and their Magic Power weren¡¯t on the high side, so they weren¡¯t capable of threatening veterans. They were also incapable of flight, as they weren¡¯t supposed to have wings, and yet...this shadow kaim¡¯s Constitution and Magic Power were excellent. It was capable of flight and it was also capable of turning invisible in shadowy ces. Even I had to admit that this was a toughbination of abilities.


    ¡®Unbelievable.¡¯


    Only one among the 10 slimespletely shed off its own species as a slime. Was there perhaps a pretty high chance of this happening?


    I continued to experiment with 30 more slimes, but there were no cases of them evolving into other species.


    ¡®Maybe there¡¯s only an extremely low probability of bing a special being.¡¯


    I smiled.


    This kind of experiment would have been difficult to carry out on Earth. I was able to get my hands on important information, what I should havee across muchter, thanks to having used Transfer. More than anything...this, would work. Evolution of species, of all things. It was something only I could make possible. But there was a chance of others bing wary or desiring of this power.


    ¡®I¡¯m a rookie who made his appearance in 100 years after all. The deeper the predicament, the more boldly I should act.


    The other Demon Lords didn¡¯t know of the power or Authority I had obtained. That was also the reason why Carpediem the Destroyer wasn¡¯t able to make an immediate attack. Which was why I would unt how rxed I was. I would put up a show of belittling them all, thereby catching them unawares.


    I nodded to myself and moved my feet toward the castle.


    The experiment was finished.


    ..


    ¡°You mean, Gourmandi?¡±


    La responded.


    Right aftering back to the castle I spoke to La about the creator of the ¡®Jewel of Space¡¯, Gourmandi, but her expression at this mention wasn¡¯t particrly happy.


    ¡°You know of him?¡±


    ¡°He is an entric lich, notorious for being good at making strange items. His reputation is not so good either.¡±


    ¡°So it seems he isn¡¯t working under any other Dmeon Lord.¡±


    ¡°Yes. There is no Demon Lord who would take in a ¡®half-demon¡¯ as a follower, even if he were a lich. Not to mention that he is an entric.¡±


    La emphasized on his entricity.


    Liches were a higher species of monsters. They were talented at ck magic and were extremely rare. Most cities would go up in mes if a lich were to act. Liches were like ¡®disasters¡¯ if they weren¡¯t taken down early, because a liches army would growrger with every city passed. That¡¯s why there would be a global effort to subdue them whenever a lich emerged. But a half-demon...


    ¡®Which means that he¡¯s not of pure-blood.¡¯


    The demon race. They were the nobility among monsters. While few in numbers, each and every one of them were powerful, and the majority of the Demon Lords were made up of the demon race. Uriel Diablo, namely myself, made for a fine example of that fact. It seemed that those who weren¡¯t of pure-blood wouldn¡¯t be highly regarded. Of course, that was of no consequence to me. What would I know of their circumstances and the like?


    ¡°I have to try meeting him.¡±


    ¡°...I shall look for him.¡±


    I was holding the Jewel of Space in my hand. They costed 2,000 points each. It would be difficult to purchase them inrge numbers, however, matters would change if I were to directly trade or to form a business partnership. I would be able to obtain a great many more at a much lower price.


    Following that I spoke a few more additional words to La.


    ¡°Also, spread a rumour of a friendship between Andalton Bruxelles and myself.¡±


    ¡°My Lord. Permit me to ask why?¡±


    ¡°With a rumour like that circting, it will be harder for the weaker Demon Lords, at least, to attack me. At worst, they would hesitate over it.¡±


    ¡°Would anyone believe in such a rumour?¡±


    ¡°There were those who witnessed Andalton Bruxelles and myself. When the rumour spreads, they will serve to add some credibility to make it appear as if it were the truth.¡±


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    La nodded as if in realization.


    What we needed was time. I believed this whole farce with Andalton Bruxelles would buy a momentary respite, at the least. This was politics, in a sense, which I was sick and tired of, but there was no other way in order to turn around my situation. No, I wouldn¡¯t spare any method it I could only win.


    La spoke solemnly.


    ¡°So I must make it seed.¡±


    ¡°Everything lies in your hands.¡±


    ¡°Understood. However...¡±


    La took a look behind me and spoke confusedly.


    ¡°What are those things in the back? Was that perhaps the reason why you have been in the forest these past few days?¡±


    ¡°They are business items.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    Various kinds of slimes were sluggishly following behind me...


    Kyu! Kyu!


    ...and the shadow kaim was zipping around frantically above my head.


    At the end of my words, La¡¯s gaze began to turn vaguely bewildered.

 Chapter 27 - I Choose You (2)

    <h4>Chapter 27 ¨C I Choose You (2)</h4>


    Gourmandi showed up dressed in rags. His bones were ckened with dirt, appearing to have been unwashed for a long period of time, and they had an old stench to them. I think I knew why he was avoided by others despite being a venerable lich. Aside from his rags, he wore a golden monocle which was so clean that it sharply contrasted with the rest of his vintage fashion.


    ¡°I heard that you wanted to meet...me.¡±


    La stood next to him with a threatening look on her face. Seeing how Gourmandi was being wary of La made me think that she hadn¡¯t dragged him here through words only, and I could sense his extremely careful attitude before me.


    ¡®Mind¡¯s Eye.¡¯


    I was indeed curious because liches were normally known to be Lv8 monsters. His stat window was soon explicitly revealed to me.


    Name: Gourmandi (Value ¨C 94,000)


    Race: Lich


    Titles:


    ?? Mad Scientist (Lv7, Int+9)


    ?? Essence Reaver (Lv6, Int+7)


    Stats:


    Str 75


    Agi 75


    Con 75


    Int 98(82+16)


    Magic Power 85


    Potential(392+16/395)


    Skills: 38 skills exist.


    A stat distribution worthy of a lich indeed. But what caught my eye in particr was his Intelligence; a whole 98. Most magic wouldn¡¯t even be able to leave a scratch on his bones. Furthermore, he would be able to learn a skill at a speed that was dozens, hundreds of times fasterpared to others. Perhaps that being the reason, the number of skills he had reached 38.


    ¡®His skills are all over the ce.¡¯


    Perhaps for the sake of his experiments, he had learnt dposition, cksmithing, even going so far as to learn sewing. I realized anew the role Intelligence yed, seeing as how the majority of these skills were in the range of Lv6~7; though of course, his long life span must have been a contributing factor.


    I spoke to Gourmandi, who appeared to be on edge.


    ¡°I hear you are quite skilled.¡±


    ¡°It is nothing impressive. Ah, has my product perhaps caused some damage? The majority of my customer base is made up of entric demons or magicians so...I had never expected for a Demon Lord to use it. I-I-, I am truly, sorry.¡±


    His gesturing was almost exaggerated.


    Judging by his reaction, it seemed that the status of a Demon Lord was indeed nothing tough at, even though I had only awoken in 100 and barely made a reputation for myself.


    ¡°I saw that quite a lot of your product was ced in the Dark Store.¡±


    ¡°That is...the Dark Company epts most things as long as you were to apply. I...and I heard that the majority of Demon Lords would personally trade with those with fame, instead of using the Store.


    It seemed that the Dark Store was more of an ¡®open market¡¯ rather than a store which was tailored for Demon Lords, which was why he appeared to be rather mystified that I had bought his product from the store.


    I took out a Jewel of Space from a pocket instead of replying.


    ¡°Is this also your product?¡±


    ¡°Th-, that¡¯s right. It is a ground-breaking product considering that it allows one to see what is within a demi-ne in real-time, but for some reason only one has been sold so far. I had felt some misgivings when another one sold out several days before but...¡±


    It even sounded like he wasining as to why no one would recognize his art. But it was only natural if you thought about it. What fool would use 2,000 points to obtain a single small demi-ne.


    Finally, Gourmandi furtively looked at me.


    Correct. I was the one who purchased it.


    ¡®He¡¯s definitely not merchant material.¡¯


    He was far from being a merchant. If I did well, things may work out more smoothly than anticipated.


    ¡°Do you have any thoughts of partnering with me?¡±


    ¡°Do you mean partnering, as in working together?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. I n to do something with those ¡®Jewels of Space¡¯ in your possession.¡±


    Gourmandi stared at me with a curious light in his eyes. He had no actual eyes so he couldn¡¯t give off much of an expression, but that¡¯s just the kind of feeling he gave off.


    p!


    I pped my hands once and the door behind me opened, from which 100 or so slimes appeared. The slimes each had their own distinctive colors. There were even some types of slimes that didn¡¯t exist within the abyss.


    Gourmandi breathed out in wonder.


    ¡°Amazing. There are a considerable number of mutated slimes. Their individual values are also very excellent. I am also experimenting on mutations but never before have I seen this much variation.¡±


    Mutations he said. It looked like that was how Gourmandi viewed these slimes of all variety. He was a scientist for sure, seeing as how he examined them without missing a thing despite his frightened state.


    I didn¡¯t know what an individual value was, but I shook my head.


    ¡°These slimes evolve upon reaching the point of limit.¡±


    ¡°Yes? What does...¡±


    I singled out a slime at a critical juncture of its growth. I had purposely left it alone as a sample. The slime was fed a liveva spider, and soon a change began to ur.


    [¡®Slime¡¯ has been promoted to ¡®Magma Slime¡¯.]


    [The growth limit has increased by 50.]


    ¡°Just what exactly...!¡±


    Gourmandi was astonished, unsurprisingly.


    Normally, slimes had thus far adapted by changing their forms ording to the nearby environment and evolving. A long period of time would go into this process.


    Magma slimes were a rare species that lived near volcanoes. Of course it wasn¡¯t that a regr slime would turn into a magma slime by going to a volcano. That wasmon knowledge and only normal, but what had urred at this moment, right before Gourmandi¡¯s eyes, must have appeared no differently than a ¡®miracle¡¯.


    ¡°Only I am capable of making this happen. I also n to sell these slimes by cing them in ¡®Jewels of Space¡¯.¡±


    ¡°It will be hard. There was only one time in the past 30 years that a Jewel of Space was sold, and frankly even I had forgotten all about this item...however.¡±


    Gourmandi once again looked at the evolved slime. The joints of his bones were slightly trembling as he then spoke.


    ¡°My friends would find it to their liking if it were sold to them. A slime that evolves! Could you possibly let me know what kind of magic or alchemical process was used?¡±


    I yed silence. After all, there was no way I could tell him that it was a product of coincidence borne from the fusion of two Authorities.


    Gourmandi filled in the nks of my silence on his own.


    ¡°I-, I apologize. It is simply outrageous to ask for such key technology. I had lost myself for a moment there. There is an alchemical method for turning stone to gold, but it is impossible for a species to change color apart from chimeras which was why...¡±


    He had personally witnessed it. It was inherently different from a chimera which was a mix of two different species. That was the reason why Gourmandi couldn¡¯t not be excited.


    It was then.


    Kyu!


    The shadow kaim rubbed its eyes as if having just woken up, and slowly came over flying. Gourmandi¡¯s gaze naturallynded on the shadow kaim, and at the same time he received a shock and became ck-jawed.


    ¡°Kaim! Is that not a kaim?¡±


    ¡°So they say.¡±


    ¡°But a kaim has no wings...moreover its individual value is unbelievable for a kaim...¡±


    ¡°What exactly is this individual value?¡±


    He had been mentioning this ¡®individual value¡¯ since a while ago which made me feel some doubt. Upon hearing me ask, Gourmandi slowly took off the monocle he was wearing.


    ¡°All species have a limit, and the potential growth of each individual species differ from one another. This monocle I have created shows the potential growth of each individual. It examines all aspects of bone, skin, muscle shape or internal organs, quality of Magic Power and the like, therebypiling an overall statistic. I had experimented on every type of monsters over the past 300 years, and for each individual species I had used hundreds, thousands of specimens topare their data and reduce as much errors as possible.¡±


    A torrent of words poured out of him. Humblebragging. A product that resulted from 300 years ofbor...it definitely didn¡¯t seem like any ordinary item.


    La came forward to speak.


    ¡°My Lord. Regardless of how he puts it, it is a truly useless item. Please do not be deceived.¡±


    She openly disyed her dislike for Gourmandi on her face. As Gourmandi shrunk back out of fright, La continued to speak.


    ¡°There is no one that doesn¡¯t know that goblins are weak, and dragons are strong. Further breaking them down and separating them is no more than a waste of time.¡±


    Her words weren¡¯t wrong. Each species had clear limits, and a goblin could never defeat a dragon, however strong the individual was. This was an unchangeable truth.


    But I was curious.


    ¡°I want to try using it.¡±


    ¡°Is, is that so?¡±


    Even Gourmandi was surprised. Judging by his reaction, it looked like the item wasn¡¯t highly evaluated.


    Gourmandi¡¯s bones were shaking hard as he finally, cautiously handed over the monocle. When I put it on and looked at the shadow kaim, a change urred.


    [¡®Growth-scanning Monocle¡¯ has been equipped.]


    [¡®Mind¡¯s Eye(Lv9) has absorbed the functions of ¡®Growth-scanning Monocle.]


    Name: Shadow Kaim (Value ¨C 4,470)


    Str 40b


    Agi 50b


    Con 45b


    Int 30b


    Mag 60a


    Potential(225/270)


    What?


    ¡®Function absorption?¡¯


    It was my first time seeing such a happen. What¡¯s more was that the result seen through Mind¡¯s eye had be different. There were alphabets behind the stat numbers. An exnation rted to it popped up when I looked more closely.


    ¡ù This is a function which breaks down the growth values of each individual. They are divided into f, d, c, b, a, and s. The closer to s, the greater the growth potential.


    f equals a maximum growth potential up to 30.


    d equals a maximum growth potential up to 50.


    c equals a maximum growth potential up to 70.


    b equals a maximum growth potential up to 80


    a equals a maximum growth potential up to 90


    s equals a maximum growth potential up to 100.


    These values do not represent definite figures, and only serves as a referral. Stats with a greater growth potential will quickly rise. However, when a stat reaches the limit of potential, further growth is impossible regardless of a greater growth potential.


    Simply put, it disyed the natural aptitude of an individual in numbers. People who were specialized in physical stats would be able to easily raise Strength or Constitution, while those who were talented for Magic would have it easier raising Intelligence or Magic Power. However, the majority of people wouldn¡¯t know of such things before finding out through a long period of trial and error.


    ¡®I never thought you could even see something like this.¡¯


    I was surprised from the bottom of my heart. Mind¡¯s Eye had an amazing function by itself, but to think it was now possible to even see the growth potential of each stat!


    I slowly took off the monocle, but even then the function was being maintained.


    ¡®This is also Universal¡¯s power.¡¯


    Skill update. Never before have I heard of a skill being improved just by putting on some sses.


    ¡°Ho-, how was it?¡±


    ¡°Brilliant.¡±


    ¡°Is, is that so?¡±


    He appeared awkward at the praise.


    I quietly stared at Gourmandi. It was definitely a brilliant item, but in my opinion, it wasn¡¯t able to gain poprity because it was slightly off-focus.


    ¡°Gourmandi. I shall speak honestly. I find your abilities tempting.¡±


    I spoke exactly what I thought.


    It¡¯s said that even a whale would dance from praise. I didn¡¯t hold back when it came to acknowledging someone.


    [Dominator¡¯s Authority has manifested. The status of Gourmandi has changed from ¡®guarded¡¯ to ¡®deeply moved¡¯. Right now it is possible to dominate him at a 25% discounted cost of 70,500 points.]


    Just those few words made this happen. Evidently, Gourmandi was starved for acknowledgement. I couldn¡¯t afford the points, but at any rate it was a good thing that his guard was no longer up.


    Gourmandi¡¯s touched demeanor didn¡¯t change as he spoke.


    ¡°I also...find the suggestion of partnership to be extremely tempting. However, will it be fine? Dangers may ur if rumours were to spread.¡±


    I had hoped he would directlye work under me but he drew thew at partnership. It was a bit regretful, but then again, Rome wasn¡¯t built in a day.


    ¡°Right now I only n to sell slimes. And...just who would dare to threaten me?¡±


    ¡°I, I apologize.¡±


    I acted boldly.


    Merely slimes wouldn¡¯t be a cause for any rumours anyway. Even if they asionally evolved into other species, I had a way.


    ¡®Evolution is only possible together with my power of domination.¡¯


    I had tried experimenting numerous times.


    For example, I had used Dragonish along with the power of domination on a slime,manding it to ¡®implode upon evolving¡¯, and it had exploded to death the instant it evolved. Likewise, all I had to do was to program the slimes I would sell to ¡®self-implode upon evolving into a species outside of slimes¡¯. Of course, on the other hand,mands such as ¡®evolve into n-species¡¯ didn¡¯t work. When it failed to evolve into that species, the slime be suicide by melting down. It was then that I¡¯d witnessed the scene of a slime suiciding for the first time.


    ¡°Then would it be possible to go into the specifics?¡±


    ¡°Thepany name will be Absolute Domination. Profits will be shared 7:3. This is under the condition that I am given exclusive rights to the ¡®Jewels of Space¡¯, as well as the goods being supplied as investment. Or do you wish for a different distribution?


    ¡°The stocks were merely gathering dust anyway so I have noints of being given even 3, however, have you made any other ns?¡±


    ¡°You must take the lead in order to set a trend.¡±


    ¡°A trend, you say?¡±


    Was the concept of trend umon here?


    Gourmandi, even La didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡®I will create the trend.¡¯


    It didn¡¯t matter. You didn¡¯t follow a trend. It was something you created, even if you had to use all kinds of dirty methods. As a rule of thumb, the first person to make an impression would be remembered for a long time!


    ..


    First of all, I handed over the ¡®Tamagotchi¡¯ containing slimes to renowned ck magicians and liches for ¡®experimental purposes¡¯. 30 out of the 53 Tamagotchi in stock was used for experimental purposes, while 10 were sent over, along with instruction manuals, to the ¡®children¡¯ of beings in control of cities within the abyss. Looking back in history, the ones to set trends were always those with ¡®ss¡¯.


    ¡®I never thought there would be cities even in the abyss.¡¯


    It was true. Surprising yes but there were cities in the abyss; considerably violent ces where monsters gathered to inhabit. Most cities were rted to the Four Great Kings, or were ruled over by Demon Lords, but I had chosen and sent the goods to the cities that weren¡¯t rted to either the former ortter.


    Absolute Domination Company. For now, I had ¡®La¡¯ and ¡®Gourmandi¡¯ use their names as a front instead of mine, because I judged that it wouldn¡¯t be toote to enter the spotlight when the time became ripe. Fortunately, Gourmandi¡¯s personalworking wasn¡¯t too shabby. Regardless of rumours, when all was said and done, he was still a lich. Not to mention that there wasn¡¯t anyone who would turn down a freebie.


    I handed over the remaining 13 to the Dark Company. After registering them in the store and confirming that they showed up named as ¡®Tamagotchi¡¯, I made a smile.


    ¡®The price is 800 points.¡¯


    Apparently, the cost of materials that went into creating a ¡®Jewel of Space¡¯ was around 200 points. To think that it was sold at 2,000 points...even profiteering should have a limit to it. Now I knew why it didn¡¯t sell.


    It mustn¡¯t be too expensive. I was aiming for small profits and quick returns. Slimes were aplenty, and raising them was easy too. And the nomittal number of 13 was intended, to make it appear as if stock was scarce.


    ¡®I wonder when I¡¯ll get a response.¡¯


    The problem was time. There was only about 5 days left before the time limit of Transfer would expire. From here on everything was left to Gourmandi and La.


    Two dayster, La came running towards me, gasping for breath.


    ¡°My Lord. I heard that the Tamagotchi...has fully sold out.¡±


    Her eyes were full of emotion, giving off a feeling as if she were on the verge of tears.


    I could understand. She had been swamped with debt until now, only to finally see the light. It was a strange feeling to see a fully grown woman being so emotional over Tamagotchi being sold out, but at any rate, the results hade out faster than I had predicted.

 Chapter 28 - I Choose You (3)

    <h4>Chapter 28 ¨C I Choose You (3)</h4>


    With the 13 Tamagotchi sold out I had earned 10,400 points. Excluding 10% interest rate of using the Dark Store and the 30% to handover to Gourmandi, the gross profit came to 6,552 points, so my share was roughly about 63%. The only work I did was to dominate slimes, evolve them once and put them in Jewels of Space. I could supply about 30 slimes per day, and the remaining number of slimes were around 250 which were the result of the several past days of effort. I would be able to earn more or less 125,000 points by selling all 250 slimes. The 160,000 points debt might end up being settled in no time.


    However, I couldn¡¯t always be in the abyss. It would take more time toe back after the Transfer ends. Thus, I decided to leave the rest of the work to La. The slimes dominated using my ¡®Dominator¡¯ Authority could evolve upon reaching their growth limits anyway. There wasn¡¯t a need for me to do it personally just to raise them.


    ¡°We will be able to settle the debt as well as prepare funds for war at this rate!¡±


    La was excited.


    Looking at it in the short-term, La¡¯s words were right, however, the products would lose ¡®scarcity¡¯ if they were to be released all at once. We needed to let the fish be impatient, now that the bait had already been sprinkled.


    ¡°Release no more than 10 into the market per day until business gets well under way.¡±


    ¡°My Lord. I hear that the dark merchants are receiving numerous inquiries regarding this. A hundred, or two hundred should rapidly sell out.¡±


    ¡°We must look far ahead. It may be beneficial for the immediate moment, but releasing too much of the stock will also draw the attention of those who oppose us.¡±


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    La slowly nodded her head.


    Carpediem the Destroyer. I had investigated about him these past few days as well. He was one of the Demon Lords, and was someone who receive a small amount of protection from one among the Four Great Kings, the Lion King.


    ¡®I¡¯ve roughly understood the power structure of the Demon Lords.¡¯


    The Four Great Kings were in the midst of war for the sake of making sure the Demon Lord they each supported became thest one standing. They were attempting to be a true god in their endeavors, by takingmand of the Demon Lord who obtained the Great Star, ¡®Soul of the Colossus¡¯.


    It was most likely correct to say...that Uriel Diablo had been embroiled within that war only to have been defeated, and he had set foot onto Earth as ast resort. And yet, millions of humans had been annihted, and 499 heroes had died, just to kill one runaway.


    I had to make it so that such a thing would never...never again happen. However desperately Minshik tried to be a hero, I was certain of one thing.


    ¡®It¡¯s impossible to face all of the Demon Lords.¡¯


    The abyss only grew more terrifying the more you came to know about it. Earth was literally nothing more than a stepping-stone. The mere thought of it sent me cursing helplessly.


    That¡¯s why I had to do it. I had to enter the eye of the storm myself, to kill or contain the other Demon Lords using Uriel Diablo¡¯s body.


    The Absolute Domination Company was the beginning of it.


    For starters...I managed to make a n to earn points to build a foundation and kill Carpediem the Destroyer, thus raising my reputation. Now I needed to find a method to enhance my ¡®self¡¯ on Earth at the same time ¡ª indeed I couldn¡¯t rest; not in the abyss, nor on Earth ¡ª and I did have another idea for that as well.


    ¡®It¡¯s possible to send Lv5 and below equipment or dominated familiar through a Dark Gate.¡¯


    I wasn¡¯t certain whether what I¡¯d ¡®dominated¡¯ would truly carry over to my real ¡®self¡¯ or not, but taking into ount how ¡®Universal Man¡¯ worked, there was an extremely high possibility of sharing whatever was dominated. If that was the case...then by using the Dark Gate, wouldn¡¯t I be able to send things that would help me and elerate my growth, as well as other necessities?


    ¡®The criterion for level 5 is vague as well.¡¯


    I stared at the shadow kaim flying about above my head. The shadow kaim¡¯s current stats were at the standard of a Lv5, however, its potential showed that it was capable of growing up to a maximum of Lv6. Looking at it the normal way, it was correct to determine level by the immediate stats. That being the case, what if it were possible to send a familiar that was weak at present, but possessed infinite potential for growth, through the Dark Gate?


    I was already thinking of putting the idea it to the test.


    ¡®...The egg of a dragon.¡¯


    I considered just sending it in its egg-state.


    All dragons were powerful. This was an unchanging truth. Most dragons appeared from ¡®Purple Gates¡¯ as far as I remembered. These monsters were so peerlessly powerful to the point of giving birth to rumours saying how a nation would fall when a dragon appeared.


    In the case of liches, it was fine if they were suppressed from the get-go, but for dragons there was no such thing. The adult dragons were especially worse, and the more aged ones even possessed wisdom, so you would have no other choice than to simply spectate the destruction of a city until they tired themselves out.


    Also, there was a notice yesterday that the Dark Company had gotten hold of 10 or so dragon eggs. It was written as a message on the very top area of the Dark Store.


    If only I could send just one of those!


    My heart started racing at the mere thought of it.


    The likes of wyvern riders weren¡¯t even worth mentioning. Dragon rider. Stories of knights that could handle dragons could only remain a dream. That dream could be made into reality, however, the eggs would begin to be sold from today.


    ¡®The price is the problem.¡¯


    The egg of a dragon should be very extremely, though not as much as a dragon itself. But the amount of points I had on me at present was just barely met 20,000. Even if I were to release the Tamagotchi stocks, selling would take time, but it wasn¡¯t possible to know when the dragon eggs would be sold. Dragons were among the most powerful monsters. There was nothing like a powerful dragon for raising the influence of a Demon Lord and his territory!


    Some of the Demon Lords would also be tempted by the eggs, but still I may be lucky enough to take one for myself. Securing even a single one would be a huge sess. At worst I would lose nothing.


    ¡°I shall go to the Dark Company. Make preparations.¡±


    ¡°Understood, my Lord.¡±


    I immediately began moving.


    ..


    There was quite the bustling activity going on in the center of the Dark Company. There stood a line of towering buildings level with the skies as ever, but there was a considerable number of people gathered here to get their hands on a dragon egg or to spectate. The crowd looked to be around a thousand. I saw a vampire, death knight, naga queen, even a titan. Monsters capable of terrorizing nearby regions by simply making an appearance were gathered here in one spot. Among the crowd I could see several Demon Lords as well, and no one but their loyal subordinates approached the midst of those Demon Lords.


    ¡°Uriel Diablo? Isn¡¯t that Uriel Diablo?


    ¡°It must be him, seeing as how the Queen of Thorns is attending to him.¡±


    ¡°I had heard the rumours, so he truly did awaken! But still...where did he find the guts to show up here?¡±


    ¡°He must have been unaware that Carpediem the Destroyer would be here.¡±


    ¡°Go. It¡¯ll only be our loss if we stay for no reason and get involved.¡±


    The various monsters made amotion upon seeing me.


    They had quite the high intelligence, judging by their conversations. They showed a different side to them as opposed to the times when they had invaded Earth, which I felt was quite novel, but I couldn¡¯t ignore the person who had walked up right before me.


    He had a massive presence. He wore a tight-fitting suit over a body so fat, it made me suspect that he was afflicted with extreme obesity. The extreme awkwardness of his appearance reminded me of the feeling I got when faced with nonsensical problems, but this was ¡®Carpediem of Destruction¡¯ himself.


    ¡®Mind¡¯s Eye.¡¯


    [The target possesses higher ¡®Prestige¡¯ than the level of ¡®Mind¡¯s Eye(Lv9)¡¯.]


    [Limited information only will be disyed.]


    Name: Carpediem


    upation: Demon Lord


    Titles:


    ?? Destruction (Lv10, ???)


    ?? Incarnation of Desire (Lv9, ???)


    Stats: ???


    Potential(500+60/500)


    Special Notes: None


    Skills: Roar of Annihtion, Desire Eruption, Submerging Cave, Bat Swarm


    It was limited, but now I knew that his overall stats itself was simr to mine. I also found what skills he had at least.


    He was apanied by an entourage made up of 7 members. Among them were powerful monsters; duhan, dragon cavalry and the like.


    Carpediem approached me andughed loudly.


    ¡°Uriel Diablo! You had woken up after all. Heheheh!¡±


    ¡°We are not close, so I would like for you to screw off.¡±


    There was no finer example of ¡®shutting the door in someone¡¯s face¡¯.


    Carpediem frowned slightly.


    ¡°I even had the intention of showing some of that so-called mercy if you had lowered your head, seeking for mercy, however...Tsk tsk, maybe you¡¯ve yete to terms with reality because you¡¯ve only just woken up? What do you say, La?¡±


    ¡°Do not speak my name with that filthy mouth of yours. There is only one person who has the right to put my name to his lips.¡±


    Carpediem turned his head to steal a nce at La who stood by my side.


    La made a face full of contempt, as if having seen an insect, and then stood even closer to my side.


    ¡°Your feisty look is also beautiful...but I am magnanimous. My proposal remains standing. Be my other half, and I can still afford saving that small territory as well as this fool standing before me who still hasn¡¯t woken to reality.¡±


    La didn¡¯t even retort as she gnashed her teeth.


    The reason why the territory had been protected until now was in part due to La¡¯s prowess in war, but it was a scheme by Carpediem in truth. ording to my investigations, all this time he had only been cruelly pressuring her with the intention of making her hispanion, not for the sake of taking the territory. Before my awakening, the state of the territory had reached its limits; if I had awoken just a littleter than when I did, the oue would have drastically differed.


    I ced my hand atop La¡¯s ahead, and red at Carpediem.


    ¡°Looks like you did not hear me telling you to screw off.¡±


    ¡°Do you perhaps, believe in Andalton Bruxelles¡¯ sphere of influence?¡±


    So it seemed the rumours had spread well.


    I ignored Carpediem as I made my way toward the center. We were enemies in the end. I became even more certain of it, having seen him for myself. It was likeparing water and oil. It was either him dying, or me, nothing else. I could read the violent desire in Carpediem¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Keheheh! La Diablo! Come to me whenever you change your mind. I shall make sure to leave a ce for you always.¡±


    As he walked away in the other direction, Carpediem let out a vulgarugh as if it were only a matter of time before he got what he wanted. But would events y ording to his expectations, I wonder?


    I turned my gaze around. Dark merchants were busily moving about in the center region, and there were nine eggs on top of a beautiful flower craftwork, ced there so everyone could see them. They were dragon eggs.


    I breathed out in agitation.


    Uponying my eyes on them, my pupils began to tremble.

 Chapter 29 - I Choose You (4)

    <h4>Chapter 29 ¨C I Choose You (4)</h4>


    The mere sight of the dragon eggs, each embroidered differently, was enough to draw attention. It was told that dragons wouldy one egg every 10 years. There was even a rumour that asionally, two eggs would beid at a time and the first one to hatch would grow stronger by devouring the other egg that had yet to hatch. That was why they were rare, and why they were beautiful.


    ¡®Even the color and appearances are different.¡¯


    The eggs were mottled in color. They were wless in appearance, as if they were borne carefully. I¡¯d seen the eggs of wyverns or thunder birds before, even for me it was a first seeing the unbroken eggs of a dragon.


    The ones I hade across in the past were always the remnant shells of an already hatched egg. Even those shells were extremely rare, which were used to make ludicrously expensive equipments, and because they had the added effect of assisting in absorbing Magic Power, most heroes would find it hard to just leave them be.


    And yet...there were 9 of these things. This was why I couldn¡¯t help but go wide-eyed at the sight of it, and I naturally became curious. Would there be differences in potential, even among the overlords of magic known as dragons?


    [¡®Mind¡¯s Eye(Lv9)¡¯ has been activated.]


    Name: None (Value ¨C 38,000)


    Race: Water Dragon(Ë®ýˆ)


    Stats:


    Str 1b


    Agi 1a


    Con 1b


    Int 1s


    Mag 1a


    Potential(5/429)


    Name: None (Value ¨C 65,000)


    Race: Thunder Dragon(À×ýˆ)


    Stats:


    Str 1a


    Agi 1b


    Con 1a


    Int 1a


    Mag 1s


    Potential(5/458)


    Name: None (Value ¨C 110,000)


    Race: Dark Dragon(°µºÚýˆ)


    Stats:


    Str 1s


    Agi 1a


    Con 1a


    Int 1a


    Mag 1s


    Potential(5/481)


    They indeed lived up to the name of the ultimate monsters called dragons. Their average potential were around 450, and even the lowest one was at 429. When I saw thest one, the dark dragon, I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off it for a while. A value that reached 110,000 points even when it was still in an egg-state. The species value of a dragon as well as the individual value, surprised me to no end. Having a high potential wasn¡¯t everything. ording to tradition, dragons woulde to learn the unique magic of their own race and the like just by growing up, realizing them as if by instinct. If they continued to develop from thereon, they would naturallye to build a nest and could even live like a ¡®king¡¯.


    ¡®Two S evaluations.¡¯


    What¡¯s more was that its growth potential was also surprising. Two S evaluations, right before my eyes...you could never see such ratings on a slime, at least. Most dragons would have a potential of S when it came to ¡®Magic Power¡¯. An S evaluation equaled a maximum growth up to 100 of that evaluated stat. The gap between a stat of 90 and 100 was literally like an ¡®insurmountable wall¡¯, because the higher the stat, the more evident the difference that even 1 point made.


    The dark dragon had two of such S evaluated stats; Strength and Magic Power. This meant that it could possess an equal capacity in both physical and magic abilities.


    ¡®Tempting.¡¯


    I wanted it. But neither the dark mechants nor those gathered here were stupid. All you had to do was sniff at the Magic Power hanging in the air, and you would know the dark dragon egg was on a different levelpared to the other ones. The Magic Power was, in one word, dense. To the point of tickling the tip of my nose. Many would be aiming for it.


    Although it was valued at 110,000 points, it was possible that it would be sold for more than that. It was most likely going to be auctioned off at any rate. At best I would be able to get my hands on the water dragon egg. If I yed my cards well using the rules of the auction, I just may be able to buy it even with the amount of points I had. It wasn¡¯t bad, even if it wasckingpared to the other eggs. Even a weak dragon was still a dragon. Regardless of where it was made, the nest of a dragon(ýˆ) would be a castle, and a small country in itself. Moreover, a water dragon was undefeatable in the oceans.


    ¡®76% of Earth is made up of oceans.¡¯


    ¡®Gate¡¯s didn¡¯t only appear on the earth; it appeared in the oceans, and even in the skies. In particr, the biggest means of transportation would be lost if ess to the oceans was cut off. Countries incapable of self-sufficiency would quickly fall into ruin. The majority of countries were like that. Korea was like that. That¡¯s how Aletheia came to be. The difficulty of traversing the oceans contributed the birth of countless cults and violent gangs. Bound to eternal suffering with no way out.


    If I had a water dragon...at the least, I would be able to dy such a situation froming about. A water dragon may be better than a random dragon.


    ¡°How unusual, considering that only one or two eggs of a dragon would be found per year.¡±


    La tilted her head, having seen all of the eggs. She appeared to have never seen this much eggs gathered in one ce. But before long the look in her eyes changed. I could strongly feel her desire to have a dragon. Right now she was like a child who¡¯d discovered a toy she was interested in.


    La asked.


    ¡°My Lord. Was there anything that caught your eyes, perhaps?¡±


    Contrary to the look in her eyes, she showed a hint of hesitation. La knew that while buying a dragon egg was the right thing to do, if it could be afforded, she also knew that our situation didn¡¯t allow for it. But I wasn¡¯t concerned about it.


    I nodded my head.


    ¡®I have nothing to lose. If what I have isn¡¯t enough...I¡¯ll use myself as coteral.¡¯


    The Dark Company bought and sold everything. There was debt yet to be paid, but I had still yet to put myself up as coteral. It was a very dangerous idea, but I was confident. Not to mention, that¡¯s just how tempting the egg of a dragon was. Hadn¡¯t La said it herself? At most two eggs of a dragon would be found per year.


    To me, time was a preciousmodity that couldn¡¯t be exchanged for anything else. I didn¡¯t have the luxury to wait once again to buy an egg. More than anything, whichever dragon I ¡®dominated¡¯ had the possibility of evolving as well.


    The evolution of a dragon!


    I hadn¡¯t a clue as to what it would evolve into. At the very least, it would be something that transcended the dragon race, or perhaps the final form of the dragon race. As long as I could send it over to Earth, then that would be the icing on the cake. Thus, I became determined to buy one without fail.


    ¡°You have waited long! Thank you very much for the wait.¡±


    Finally a dark merchant who wore a silver helmet appeared. He was the auctioneer.


    ¡°We have some rarely seen personages here today. Carpediem of Destruction-nim, Shotel Arcrasa-nim, Sollond of Moon-nim, and...Oho, isn¡¯t this Uriel Diablo-nim?¡±


    Everyone¡¯s gazes fell on me.


    There were three Demon Lords apart from me, but they soon returned their gazes to the auctioneer. They were obviously ignoring me. Carpediem once again let out that vulgarugh. I took this opportunity to realize anew the way I was perceived.


    ¡®The weakest Demon Lord.¡¯


    That¡¯s what they probably thought, that I was a small fry among small fry that they didn¡¯t need to pay much attention to.


    ¡°This is telling of how much interest this emergency auction has drawn! Well then, we shall begin right away.¡±


    ¡°Wait. Wasn¡¯t it said that there were 10 dragon eggs? Why is there only 9?¡±


    Carpediem raised forth a question.


    Now that it¡¯s mentioned, I remembered that it was ¡®10 or so dragon eggs¡¯ on the notice I had read, but there were only 9 on the tform.


    The auctioneer scratched his head, and followed up with some words of exnation.


    ¡°The state of one egg wasn¡¯t too good. To speak truthfully...the egg had ruptured in the process of infusing Magic Power. Even if were to hatch it, it would be premature, and it wouldn¡¯t be long before its Magic Power went out of control and died.¡±


    So it turns out that during the process called ¡®Magic Infusion¡¯, used to elerate the hatching of a dragon, something went wrong with one of the eggs and it ruptured. Being unable to properly take in Magic Power meant being worthless as a dragon, and even if it were hatched it would end up dying in no time.


    Defective goods wouldn¡¯t be used as merchandise...a rathermendable merchant¡¯s mindset.


    Just then, Carpediem put in some additional words.


    ¡°I still want to have a look nheless. Who knows? Somebody just may feel a sense of kinship and buy that egg.¡±


    At the same time, he once again looked at me with a gaze full of disdain.


    Did mean to say that I was no better than a broken egg?


    I looked at him, and saw the self-assurance of superiority on his face.


    ¡°How dare he...¡±


    La¡¯s eyes were zing with mes. She looked just about ready to pounce on Carpdiem and twist his neck.


    I lightly patted La on the back unperturbed, acting like I wouldn¡¯t fall for a crude taunt of that level. If I yed along with him, it would simply prove that I was just as crude.


    ¡°...I understand. If the customer wishes for it then I must certainly bring it over.¡±


    The auctioneer had considered it for a moment before pping once, and soon after some other dark merchants brought over the egg on a handcart. At first nce nothing appeared to be wrong with it. But upon looking closely, there was a few small cracks on the egg; perhaps that being the reason it didn¡¯t draw much interest.


    ¡°Well then...let the auction begin. Shall we first take a look at the fire dragon?¡±


    Fire dragon. It was dragon that could handle fire magic as naturally as breathing. It had a fierce temperament, but it couldn¡¯t not be acknowledged when it came to its destructive power. It was evaluated at 70,000 points, so while it wasckingpared to the dark dragon, it should still be at a middle-high grade.


    ¡°The starting price is 30,000.¡±


    ¡°30,000.¡±


    ¡°Carpediem of Destruction-nim!¡±


    35,000.¡±


    ¡°This is...isn¡¯t this the big hand of the vampire realm, Parvo-nim!¡±


    I quietly observed the situation of the auction. No, I wasn¡¯t even looking at the auctioning going on. I was simply looking at the egg. The egg which had made its appearancest, ridiculed by Carpediem. Even the other Demon Lords and monsters were ignoring it with their heads turned away.


    ¡®So this was why.¡¯


    Everyone else ignored it, but not me. I could see differently than others. I could even find out why the infusion of Magic Power had gone wrong, and why it had ruptured.


    I smiled internally.


    ¡®I choose you.¡¯

 Chapter 30 - I Choose You (Fin)

    <h4>Chapter 30 ¨C I Choose You (Fin)</h4>


    Its outer appearance was terrible. It wasn¡¯t even colorful like the other eggs. The pale coloring itself served to prove that its Magic Power was poor. Magic Power measured the level of an existence, which was why the Magic Power possessed by other living creatures was iparable to the majority of dragons.


    Deeper colors in the eggs often lead to them being regarded as higher quality, where they would then receive further support using powerful equipment. This was consideredmon sense, and I too would have been extremely disappointed if I didn¡¯t have my skill.


    ¡°¡®Shotel Arcrasa¡¯-nim has won the fire dragon egg for 64,000 points! Congrattions!¡±


    Shotel Arcrasa. He was of a demon race with outer armor like a turtle and green skin, and his face looked like a dragon¡¯s. His appearance resembled the ck turtle of the four holy beasts, rather than a dragon, but I could what his general preference was like just from look at how his entourage entirely consisted of either the dragon race or creatures rted to them.


    La additionally exined.


    ¡°Shotel Arcrasa is a peculiar Demon Lord. It is said that his goal is to collect all dragons, and that there are 20 kinds of dragons residing in his castle.¡±


    From thereon she continued to brief me on those I needed to know about from now on, or those that it wouldn¡¯t hurt to keep in mind. She seemed to have a personal criterion. She unhesitatingly dismissed the other demon lords as ¡®false kings¡¯, but she seemed to be be able to view all things with an objective and analytical eye whenever it came to ensuring my victory. It was strange seeing this side of her.


    Once upon a time, the ¡®queen of terror and ughter¡¯ used to make the world tremble in fear. It¡¯s only now that I confess my feelings, but defeating her was much more difficult than defeating a demon lord. She dedicated everything into waging war, casually sacrificing her limbs in pursuit of victory. Looking at her then, she was definitely an extremely determined zealot. The side she showed only to Uriel Diablo changed 180 degrees in battle. So great was her beauty and bravery that even Aletheia and a few mentally-loose individuals sent her generous support.


    ¡°...Next up is what everyone should have been anticipating, the item holding the most expectations: the dark dragon egg! Would you believe it if I were to say that this is a child of the ¡®ck-eyed Gradia¡¯ who use to rule the underworld?¡±


    ¡°Gradia!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the ancient wrym, the one which no one has seen and survived to tell the tale?¡±


    Dragons that have survived the longest even among dragons and have gained wisdom and power are beings that are called as ¡®ancient wyrms¡¯. I had also heard of this Gradia.


    ¡®Apparently, two castles in China went up in mes in the blink of an eye right after it made its appearance.¡¯


    I hadn¡¯t seen it personally, because Gradia, who had statistically murdered a hundred million people, had once again returned to its purple ¡®Gate¡¯. I remembered it only because there were hardly any instances of the prior mentioned incident. ording to the survivors of that incident, it was said that it was their first time ever witnessing such ¡®rage¡¯; a rage so intense that it shook the very world itself and causing darkness to fall upon everything nearby...and to think, this dark dragon egg is the child of that being?


    I became curious as to how they got their hands on that egg.


    ¡°La. Where, and how to those merchants find items of that level?¡±


    ¡°ording to their words, they ¡®trade¡¯ for them fair and square. Nothing else further is known.¡±


    Trade, was it...but I had witnessed the scene of Al Araxar being dragged into the ¡®purple Gate¡¯. At the time, Al Araxar had said that over time, he would lose his sanity ording to the ¡®will of the Great Star¡¯. If all the monsters within the purple Gates had gone through such a process, would that mean even Gradia had simply lost its sanity and went berserk ording to that ¡®will¡¯?


    Perhaps the ¡®trade¡¯ which the dark merchants speak of is actually plundering, because the dark merchants are under the protection of the Great Star.


    I mulled over it as I rubbed my chin, but it only served to further my suspicions.


    ¡°The starting price shall be set at 50,000. Now then...¡±


    As if he¡¯d been waiting for this moment, Carpediem opened his mouth even before the auctioneer¡¯s words ended.


    ¡°70,000.¡±


    ¡°Carpediem of Destruction-nim!¡±


    ¡°90,000.¡±


    ¡°Ohoho, Shotel Arcrasa-nim!¡±


    The bid increased in increments of 20,000.


    The bidding had started out strong right from the beginning, so those two were the only participants; Carpediem, and Arcrasa. The dark dragon egg¡¯s fair price from what I saw was ¡®110,00¡¯. The bidding quickly exceeded that number, however.


    ¡°200,000.¡±


    Carpediem let out a presumptuousugh, as if he¡¯d already won the bid. It appeared that Shotel Arcrasa couldn¡¯t afford any further expenses, since it had only been moments before that he had bought the fire and thunder dragon. Carpediem¡¯s smile grew deeper as he looked at Arcrasa biting his lower lip tightly, and then turned to look at me to speak tantly.


    ¡°I look forward to the days ahead. Gradia¡¯s child would indeed have the right to be called the most powerful of dragons. I just can¡¯t wait until it can take flight and wreak havoc.¡±


    An obvious taunt, implying that he is easily capable of handling a dragon like this. He was arrogantly trying to intimidate me, while his behaviour also made fun of the fact that I hadn¡¯t participated in any bids until now.


    ¡®How trivial.¡¯


    What mattered to me was victory. Something of real worth. Not honor, pride or the like. In the end, a formidable amount of time went into hatching and raising a dragon. Even if that time was reduced through Mana Infusion, it would require several years at least, and that ounted for the time it took topletely develop a dragon to its full capability.


    But from how I saw it, Carpediem had no patience. It would be correct to say that it wasn¡¯t likely that he would wait until that dragon fully grew up before attacking my territory. But seeing as he did spend arge sum of 200,000 points...


    On the contrary, this was a good result for me, and I didn¡¯t have to do a thing. Judging from the reaction of the other demon lords, 200,000 points were enough to be considered a ¡®huge amount of money¡¯ even by their standards.


    The dark dragon egg has been sessfully bidded by Carpediem-nim for 200,000 points!¡±


    The auctioneer pped exaggeratedly, the silver helmet on his head nking noisily. With this, all 9 eggs had been sold. All the eggs apart from two were sessfully bidded by demon lords. A pure-blood vampire and subus queen had each taken an egg, but La had told me that they were both supreme rulers of their respective cities. I took a good look at them before I turned away again.


    ¡°Finally...this is a golden dragon egg. I am still in a bind whether to auction this or not.¡±


    The auctioneer himself didn¡¯t seem hold much expectation for it, even though he was in the seller¡¯s position; because it was regarded as a defective good.


    ¡°The starting price shall be 10,000 points.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it too expensive when it¡¯s going to be disposed of anyway?¡±


    ¡°Ourpany policy is to sell everything our customer wants, however...officially, we do not needlessly sell products that may end up causing a problem. Please think of the 10,000 points as a ¡®liability fee¡¯.¡±


    Meaning, take it only if you can take responsibility.


    Naturally, there wasn¡¯t anyone in a hurry to raise their hands for it. While 200,000 points were a huge sum of money, 10,000 couldn¡¯t be casually spent either. Of course, matters would be different if there were anyone who could see the ¡®truth¡¯ hidden within the egg.


    ¡®Mind¡¯s Eye.¡¯


    I examined it once more to confirm whether or not what I¡¯d seen was urate. Once again, I was amazed by the information which popped up.


    Name: None (Value ¨C 210,000)


    Race: Golden Dragon


    Stats:


    Str 1a


    Agi 1a


    Con 1b


    Int 1s


    Mag 1ss


    Potential(5/485)


    Special Note: Two cores exist. They are currently in ¡®resonance¡¯ however, it is absorbs all the nearby magic power due to its constitution of ¡®Magic Absorption¡¯.


    ¡ù Magic Absorption: A constitution which endlessly absorbs magic power. Roughly hundreds of times more potent than normal. (All dragons are born with a constitution which absorbs magic power to a certain extent)


    Name: None (Value ¨C 230,000)


    Race: White Dragon


    Stats:


    Str 1ss


    Agi 1s


    Con 1s


    Int 1a


    Mag 1c


    Potential(5/485)


    Special Note: In an attempt to survive the magic absorption phenomenon, it has ¡®mutated¡¯ by itself and as a result, evolved towards maximizing physical abilities instead of magic power.


    Two cores within a single egg. They were twins, however, one was a golden dragon while the other was a white dragon. The type of magic power among the dragon race varied respectively by color, and the golden dragon shined with a golden brilliance precisely because of its overflowing golden magic power. The other dragon had most of its magic power absorbed so it was impossible for it to have any color at all.


    ¡®Perhaps that¡¯s why it¡¯s a white dragon.¡¯


    A white dragon of all things. It was my first time knowing such a dragon existed. Maybe because it had evolved in an extreme direction, the potential growth of all three of its physical stats were evaluated as ¡®S¡¯. No, its Strength was SS in fact, meaning that it had a possibility of surmounting the ¡®wall of magic¡¯ with pure stats that went over 100. On the contrary, the golden dragon¡¯s magic power was evaluated as SS perhaps due to its magic absorption constitution. It would be most appropriate to say that they were in a whole different leaguepared to the norm.


    ¡®How incredible.¡¯


    It was a miracle of probability. Before this I hadn¡¯t twins were even possible for dragons, and yet the both of them even possessed special constitutions. I could only hear one heart beating as well. No...it was only that I was hearing the hearts beat as one.


    ¡®Resonance.¡¯


    The two were in resonance. It was simr to the telepathy possessed by twins. I never expected their heart beats and presence to ovep as well. In any case, the two were the same, but at the same time different. Maybe this was why even the dark merchants hadn¡¯t noticed, or perhaps they did know but simply pretended ignorance.


    ¡®Did they deliberately put on an act so they wouldn¡¯t have to sell it?¡¯


    My expression momentarily froze.


    It was an abrupt thought, but the chances of it being true was quite likely. In reality, the auctioneer appeared reluctant to sell it after all, because the dark dragon was a league below those two. It was a waste for it to appear in an emergency auction. It was at a level worthy of appearing on a much bigger stage.


    The egg wouldn¡¯t have even been disyed if not for Carpediem mentioning it. It was supposedly nned to be disposed of, yet it was carried over the moment questions were asked about it. This must mean that it had remained in a ce simr to the auction storage. It was normal for items to be disposed to be kept separately, or ording to the attitudes of the dark merchants, defective goods should have been trashed on the spot. I believed thetter to be much more likely. It was probably that the dark merchants had nned to disy that egg on a much bigger stage. The urrence of this auction was sudden enough to be called an ¡®emergency¡¯, so perhaps they had barely realized the worth of the egg very recently.


    ¡®I remember that there is an auction ce that only demon lords were allowed to join.¡¯


    I recalled La¡¯s words.


    If regr eggs could be sold openly here, it was hard to imagine what would be auctioned there. But clearly, that egg overwhelmed the other eggs. Isn¡¯t that why they mentioned something like a ¡®liability fee¡¯ in order to disencourage those with any ¡®curious¡¯ thoughts from buying it?


    ¡°If there are no bidders then we shall finish up here.¡±


    He was trying to end it much fasterpared to the other times.


    I had already made my mind.


    ¡°3, 2...¡±


    ¡°10,000.¡±


    ¡°...Uriel Diablo-nim.¡±


    He didn¡¯t sound relieved at the bid.


    But I was more cool-headed and focused than any other time before.


    ¡°Birds of a feather they say, it looks like you truly do feel something of a kinship! Kehaha!¡±


    Carpediem burst outughing as he apuded upon witnessing my bid.


    But he was unaware it was thanks to him that I had profited big. Thanks to all his ridiculingments, no one had even tried to bid this time because he had cemented the thought in everyone¡¯s mind that buying that egg would be a ¡®loss¡¯. If I didn¡¯t have the power to see through it, I may have also joined them in that thought.


    Just then, the auctioneer turned to look at me.


    ¡°Uriel Diablo-nim. Do you truly mean to purchase this egg?¡±


    ¡°Is that a problem?¡±


    ¡°The problem, is the possibility of it bing a problem. We do not hold any responsibility whatsoever.¡±


    ¡°Then there should be no problem.¡±


    The auctioneer sighed. I tried to read the underlying thoughts from his movements.


    ¡°You may be able to have a brief experience of raising a dragon, I suppose. You may even be a gourmet intending to taste the egg of a dragon. To be honest I had never imagined anyone bidding for it...La Diablo, did your esteemed Lord have such hobbies?¡±


    ¡°It is my Lord¡¯s decision.¡±


    La was firm. At the very least, she respected my choice.


    Besides...the auctioneer became talkative. If I didn¡¯t know, then he really would have looked like he was trying his best to stop me from buying something ¡®defective¡¯. In reality, the Dark Company was highly trusted, however, that didn¡¯t mean that they were ¡®upright¡¯. At least, I doubted everything about them. I didn¡¯t think that they would go so far as to slip in a ghost bidder or the like to participate in the auction, but sill I kept my guards up and coolly observed my surroundings.


    ¡°...Understood. If there are no further bids, then the egg will be sessfully won by Uriel Diablo-nim.¡±


    Carpediem of Destruction. If it weren¡¯t for him, one or twopetitors may have appeared. Perhaps there may have been a gourmet who wanted to take this opportunity to have a taste of dragon egg. But as a result of his meddling and guiding the atmosphere, I ended up obtain freedom. Moreover...I became convinced that as long as I was careful, even a demon lord can be taken advantage of. They were definitely not a ¡®higher species¡¯ of humans. They were merely stronger, that¡¯s all.


    3, 2, 1. The auctioneer finished counting and nodded his head.


    ¡°You have won the bid. Congrattions, Uriel Diablo-nim.¡±


    The auction ended, and my mind rxed like never before.


    ..


    I received the cracked egg of a dragon on the way back, and I even found a hidden memo on the egg. This was written on top of the small paper,


    ¡¸As long as it is not hatched, we ept returns.¡¹


    I crushed it, and threw it away. At the same time I grew convinced.


    ¡®There are no perfect existences.¡¯


    And that included the puppets of the Great Star.


    Or perhaps...the emergency auction to sell the 10 eggs had been opened in light of my awakening, and the reason why one egg was cunningly hidden among the others was to test my ability?


    Naturally there was almost none who knew that I was the ¡®one with piercing sight¡¯. I did consider that I was overthinking it, but still I remained wary. I, for one, wasn¡¯t perfect. The enemies I would fight were numerous and powerful. That¡¯s why starting apany, and obtaining a dragon egg was just the beginning.


    The beginning. My grand first steps. Now I was barely moving on to the next step.


    ¡°Uriel Diablo! The next time we meet shall be on the battlefield. Keheheh!¡±


    ...It would have been a perfect ending if it weren¡¯t for that bastard.


    I slowly turned my head to see that his minions were holding up the dark dragon egg high in the air as if showing it off.

 Chapter 31 - Etaqua (1)

    <main id="main" ss="site-main" role="main">Chapter 31 ¨C Etaqua (1)


    The dark dragon egg had a sparkling luster to it.


    I could understand the thought of cherishing it since it was purchased using 200,000 points, a significant sum of money, and showing it to me was partially out of a desire to unt.


    At the street corner heading over to the gate, La spoke pointedly


    ¡°Pay no mind to him. There is no reason to converse with someone impossible to talk to.¡±


    Carpediem. He was the sort to believe that the world revolved around themselves; arrogant, blunt and blockheaded. He was the prime example of a person who came under the category of ¡®impossible to talk to¡¯. Originally I would have ignored him. Quarrelling would only serve to lower myself down to his level. But I couldn¡¯t stay still after having received a deration of war.


    ¡®The next time we meet will be on the battlefield, is it.¡¯


    It was good to hear. Thanks to that, I came to my senses. The enemies I had to fight were powerful and numerous, but he was the immediate foe before me; Carpediem of Destruction. I would have already lost my territory if he had possessed an overwhelming fighting power. But seeing how he was dragging on the time, that showed that he wasn¡¯t having an easy time either. Moreover...


    ¡®He¡¯s wary of me.¡¯


    Trying so hard show his superiority to me, on the contrary, meant that he was being wary of me. Be it my power, or my Authority, nothing about me was properly known. In particr, nobody knew of the power of domination I received from Diablo. No one, but myself.


    La had spoken of Diablo as a very powerful evil god, and that the only names that can still match his are Bruxelles, Arheim, Zero, and Falcon. If I thought about it, it was only natural for him to be wary. Depending on the type of an Authority and the scale of its power, it could change the flow of the battlefield. As such, I was able to arrive at the conclusion that there was no need for me to y sheep.


    ¡°My Lord...?¡±


    I ignored La¡¯s warning and walked forwards, and stopped before Carpediem. The 10 monsters protecting him stood in my way, but they were of no concern to me.


    ¡°I also very much look forward to that day. Who will be the one to grovel on the ground begging for his life I wonder.¡±


    Carpediem frowned.


    Apparently he hadn¡¯t expected for me to respond in this manner.


    ¡°Just like a fool who has yet to realize reality. Blowing hot air because this here is the Dark Company? I could crush a puny territory like yours in the blink of an eye as soon as I willed it. My magnanimity knows no bounds, however, so you only need hand her, La Diablo, over...¡±


    ¡°You seem to be thinking that those trivial monsters of yours will protect your life as well. Besides, hand over La? Your words are no different to suggesting a ne of pearls be hung around the neck of a pig.¡±


    Carpediem. He was true to his emotions. It was obvious how angry he was, looking at his face.


    La prepared herself forbat as she stood by my side. Carpediem¡¯s minions also appeared ready to fight at the drop of a word. Battle was forbidden in the Dark Company, but it wasn¡¯t impossible.


    ¡°Youu...you truly mean to anger me? I have no idea what makes you so confident to act so unruly, but you picked the wrong opponent.¡±


    ¡°It is you who shouldn¡¯t be angering me. Why do you think I had been in slumber for a full 100 years?¡±


    It was an especially long time. The other demon lords awakened after not much time passed, but for Uriel Diablo it took no less than 100 years to do so.


    There were a great many rumours abound. Among them, there was even a rumour that his long sleep was ¡®because the Authority he was granted was that much more powerful¡¯. It was something I¡¯d heard of from La as well, but I nned to use that rumour and exaggerate it.


    Carpediem¡¯s brows further creased as I spoke nonchntly.


    I left onest line behind before turning away.


    ¡°I look forward to meeting you on the battlefield, Carpediem. Truly, I do.¡±


    [The spirit synchronization rate with Uriel Diablo has increased up to 69%.]


    What?


    The message popped up as soon as I turned around. The previous spirit synchronization was at 58%, as far as I remembered. It had risen by no less than 11%. Did bluffing in front of Carpediem help in raising the synchronization rate?


    I turned my head around to be suddenly greeted by a nk stare from La, who had aplicated look in her eyes.


    She opened her mouth to speak as I headed toward the gate.


    ¡°...You have changed.¡±


    I flinched inwardly.


    I may have slipped up in my acting of Uriel Diablo. It¡¯s true that there were no instances of him bluffing or acting boldly, even in his memories. Most of his life was spent passively. He wouldn¡¯t have even challenged for the position of a demon lord, if not for La pushing him.


    ¡®This isn¡¯t my style.¡¯


    It was enough that I wore a mask that didn¡¯t fit me in the past. The future had begun to change anyhow, from the moment I created thepany and tantly challenged Carpediem. It was a somewhat shameful method, but I would stick to it.


    ¡°Do you dislike the change?¡±


    La slowly shook her head.


    ¡°That is not it, however...there were times when my Lord appeared differently as opposed to the Lord that I used to remember. Especially today.¡±


    It didn¡¯t seem like she was entirely unaware, merely that she had kept quiet about it.


    Switching spirits just didn¡¯t conform withmon sense. But judging by her reaction, the image of myself I¡¯d shown today wasn¡¯t too shabby. On the contrary, It felt like she was showing signs of shyness. Was it because I had openly proimed my unwillingness to hand her over to Carpediem as Ipared her to pearls?


    Regardless, I spoke heavily.


    ¡°We must change. Both you, and I. By no means will our enemy be easy.¡±


    That¡¯s right. Following along the set path would only lead to catastrophe. An empty future of fleeing to Earth like escaping rats would await us. But...I would change it. Uriel Diablo, the things you couldn¡¯t aplish, I will do it for you. You left behind nothing but destruction and carnage, but I will aplish much greater achievements and pile them atop one another, and I willst until the very final moments.


    That was my vow.


    ¡°...I will be sure to remember it.¡±


    The shyness on La disappeared as she gave a small nod of her head, as if she had understood something.


    ..


    I gazed at the egg containing the twin cores of the golden and white dragon. It had been two days since I had returned from thepany. I could tell that the egg would hatch before long. The merchants imed they had failed in the process of magic infusion, but it was merely that the magic was absorbed perfectly without a trace. In fact, the golden and white dragon egg was showing a much faster growthpared to the other eggs.


    ¡®I definitely recall that they were in resonance.¡¯


    I once again opened Mind¡¯s Eye and examined the both of their statuses.


    Resonance meant that they could sense one another. If this remained effective even from long distances, wouldn¡¯t it be fine to leave one in the abyss, and the other on Earth? I would be able to prepare against potential dangers if only they could alert me of emergencies real-time so that I could immediately use Transfer. The problem was, how I would do it.


    ¡®Although I can send one to Earth through the Dark Gate...¡¯


    Where it would arrive was a question, and retrieving it would be another problem. What was definite though was that it would appear in the form of a ¡®Gate¡¯. I would be able to find it only if I were to personally open the Gate.


    ¡®I¡¯ll have to give it a try.¡¯


    It would be the only way if I wanted to know if Dominator would be linked as well, whether the creatures dominated using the demon lord¡¯s body would carry over to my main body. There was nothing wrong with hurrying with this kind of experiment. I had decided on which to send between the golden and white dragon as well.


    ¡®The white dragon should be the better choice.¡¯


    It had an incredible physical ability, while the golden dragon was weak in constitution, which meant that it may not be able to adapt to the abrupt change in environment. Everything about the abyss and Earth was different after all.


    ¡°My Lord. Have you decided on its name?¡±


    La approached me all of a sudden. There was a mix of affection and slight regret in the way she looked at the dragon egg, because her first opportunity to raise a dragon had appeared, but if what the auctioneer had said was true then it wouldn¡¯t be long before it died.


    I quietly rubbed my chin.


    ¡°Name?¡±


    ¡°There is a saying that a dragon would grow characteristically depending on its name. It should grow stronger if it were to be given a powerful name.¡±


    It was my first time hearing such a saying. I took a moment to repent for considering naming them Goldy and Silvy.


    ¡°Nothinges to mind.¡±


    ¡°Then...would it be alright for me to offer a suggestion?¡±


    Listening was easy.


    I nodded, and Laughed joyfully as she spoke.


    ¡°Etaqua. It is the name of an ancient beast of valor that blew typhoons and defeated countless giants.¡±


    ¡°Etaqua.¡±


    The name felt right at home with me. A beast that blew typhoons, was it. It was a name that better suited the white dragon rather than the golden dragon.


    ¡°Then I will have to name the other one as ¡®Igneel¡¯.¡±


    It was the name of the most powerful dragon I¡¯d ever faced to date, and more than anything it had a simr starting pronunciation as Etaqua.


    ¡°By the other one you mean...?¡±


    ¡°This egg contains two dragons.¡±


    ¡°...Yes?¡±


    La appeared dazed for a moment.


    I couldn¡¯t me her. For an egg to have two dragons at once, how could she have even imagined it? Suggesting an impressive name was her way of praying so that it could grow even a little more healthy. But she hadn¡¯t held any particr hopes for it after all.


    ¡°It should hatch soon.¡±


    I quietlyughed and turned my head.


    Together with a ¡®crack!¡¯ sound, the crack on the egg grew wider and split open.


    Hum-!


    The magic power in air vibrated fiercely. It was so intense to the point of causing my heart to quiver. This was also my first time witnessing a dragon hatch.


    ¡°S-, so much magic power is being released...!¡±


    La was half shocked. Judging by her expression, it seemed that such a vast release of magic power was definitely abnormal.


    Finally the eggpletely split apart to reveal the forms of two dragons. One had scales that shined golden, while the others¡¯ was distinctly white. The sight of them were so enchanting that I automatically thought of the word beautiful.


    Their were around 50cm in size. They were staring at me as they sat on the floor, pping their tails.


    ¡°Igneel, Etaqua.¡±


    The both of them perked up their ears, and at the same time...


    [The Dominator¡¯s power is being activated. The golden dragon ¡®Igneel¡¯ and white dragon ¡®Etaqua¡¯ has begun to be affected by the influence of powerful domination.]


    [They are the children of the mother of wisdom and counsel, Walpurgis. ¡®Blessingsof the Sage¡¯ has been granted.]


    [This is the right granted along with the name ¡®Blessings of the Sage¡¯. The power of the fire king and the power of storms is beginning to take effect.]


    That wasn¡¯t the end of it.


    One after the other, they climbed my body up to my shoulders, and stayed there swishing their tails. Soon, lights began to shine from their foreheads, and it slowly spread to envelop my entire body.


    [The ¡®connection of souls¡¯ has begun.]


    [Igneel and Etaqua recognizes the user as their parent.]


    [Until the day it dies, a dragon can recognize its parent through their connected souls, not through physical appearance.]


    There was no way I would know anything regarding a dragon¡¯s birth or growth. The number of their species weren¡¯t numerous either so hardly anything was known about them. Even La was staring my way with round eyes, as if never having heard of such a phenomenon.


    ¡®...It¡¯s done.¡¯


    I could feel that the connection was made. I could feel it even when I closed my eyes, and even the emotions of these two.


    I slightly trembled. It wasn¡¯t just the connection. I vaguely knew just what a ¡®high level¡¯ of existences these two were. Walpurgis, the mother of wisdom and counsel. I had no either who she was...but the difference between regr dragons and these two childrens of hers, as a species, was simply off the charts. More than anything, their names truly had power to them. The Blessings of the Sage was more valuable than any other blessing that I knew of. This was definitely a heaven-sent opportunity.


    Lick!


    Lick!


    I was basking in glorious thoughts, when Igneel and Etaqua began to lick the back of my neck, acting cute.


    </main>

 Chapter 32 - Etaqua (2)

    <h4>Chapter 32 ¨C Etaqua (2)</h4>


    The two recognized me as their parent the moment our souls were connected. Igneel and Etaqua¡¯s eyes were especially clear, and it was like they could see through the deepest parts of my heart. I had seen quite a few dragons before myself, but these two were the first to give me such a mysterious feeling. Igneel and Etaqua knew emotions even when they were just newly born into the world. I sensed their happiness and joy. Actually...


    I shook my head inwardly. It wasn¡¯t that they knew.


    ¡®Just as I feel emotions, so do these two.¡¯


    They were learning through my emotions. Dragons that hadn¡¯t been born for more than a few minutes were already starting to grow, facing me and putting my emotions to use. How surprising this was! But I had to be serious, because it meant that the emotions I felt, their environment and the like, had be that much more important.


    I tried emptying my emotions. I became still like a statue, and soon there was a reaction.


    Squee?


    Kiruk?


    Igneel and Etaqua, who were excitedly licking my neck, paused for a moment and tilted their heads. They appeared confused as the waves of emotions in my heart calmed down.


    This time I tried bing angry, bringing out emotions of rage. I revisited the memories where those I knew died off, one after another. The days when I couldn¡¯t be anything but helpless. The countless good friends and rtionships I couldn¡¯t protect, even when I had the strength.


    Squee! Squee!


    Kuu.


    That¡¯s when their reactions became separate. Igneel spread his wings to their limits and became wary of the surroundings. On the contrary, Etaqua slowly licked my neck as he rubbed his face on me.


    Why, I wonder. Why was there such a difference when they received the same emotion?


    ¡®They are twins, but their process in hatching differed.¡¯


    Igneel had absorbed all the magic power there was to be had. He took my emotions literally and expressed my rage the best. On the other hand, Etaqua had struggled to survive. He had evolved on his own as he resolutely abandoned what was unnecessary and maximized his physical abilities. Perhaps that was why, because I felt that he focused more on the passion and sadness¡¯ deep within my rage. It wasn¡¯t about who was right or wrong. They were both correct. It turned out that the both of them properly expressed my emotions.


    Pant pant!


    Squee...


    But the two of them quickly tired out. I soon realized my mistake.


    ¡®I¡¯d forgotten they¡¯re newly hatched babies.¡¯


    There was a limit to receiving emotions as well. However excellent they may be as a species, it wasn¡¯t like the newborns were capable of everything.


    I once again became engrossed in happiness. Infinite possibilities had opened up after obtaining these two. The past was merely the past, now I had the means to move forward. The people I had known wouldn¡¯t die, and I wouldn¡¯t abandon those who had devoted everything for the world as well. I wouldn¡¯t allow a situation of helplessly despairinge about. I wouldn¡¯t just stand by and watch even though I had power. Igneel and Etaqua were like the foundation of my vow.


    ¡°Just how could...such a thing...¡±


    La had been surprised for a while now.


    I chuckled.


    ¡°The likes of Carpediem¡¯s dark dragon is no opponent to Igneel and Etaqua.¡±


    ¡°Ho-, however, the auctioneer clearly...¡±


    ¡°Said that they would die. Because they failed to absorb magic power.¡±


    ¡°Yes. But it seems that my Lord had already known about the peculiarity in the egg.¡±


    ¡°Have you forgotten that I am ¡®the one with piercing sight¡¯? No matter how hard others may struggle to figure out something, it is nothingpared to a single look of mine.¡±


    La knew of my ability. She should also be dimly aware of my Dominator¡¯s Authority. After all, La had been the one to watch most closely how the slimes were evolved and how the shadow kaim was created. She wasn¡¯t dull-witted at all. She merely kept her silence out of respect for me, because Uriel Diablo was of ultimate importance on all of her priority lists.


    La asked cautiously.


    ¡°Do you intend to...begin using your ability in full earnest?¡±


    ¡°Your eyes tell me you are afraid of something.¡±


    ¡°That is not it. It is only that, my Lord had always been careful of not showing all of your abilities. You had always used your ability most sparingly at public locations as well. I am...simply worried, nothing more.¡±


    Uriel Diablo was an illegitimate child at birth. He was fated to die at the Sun King¡¯s hands if he were to reveal his ability, and even after escaping the Sun King¡¯s grasp, it was highly probable that he would be taken advantage of if his ability were to be known.


    That¡¯s why he had hid it, and it seemed that hiding it had be a habit of his. It was most likely because the shadow of the Sun King had always haunted his footsteps.


    ¡®Frustrating bastard.¡¯


    Whatever the case, letting an ability like this go to rot was a sin. I had no intention to do the same at all. Contrary to his actions, I would use it without restraint and gain the most out of it.


    ¡°Worry not.¡±


    ¡°Apologies, my Lord.¡±


    La bowed her head. She had realized that it wasn¡¯t something for her to worry about. But I could understand. It was because La Diablo¡¯s every action was centered around Uriel Diablo.


    I once again gazed at Igneel and Etaqua. They appeared to be sleepy as they yawned and rested their chins on top of my shoulders. Perhaps that being the reason, even I became sleepy like them. This also amazed me. Excluding the time right after I use Transfer, I had never felt this demon lord¡¯s body be heavy.


    ¡°Prepare something to feed these two. Their hunger will be something to behold.¡±


    ¡°Understood. And...¡±


    ¡°Is there more you want to say?¡±


    La approached slowly.


    She then ced both her hands on her chest, and asked very carefully.


    ¡°May I hold them...just once?¡±


    I had realized the longing she had towards dragons starting from the time at the auction room, but her yearning appearance with charmling light in her eyes made me feel disoriented as if the big bang just urred before me.


    I uneasily took grabbed Igneel and Etaqua and then directly handed them over to La.


    Squee!


    Gururuk!


    They immediately began to squirm after entering La¡¯s embrace. I could inly feel their emotions of being reluctant to be apart from me.


    ¡°Huhuhu.¡±


    I went speechless for a moment as I heard La¡¯s brighter than everughter. An unimaginable sight for that queen of terror and ughter...


    I barely came to my senses and nodded to myself.


    I saw nothing.


    ..


    ..


    Igneel and Etaqua had great appetites, eating more than their own body mass. They were carnivorous, and would wholly devour a freshly caught cow, licking its bones clean. The cows in the abyss were slightly different in appearance, but in any case, the two of them would eat a whole cow for each meal, so I couldn¡¯t imagine how much they would eat when they grew up.


    ¡®It would be a problem on Earth.¡¯


    What¡¯s worse was that they grew at a speed visible to the eye. It somehow felt like they were growing even faster than bean sprouts. A day had passed and they had grown about 10cm. I asked La regarding the growth of dragons, and she replied.


    ¡°There are differences between individuals, but it is said that they grow up to 1m within a month in general. Even so, growing this much after a single day is clearly strange indeed.¡±


    A dragon grew to a maximum of 20m. I hardly ever saw any dragon bigger than that.


    Upon seeing that a cow had already been consumed, she immediately left the castle to hunt and came back. Igneel and Etaqua were wary at first, but they rxed their guards around La after being fed meals by her several times.


    At the same time I was trying out several experiments, because there wasn¡¯t much time left until the Transfer would end.


    ¡®Igneel and Etaqua can both enter the Jewel of Space.¡¯


    It was as I had spected. Lv5 and below, meaning anything with an overall stat up to 250 could be contained in the Jewel of Space.


    ¡®I¡¯ll send Etaqua.¡¯


    Etaqua was always full of energy, to the point that he would wander around the castle and could already fight slimes. On the other hand, Igneel was well-behaved. Most of the time he would stay in the vicinity and quietly gaze at me, but because I couldn¡¯t sense any particr emotions from him, I couldn¡¯t figure out as far as what he was thinking. He was just like a sunflower. Igneel¡¯s neck would sway following my movements.


    Etaqua, with his active personality and excellent physical abilities, should be able to survive even if he were exposed to all kinds of situations.


    After deciding on sending Etaqua, I contemted on the other things to send with him.


    ¡®The shadow kaim and a few potions.¡¯


    There wasn¡¯t much. The shadow kaim got along well with Etaqua. Even now, Etaqua was fluttering around the castle ying something like tag with the shadow kaim.


    ¡®Well then...¡¯


    I roughly finished organizing in my head and got up, and went over to sit on the ¡®castle throne¡¯ at the end of the demon lord¡¯s room.


    ¡®Finally I can do some meditating without worries.¡¯


    I closed my eyes, and circted magic power with my body.


    I examined the interior workings of this body. I wanted to know what the difference between humans and demon lords were. I only I could find what that is, it could be a chance to greatly improve myself, or else I may even be able to figure out the weakness of demon lords. I had tried to do so intermittently, but it was only now that I had the proper time for it.


    ¡®A demon lords magic power is inherently gathered at the heart and brain.¡¯


    The magic power circting passageways were extremely narrow andplex.


    It was different from humans. Humans mainly gathered magic power in the lower belly, the locationmonly referred to as the ¡®energy center¡¯. On the contrary, the magic power in demon lords woulde and go between the heart and brain, circting with consistency. Even I found this kind of magic power cirction to be strange and wondrous. The reason being that...


    ¡®This means that the middle and upper energy centers are opened.¡¯


    The heart is the middle energy center, while the head is called the upper energy center. But humans could only use the one below their belly, the lower energy center. A few people did attempt to break through to those other passageways only to end up dying as their magic power went out of control. After every single attempts ended in death, those sorts of methods became ¡®taboo¡¯.


    ¡®Magic power is the hardest to raise. The reason being that humans can only use the lower energy center.¡¯


    It was only a hypothesis, but it did hold credibility.


    This was why there was none to have raised magic power to 100 with pure stats. As far as I knew, there was exactly 0 such people. Countless methods were researched and attempted, but they all failed. Why? Because no one knew. It had been a mere dozen or so years since the world environment had overturned on itself back then. A period of time that was too short to advance anything far. Research regarding the human body had been going on since olden times and the existence of Ki(inner energy) inferred to, but that was all. That information was insufficient to enable the free use of magic to fly around the skies. It was only after awakening that people could barely begin to use such energies.


    To be frank, the energy center itself had always been vague and uncertain. It was spected to be the lower energy center, simply because magic power gathered in the lower belly. But the body of a demon lord didn¡¯t use the lower energy center. It only used the heart and brain; middle and upper energy centers. Perhaps that was why, but the cirction of magic power was amazingly fast and responsive. It was an entirely different sensation. It was like transforming from a turtle into a eagle. The use of magic power was so smooth that it felt like soaring freely in the heavens.


    ¡®Wouldn¡¯t I be able to figure it out?¡¯


    I wanted to know. The difference between us. It would be much too unfair if it were simply an innate difference. That¡¯s why...I would reveal the secret. If only I could do so, if only I could make use of it, then the speed at which humanity will grow may be several times faster, including myself as well.


    I closed my eyes.


    Squee!


    Hisss!


    As I did so, Igneel and Etaqua gathered at my sides. The two took up seats on top of either sides of my shoulders, and adopted a simr posture to my half-sitting pose. Then at the same time, their bodies shined golden and white respectively. Those lights were absorbed into my body, and as if guiding the way, began to brighten my darkness shrouded mind that I was exploring.

 Chapter 33 - Etaqua (Fin)

    <h4>Chapter 33 ¨C Etaqua (Fin)</h4>


    ¡®I can see.¡¯


    What Igneel and Etaqua had illuminated was the inside of my mind, allowing me to sense my ¡®self¡¯ more clearly. Thanks to that...I could unlock the door into a new world.


    ¡®Inner world.¡¯


    The inner world. Upon reaching the ultimate level in what magesmonly practiced, meditation and inner visualization, you would then be able to materialize the inner world, which was considered to be within the realm of mystery


    There were extremely few capable of materializing the inner world even among magicians, and that included my past self as well. It was an imaginary and false world, but it held a real influence.


    Originally it should have been impossible for me, because while the materialization of an inner world was simr to a lucid dream, it demanded an even greater amount of concentration and the mobilization of magic power.


    Since the time I had returned to the past, I hadn¡¯t been able to concentrate easily. There were too many matters to consider and I had to decide on a course for the future.


    ¡®...I can do this.¡¯


    The light from Igneel and Etaqua illuminated my mind. Thanks to them, I could replicate and disy the inside of the demon lord¡¯s body without missing a detail in the inner world. In the midst of it, they also connected with my mind and appeared nearby.


    Kuuu.


    Shii?


    Igneel stared at me absentmindedly as usual, while Etaqua appeared full of curiosity as he tried moving his body but to no avail. It was only natural that he couldn¡¯t move. There was nothing that could move within this space without my permission.


    I was surprised myself, however. I never expected that they could even enter ¡®my space¡¯ ¡ª or to be specific, the domain of my mind!


    ¡®At this rate there¡¯ll be no end to the surprises.¡¯


    It was about time I got used to it. These two were an unlimited source of unpredictability. It was apparent that mymon sense wasn¡¯t nearly enough to fathom the two.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±


    I restricted the movements of Igneel and Etaqua, and the two tilted their heads in confusion as they observed my actions.


    ¡®This is the interior of a demon lord¡¯s body.¡¯


    I zoomed in on it.


    I could now see everything within the body; the flow of blood, movement of organs, even the most minute of vibrations. I wasrgely no different from a human¡¯s body. I was quite surprised on that point. As such, I first studied the influences magic power had on the body.


    ¡®The fine movements of magic power is dynamic in action.¡¯


    It was a perfect cirction. The mana flowing between the middle energy center and upper energy center possessed a glue-like consistency, and it moved in a helical form so as it retain its bonds. I almost overlooked it because it was so small. The countless streams of magic power in helical forms were intertwined tens, hundreds of thousands of times. At first nce they appeared to be a single stream, but that wasn¡¯t it.


    My doubts only further increased. So many streams of magic power intertwined should have resulted in a loss of control. Were they that well organized?


    ¡®Reverse tracing of magic power.¡¯


    There were hints of magic power remaining in the demon lord¡¯s lower energy center. This clearly proved that magic power had once passed through the lower energy center as well. The lower energy center must have closed as the body developed and began to use only the middle and upper energy centers.


    I was thrilled! I could only discover this point with difficulty after entering the inner world. I may even find out the method to this change if I were to follow the remnants of magic power.


    Time continued to flow, but I paid no heed to it. Igneel and Etaqua yawned. While they were licking each other to stave off the tedium, I was able to discover another trace.


    ¡®So flowing upwards wasn¡¯t the answer!¡¯


    Lower, middle, upper. Everyone been mistaken all this time. We had all assumed that a passageway for the energy could have been drilled through; by forcibly driving magic power from the lower belly toward the heart, and from the heart toward the brain.


    We were wrong. The passageway had always been open. Or to be correct...that passageway was made to close naturally as we aged.


    ¡®So this means the middle and upper energy center can only be opened by awakening at a very young age?¡¯


    But that wasn¡¯t possible. The lifespan of a baby would be extremely short if it were to be awakened. The age at which magic power could be handled was acknowledged to be 15 at the minimum. Awaken before that, and the body wouldn¡¯t be able to handle the stress, and would rapidly age.


    In the end, my discovery lead to another question; how this closed ¡®door¡¯ should be opened.


    Kuu?


    Shiii!


    It was then.


    Igneel and Etaqua began to move. To think that I couldn¡¯t even control them with my words, was this proof of how closely our souls were intertwined?


    They pped their small wings and the two simultaneously shone a beam of light. The golden and white light shining from their wings were pointing to a single spot within the demon lord¡¯s body.


    ¡®That¡¯s a lethal point...¡®


    The crown of the head, known as the Hundred Convergences point. It was a vital part; A strong impact would send the brain shaking and could be fatal.


    I carefully examined that ce, and before long my pupils began to tremble uncontrobly.


    ¡®Ah...!¡¯


    It was a small enlightenment. I vaguely realized why Igneel and Etaqua illuminated that spot for me.


    ¡®The beginning. So this was where it began!¡¯


    It didn¡¯t rise from below, but descended from above. In the body of the demon lord, unlike a human¡¯s body, that part alone had a very small opening. If this part could be drilled through...the middle and upper energy centers would naturally open, and the redundant lower energy center should slowly close off. Simply put, the lower energy center is a temporary storage ce for magic power.


    A slight shiver ran down my spine. If I hadn¡¯t entered the inner word, and didn¡¯t have the assistance of Igneel and Etaqua, I never would have noticed that barely visible tiny hole.


    ¡®The body of a demon race would go through that process as naturally as breathing. Humans were different, so merely drilling a hole wouldn¡¯t suffice. We would have to forcibly intertwine and connect the streams of magic power.¡¯


    Numerous human experimentations had been carried out in the past. If drilling a small hole in the Hundred Convergence point was everything, then the method to opening the middle and upper energy centers would already have been widespread. But only by intertwining and linking the streams of magic power, thereby establishing a system of cirction, would it function properly.


    I was observing it in real-time. Feeling it.


    That¡¯s why I could be certain.


    ¡®I can do it.¡¯


    Finally, finally...


    Finally, I found the way to ovee my limits.


    ..


    I exited the inner world and returned to reality. At the same time, small tears ran down either side of my cheeks. But I wasn¡¯t feeling anger, nor sadness.


    Happiness. They were tears of happiness.


    In the past, there were none among humanity who had managed to achieve a level of magic power amounting to 100 with pure stats. The person known to have the highest magic power back then was Grand Wizard ¡®Ryosuke Kanou¡¯ who only had 97.


    Going past 95, the difference between every 1 stat grew ever more contrasting. Equipments or titles that increased magic power were especially scarce, which was why they were all the more sought after.


    However...a method to breakthrough had appeared.


    ¡®This time, I¡¯ll be sure to breathe the air at the pinnacle.¡¯


    This time for sure...I¡¯ll reach 100, and beyond. And if the knowledge of this method could be made public, then the rate of development for humanity would be so much faster, because the cirction of magic power was in deep rtion to the physical body after all.


    There would be no need to experience a time tainted with nothing but despair like in the past. It was time to unfold the infinite potential of humans. It was time to strike back.


    Kuuu.


    Guruuk.


    Igneel and Etaqua, having felt my emotions, licked away my tears.


    ¡°Thank you. Thank you...so much.¡±


    I raised both hands, and gently stroked the backs of Igneel and Etaqua.


    ..


    I learned all there was to learn. It was now truly time to go back. I couldn¡¯t just leave my original body hanging after all.


    ¡°Will you truly be returning to slumber?¡±


    La made a face full of worry. I had already told her the same thing several times now, but she appeared reluctant to believe it now that the moment hade.


    ¡°I have yet topletely awaken. But I shall soon return again.¡±


    I had slept for a 100 years. Several more days of sleep wouldn¡¯t change a thing.


    Of course...I had to quickly find Etaqua to prepare against possible emergencies. Igneel and Etaqua were in resonance, and they should be able to tell immediately if a problem were to ur.


    I had actually tried experimenting by separating them across a long distance, but Igneel and Etaqua had remained aware of each other as if they were right beside each other. They immediately noticed when a problem urred nearby, or to each other.


    ¡°Then sending Etaqua to Earth is...¡±


    ¡°Laying the groundwork. The pirs must be firm in order to build arger castle. We can never win by taking the same road as the other demon lords.¡±


    Laying the groundwork indeed. To be the foundation for my growth.


    La gazed at Etaqua. Because she personally named him, La treated Etaqua with more affection than Igneel. It could be clearly seen from her expression, how she would hold him back if she could.


    But it was now time to part, to take the road leading to victory!


    ¡®I should make sure to take along the Jewel of Space.¡¯


    It didn¡¯t matter in other ces, but I couldn¡¯t let Etaqua or the shadow kaim roam as they liked on Earth. If only for convenience¡¯s sake, I had to ce them in the Jewel of Space to use them.


    Etaqua was much too energetic, so I let the shadow kaim hold the Jewel of Space. Several potions were contained in the Jewel.


    ¡®Dark Gate.¡¯


    And then I bought a Dark Gate using 10,000 points from the points I had earned until now. The moment I did, several messages of instructions appeared along with a space which resembled a ck hole.


    [The dimensional rift is below 50% at 8.35%. It is impossible to create a ¡®Gate¡¯ directly connecting the ¡®Earth¡¯ and the ¡®abyss¡¯.]


    [Diverting one point from the destination. The transit point of the Dark Gate has been set to ¡®Rakshasa Mountain Mid-slope(Lv2~???).]


    Images regarding the Gates that appeared in both Rakshasa Mountain Mid-slope and Earth appeared within the ck hole.


    I frowned upon seeing those ces. I knew of Rakshasa Mountain, and I also found familiar the location on Earth where the Gate appeared.


    ¡®Unbelievable.¡¯


    Rakshasa Mountain. That¡¯s where I obtained the ¡®Heartless Soul Stealer de¡¯. There I met an old man on the verge of death who introduced himself as Rakshasa, who gave me the sword manual of the Heartless Soul Stealer de. I remember him appearing extremely desperate. He was most likely...simr to humans, but not human.


    On the other hand, I recognized the location where the Gate appeared on Earth as well.


    ¡®Rakshasa and Daejeon, is it.¡¯


    It was supposedly random, but perhaps the demon lords were each assigned areas of their own? It seemed that Uriel Diablo was connected to Korea. A terrible coincidence, should I say.


    A Gate had appeared in Daejeon as well. I expected it to possess an animal, but it wasn¡¯t so. A directly connecting Gate had appeared in a corner of Daejeon. Apparently a Gate that was created by a demon lord didn¡¯t appear in a form of possession. Another thing to be relieved about was that Rakshasa Mountain Mid-slope wasn¡¯t a particrly dangerous ce. There, Etaqua would be able to hold out just fine, and the shadow kaim would make things much easier if it were to help.


    ¡®Let¡¯s meet again.¡¯


    Etaqua could feel my emotions. As I hinted ,with my emotions, that we would be able to meet before long, Etaqua then nced at me for a moment, and then entered the ck space together with the shadow kaim.


    Afterwards, I looked at La.


    ¡°I shall return.¡±


    ¡°I have faith.¡±


    La replied with emphasis on every uttered word. Her gaze was intense to the point of difort, but it held an equal amount of trust.


    Following that I once again seated myself on the castle throne.


    Snort!


    Igneel sat on top of my shoulder as if to guard me. They way he snorted, as if roaring, made quite the impression. I had thought him to be an introverted fellow, unlike Etaqua, but a dragon was a dragon, was it?


    I chuckled as I closed my eyes, and at the same time my mind began to greatly shake as if exposed to a storm.


    [¡®Transfer¡¯ time has expired.]


    [¡®Regression¡¯ has begun.]

 Chapter 34 - Rakshasa Mountain (1)

    <h4>Chapter 34 ¨C Rakshasa Mountain (1)</h4>


    Regression; to return to one¡¯s origins. My consciousness, my true self. Me, who decided to regress in spite of being thest remaining hero out of despair...to Hansung Oh¡¯s body.


    I felt my mind jolt. After a fleeting momentsting 0.1 seconds, or perhaps even less, I regainedfort again. Filled with the strong conviction of having returned, I opened my eyes and was greeted by a different scene and atmosphere than before.


    I was in a room colored in white,ying on top of a snow-white bed. A small sun was shining beyond the white curtains of this room.


    ¡®This must be a hospital.¡¯


    An IV drip was inserted in my forearm. My whole body was rigid as if stiff, but my eyes alone were gazing steadily exactly toward the front.


    The scene wasn¡¯t all that had changed.


    [Spirit synchronization rate with ¡®Uriel Diablo¡¯ has reached 69%.]


    [¡®Stygian Touch(Lv1)¡¯ skill has been created.]


    [Potential has increased due to increased synchronization rate with an overwhelming being.]


    [4,000 points has been obtained.]


    [Points are being synchronized. Remaining points 17,470.]


    Was it because the synchronization rate increased? The time I spent as Uriel Diablo felt a little more vivid than a dream. The feeling was definitely different from before.


    Moreover...I obtained a skill; Stygian Touch. An atrocious magic that summoned a ck space and infinite hands of death that took the lives of whatever was touched. ¡®Stygian Touch¡¯ wasn¡¯t an Authority, unlike Mind¡¯s Eye and Dominator. Perhaps that being the case, it was granted to me as Lv1. But even if two skills had the same level, each had their respective ¡®ranks¡¯.


    I attentively stared at the message regarding the skill, and an exnation automatically popped up.


    <Stygian Touch(Lv1)


    Overall S Rank. Has a mana efficiency of (Max Lv*2+Magic Power).


    ¡ºSummons the souls of the damned from within the abyss. They, who exude death and hatred, suck the very life energy out of any living things with but a mere touch. These souls are rumoured to belong to those killed by Uriel Diablo.¡»


    The mana efficiency was extremely high. To be able to use a skill with no loss in mana, and with an efficiency of skill level multiplied by 2, was literally a ¡®cheat¡¯. By nature, almost all offensive, defensive, healing and other type of skills would suffer a loss in mana during use. Moreover, The amount of magic power added to the end result would only be equivalent to the skill level at best. But Stygian Touch was nothing like that.


    ¡®I never expected to obtain this...¡¯


    It would have been a huge cause for celebration if I had obtained ¡®ck Star¡¯, but frankly, obtaining Stygian Touch was enough to send me over the moon. The number of people who possessed S rank skills could be counted on one hand, even among humanity. There may have been a few intentionally concealing them, but that¡¯s how it was as far as I knew.


    For starters, I myself had never obtained an S rank skill before. I had countless A rank skills, but this was a characteristic of the ¡®Magic Swordsman¡¯ after all. A Magic Swordsman couldn¡¯t learn S rank skills, no matter how hard he grovelled. In exchange, any skill below that rank could be learned regardless of element. That¡¯s why it could cover its ws as a ss, but that¡¯s all. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to learn Heartless Soul Stealer de either if it weren¡¯t for it being a no rating skill. And yet...


    ¡®They say you never know what life has in store for you...¡¯


    Unlike my past self, I became able to learn S rank skills. It still belonged to Uriel Diablo, but what would have happened if I had the ¡®Magic Swordsman¡¯ ss and not ¡®Universal Man¡¯?


    ¡®I probably couldn¡¯t have learned it.¡¯


    I was certain of it. Its rank would have been either automatically downgraded, or I may have simply been unable to learn it.


    I clenched my fist tightly, the veins on it swelling, and rapidly bulging. My ears almost felt tickled by my loud heart beats


    I slowly raised my hand and drew a cross mark in midair.


    [Updating User Information.]


    Name: Hansung Oh


    upation: Universal Man


    Titles:


    ?? Gnoll Annihtor (Lv5, Con+7)


    Stats:


    Str 33


    Agi 30


    Con 36(29+7)


    Int 25(20+5)


    Mag 44(39+5)


    Potential(151+17/461)


    Special Note: Synchronization rate with Uriel Diablo is at 69%. J?rmungandr has awakened.


    Skills: Mind¡¯s Eye(Lv9), Dominator(Lv9), Transfer(???), Heartless Soul Stealer de(6th Stage), Cold Blood(Lv2), Stygian Touch(Lv1)


    Equipped Gear: J?rmungandr(Lv2, Int/Mag+5)


    My physical stats had significantly increased; perhaps a result of going through battle after undergoing the contract with J?rmungandr and forced awakening. But the penalty of ¡®-10 potential¡¯ I should have incurred was nowhere to be seen. It had increased, on the contrary.


    ¡®My potential rises the more my synchronization with Uriel Diablo increases?¡¯


    It had been no more than a guess previously, but now I had experienced it twice. Thanks to that, I¡¯ve be convinced of it to a certain extent: My potential will rise if I increase my synchronization rate with him!


    I felt thrills run up and down my spine. I felt cold all over as I experienced a bout of shivers. If I were toplete the synchronization to 100%, would my potential reach 500 like his? If so, this was an extraordinary event, more sopared to obtaining an S rank skill!


    Having high potential didn¡¯t necessarily mean one could max it, of course. One would require a corresponding amount of effort and luck. That¡¯s how it was in the case of magic power. But I had found a solution for that as well.


    I had earned much through a single Transfer. An S rank skill, a higher potential than before, and even a method for body modification. And besides that, soon the white dragon Etaqua would belong to me, yours truly!


    ¡°Hmm, so you have awoken.¡±


    A woman appeared next to me as if she popped out of thin air.


    Mind-blowing beauty. Predatory eyes like a hunting snake¡¯s.


    It was J?rmungandr.


    J?rmungandr was wearing a white t-shirt that slightly exposed her navel, and a top pants. Already she gave off an atmosphere of having pletely adapted¡¯.


    ¡°What a indecent look you have. Is my transformation so surprising?¡±


    ¡°How much time has passed?¡±


    ¡°10 days. You have slept for exactly 10 days. During that time I have explored the world of this era. Words fail to express my surprise. I marveled at the iron carriages roving about in ce of carriages pulled by horses, and never had I imagined that humans would end up creating an object that soared through the skies. It was rather amusing when I watched Icarus burning to death after challenging the sun, however...¡±


    J?rmungandr recounted her experiences one by one. Most of what she said was simr; unceasing surprises, an age of wonders. I couldn¡¯t help but make a serious expression, however.


    ¡°Hang on. You went out into the city? You haven¡¯t caused any problems have you?¡±


    ¡°Hmph, who do you think I am. I made temporary use of your maidservant.¡±


    Maidservant? Did she mean Syria?


    I thought back. Now that I recall, I had asked for Syria¡¯s help most recently.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see Syria though?¡±


    ¡°I left her behind, so she will soon be arriving. I must say, males never change whether it be then or now.¡±


    I tilted my head in confusion at hearing her say ¡®male.


    Finally, a young woman entered the room together with a ¡®m!¡¯ sound.


    ¡°Ha, Hansung-nim. You¡¯ve woken up. Gasp! Gasp!¡±


    Syria was breathing raggedly. She must have rushed over by the looks of her disheveled appearance.


    ¡°Are, are you feeling well now?¡±


    ¡°You look worse for wear than I do.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s...¡±


    Syria nced fiercely at J?rmungandr. She looked entirely different to her usual silent and mostly inexpressive self. She must have suffered greatly during these past 10 days.


    ¡°Syria. Can you fill me in on what happened during the time I was asleep?¡±


    Was my assimtion with Uriel Diablo affecting me? I felt like my manner of speech had be slightly stiff. I shook my head right after, however. It didn¡¯t matter in front of these two. I was also in a single-room in this hospital. There was no way Minshik had the money to reserve a hospital room, so it must have been Syria¡¯s doing.


    Syria collected her breathing as she spoke.


    ¡°After saving the three in the cave, we somehow made it to the ¡®Gate¡¯. It was thanks to J?r-nim and the gnolls helping. Thankfully, my butler got hold of a hospital immediately after that so you could receive treatment right away.¡±


    The butler must be Royce. He was the sole person to stand by Syria¡¯s side until the very end after all.


    ¡°What about the other three? Have they yet to wake?¡±


    Syria shook her head at my question.


    ¡°Their treatment ended 5 days ago. They started getting busy right after waking up. Ah, don¡¯t worry. I didn¡¯t say a word regarding Hansung-nim.¡±


    Syria had promised to keep my secret. The other side of myself I¡¯d revealed was also included in that secret.


    I didn¡¯t need to worry much. She was a trustworthy person. One thing bothered me, however.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t they have been suspicious?¡±


    ¡°They were nothing but human males in the end. Pitiful dogs that could not even utter a word in my presence.¡±


    It was J?rmungandr. She had continued to maintain the form of a human. She was the third-party that Minshik didn¡¯t know of. J?rmungandr must have stepped up and roughly smoothed things over.


    Finally, J?rmungandr approached me and slowly stroked my chin.


    ¡°In any case, you. The aura of the other ¡®power of the king¡¯ within you has grown stronger. And also...you seem to have contracted quite the fine fellows. Huhu, I look forward to it. For your strength is as good as mine.¡±


    J?rmungandr wasn¡¯t aware that I had gone to the ¡®abyss¡¯ and became ¡®Uriel Diablo. She merely made vague guesses that¡¯s all. Moreover, it seemed that Igneel and Etaqual were definitely of amazing stock to be able to receive a praise from J?rmungandr calling them ¡®fine¡¯. She was a being that once enveloped the entire world after all.


    I pped aside J?rmungandr¡¯s hand and spoke to Syria.


    ¡°I want to leave the hospital.¡±


    ¡°There were no problems on your examination result so you should be able to leave right away.¡±


    Syria took out several clothes from the shopping back next to the door. It was clothing for men, and even the size matched with me.


    I casually changed clothes, and went through the procedures of leaving the hospital. I couldn¡¯t afford to continue staying at a hospital when I wasn¡¯t even injured.


    ¡°Holy, did he save the country in his past life or what?¡±


    ¡°Woah...awesome.¡±


    I drew the attention of everyone in the lobby as I entered. On either side of me was Syria and J?rmungandr. Syria appeared pure and innocent, and J?rmungandr had an aura that overwhelmed her surroundings. Originally, a requirement of beauty definitely existed among the conditions to be titled as Saintess, while J?rmungandr wasn¡¯t a human so I could understand people being surprised. Perhaps J?rmungandr going on and on about ¡®males¡¯ was referring to this.


    ¡®They certainly do stand out.¡¯


    Since time immemorial, having beauties closeby would draw the ire of others. This was an unchanging truth. Especially when the world fell into anarchy, it became hell on earth. The powerless holding on to beauty was a sin in itself.


    I scratched my head hard.


    It was different now. The world hadn¡¯t yet fallen into anarchy. Only, I had no choice but to deliberate over the events toe. Even I couldn¡¯t predict where I would go from hereon. It will be a pilgrimage of tribtions.


    ¡®Syria should go together with Minshik.¡¯


    She could be my hidden informant, and it would be safer that waypared to going with me. I had already experienced danger once, from now I would act with even more prudence.


    ¡®Rakshasa Mountain is no walk in the palk.¡¯


    Above all, a Gate leading to Rakshasa Mountain had appeared in Daejeon. Etaqua was inside there. Rakshasa Mountain was safe up to the halfway-point, but the danger level drastically rose from that point onwards. What¡¯s more, there not a single person to have climbed to the ¡®summit¡¯ of Rakshasa Mountain. No matter how much one climbed this mountain, the summit would nevere into sight. That was Rakshasa Mountain.


    ¡®This time...I¡¯ll reach the summit no matter the cost.¡¯


    The ce where I had obtained the Heartless Soul Stealer de. It was like destiny calling to me. I resolved to myself that I would climb to the summit this time for once.


    Groowwl!


    My stomach released a thundering growl, putting my resolve to shame.


    Shaking my head, I said,


    ¡°I should eat first.¡±

 Chapter 35 - Rakshasa Mountain (2)

    <h4>Chapter 35 ¨C Rakshasa Mountain (2)</h4>


    Going to a Korean restaurant, I sated my hunger eating kimbab, ramen and spicy rice cakes. I drank a cup of coffee after that, and then went to get my hair shaved.


    ¡°The shape of your head is impressive indeed.¡±


    Said J?rmungandr.


    I finally did something about the hair which got burned during the search for the Ancient One¡¯s altar. Syria was nervously fidgeting on the side. She and J?rmungandr were the center of attention, causing all the bystanders to be regardless of gender, and I was in the midst of it appearing dignified.


    ¡®This isn¡¯t bad.¡¯


    Hair would grow quickly anyway. I was physically growing fast. I seemed to have grown about 3cm during the one or two short months that had passed. The sensation of a shaved head wasn¡¯t bad either.


    ¡°How is it?¡±


    ¡°You look...refreshing.¡±


    Syria uttered those words with difficulty. She looked like she had never even imagined I would shave my head all of a sudden.


    I remained seated as I gazed at the mirror and nodded, praying to my hair,


    ¡®May you grow up normally and not into a curly perm.¡¯


    ¡°Mr customer. That person is a model right? She seems to be Russian from what I hear, but you sure can talk with her.¡±


    The hairdresser was making a fuss in the meantime.


    Syria and I could speak to each other because we had both awakened, however, to ordinary people Syria¡¯s speech would sound as no more than Russian. The scene of us conversing must have have appeared curious.


    ¡°She is an exchange student.¡±


    ¡°No wonder! And that taciturndy over there, she¡¯s so pretty I could fall for her even as a woman myself.¡±


    ¡°Please trim my brows.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes. A moment please.¡±


    Half the morning had passed since my regression. I was now free from the effects of the assimtion. The mannerism I adopted as Uriel Diablo had gone back to normal again.


    ¡°Wow, such thick brows.¡±


    ¡°Where are you looking as you¡¯re saying that?¡±


    ¡°Yes? Oh!¡±


    The hairdresser had brought the eyebrow trimmer close and was tidying up my brows. Even as she did so, she had continued to stare at Syria and J?rmungandr as if she were a maiden in love. Due to that, my brows were close to being erased by mistake.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you focus on my brows.¡±


    ¡°I, I apologize.¡±


    The hairdresser was dripping sweat as she focused.


    It was the hairdresser¡¯s fault. The other bystanders were the same. Everyone was frantically busy stealing nces at the two women. J?rmungandr, in particr, excelled at drawing attention. I guessed that J?rmungandr was spreading something like a ¡®pheromone¡¯ which worked on humans dangerously well. No one dared to approach her, but whoever saw J?rmungandr were bound to lose themselves in her regardless of gender, so this wasn¡¯t exactly a normal situation.


    ¡¸News sh. In no more than several days recently, reports of missing people ured at a frequency 20 times morepared tost year in Seoul city. All witnesses testified that they had seen a corpse of a peculiar animal and a strange hole and...¡¹


    It was a hot topic at the Korean restaurant, the coffee shop, and even in this hair salon. It was the same news continuing to spread everywhere.


    ¡°The world is so chaotic.¡±


    ¡°Did you know there¡¯s even talk of the missing people who had returned having obtained super powers?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not kids anymore. You believe in such rumours?¡±


    ¡°Come to think of it, hadn¡¯t there been talk of people with super powers since several years ago? I think I¡¯ve seen it in videos too. Although they were deleted within a few hours.¡±


    The people were buzzing with conversation.


    The existence of the ¡®Gate¡¯ weren¡¯t yet known to the world. The ones who did know were extremely few in number. Most of them were under the government¡¯s control and were concealed. They couldn¡¯t just inly turn the fact that it was possible to connect to other worlds into a public issue, after all. Anyhow...


    ¡®That Minshik is starting to make his move for real now.¡¯


    The reports of disappearances suddenly increased. Events yed out differently to how I remembered it. Minshik was the only variable to have caused this. I had predicted it to a certain extent, of course.


    Minshik desired ¡®fast progress¡¯. As in, he wanted to grow strong quickly, awaken humanity quickly, and be the true ¡®hero¡¯ that leads them all. That¡¯s why he was opening up the Gates zealously. Most of them should be ¡®white gates¡¯ containing nothing but low-grade monsters, but the type of gate didn¡¯t matter in order to awaken.


    ¡®I would have done it if he hadn¡¯t, but even so, isn¡¯t it too early right now?¡¯


    I approved of his actions for the most part; to usher in the era of awakening. At least 2 years would have to pass for the existences of the ¡®gates¡¯ to rise to the surface. Simply put, humanity in the past had wasted 2 years of time.


    The new era would be preponed. But in my case I had nned toy some groundwork first, because only then would I be able to directly control most variables. It seemed that Minshik didn¡¯t consider that as well. Or perhaps he was acting out of confidence that he would be able to control everything.


    ¡°I heard that over Gyeongbokgung Pce the police are keeping things under control. Something must have happened there.¡±


    ¡°I know about that. It¡¯s about that, isn¡¯t it? The rumour of a purple ck hole appearing!¡±


    Purple ck hole?


    I stood up in the middle of having my brows trimmed. As the hairdresser retreated out of surprise, I approached two young girls. They were students wearing the uniform of a nearby high school. I was very familiar with it because the daughter of that ahjussi surnamed Yang, Eunha Yang, attended to that high school.


    ¡°Students. Do you mind letting me in on the details of that?¡±


    ¡°Of what?¡±


    One of the young girls (the stout-looking one) in front of me had replied.


    I spoke unconcernedly.


    ¡°The purple ck hole.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. Apparently some weird hole appeared over at Gyeongbokgung Pce so the police are cordoning it off. By the way ahjussi, can¡¯t I take just one photo with that unni over there?¡±


    ¡°From which angle do I look like an ahjussi?¡±


    ¡°Because although your appearance is like an oppa¡¯s, it¡¯s my first time seeing a bald oppa. And for your information, an oppa wouldn¡¯t say ¡®students¡¯ the way you did?


    I felt dumbstruck. No matter how carefully I minded the way I spoke, it still seemed to be off.


    I was remaining speechless for a moment, when the schoolgirl continued to speak.


    ¡°I¡¯m asking because it¡¯s my first time seeing such a pretty and cool unni like that. Can¡¯t I take just one photo together? Please ahjussi, I mean oppa, ask her for me. I think I¡¯ll get a heart attack if I personally asked and got rejected. Do it so I can show off to my friends. Yes?¡±


    ¡°Hm...Alright. Then if you¡¯ll tell me more about that ck hole in detail, I¡¯ll let you take a photo.¡±


    The way the young girl looked changed then. She wore the eyes of a starved hyena as she began to shoot off words like a gatling gun.


    ¡°I only heard about it myself. It¡¯s also rumoured to be a homicide incident, but they say it¡¯s really a ck hole. Hundreds of policemen were mobilized and yet there¡¯s no news about it. Something is obviously up, right? Apparently a purple ck hole with something like numbers written on it had appeared in Gyeongbokgung Pce. They say dozens of people were sucked inside of it already.¡±


    Purple gate. A ce inhabited by named ¡®unique monsters of ancient times¡¯. Beings with the name of a ¡®false god¡¯ would also appear from time to time. But a purple gate wouldn¡¯t open unless the decided time passed. People being sucked inside meant that the gate was half opened.


    ¡®It was opened by force?¡¯


    It¡¯s not as if there was no way to do so. There was a method to shorten that set time. All one had to do was to continuously kill the animal ¡®possessed¡¯ by the gate. After repeating that four or five times, it would take fixed form in a specific location, and that was the ck hole which was being talked about. The more people that entered that ck hole, the more the set time would shorten.


    That¡¯s why a purple gate had to be treated with prudence. Because only the elite of the elites, selected with utmost care, would be sent in for the sake of eliminating the monster on the verge of release. Until that time, the contents of the gate would be put under strict control, so that none may enter.


    I rubbed my chin. A name soon came to mind.


    ¡®Gyeongbokgung Pce and the purple gate...The Zombie King Akshiz¡¯s dugout!¡¯


    Zombie King Akshiz!


    It was a monster that was assessed to be Lv5, but he was supposed to emerge from within chaos 2 years from now on. A thousand zombies were at his beck and call, and he had personally created every single one of them. He had enough intelligence to create zombies himself. In the past, many people were captured by him and turned into zombies.


    Was he perhaps trying to open that gate?


    ¡°That strange fellow left a message with your maidservant. It is concerning.¡±


    Before I realized J?rmungandr hade close. She had spoken as she rubbed her chin, as if copying my actions, and then Syria exined it in detail.


    ¡°I received contact yesterday, that there was a ¡®gate¡¯ that needed to be entered in the near future. He said that the Chinese siblings had already gone in.¡±


    ¡°The Sword of Darhan...¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    I replied ambiguously.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    I probably knew what Minshik was up to.


    ¡®He¡¯s doing this to obtain the Sword of Darhan.¡¯


    It was stuck in the heart of the Zombie King Akshiz. There could be no other reason to it than the Sword of Darhan. It had no bonuses stat-wise apart from increasing magic power by 1. But imbued in the sword was ¡®Moonlight¡¯, an A-rank offensive skill. That skill was of no particr use to me, seeing as I had obtained Stygian Touch, but going by the standards of humanity, an A-rank skill was something rare which only the top 1% could possess.


    Akshiz was a monster that was rtively easy to defeat and gave good rewards. Along with the rewards...at the same time he must mean to save, and raise, the people who had gone inside together.


    I grasped his intention.


    ¡®He¡¯s be impatient.¡¯


    Ending up captured live after running into the gnoll shaman must have been a blow to his pride. That¡¯s why he was going all-out in stirring up this incident. To grow stronger even faster than before. Nevertheless, the fact that monsters at the level of Akshiz wasn¡¯t a difficult enemy, as long as one knew the right method, was something to be relieved about. It would be much easier than facing a gnoll shaman.


    ¡°Go together with that guy, Minshik.¡±


    ¡°Me, you mean?¡±


    Syria tilted her head confusion.


    Apparently she was thinking that following me would have been the natural course of action. But Rakshasa Mountain was a much more dangerous cepared to a mere Zombie King Akshiz¡¯s dugout. There was no known strategy for that ce. It was dangerous to go together.


    ¡°Let me give you a few words of warning. As long as you keep them in mind, you¡¯ll be able to minimize casualties.¡±


    ¡°Hansung-nim...won¡¯t be going together?¡±


    ¡°I have something else to do.¡±


    To obtain Etaqua and climb Rakshasa Mountain! It was of iparable importance as opposed to obtaining the Sword of Darhan. But in exchange, it was that much more difficult. I needed to remain firm of resolve.


    ¡°Excuse me. I get that you look to be having a really serious conversation and all. But you should keep your promise, no?¡±


    The young high school girl, who was listening quietly at the side, jabbed at my back.


    The young girl had spunk. If Eunha Yang was said to be number two when it came to boldness, no one could take number one, but it looked like she had a contender.


    I turned my gaze to J?rmungandr, who licked her lips.


    ¡°Small, young human girls are rather tasty.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t eat her.¡±


    After settling the bill, I stepped outside as I organized the thoughts in my mind.


    ..


    I was heading home, wearing sunsses, and I called Minshik only for him to say,


    ?Sorry, I¡¯m sorry, Hansung. I have nothing to say except that I am so sorry.


    He endlessly continued to apologize, saying that he hadn¡¯t been good enough. That nothing like this would ever happen again. That he was sorry.


    There wasn¡¯t even a need for me toe up with excuses implying that ¡®I don¡¯t want to be with you¡¯.


    ?I was mistaken. I should have been more careful about roping you in. That¡¯s why, we¡¯ll meetter...Ie for you when I gain more confidence. Things have be moreplicated than I expected as well.


    ¡°Why, what¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ?Much will change from now on. I have to see to it that the change will go toward a positive direction.


    The change had already begun. By my estimates, hundreds of people should have awakened at least. The Korean government was covering it up in haste, but they had no way of suppressing the rumours from spreading as well. When the people started to exhibit their powers, the existence of the ¡®awakened¡¯ and ¡®gates¡¯ would instantlye to light. It was a good thing that Minshik did what I should have done, but as a result, it looked like I needed to speed up my ns some more.


    ?And Hansung. Regarding that woman called ¡®J?r¡¯, be careful. She appears to be an awakened acquainted with Syria, but it¡¯s highly possible that she has a skill that drains vitality. It looked like she¡¯s targeting you.


    ¡°She¡¯ll drain my vitality?¡±


    ?You just need to keep her at arms distance. Fortunately, she didn¡¯t appear to be too strong. Well then, I¡¯m hanging up. Stay well.


    ¡°Hey, wait, hey!¡±


    With a ¡®beep!¡¯ sound, the call ended. Judging from how the sound of wind blowing was ever-present throughout the call, he seemed to be moving without rest. I sensed guilt from him as well. His voice was full of tension. He must have epted the unlikely story (regarding the gnoll shaman) cooked up by Syria and J?rmungandr because his mind was in such a state. I didn¡¯t know if he didn¡¯t suspect me, or if he was trying not to, but it seemed that his ¡®failure¡¯ was like a dagger bleeding at his conscience.


    ¡®I¡¯m in no position to take it easy either.¡¯


    I knew what it was that Minshik was trying to do. For the most part I approved of his intentions. Humanity¡¯s fast growth, the rise of heroes, the creation of a well disciplined group. I also knew the important role which monsters yed in that process. It was because our country¡¯s government would act only by truly feeling in danger. If Minshik hadn¡¯t done it, I would have done so after climbing Rakshasa Mountain. The problem was...


    ¡®Would it turn out to be the right decision to randomly awaken people from the start?¡¯


    Too many people had awakened right from the beginning. There seemed to be hundreds in Seoul alone. While the possibility of speedy development was an advantage, but could onlye after reigning in the overall situation. It will definitely result in undesirable byproducts.


    It was in that moment that a man stood in my way.


    ¡°Ha, what an enviable baldy bastard! Nothing but flowers on either side.¡±


    For example...this kind of guy.


    Men and women, young and old, would stare at Syria and J?rmungandr, but couldn¡¯t approach. This was because of the temperament unique to J?rmungandr. While the weak couldn¡¯te close, those passing a certain ¡®standard¡¯ would be able to approach like this.


    A man wearing a ck cap pulled down low. Severely bloodshot eyes. Just a look was enough to tell that this person, baring yellow teeth andughing toward me, wasn¡¯t quite normal.


    Although there were signs of someone tailing us from a few hours back, I never expected him to appear right in the middle of a crowded park.


    ¡®He must be an awakened.¡¯


    If any random person was allowed to awaken, it was possible that he or her might fail restrain their own power and fall out onto the ¡®wrong path¡¯, and indeed it looked like the man before me was one of them.

 Chapter 36 - Rakshasa Mountain (3)

    <h4>Chapter 36 ¨C Rakshasa Mountain (3)</h4>


    037 Chapter 9 Rakshasa Mountain (3)


    I opened Mind¡¯s Eye, and at the same time the man¡¯s information popped up.


    Name: Minjun Gu (Value ¨C 370)


    upation: Regenerator


    Titles: None


    Stats:


    Str 14d


    Agi 11d


    Con 19c


    Int 10f


    Mag 8f


    Potential(62/235)


    Special Note: Has a mental disorder.


    Skills: Regeneration(Lv1)


    How should I put this.


    ¡®What a joke.¡¯


    Regenerator was an unusual upation, but that was all. He had recently awakened and gained an upation as well, but his stat and growth potential was hopeless. It couldn¡¯t even be considered average.


    ¡®The physical stat of the average healthy adult male was 10.¡¯


    So as to say, his stats were only 1.5 times higher than the average healthy adult male, though of course, just that was still enough to exhibit a level of performance that didn¡¯t lose out to most athletes.


    He had a cocky attitude, and his smile even gave off a feeling of being unhinged. He appeared to think himself ¡®special¡¯ unlike others. I had seen many such people before.


    ¡°Fuck, what an unfair world. Some canbor for a day and would earn at most 100,000 won, while some live without a care in the world, strutting about with women on either side.¡±


    Syria spoke up.


    ¡°Stop your nonsense and get lost.¡±


    While she was rather pleasant towards me, she didn¡¯t lose out when it came to making cutting remarks. But apparently her action only further stirred up the man¡¯s anger.


    ¡°What, you were a mama¡¯s boy? I¡¯m so envious of women protecting you. Lose the dick will you, retard-¡±


    The man¡¯s neck twisted around with a ¡®thwack!¡¯ sound. Syria had thrown a punch and struck his chin. She was, in fact, a fighting mania. She had quite the enthusiasm for it, to the point of even receiving personal coaching from a pro.


    ¡°So uncivil to someone you just met. I would turn down boorish men like you, regardless of capability.¡±


    Syria winced as she dusted off her fist. Her hot temper contrary to her appearance was the same as ever.


    An ordinary person would have gone down with that single blow, but right away the man¡¯s neck returned to normal. His regeneration skill had activated.


    ¡°This crazy bitch...did you just hit me? Hit, me?¡±


    The man heavily reeked of alcohol. He wasn¡¯t able to restrain himself, and was trying to vent his bottled up stress. The man rummaged on his self and finally took out a blood-stained knife. There was a mix of blood and fur on the knife, clearly the traces of small animals. The vestiges of cruelty and ughter. He was a single phase away from turning his morbid interest to humans.


    ¡°Look look. He took out a knife.¡±


    ¡°Sh-, shouldn¡¯t we stop it?¡±


    ¡°How exactly can we do that? Someone must have called the police.¡±


    The surroundings bursted intomotion in moments. And at that moment.


    ¡°Ahhhhh!¡±


    Someone screamed as the man began to move, swinging the knife.


    Smack!


    ¡°Cough!¡±


    At the same time the man was sent rolling on the ground, and I stepped forwards as I warmed up my hands.


    As a principle, I wasn¡¯t too fond of people threatening other people. Many countries had ended up disappearing because of internal discord in the past. Infighting when all of humanity needed to band together as one...only the most arrogant and overly confident could act this way. As such, if something like that ever ured before me, I would do just one thing.


    ¡°This bas-...kuek!¡±


    The moment he lifted the knife, I smacked the hand holding it. The man was struck by his own fist and tumbled over like a frog. The man stood up again, bleeding from both nostrils, brandishing the knife without form as he tried to stab me.


    Crack!


    ¡°Guaaargh!¡±


    I struck his elbow in the instant the man leaned his body forward, and his arm holding the knife twisted in a direction that wasn¡¯t normally possible. He dropped the knife as a result, but there was no chance that I was going to stop here. Many people would be killed if a person like this gained power. There was a time in the past, when I tried everything to save these kinds of people as well, but I had realized that it was all in vain.


    I would do just one thing. Wring out the very notion of violence from his mind. In other words, the stick was the only cure to a mad dog.


    ¡°You¡¯ve crossed a line that shouldn¡¯t be crossed.¡±


    The world was unfair. How else would the saying of ¡®being born with a silver spoon¡¯ havee about. The saying also applied to the standards of awakened, because it was most often the case that potential, stat growth and the like were decided from birth.


    Someone would look at me and feel envy, even hate, thinking ¡ª couldn¡¯t I live as I pleased with the overwhelming potential and the memories I held?


    But responsibility followed power. When those with power shirked responsibility, everything would copse. I had witnessed countless such happenings. Besides, it wasn¡¯t as if having or not having power made any difference to the ¡®line¡¯ that should be respected by all. And this man right here had crossed that line.


    Thwack! Crunch!


    It was a staggering show of violence. Blood sttered and bone broke. It took no time at all for the man¡¯s face to be caked with blood. The spectacle made even Syria cringe, who was raised in a military household.


    ¡°Ple, pleease...sba, sbare me.¡±


    The man begged with his hands held together. Crawling over to me like a dog, he clutched onto the leg of my pants. Several of his teeth were knocked out, making him unable to speak properly. It would be hard to expect much growth as an awakened from him, even if he could heal.


    Someone may look at this scene and question, wasn¡¯t this too much? But if I was powerless then I would have died instead, and a man who had tasted blood could go on to harm the lives of many more people. The possibility of saving more of humanity could disappear because of this one man.


    The man sobbed as he begged for his life, and I gripped him by the hair.


    ¡°How does it feel to be on the receiving end?¡±


    ¡°Sa, sab, save...¡±


    [The opponent haspletely submitted. Right now it is possible to dominate the man for 20% value at 74 points.]


    I frowned, and at the same time ¡®Cold Blood¡¯ activated, cooling down my mind. The man was psychologically in a state ofplete submission, but 74 points would be too much of a waste in dominating this kind of person.


    I leaned down close to the man¡¯s ears and spoke.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to remain satisfied with the small animals you killed until now. Minjun Gu, if I ever hear the tiniest news about you...I¡¯ll make it so you¡¯ll be screaming for death instead.¡±


    Tremble!


    The man began to tremble like a rattling por. A person he had met for the first time knew his name. He looked at me with eyes full of fear and horror, then swallowing with a gulp, he began to nod his head like a chicken pecking at rice.


    I firmly straightened myself up, and I felt the gazes from the surrounding immediately after. Everyone appeared to be petrified. It was so quiet that the sound of a coin dropping could break the silence; the scene they¡¯d witnessed must have been that much overwhelming.


    ¡®I got too worked up.¡¯


    It wasn¡¯t as if I exhibited any supernatural power, and it was somewhat of a relief that I was wearing sunsses.


    I slowly moved my feet, leaving the scene.


    ..


    I was a little concerned about videos, photos and the like may of the incident spreading on the inte, but in just a single day my worries were proved to be pointless. News of events that easily shadowed the previous scenario were flooding the inte here and there.


    ?Fire-breathing man.


    ?A bank robbed clean. The doing of an invisible man!


    ?100m world new record, broken.


    ?A group of psychics revealing themselves to be the ¡®Order of Justice Incarnate¡¯. Facing off with evil.


    ?People who have exceeded human limits. Who are they?


    ?Current situation of Korea drawing global attention.


    This had happened over the course of a mere several days. Videos which gained hundreds of thousands, millions of views upon upload were in abundance. They were being constantly deleted, but it had now reached a point of being unable to be stopped.


    ¡®There should be an announcement from the government soon.¡¯


    This momentum, couldn¡¯t be stopped. The people who had gained powers all of a sudden were disying it to the public and causing chaos. Fortunately, as a consequence, because there was still no humans powerful enough to ovee modern weapons, they were being arrested one after the other. But even then, too many people hade to know about them. It wasn¡¯t possible to pass it off as ¡®rumour¡¯ now; the number of witnesses didn¡¯t stop at just one or two.


    There will be an official announcement. Perhaps Korea would set the precedent of acknowledge the existence of ¡®gates¡¯. Minshik would most likely exert himself at that time. He was the first awakened to be acknowledged, and was preparing to be the forerunner.


    ¡®Change ising.¡¯


    It was the beginning of a great change.


    ¡®In fact, this is fine.¡¯


    There was a positive side as well to this kick start. Those showing any ¡®seed¡¯ of potential could be isted right from the beginning. Thanks tomotion breaking out, world-wide attention was directed toward Korea. This meant that, under Korean and Minshik¡¯s lead, the possibility events progressing more systematically had increased. I would gain a little more freedom of movement if that happened, because Minshik would be under the spotlight then, creating the perfect environment for me to move in the shadows. Moreover...he hadn¡¯t been acting thoughtlessly after all.


    ¡®I never expected that he would drag political and business figures into the gate.¡¯


    It was an extreme decision, but thanks to that the country was in upheaval. Minshik must be thinking of showing them reality while hunting the zombie king, and at the same time leaving an impression on them to make them help him. If he had nned that much, then it seemed I needn¡¯t worry much about him.


    ¡°It seems that events are ying out more interestingly than expected? Your smile looks very much indecent.¡±


    J?rmungandr spoke from right beside me.


    I slowly nodded my head.


    ¡°Because I think themotion he raised may be leading in a positive direction.¡±


    ¡°He, as in that goofy man? The pitiful one that could not even speak properly upon seeing me?¡±


    I was told that Minshik became a stuttering fool upon seeing J?rmungandr after he woke up. But most men would all act the same in the face of J?rmungandr¡¯s mind-blowing beauty.


    ¡®Was I underestimating him?¡¯


    Of course, I could make an exact judgement only after I see how he handles the aftermath, but I felt that he had perfectly set the background for the bigger picture toe. He had nned and acted on it over the course of a mere several days. He had an amazing initiative. I did wonder if it was too early, but the upper echelon wouldn¡¯t move unless an impact of this level was given. On top of it all, political and business figures were also swept into the mess...


    Of course, preparing for the worst case scenario, I had given some words of warnings to Syria in advance. She would doubtless handle things well.


    ¡®I can¡¯t fall behind.¡¯


    The preparations had ended.


    I breathed in deeply and turned around. I was looking at a small room for surgery, containing a white bed and all sorts of surgery tools. And there was a man wearing a doctor¡¯s gown, a mask, and a pair of gloves.


    ¡°Putting that aside, just what are you up to? This seems to be another hospital.¡±


    ¡°Body modification.¡±


    To be specific, I was about to undergo an operation to improve the cirction of mana. But to do that I had to make a hole in my head. It was one reason why I shaved my head. For this, I had ¡®dominated¡¯ a doctor who was an authority on brain surgery. It had cost me a whole 7,000 points.


    Wearing a gown for patients, Iid down on the bed.


    ¡°Will you really be doing it without anaesthetic?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You may even enter shock from excessive pain.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, so please proceed right away.¡±


    It was an operation to drill open the blocked Hundred Convergences point. At the same time I had to release streams of mana, endlessly intertwining them into helical forms. It could never be done in a sleeping state. Paralyzing my senses wouldn¡¯t be allowed either. It just goes to show how delicate an operation this would be.


    I had finally found the way after examining the insides of Uriel Diablo¡¯s body.


    ¡®I¡¯ll conquer my limits.¡¯


    I grit my teeth. The doctor took hold of a scalpel, and that signalled the beginning of the surgery.


    ..


    (Syria)


    I nervously looked around my surroundings. The ¡®gates¡¯ located in Gyeongbokgung Pce wasn¡¯t just one. The gate which had appeared after the death of the possessed animal still remained without disappearing. When I had entered that gate, around 50 people hade into view. There were men and women aged between 20 and 60 at most, and they had been trembling from anxiety.


    ¡°Just where is this ce!¡±


    ¡°Let me out! How long do I need to stay here?¡±


    ¡°But outside...there are zombies.¡±


    ¡°G-, gonna die. Everyone¡¯s gonna die.¡±


    It was a cave lit by several torches. Each and every person didn¡¯t hide their fear. Several days had already passed but no one could leave the cave. Those that did had all died. Once, a zombie hade inside, but everyone would have died fleeing if it weren¡¯t for the Chinese siblings.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it look like the Chinese know something?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re just doing nothing but waiting.¡±


    ¡°Hey there! It looks like you know something so can you please get out with it frankly!¡±


    Linlin and Shaoting were standing by the cave entrance silently. Finally, someone came walking in through that entrance.


    Thud!


    Several zombie heads rolled around the ground. The protesting people all closed their mouths tightly. A man covered all over in blood had made an appearance for the first time. Linlin and Shaoting slightly lowered their heads towards the man.


    ¡°Fortunately everyone¡¯s gathered without dying.¡±


    The man was Minshik. Shaking off the blood on his sword, Minshik continued to speak.


    ¡°Among the people here, there should those that were invited by me, and those that weren¡¯t. I have only one thing to say to you all. If you want to live, follow my words. Zombie King Akshiz is no walk in the park.¡±


    A man spoke up.


    ¡°Wait! You¡¯re the one who called me to Gyeongbokgung Pce? Ju-, just how on earth do you know about the ¡®secret¡¯ which only I know?¡±


    He was a three times elected senator. The reason why the man with politics ingrained deep into his bones had no choice but to head toward Gyeongbokgung Pce, was all because of Minshik. Not only that, the group of people included the son of a CEO in his teens, a prosecutor famous for turning ck into white, and more. They weren¡¯t many, but each and every one of them were people with big influences.


    Minshik chuckled.


    ¡°Secret? There is so many that I don¡¯t know where to begin. There should be a limit to crime and corruption. Oh...or is it because of that? Personally murdering your own cousin-¡±


    ¡°Stop! D-, do you have any idea who you¡¯re shooting off your mouth to?¡±


    ¡°Well, such matters are of no concern here.¡±


    Minshik shrugged and rested his sword on his shoulder.


    ¡°We will need ¡®solidarity¡¯ in order to survive and leave this ce. That is why ¡®Zombie King Akshiz¡¯ must be killed. Follow my lead, and never question me. Those useless will be thrown aside, and food will be distributed ording to performance. We aren¡¯t that well off ourselves, you see.¡±


    ¡°Just where is this ce? And what are those things like zombies?¡±


    When a young man asked about this, Minshik replied indifferently.


    ¡°They are monsters that will invade Earth in the future. They bite humans on the neck and tear out their innards without mercy. The reason why you all have ¡®awakened¡¯ is precisely for the sake of protecting Earth, humanity, from those monsters.¡±


    ¡°Have I possibly truly be someone with super powers? You mean it wasn¡¯t just a rumour?¡±


    Minshik nodded and then spoke.


    ¡°You all have good luck. For as long as you follow my lead well, you may even earn an upation and skills, bing a true ability user.¡±


    Everyone was shocked into silence.


    Minshik spoke with a big smile on his face.


    ¡°Wee, to the rehearsal hall for the hell toe.¡±

 Chapter 37 - Rakshasa Mountain (Fin)

    <h4>Chapter 37 Rakshasa Mountain (Fin)</h4>


    Waves of pain came striking at me. It was a surgery to cut flesh and cleave bone without anaesthetic. It felt like I would ck out if I ever lost focus for even a moment. But I was rather ustomed to pain. Gritting my teeth, I forced my body to be still. Soon after, a hole was made in the crown of my head and stimted the Hundred Convergences point. Creating a man-made passageway in that point was the purpose of this surgery; preparation to unseal the middle and upper energy centers in order to improve my mana abilities dozens of times morepared to others.


    ¡®Focus. I have to focus.¡¯


    But piecing together mana like twisted breadsticks whilst enduring agony was extremely difficulty. An ordinary person would have cked out the moment bone was cut, and even if that person managed to persevere, their hair would have turnedpletely white from trauma.


    But I had to do it. There was only one chance, because the forcibly opened passageway would close over time. There was no guarantee that it would open again.


    The moment that passageway opened, however, I did feel that the cirction of mana had sped up. I twisted, twisted, and further twisted the mana gathered in my lower energy center. It felt as if I were making hand-pulled noodles. The more I pulled, the more mana in helical form increased.


    The helical mana woven together like spider webs agitated my lower energy center. As the stimted mana pressured the lower energy center at the same time the Hundred Convergences point was opened, surprisingly, a ¡®path¡¯ was also created there.


    ¡®The lower energy center is simply a storage ce for mana.¡¯


    The true application of mana began from the linkage of the middle and upper energy centers. I was able to gain enlightenment regarding that structure. The upper energy center of humans would temporarily open at birth, and then it would close over at an extremely fast speed, and that is why a hole for mana to pass through didn¡¯t appear. In the end, the mana that flowed down to the lower energy center would stagnate there.


    However, if a passageway is opened by stimting the Hundred Convergences point, the closed off hole would open just ¡®very slightly¡¯. Only mana that waspressed thinly could pass through that hole, and in order for the passed through mana to settle, the mana had to be twisted into a helical form and bound to the heart and brain. It was an extremely delicate operation.


    Sweat poured from my entire body like rain.


    ¡®I¡¯ve seen and understood the body structure of a demon lord. What appeared to be hundreds of thousands, at least, of sections of mana in helical form were bound to the body. That¡¯s the reason why their magic power can reach the peak of limits.¡¯


    I wanted to grow strong, even more so than I was in the past. To do that I had to change, to transform; soaring past the very limits of humans so that I could be ready for anything thates my way.


    I concentrated, or it would be more urate to say that I had fallen into a state of nothingness. The pain gradually disappeared. I was in the midst of riding the waves of mana, travelling back and forth between the heart and brain.


    ¡®The M?bius strip. The ambiguity of the beginning and end. And thus eternally cycling...¡¯


    Cycle. What does it mean to cycle?


    Everything was within a cycle. All of creation, including me. But there was none who knew where that cycle began and ended. Perhaps a supposed god would know? I was creating such a ¡®cirction system¡¯ within my body. It was simr to the one a demon lord had, but also different. It was a looping cirction that ran by my very own rules.


    ¡®Domain of infinity.¡¯


    Infinity! I had no limits. I set no limits, for I was a single being, and at the same time, not. I created a universe. My body was like a ¡®world¡¯ in itself. As I followed along the line of mana twisted into helical forms, I became young and at times, old as well. My body was repeatedly bing covered in wrinkles instantly, which were thenpletely erased again. Then at times my body would shrink topletely assume the form of a baby. An unexpected realization came over me, of something beyond simply twisting mana into helical forms. I even went so far as to create a body simr in characteristics to a demon lord. But finally, I returned to my original body. I further established my self identity; my own uniqueness. This was definitely different from from the ¡®rebirth¡¯ which is said to be experienced upon breaking through one¡¯s limits. What should this be called...


    ¡®A perfect being.¡¯


    The boundaries shattered, and I kept a single exact form. Hansung Oh; my very own being. The skies, people and the earth. If these referred to Heaven Man Earth, the three forms of creation, then I must have explored deeply into the Man aspect. Through countless transformations of the mind and body, I was able to establish and gain enlightenment regarding my ¡®self¡¯ as a being.


    [Of the Sixth Realms, user has realized the foundation of the ¡®Human Realm¡¯.]


    [¡®Hansung Oh¡¯ title has been obtained.]


    [User has glimpsed into the concept of ¡®Infinity¡¯.]


    [Level 1 information of the ¡®Akashic Records¡¯ has been released.]


    [Mana reconstruction has beenpleted.]


    [Magic power has increased by ¡®15¡¯. Due to the change in mana, the body cells have been invigorated and physical rted stats will increase by a small amount.]


    [Mana limit has been removed.]


    ¡®Ah...!¡¯


    I felt breathless. The influx of information churned the inside of my mind, and at the same time, I began to see what I hadn¡¯t been able to see before. What shouldn¡¯t be visible entered my eyes, and at the end of it all, my consciousness began to slowly float away.


    ..


    ..


    A pair of snake-like eyes greeted me when I opened my eyes again. I was still in the surgery room, and while I felt no pain in particr, I became uplifted immediately after waking.


    ¡°How marvelous. How is it that a human was able to carry out the ¡®ritual of gods¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Ritual of gods?¡±


    ¡°Before gods be gods, they transform into 666 different forms. You had transformed no more than four times, but it was definitely simr to that ritual.¡±


    I had taken on the form of the past, present, future, and of Uriel Diablo in session. That alone remained clearly in my memory. I had no idea what this ritual of gods was, but the things I had experienced and be enlightened to was far from the word ¡®god¡¯.


    I raised my torso and tried feeling my head. The hair which I had definitely shaved had grown back sparsely. My skin had be smoother, and my body felt like it was bursting with energy.


    ¡°How much time had passed since I passed out?¡±


    ¡°By the standards of you humans, about 3 seconds must have passed. Since you had lost consciousness, I mean.¡±


    A mere 3 seconds had passed? I had been trapped within the small universe of my own creation. There I walked, ceaselessly, along the path leading to the domain of infinity, and arrived there finally. To think it all happened in 3 seconds.


    I turned my gaze around. However, what was even more surprising than that, was the small lumps of light drifting about in my surrounding. They escaped far away when I reached my hand out toward them, but they were definitely the forms of ¡®spirits¡¯.


    ¡®I can see...spirits.¡¯


    Even if one had a natural born affinity for spirits, it wasn¡¯t possible to see them before contracting. Syria could only hear their voices as well. My affinity with spirits was nil, and yet right now, I could see spirits that I hadn¡¯t even contracted.


    ?It¡¯s a strange human.


    ?He smells yummy.


    ?But I¡¯m scared to go close.


    I could hear their voices as well. They were only spirits of water. They flew around avoiding my hands. Although I could see them, it seemed that I hadn¡¯t gained any affinity with spirits. Had my range of perception increased due to the enlightenment regarding my ¡®self¡¯?


    I shook my head. This phenomenon resulted from my glimpsing the concept of infinity and wandering the universe.


    ¡®Akashic Record.¡¯


    The original dimension informationption containing all the records of the universe. That¡¯s the general idea I had regarding the Akashic Record. The level 1 of the record was apparently released. I didn¡¯t know what that meant, but I felt that it was rted to why I had be able to see spirits, as well as the ¡®things that shouldn¡¯t be visible¡¯.


    I drew a cross mark in midair, and then...


    [Updating User Information.]


    Name: Hansung Oh


    upation: Universal Man


    Titles:


    ?? Hansung Oh (Null, All stats +1 per every 10 base magic power)


    ?? Gnoll Annihtor (Lv5, Con+7)


    Stats:


    Str 41(36+5)


    Agi 37(32+5)


    Con 43(31+12)


    Int 33(23+10)


    Mag 64(54+10)


    Potential(181+48/461)


    Skills: Mind¡¯s Eye(Lv9), Dominator(Lv9), Transfer(???), Heartless Soul Stealer de(Lv6), Cold Blood(Lv2), Stygian Touch(Lv1)


    Equipped Gear: J?rmungandr(Lv2, Int/Mag +5)


    [Before and After Comparison]


    Str 33 Agi 30 Con 36 Int 25 Mag 44 Potential(151+17/461)


    Str 41 Agi 37 Con 43 Int 33 Mag 64 Potential(181+42/461)


    ¡°...!!¡±


    Pant! Pant!


    I breathed in deeply. My pupils were erged, and my breathing became rough.


    First of all...a title with my name had appeared. This was a first for me as well, not to mention that it had a null grade. Heartless Soul Stealer de was like this. It was an exhausting sword art, and upon reaching the 8th level one would be able to infuse soul within the soul. Upon reaching the 9th level, one would have attained nirvana and would be able to utilize force. In the past I had only managed to learn up to the 9th level. It is said that upon reaching the 10th level one would be able to use the sword of the heart, 11th level the power of all nature, and upon reaching the 12th level one could contain the universe, bing one with all creation and ascending to divinity.


    The null grade was as such. It was at a level of training pure strength as well as deepening understanding. But a null grade title of all things. It was my first time seeing a name as a title, and I had never even heard of a title with a null grade.


    ¡®Magic power is like the scale which measures the level of a being.¡¯


    Looking at base stats only, my magic power was already 54. It was in a whole different sspared to the other stats. Thanks to that, all my stat rose by 5 each; truly an unbelievable urrence. Pouring all efforts into raising a single stat was certainly good. But the best thing would be for all stats rising evenly. Imbnce leads to further imbnce after all. Equipments or titles that raised all stats were extremely rare, however. Individuals at the level of demon lords would barely have just one each. Even a Lv10 title stopped at raising all stats by 8.


    ¡®If I raised magic power to its maximum...¡¯


    That would increase all stats by 10. The title effect would shine the more one grew stronger, meaning that I coulde to possess ¡®status¡¯ surpassing even demon lords upon reaching the pinnacle. What¡¯s more...through the mana reconstruction I had gained a foundation to develop my magic power much faster than any other. What perfect chemistry. I¡¯m sure that the saying, a match made in heaven, was made for moments like this. It was an oue I had never even imagined. Who knew that the helical mana would grant an enlightenment like this. But I couldn¡¯t simply pass it off as coincidence. My desire is what paved the way. The way to be furtherplete.


    ¡°Hmm moulting is it. Interesting. This is my second time feeling such interest toward a human.¡±


    ¡°Who was the first?¡±


    ¡°Icarus.¡±


    It was about Icarus again. The human who attempted to rise to the skies but crashed down onto the earth. But it seemed that there was something I didn¡¯t know about. I could sense a slight yearning in J?rmungandr¡¯s voice. I could tell because of the contract.


    After mentioning the name, J?rmungandr looked away and changed the subject.


    ¡°Now I must change my form also. Walking around in the body of a human was getting tiring.¡±


    At the same time her body began to shrink. Her figure disappearing, leaving behind only her clothes. Finally, a silver snake shot out from between the clothes. The snake slithered up my leg, climbed up my shoulder and stopped moving there.


    I turned my gaze, and looked at the doctor.


    ¡°What you¡¯ve seen here must remain secret.¡±


    ¡°I under-, understand.¡±


    He was surprised. When I dominated a monster, it would turn almost blindly devoted, but humans were slightly different apparently. But my words definitely affectedpelled obedience.


    ¡°Go back to your original workce. I will find you again.¡±


    He was a brain surgeon with authority. His potential wasn¡¯t high, but his value was highly assessed. This proved that stats and potential weren¡¯t the only factors in assessing value.


    I changed into my clothes and left the hospital. My business here was finished. My hair growing back was a surprise, but now I won¡¯t be called ¡®ahjussi¡¯ just from my appearance. My skin was practically shining, after all.


    ¡®I should set off immediately.¡¯


    The gate leading to Rakshasa Mountain was in Daejeon.


    ..


    I resolved the small matters concerning school and my home, and then immediately packed my things to head toward Daejeon.


    An abandoned house, surrounded by mountains. There, somewhere underground, the gate leading to Rakshasa Mountain had opened.


    Pant pant pant!


    As I arrived there, the 17 gnoll warriors greeted me. They no longer retained their former cute appearances, now resembling wolves, but their puppy-like tendencies were unchanged.


    ¡®Looks like they¡¯ve been eating well even while I was away.¡¯


    I had given them themand to arrive here first, to move under the darkness of night and to travel through ces with no humans. I was very much d to see that they had arrived with not a single one missing. I patted all their heads one by one, and turned my gaze.


    Buzzzz.


    A blue gate was open making a small noise.


    Blue. An other race inhabited the ce. Even in the past, I had only seen a dying old man on Rakshasa Mountain, but he must have been of a different race that was not human, but simr to humans.


    I gulped. Etaqua was on the other side. The white dragon. One of the children of the mother of wisdom and counsel, Walpurgis.


    ¡®Will he ept me?¡¯


    Apparently he could recognize the other by distinguishing the soul, but who knew. He was too young to be able to tell things apart, after all. But it may be a problem if he grew old and became used to the demon lord¡¯s appearance. That¡¯s why I had sent him to Rakshasa Mountain as soon as possible.


    I was tense as I slowly moved my feet toward the gate. At the same time,


    [Entering ¡®Rakshasa Mountain Mid-slope(Lv2~???)¡¯.]


    [User is the first to discover this ce. 2,000 points has been obtained.]


    My body began to be sucked inside the gate.

 Chapter 38 - Preta (1)

    <h4>Chapter 38 ¨C Preta (1)</h4>


    A wide expanse of grasnd!


    There was no such things as hills here, but this was a mountain. Only by satisfying a certain condition would one be able to climb higher, and if I remembered correctly this was the 25th level.


    ¡®Only 81th levels are known to be explored.¡¯


    There were no ounts on how many levels there were. Some had said that 99, or perhaps 100 was the end, but I had only managed to climb to the 78th level myself. That¡¯s why the mountain was nicknamed as the mountain no one could conquer. It was rtively smooth-sailing up until the 40th level. But upon reaching the 50th level, pretas would appear causing a sharp increase in difficulty while the conditions to advance would rise inplexity, so there was a clear limit to climbing alone. Although I had vowed to climb to the summit, there was no immediate need to do so, because Rakshasa Mountain was one of ¡®the hunting grounds with optimal conditions¡¯. Simply put, it was like one of the courses of a curriculum taken on the way from novice to expert.


    ¡®The 25th level should be home to ck wagons.¡¯


    ck wagons. They were named so because they are said to look like ?shaped hand wagons, and because their internal organs were outside their body, they would take their prey into the loading (kind of) space of the wagon to sedate and digest them. Their main specialty was to ram into their targets, stunning them by using their broad and sturdy frontal parts. They were quick as well, so a moment of mistake might mean heading straight to the other world, but otherwise it wasn¡¯t a hard monster to face as long as one remained on guard.


    Pant pant.


    Pant pant pant.


    Soon after the gnoll warriors appeared following behind me. The gnolls surrounded me in a circr shape, staring at their surroundings in curiosity. While it was indeed a wide grasnd, one could see gaze upon the gxy and a fews close by, making it a picturesque ce.


    ¡®It was concluded that this ce wasn¡¯t part of the same universe.¡¯


    That¡¯s what the astronomers said, and as for me I could only nod in agreement. At any rate...if this was indeed the 25th level, Etaqua should be in a ce somewhere not far.


    ¡°Etaqua!¡±


    I raised my voice, attempting to call him out. I waited for a long while, to no response. He must have definitelynded in a simr area. Had he moved location during the past several days?


    ¡®He shouldn¡¯t have left the 25th level.¡¯


    Simply being capable of hunting didn¡¯t make it possible to advance to the next level. There was a necessary ¡®condition¡¯. As I drew a cross in midair, my status window as well as the condition popped up.


    ¡¸User is located at the ¡®25th level of Rakshasa Mountain ¨C World of Sloth¡¯.¡¹


    ¡¸A gate leading to the next level will appear upon killing five Lazy ck Wagon Kings.¡¹


    That¡¯s how it was.


    One in a while there would be an individual akin to a ¡®king¡¯ among the ck wagons; azy male that would form a pack, and do nothing but gorge on the food brought by the females. To kill five of them was no different than having to fill five pack of ck wagons. Normally they would go around in packs of 10 to about 50, so it would definitely take time for Etaqua and the shadow kaim to clear them.


    ¡®I¡¯lle across them for sure if they¡¯re on this level.¡¯


    I had a certain level of confidence. I had a tiny feeling of being ¡®connected¡¯ to something. There was no other being apart from Etaqua that could give me this feeling.


    ¡®I should begin hunting.¡¯


    I rxed my heart. In any case, Rakshasa Mountain was one of the ¡®best hunting grounds¡¯. Especially at present, empty ofpetitors...this ce was no different to a gold mine.


    ..


    Whoosh!


    m!


    Thest to remain ck wagon king hurled its body forth at a tremendous speed. As I quickly dodged, the ck wagon king created a hole nting itself into the ground. It extracted its body from the ground using its four legs and once again tried to charge, but I sent amand to the gnoll warriors.


    ¡°Now!¡±


    Grrrr!


    The 17 gnoll warriors instantly set upon the ck wagon, chomping at its four legs and scratching its body. Even so the ck wagon king wasn¡¯t affected in the least. I suppose, no matter howzy, a king was a king after all. But its movements had clearly be sluggish. It further worsened as time went on, and taking advantage of an opportune moment I used ¡®Stygian Touch¡¯.


    Whooosh!


    A 10m radius around the ck wagon king was tainted ck. Finally dozens of arms emerged topletely envelop the ck wagon¡¯s entire body. Floundering, the ck wagon melted down in moments, and at the same time the result of the hunt presented itself in the form of messages.


    [1 ck Wagon King and 32 ck Wagons have been hunted.]


    [¡®Gnoll Warrior Group(17)¡¯ has ended their hunt sessfully.]


    [The ¡®Str/Agi/Con +1¡¯ effect of the buff ¡®From Today We Are One¡¯ affecting ¡®Gnoll Warrior Group(17)¡¯ has increased to ¡®Str/Agi/Con +2¡¯.]


    [¡®Stygian Touch¡¯ has leveled up to 2.]


    [User¡¯s intelligence stat has increased by 1.]


    [380 points has been obtained.]


    It was smooth-sailing. I had progressed by way of dividing and conquering; having the gnoll warriors lure off small numbers of ck wagons while I would almost alwaysnd thest blow to raise skill proficiency.


    Anyone witnessing this would be astonished. I might even be mistaken for a Beast Master, because it was unthinkable of utilizing this sort of method if one didn¡¯t have a top level upation rted to ¡®taming¡¯. Moreover, I may even be detested as extremely evil for taking the finishing blows as the owner. After all, there was a slight difference in the degree of growth depending on whonded thest hit to take the kill.


    ¡®Intelligence is developing well...? I hadn¡¯t expected this as well.¡¯


    Was this the influence of the mana reconstruction? Intelligence and magic power were quite simr in a way. Intelligence had the effect of increasing the speed of leveling skills, and it was also rted to the function of protecting one¡¯s self from an opponent¡¯s magic. While it did improve memory, high intelligence didn¡¯t necessarily make someone clever; in fact, the aforementioned two effects were greater.


    ¡®An S-rank skill is amazing indeed.¡¯


    Stygian Touch. While I was far from exhibiting the same power as I did with the demon lord¡¯s body, its destructive power was still off the charts considering my current stats. Skill level multiplied by 2, and a power conversion rate with no mana loss, meaning that it could disy an effective power of 68 as my current magic power was 64.


    To make a contrast, even for A-rank offensive skills, most forms went as the following: ¡®(Skill level * 1.5) + (Magic power * 0.9)¡¯. Applying that form to my current magic power equaled an effective power of merely 60.6. This alone made a difference of over 7. This difference only stood out more the higher the skill level and magic power. Especially when magic power reached 90, a difference of 1 be all the more significant; thus it was impossible to recreate the might of an S-rank skill using an A-rank skill. Of course, acquiring an S-rank skill was that much more difficult. Perhaps about ten among humanity may have barely learned one. That¡¯s just how much every skill of a demon lord had to be viewed as ¡®impossible topare to¡¯.


    ¡®The area of effect and number of hands created using Stygian Touch depends on the mana efficiency.¡¯


    The maximum area I could cover was about 20m, and 100 hands were about the limit. The problem was that the hands couldn¡¯t affect anything outside of that area. ck wagons were speedy, so using the gnoll warriors was the best hunting method.


    I stopped my understanding the skill, and turned my gaze towards the gnoll warriors.


    ¡°Are you hungry?¡±


    Arf! Arf!


    Pant pant pant!


    It¡¯s been long since the hunting had begun after all. There was no distinction between day and night on Rakshasa Mountain, so one had to pick a random time to eat or sleep, moreover, the ck wagons weren¡¯t much of a food. But during the stay on Rakshasa Mountain, these kind of things would be the only food source, at least until reaching the 29th level where fruits or creatures akin to ordinary animals would appear.


    I took out some spice from my rucksack.


    ¡®What better way than this to mask the taste.¡¯


    Among those I took out, there was a spice giving off a fragrance favored by dogs. I took out a burner and a huge pot which looked to be used in Chinese restaurants. After pouring in water and heating it, I tore off the legs only from the ck wagon¡¯s corpse. Its legs were the only edible(rtively) parts. Using ¡®Cold Blood¡¯ to drain the blood, I tossed it inside the pot.


    ¡®Who knew I would be using Cold Blood to drain blood from food.¡¯


    It was a skill used to ¡®shape¡¯ the blood drawn out of corpses. I had obtained it during the forced awakening caused by J?rmungandr, but surprisingly it had a use in ces like this as well. A feature to hasten the process of draining blood!


    ¡®I should ready the gnoll warriors¡¯ share first.¡¯


    I added in the spice with a fragrance which dogs were fond of.


    Arf! Arf!


    Bark! Bark!


    The gnoll warriors became excited the instant the pot lid was opened.


    The fragrance was originally used to lure gnolls. Though I had never expected to be using it to feed them instead. Although sprinkling the spice was all I did, the cooking was finished. As there were 17 of them to feed, I was repeating the process for the third time when a new skill appeared.


    <¡¯Cooking(Lv1)¡¯ skill has been created.>


    ¡®Was the cooking skill this easily acquired?¡¯


    I had eaten delivery food when I was at home. During the time at the altar I had eaten fruits and the like in the vicinity. Come to think of it, this was my first time actually implementing the thought I had of surviving by cooking. However, one had to be at the level of a reasonably skilled restaurant chef to obtain the cooking skill. It was definitely not a skill that could be acquired by simply pouring water and sprinkling some spice.


    ¡®This is also the ability of Universal Man.¡¯


    I rubbed my chin; this was a new discovery. If this was the case, wouldn¡¯t I be able to learn other production rted skills?


    As I stared at the words of the cooking skill, which I¡¯d learned for the first time in my life including the past, the rted exnation soon popped up.


    Slightly improves taste of food.


    Slightly improves mood upon consumption.


    There was no significant effect. But when eating a delicacy prepared by a master chef with the highest cooking level, there was a slim chance of stats increasing, or being granted a buff. That¡¯s why the food of a master chef was worth a king¡¯s ransom.


    I threw a well cooked leg of the ck wagon onto the ground, and the gnoll warriors madly set upon it. After finishing their feast, the gnoll warriorsnguidly syed themselves about the ground, as if they couldn¡¯t bother about anything in the world. They did look happy though.


    I¡¯ll say, what¡¯s the point of an already dominated target having increased loyalty? But one could also look at it this way; Raising my cooking skills to the pinnacle, and rendering otherspletely captivated by my cooking so that anything else couldn¡¯t be considered as food, thereby activating the Dominator skill...


    ¡®Wishful thinking.¡¯


    I shrugged. A man¡¯s cooking was all I was capable of.


    But at that moment...


    ?It¡¯s a preta. A preta appeared.


    ?What has a preta appeared in a ce like this?


    ?The preta must be lost. How pitiful.


    ?No. The one being chased is more pitiful. It¡¯s such a pretty dragon.


    ?Dragon¡¯s are scary. They destroy our homes.


    It was the voices of spirits. There were many spirits of grass on this level, and I could see and hear their forms and voices as well.


    ¡®A preta and a dragon?¡¯


    preta! It was a monster that existed on the 50th level and above. They were categorized into small pretas and great pretas, and their abilities would rise twice as much as their size grew. But even a single small preta was beyond me in my current state.


    Why had a preta, which was supposed to be on the 50th level and above, appeared on the 25th level? This was no precedent to this, as far as I knew. But my attention was caught on the other word. The dragon must be...


    ¡®Etaqua!¡¯


    It was certain to be Etaqua. If Etaqua was being chased by the preta, I had no time to lose.


    I asked the spirits of grass.


    ¡°Could you tell me where that dragon and preta is?¡±


    I had been ignoring them all this time, since my affinity was low anyhow, but the spirits of grass were the only ones who could tell me the way.


    As I approached the three spirits of grass closeby, they trembled.


    ?W-, we must be visible to him!


    ?I-, I don¡¯t know anything.


    ?P-, please don¡¯t eat me.


    Why do spirits fear me so much like this? They looked like they would flee if I gave them a scare. Although seeing and hearing was possible, physical contact with spirits was impossible, so I would be in trouble if they ran away.


    I spoke as coaxingly as I could.


    ¡°I won¡¯t eat you. Why would I eat you guys?¡±


    ?W-, will you really not eat us?


    ?It-, it¡¯s a lie. He says that but he¡¯ll eat us!


    ?Bu-, but what does eating mean anyway?


    I forcefully controlled the urge to frown.


    ¡°If you tell me, I won¡¯t eat you and I¡¯ll also do you guys a favor.¡±


    ?Th-, then I want to ride the ¡®pollen of verdant hills¡¯.


    ?M-, me too! It should be fun riding around pollen.


    ?Dra-, the dragon is way~ over there! Hiding in a cave.


    It was fortunate. Although I hadn¡¯t a clue what pollen of verdant hills was, they became cooperative. Good.


    I tried making the best smile I could.


    ¡°Will you guide me?¡±


    ?Fo-, follow me.


    ?Sca-, you¡¯re scary so don¡¯te close though.


    ?Qui-, quickly let¡¯s go!


    I didn¡¯t know why they forced themselves to talk, trembling all the while, but finally the spirits of grass began to lead the way. Together with the 17 gnoll warriors, I made my way toward the cave Etaqua was in.

 Chapter 39 - Preta (2)

    <h4>Chapter 39 ¨C Preta (2)</h4>


    It was a narrow cave connected underground. The spirits of grass earnestly pped their short little wings, flying close to the cave entrance where they stopped for a moment.


    ?It, it¡¯s here. The dragon is here.


    ?It, it looks like its hurt badly. I can feel it trembling.


    ?Th-, the spirits of darkness are gathering.


    Spirits were everywhere. Normally, the type of spirits gathering depended on the ce, but there were also spirits that lived a parasitic existence, feeding off emotions. Like spirits of darkness, for example. They swarmed around dark emotions which were nutrients to them. It¡¯s said that powerful spirits of darkness could even mislead victims into making extreme decisions. That¡¯s why Spirit Callers who dealt with spirits of darkness were avoided like the gue.


    They were visible to my eyes also.


    ¡®So many.¡¯


    There was a legion of them. I didn¡¯t need to even look inside, seeing as how even the entrance was packed, to tell just how many spirits of darkness there were. Evenmon sense dictated this was insane. There did exist dragons that couldmand spirits of darkness; dark dragons. The dragon which Carpediem had snatched away possessed an extreme, destructive disposition, and ruled the darkness. But beside that there were no dragon that could summon spirits of darkness, barring the spirits that matched their own respective elements.


    As I began stepping forward, the spirits of darkness proved to be no different to the other spirits; scurrying out of my way.


    ?An unusual human.


    ?A human truly? He gives off a good smell.


    ?But I feel like I¡¯ll be swallowed up if I go near.


    Apparently spirits of darkness were no exception to my nonexistent affinity with spirits. It was likely that even the spirits who were speaking were unaware of the fact, though there were some words of concern among what they said. It was what I had confirmed the other day through Syria¡¯s spirits of light.


    Tremble tremble tremble!


    The three spirits of grass following behind my back as they trembled. They didn¡¯t have to go so far as to follow me in, but it looked like they were trying to keep their promise since they had said they would guide me up to the dragon.


    ?Am, am I, tre-, trembling, right now?


    ?I-, I¡¯ve never seen, s-, so many, spi-, spirits of darkness.


    ?Eeeek...


    Even the spirits thought this phenomenon strange. I hardened my expression. The bad feeling in my chest grew worse the closer I drew near them. I had formed a ¡®bond¡¯ with the two, Igneel and Etaqua. We shared our emotions, that¡¯s why we could understand one another like no one else could. Pain. Destion. Fear. The emotions which he had never learnt during the time in the abyss. That¡¯s why his heart was in turmoil, feeling sorrow.


    I further hastened my footsteps, and...found him. At the end of the cave, therey a dragon curled up into a ball!


    ¡°Etaqua.¡±


    I very slowly called out his name. But Etaqua remained curled up, staring at me with wary eyes.


    Growl.


    It appeared my voice didn¡¯t reach him. His emotions were in severe chaos. He showed none of his yful and energetic appearance.


    ¡®He¡¯s been affected by the preta¡¯s poison.¡¯


    I could be certain of it just by the smell. Because I knew well of its horrors, the preta¡¯s poison. A preta¡¯s poison caused the entire body to rot. It caused rot and pus, and the agony of it was greater than jumping into a sea of fire. A normal human would experience tremendous pain and die within moments, begging for their lives to end even as they perished.


    Unless the poison of a preta was removed in the early stages, there would be no hope of recovery. There was no antidote for it, because the characteristics of the poison would continuously change from within the body and, with the exception of using a high level detoxifying type skill, nothing could be done about it. Moreover...there was a bite wound on Etaqua¡¯s nk. There was already a ck hue surrounding the wound. The rate at which the poison was spreading must have been very slow due to a dragon¡¯s strong physique.


    ¡°You¡¯ve grown much since I¡¯vest seen you.¡±


    I took a single step forward. Etaqua was already threatening to overtake me in size. I thought that his speed of growth exceeded even bean sprouts, but this level of growth was iparable to ordinary dragons. Perhaps that was why, but I had been negligent. I had rushed to cast him onto this mountain, thinking that regardless of his young age, Etaqua was still part of the dragon race, and an individual that put even other dragons to shame at that. It was a mistake, resulting from my selfishness.


    Growl!


    Etaqua spread his wings, which reached up to the ceiling. To make matters worse, the narrow cave shook.


    ¡¸Do you intend suicide?¡¹


    The snake moved. J?rmungandr had spoken to me. I didn¡¯t reply, and J?rmungandr showed no inclination of stopping me either. She was a dragon that had once coiled around the world. She was not one to go out of her way and save me out of benevolence, just because of her interest in me. Icarus had burned to death as he challenged the sun, him being the first human to have caught J?rmungandr¡¯s interest notwithstanding. If she had wanted to save him at all, Icarus wouldn¡¯t have burned to death in mythology.


    Roar-!


    Etaqua only grew warier as I approached further. His eyes resembled that of a wounded ferocious beast. Even a huntsman should beware of lightly provoking a wounded beast. But I did not stop. I could not stop. It was all my fault, mine alone, that this situation came about. I slowly opened both my hands.


    Snarl!


    Etaqua¡¯s snapped his jaws onto my neck immediately when I closed the distance between us. The fangs of a dragon were unmatched in sharpness and toughness. Blood splurted out, and my consciousness flickered for a moment. I could keenly feel the teeth piercing my flesh. But I did not despair. Etaqua should have been capable of tearing my neck off in one go with his teeth and jaw strength, and yet...


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    I embraced Etaqua, and petted his neck. His scales were cold, yet also warm. He must have suffered much, felt forlorn that I didn¡¯te despite his waiting, because I was no different than a parent to the both of them, Igneel and Etaqua.


    I had never truly been a parent before. I didn¡¯t even marry, so there was no child in my household either. I had considered it as a burden, that it was unnecessary for me, who didn¡¯t know when I would die. Moreover, Igneel and Etaqua were entirely different species to me. That¡¯s why I must have taken this rtionship lightly. I had simply passed off the ¡®trust¡¯ the two felt towards me, whenever they saw me, as merely the power of the Dominator skill.


    ¡°I am sorry...¡±


    I could feel Etaqua¡¯s emotions. Or perhaps it may have been my own. Tears began running down my eyes, and I remained still, embracing Etaqua...and then the surrounding spirits of darkness, one after another, began to retreat.


    Grrr...


    Etaqua slowly released his jaws from my neck, and then looked into my eyes. The turmoil in his gaze was reced by embarrassment. He had recognized me; my soul.


    Lick!


    He licked at the bite wound he made. His fear waspletely gone. The mana of a dragon came flowing into me, and the wound on my neck slowly began healing. It was the mana that was being used until now to prevent the preta¡¯s poison from spreading. If he were to pour it into me then the poison would spread in an instant, killing him. I took a step back, and shook my head.


    ¡°J?rmungandr. I need your help.¡±


    ¡¸Hmph, my power only applies to you. And why should I suck out the trivial poison of a dragon?¡¹


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    I put my lips against Etaqua¡¯s wound, and began to suck out his blood, together with the preta¡¯s poison. My blood quickly turned blue. When a preta¡¯s poison enters the body, it would immediately cause the blood to congeal, and the body would be paralyzed as it began to rot. On my skin, bubbles began to swell prominently.


    ¡¸This fool...!¡¹


    J?rmungandr shouted confusedly, because the notion of sacrificing self for another was foreign to her. But I did not stop.


    ¡¸Stop. Any more than that and even I will have no way of helping!¡¹


    Protecting me from the curses of the night was in her terms of contract. A powerful cursey within the poison of a preta. If I were to die by the poison, she would fail to fulfil the contract. When I continued on despite her warning, J?rmungandr spoke.


    ¡¸Do you mean to humiliate me? There will be no second time. If ever an incident like this repeats then I will swallow you up myself!¡¹


    It was a first seeing J?rmungandr this furious. I chuckled before stopping my actions, and then the silver snake that was on top of my shoulder began to get busy. After sucking out all the poison in my body, as if dissatisfied, she slithered up Etaqua¡¯s nk near his wound. Seeing this, my eyes grew cold to freezing point.


    ¡®I should...kill it. In the cruelest manner conceivable.¡¯


    Preta. I hadn¡¯t a clue as to why it left its own level toe down to this ce, but I had no ns of leaving it alive.


    ..


    After the preta¡¯s poison waspletely cured, Etaqua spun around me in circles, licking my face. It was a sign of joy and expression of trust. Aware of that fact, I let Etaqua do as he liked. Instead I opened Mind¡¯s Eye, to see what changes there were until now.


    Name: Etaqua (Value ¨C 230,900)


    Race: White Dragon


    Titles:


    ?? Cry of the Storm (Lv9, Agi+15)


    Stats:


    Str 54ss


    Agi 52(37+15)s


    Con 39s


    Int 31a


    Mag 21c


    Potential(183+15/485)


    Special Note: Has inherited the Blessing of the Sage, and Cry of the Storm. Has formed a powerful bond of trust with the user.


    It¡¯s said that dragons would grow stronger even if they did nothing but breathe, because the standard specs possessed by a dragon was akin to an ¡®insurmountable wall¡¯. Given that, his rate of growth was astounding. He had already surpassed me in physical stats.


    ¡®Is this the growth potential of an SS evaluation?¡¯


    ¡®My god¡¯, I muttered to myself unknowingly. The change in stats, ording to their respective growth potential grade, was a cause for wonder. What¡¯s more...a title. Cry of the Storm was equipped. It wasn¡¯t there while he was in the abyss, so it must have been unlocked as he grew.


    ¡®A level 9 title of all things.¡¯


    The so-called power of sages must definitely be powerful indeed. I couldn¡¯t even begin to guess at what kind of being Walpurgis, mother of wisdom and counsel, must be. A level 9 title! Even La Diablo herself barely had a single title of that level. Uriel Diablo as well, excluding ¡®Demon Lord(Lv10)¡¯, was the same, so no more needed to be said about how significant it was.


    Agility influenced instant reaction speed and extreme senses. Agility was named as the 6th sense, and a whopping 15 was increased. If he were to continue developing, crossing the threshold of agility, then he would be able to exhibit an ability worthy of being deemed as supersensory. This was also one of the factors in raising Etaqua¡¯s growth potential.


    ¡°Etaqua. I¡¯m going to go kill the one who wounded you. Are you afraid?¡±


    Roar!


    He bared his teeth and pped his wings upon hearing my question. Etaqua appeared to desire revenge as well. But it wasn¡¯t only to avenge himself. The shadow kaim...it had saved Etaqua and was eaten by the preta. He felt uncontroble hatred as a result, but that didn¡¯t summon the spirits of darkness; proof that he was firm of heart. I nodded my head.


    ¡®The opponent is the preta.¡¯


    If it were a big preta, the 25th level would have been razed to the ground. It should be a small preta. But even so, I couldn¡¯t be sure of victory with my current fighting power. If I wanted even a slightly easier time killing it, I would need a type of poison that would cause decay, or a weapon imbued with holy power. I had nothing of the sort at present, however, it wasn¡¯t as if I didn¡¯t have a way to do it as well.


    ?Waah, it¡¯s so sad what happened.


    ?I¡¯m touched.


    ?The dragon looks happy!


    The spirits of grass gazed at Etaqua and made a show of crying. I spoke toward those spirits.


    ¡°You lot, will have to contract with me.¡±


    There were countless spirits, and yet these three were the only ones to have approached me close. Even the spirits of darkness avoided me, but unlike the other spirits, these three followed me until the end. Come to think of it...this was anything but an ordinary urrence.

 Chapter 40 - Preta (Fin)

    <h4>Chapter 40 ¨C Preta (Fin)</h4>


    ¡®The most powerful of spirits are considered to be spirits of light and darkness.¡¯


    These two types of spirits posed a greater influence on reality, as opposed to the other elemental types. The spirits of light and darkness, however, also feared me to no end and refused to approach me. But these spirits of grass were strange. In the first ce, promises were of no importance to spirits. They were prone to mischief, and onlymunicated with those they had revealed their ¡®names¡¯ to; their contractors. But these spirits of grass upheld my trust in them, in their own way, to the end. They made a sharp contrast tomon low ranked spirits.


    ¡®Although it would be good if I could check them using Mind¡¯s Eye...¡¯


    It couldn¡¯t be relied on, because it wasn¡¯t possible to confirm the name and true form of a spirit even by using ¡®Mind¡¯s Eye¡¯. Spirits were like nature itself. It was simr to the reason why the wind and air can¡¯t be appraised using Mind¡¯s Eye. Of course, even if it couldn¡¯t be called extraordinary, the power of a Spirit Caller was attractive. Owing to the spirits characteristic ofcking substance, they were excellent for the purpose of scouting, ambushing, and the like. Therefore...if I were to be capable of using spirits, there may be some hope for the showdown with the preta.


    ?Th-, this human says he wants to contract us.


    ?May-, maybe he wants to eat us after all?


    ?Eeeek...


    The three clutched onto one another, trembling. If my affinity was high then perhaps it would have been the spirits eagerly asking me for a ¡®contract¡¯, because the only method of growth for spirits was to contract with a user. I have never heard of a Spirit Callercking in affinity, nor of someone forcing a contract, but I was capable of ¡®seeing¡¯ and ¡®hearing¡¯ when I have yet to make a contract; an impossible feat regardless of how high an affinity one had, a paradox. That¡¯s why I felt even more strongly that it was possible.


    ¡°The more you experience after contracting someone with high affinity, the faster you grow. I can see you spirits, and hear your conversations. Imand a dragon and countless other things, and I can provide you such entertainment that riding verdant hill pollen will pale inparison.¡±


    ?No-, now that I think about it, how is he able to see us?


    ?The-, there¡¯s something even more fun than riding verdant hill pollen?


    ?It-, it¡¯s a lie. Where could such a thing be?


    They didn¡¯t appear entirely uninterested. From an outsider¡¯s perspective I would have appeared like a madman conversing with empty air by himself, however, I made a leisurely smile as I drew out scenes, scenes from my memories.


    ¡°You will even get to ride a gigantic windmill as high as the skies. Rxing atop the branch of the World Tree and enjoying the gentle winds also sounds like fun. Or how about roaming the azure skies on the back of a dragon? When Etaqua grows just a little more he will be able to own the skies, faster than any dragon. Racing on the back of gnolls also sounds good. This is all possible only for myself, and the spirit that contracts with me.¡±


    Gulp!


    The spirits of grass had their eyes wide-open and mouths agape. I didn¡¯t lie. I was prepared to make everything I spoke ofe to fruition, although the exact time frame isn¡¯t quite certain.


    ?Wi-, will you not eat us?


    ?Bu-, but the queen told us to take care with contracts.


    ?S-, sounds like fun...


    Their hearts were almost within my grasp, it seemed. I readied the clincher.


    ¡°Every month I will provide a ¡®spirit stone¡¯ if you make a contract now.¡±


    A spirit stone! Stones that assisted the growth of spirits. A stone that has been exposed in to moonlight for a long period of time would undergo numerous changes before evolving into a spirit stone, but they were one of the hardest items to procure owing to their extreme scarcity. But to me, at least, that didn¡¯t matter.


    ¡®There were spirit stones in the Dark Store.¡¯


    Moreover, they were very cheap. The reason behind that was because spirit stones were in abundance due to the moonlight of the abyss radiating a special kind of mana. Spirit stones were a dime a dozen, so as long as I could find a sure method of transporting them, I could carry them over by the truckload.


    ?E-, even a spirit stone...!


    ?N-, not only fun things, you¡¯ll give us spirit stones too?


    ?I-, I wanna do it!


    I got the vague feeling of having deceived innocent children, but I had seeded. Besides, I could do without a catalyst required for a contract. Although I did use a lowest-grade ruby when I had Syria contract the spirits of light, but that was only so she could see the forms of the spirits and so they couldmunicate with each other. I was already capable of both so there was no need to use a catalyst.


    ¡°A well-thought-out choice. I am Hansung Oh.¡±


    ?Lime


    ?Layul


    ?Laon


    The names of spirits were special. It was the name itself that granted ¡®existence¡¯ to them. Without a name, spirits were the same as passing nature. Lime, Layul, Laon. A series of names starting with ¡®La¡¯, which implied that the three were born in the same ce. To be exact, they had awakened to their names in a ce called ¡®La¡¯. ces named with such a foreign word were umon, and I had never heard of it as well. Though surely they must have been born somewhere on Rakshasa Mountain...


    However, I shook my head. What¡¯s important now was that I hade to know the names of these three. We had exchanged names with one another, and were willing to make a contract. At the same time, a gentle breeze began to blow in the surroundings and began to ¡®bond¡¯ the four of us.


    [Contract with mid-grade grass spirits ¡®Lime¡¯, ¡®Layul¡¯ and ¡®Laon¡¯ has beenpleted.]


    [The name of a spirit possessed a very important meaning. It is rmended that only the contractor knows of it.]


    [The skill ¡®Spirit Caller(Lv4)¡¯ has been created.]


    Mid-grade! Indeed there was a reason why the grass spirits didn¡¯t avoid me.


    Spirits were also divided into ranks; lowest-rank, low-rank, mid-rank, high-rank, highest-rank. It¡¯s said that the ratio of lowest-rank spirits that could be low-rank was 10,000:1. The same ratio applied for low-rank bing mid-rank. Mid-rank and above spirits were rare, naturally, and the power they could exhibit was on a whole different leaguepared to spirits low-rank and below. A mid-rank spirit of wind could cleave 5cm thick iron. That¡¯s why a Spirit Caller who was mid-rank and above was well regarded anywhere.


    ¡®A whole upation packaged into a skill...¡¯


    What surprised me even more was the ¡®Spirit Caller¡¯ skill being created. I hadmonly seen Spirit Caller as upations, but again, it was my first time seeing the name Spirit Caller as a skill. Most likely this was a result of the power which I had obtained; ¡®Universal Man¡¯. And holy mother of god. Who would have known that I ¡ª who didn¡¯t possess a rat¡¯s ass worth of affinity ¡ª would contract with spirits, and have them at my beck and call!


    I examined the skill in more detail.


    Currently contracted with grass spirits mid-rank(3).


    Contract with spirits regardless of their type is possible.


    Skill level will increase as the rank of the contracted spirits rises.


    The contract limit with spirits increase ording to skill level. (Max 5)


    The manifesting duration of spirits depends on skill level, intelligence, magic power and the manifesting spirit¡¯s rank.


    It wasn¡¯tpletely without restrictions. The number of spirits that regr Spirit Callers could handle was way more numerous, but for me it was merely 5. However, being unrestricted by type was a huge advantage, because it meant that I could counter all elements! In other words, it was quality over quantity.


    Iughed in satisfaction.


    ?Uhh? What the?


    ?So a contract was something like this!


    ?Woah, how wonderful.


    It must be their first time ever contracting, judging by their reactions, so I couldn¡¯t help but be serious.


    ¡°By any chance, is this your first time contracting?¡±


    ?Yes~.


    ?There¡¯s nothing willing to contract with us here.


    ?Because the Yaksha and Rakshasa dislike spirits.


    ¡®Smack¡¯, I palmed my forehead. No way, they were mid-rank even when it was their first time contracting? Usually it was the norm to begin from lowest-grade and then grow through contracting. But I¡¯ve heard before that extremely few among spirits possess an innate capacity for growth. Themon saying of ¡®born with a golden spoon in mouth¡¯ also applies to spirits. So...it turns out that Lime, Layul and Laon were born with golden spoons.


    ¡®Yaksha and Rakshasa.¡¯


    It was unexpected for their names toe from spirits. The true masters of Rakshasa Mountain were the Rakshasa. I haven¡¯t an idea as to what Yaksha were, but I have met before an old man introducing himself as ¡®Rakshasa¡¯.


    I nodded. At any rate, I was done preparing. I felt like I had gained an extra hand, having concluded the contract with the spirits. I turned to look at Etaqua.


    ¡°Ready?¡±


    Roar!


    Etaqua lead the way.


    Dragons were a race with extreme pride, and Etaqua shouldn¡¯t be any different. And now there was only one thing left to do. Blood for blood; to gruesomely tear apart that bastard! Inhaling deeply, I then spoke toward the spirits.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to where the preta is.


    ..


    The small preta was lying down on the ground. Countless corpses of ck wagons and ck wagon kings were strewn about near it. A hulking frame roughly 3mrge, skin that sagged like belly fat, and while it had no such thing as fur it had 66 eyes and mouths all over its body. pretas were monsters that could be considered the embodiment of ¡®grotesque¡¯ itself. A great preta was 10 times the size of that, however, against a small preta I had a chance of victory.


    ¡®Lime, Layul, Laon.¡¯


    After having contracted with them, I could summon the spirits with but a thought. Finally, a small change came over the grass spirits.


    [Grass spirits(3) has manifested. This can be maintained for a maximum of 43 minutes.]


    ?Leave it to me.


    ?This much is easy.


    ?I¡¯ll teach the preta a good lesson.


    Only by manifesting can a spirit have a greater influence on reality. Next, the three spirits approached the small preta. The small preta was oblivious to them, but when roots broke through the surface of the ground, entangling its body, it inevitably woke up.


    Croak?


    In no time, the small preta was ensnared by the roots bursting out of the ground.


    Screeech!


    The entangling roots shook perilously as the small preta struggled, but they seeded in binding its body. That was enough. As long as it could be restrained for a moment.


    ¡®Stygian Touch.¡¯


    Space became dyed in darkness. Finally, countless ¡®hands¡¯ surfaced above the dark space. Hands of darkness that stole life itself! The hands of darkness began to brutally w at the eyes covering the entirety of the small preta. About 20 of the 66 eyes were quickly tainted ck and withered away.


    Screeeech!


    The small preta¡¯s struggling intensified. As the entangling roots were almost all ripped apart, the small hungry looked this way. The surprise attack was a sess, but it didn¡¯t kill it.


    Roar-!


    And then Etaqua puffed out his chest as he broke into a gallop, stomping across the ground.


    ¡°You lot aim for its eyes while Etaqua takes it on.¡±


    The gnoll warriors had their own roles to y. Although a certain amount of damage was dealt with the surprise attack, Etaqua couldn¡¯t face the small preta alone. But if those ¡®eyes¡¯ could be taken out, then the small preta¡¯s omni-directional reaction can be crippled.


    Crunch!


    Thump! Thump!


    It was a fierce melee. Etaqua was recklessly hounding after the small preta. He rammed himself into it, and tenaciously targeted its throat. Not only that, though it was only for a moment, his wings became like steel. He used his wings as if they were hands, dicing up the preta¡¯s flesh.


    ¡®Shocking.¡¯


    I could confidently say that I¡¯d seen plenty of dragons before, but never before had I seen a closebat dragon. It felt like there were many things I had newly seen and experienced today, but this scene topped it all.


    Etaqua. A white dragon with low magic power, but was all set to raise his physical stats to the ultimate limits to make up for it. The way he reinforced his wings from time to time, to defend against the small preta¡¯s attacks, was also amazingly timely. There was some awkwardness in his movements though, since he was unustomed to fighting. But at that level...


    ¡®I can teach him.¡¯


    I could train him in battle sense, to be quick-witted and the like. He was certain to learn these things by himself, even without my teaching, but I was tempted by greed. Being of the ultimate dragon race with incredible physical ability, together with these two elements and the addition of technical skills, what enemy could dare stand before him? Of course, I was probably the only human to even think of teaching such things to a dragon.


    Screeeech!


    The preta was screaming. In front was Etaqua, behind were the gnoll warriors, and a moment of carelessness lead to be entangled by the spirits. I mused that this was what it¡¯s like to be powerless before numbers. But it was stillcking that final push. Casualties would be incurred if the small preta became further enraged.


    ¡®Cold Blood.¡¯


    I obtained blood from the surrounding corpses of the ck wagons. A torrent of blood gathered within my hand, and soon created the shape of a sword.


    Sword. Heartless Soul Stealer de.


    Swish-!


    A mouth of the small preta abruptly sprang out at me as I approached it. The mouths all over its body moved independently and threatened any living thing that came near.


    sh!


    Splurt!


    I chopped, sliced, and cleaved. The movements of the small preta had already dulled by a measure. As I shred apart the oing mouths and the small preta¡¯s body, its tenacious vitaly had reached its limit.


    Screeeee!


    It raised an almost head numbing wail in its throes of death, and then...


    Crash!


    The small preta copsed at the end of a bloody fight that hadsted dozens of minutes.


    [User was victorious in a battle against a powerful enemy.]


    [1,350 points has been obtained.]


    [Str and Con has each increased by 2.]


    Whew!


    I mopped the sweat from my forehead together at the same time the messages popped up, signalled the end of the battle. It was certain that having spirits made battle far easier. The small preta was a Lv6 monster. I ced huge significance on the fact of having killed a monster which rivaled ogres with 30 minutes of non-stop beating.


    ¡®It should have eaten the shadow kaim and Jewel of Space.¡¯


    There was no time to rest, however. I cut open the dead small preta¡¯s body. Following which, when I cut out its stomach as well, I was able to find the Jewel of Space as expected. But there was nothing that which resembled the shadow kaim. Instead, something else caught my eye.


    ¡®...What¡¯s this?¡¯


    It was an object which I¡¯ve never before seen the likes of. A rainbow colored jewel was conspicuously ced within the small preta¡¯s stomach.

 Chapter 41 - Yaksha (1)

    <h4>Chapter 41 ¨C Yaksha (1)</h4>


    Never before had I seen a jewel with such brilliance. It was the size of an adult¡¯s fist and contained a strange mana which stole my attention. But the information regarding it didn¡¯t appear even when I continued to stare at it. Therefore I opened ¡®Mind¡¯s Eye¡¯ to examine, and only then could I know what this jewel was.


    The heart of a member of the Yaksha race. A jewel that contains the life of a Yaksha.


    Has undergone a change due to merging with the core of a shadow kaim.


    User will be branded with the ¡®ck Yaksha¡¯s Seal¡¯ upon consumption.


    Here I found the remnant of the shadow kaim. In other words, this meant that after being caught and eaten by the preta, it merged with the Yaksha stone which was inside the preta¡¯s stomach first...


    ¡®So this was where the Yaksha race inhabited.¡¯


    Blue gates were connected to ces inhabited by other races, but it was actually unknown as to what kind of other race made their homes on Rakshasa Mountain. Yaksha race. It was a race I¡¯ve never heard of as well. So did the preta eat up the Yaksha as well? But that still left a question unanswered: Why a monster that inhabited the 50th level and above was on the 25th level.


    ¡®ck Yaksha¡¯s Seal.¡¯


    This, was what had the highest potential. ck Yaksha¡¯s Seal! Branding one¡¯s body with a seal was the foundation of tattoo magic.There were those who gained special powers through tattoos, though there weren¡¯t many of them.


    Holding the Yaksha stone, I rubbed my chin.


    ¡®A tattoo-user isn¡¯t bad per say as long as there¡¯s a method of development.¡¯


    It was a ssmonly known as ¡®Inkmaster¡¯. To be specific, they could borrow the power of spirits, brand tattoos to raise physical stats, or limit themselves using ¡®sealing tools¡¯ that gather potent power, etcetera. They were variously ssified, but they all shared amon point in that their methods of development were difficult. However, a tattoo that was branded by an Inkmaster who has attained a certain level of mastery definitely contained power. There was a high chance that the ck Yaksha¡¯s Seal fell under that category also. Only, I couldn¡¯t rule out the possibility that it was something rted to ¡®curses¡¯. But I had J?rmungandr, who gave me immunity to ¡®curses of the night¡¯, meaning I had nothing to worry about. I was fast to act once my worried thoughts ended.


    ¡®I just need to swallow it, if I remember correctly.¡¯


    I opened my mouth as wide as possible and held it in my mouth, and in the same instant the Yaksha stone began to melt like jelly.


    Badump...!


    Soon after, I felt a severe pain as if my heart was on fire as all the veins on my body stood out. It felt like all the mana in the jewel was concentrating towards my heart. But the helical mana threaded like spider webs gave off a tremendous sense of stability; in mere moments it had neutralized the mana from the Yaksha stone. Following that the Yaksha stone¡¯s mana flowed along my middle energy center to the upper energy center, then stopped near my right earlobe.


    [User has been branded with the ck Yaksha¡¯s Seal.]


    [User has gained freedom of movement between 1~50th levels.]


    [User has hunted a preta ¡ª ¡®Warrior¡¯s Ritual¡¯pleted.]


    [Entry into ¡®Rakshasa Citadale¡¯ has be possible.]


    A Ó¡ mark was branded on my right earlobe. Although my stats didn¡¯t rose, nor did a skill appear, I had gained something much more beneficial than that; freedom of movement between the 1~50th levels. And also, entry into Rakshasa Citadale...


    ¡®Rakshasa Citadale?¡¯


    It was my first time hearing the name. In addition, what was the Warrior¡¯s Ritual about? I closely looked at the message, and the rted information popped up.


    A ritual carried out when a Yaksha reaches adulthood.


    A Yaksha that has hunted a preta will earn a ¡®Yaksha¡¯s Seal¡¯ and will be acknowledged as an adult, and will gain the right to enter ¡®Rakshasa Citadale¡¯.


    So it¡¯s the Yaksha¡¯sing of age ritual. But I wasn¡¯t of the Yaksha race. Despite that, the reason why I was notified of the ritual beingpleted must be because I had swallowed a ¡®Yaksha¡¯s heart¡¯. I now understood how the small preta had descended levels as well. A Yaksha in the middle of carrying out theing of age ritual failed and was eaten, and the small preta coulde down to the 25th level because of the Yaksha¡¯s heart.


    ¡®A small preta can be reborn into a great preta by consuming a dragon.¡¯


    I wondered whether it hade down to the 25th level with thoughts of eating Etaqua in the first ce, because pretas evolved further by consuming powerful beings, and gobbling up a dragon would allow one to immediately join the ranks of great pretas. It was an amazing series of coincidences, but thanks to that I could discover the true nature of Rakshasa Mountain. Rakshasa Citadale...the name alone made it obvious that it was the ¡®center¡¯ of this mountain.


    ¡®I shouldn¡¯t get too ahead of myself.¡¯


    Growing strongeres first.


    Freedom of movement between the 1st and 50th levels...this was an extraordinary privilege. Rakshasa Mountain was acknowledged as an ¡®ultimate hunting ground¡¯, but there were certain levels on the mountain where people gathered in particr. However, as rumours flew, all kinds of groups began to gather, monopolizing and controlling each levels. They had either made it a requirement to pay an entry fee, or made entry impossible to those unaffiliated to those groups. But...right now I was the only person here. Moreover, I had gotten hold of a ¡®free pass ticket¡¯.


    ¡®It¡¯s the perfectbination.¡¯


    It couldn¡¯t get any more perfect than this! Like a fish meeting water. For a while, at least, I could hunt and grow stronger without reservations.


    ¡®Would this be called power-leveling I wonder?¡¯


    The expression ¡®power-leveling¡¯ was used to refer to crazily leveling up a character in a MMORPG type of game. Although I could only remember it dimly now, this rtable situation unexpectedly evoked that memory to mind. A hard-to-suppress excitement welled up inside me, for this wasn¡¯t simply an opportunity to enhance my stats, but also to obtain equipment! An opportunity to obtain what I want when I want, with nopetitors around, no one to hinder to me...indeed the ¡®time for power-leveling¡¯ has arrived.


    ..


    (Syria Perspective)


    As he beheaded a zombie, Minshik shouted,


    ¡°Do not falter! Zombies target those who show their back first!¡±


    Everywhere there was blood, and screams resounded throughout the cave.


    ¡°Fuck, fuck, fuuuuck!¡±


    ¡°Please die! Die already!¡±


    ¡°Sa-, Saintess-nim, he-, heal m-...aarrgh!¡±


    It was pandemonium. If there was a hell, perhaps it would look like this. They swung their crude weapons in a bid for survival, but the zombies didn¡¯t die easily. They either needed to be cleanly beheaded orpletely incinerated, but it wasn¡¯t realistic to expect modern people, only recently awakened, to be capable of such things right away. They were struggling to survive of course, but what used to be a group of over 50 people had dwindled down to 40 within the span of three days.


    In the midst of it all I was moving without rest. Using the spirits of light, I looked after the people and healed them. But there was a limit with my power alone.


    ¡°Saintess-nim. Please, my leg, please reattach my leg!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t put it back. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    I shook my head, facing the man who had crawled to me carrying one of his legs.


    ¡®I can¡¯t fix what has beenpletely severed.¡¯


    Bone-deep wounds I could manage to heal somehow, but it was difficult to reconnect a body part which had multiple nerves severed. If I were to challenge myself in vain, I would end up expending a huge amount of mana as well. Mana which could be used for another 10 people would be used up for a single person. Hansung Oh...included among his warnings, he had told me to ¡®save as much of your mana as possible before facing Zombie King Akshiz¡¯.


    ¡°Stick it back! I know you can do it! You bitc-...aagh!¡±


    Zombies had pounced on him the moment I tried to stop his bleeding, and at the same time the spirits of light created a shield, protecting me. Minshik hurled his sword and killed the zombies, but the man had already stopped breathing.


    ¡®This is hell.¡¯


    I was being called a Saintess instead of a healer, for some reason, but I was powerless. That¡¯s why I had to further harden my heart, for everyone would die if I were to falter here. Minshik had removed the way back, meaning, it was impossible to return society without killing Zombie King Akshiz. When the battle in the den of zombies finally ended, 38 people remained. Four people had died within a mere 20 minutes of fighting. Minshik searched around the surroundings, and picked up a thick book from a table that waspletely rotten through.


    ¡°Magic book of Orbion the specter. The first person to read this book can inherit the ss ¡®Specter Magician¡¯. Who wants it?¡±


    Gulp!


    The majority of those present had covetous looks in their eyes. The people who had obtained a ss had grown strong these past few days. They exhibited miraculous abilities and could survive with more ease. But only a few could get a ss. It was rare in proportion to its value, andpetitors were aplenty as well. However, ¡®Specter Magician¡¯ he said...the name sounded more powerful than the sses we hade across until now. Minshik dropped another line for added insurance.


    ¡°As the name says for itself, a Specter Magician hasmand over specters. It¡¯s quite a good ss; when the quality of a specter in yourmand grows high, it can even be made to fight in your ce.¡±


    Almost everyone raised their hands. One among them approached Minshik and shouted loudly.


    ¡°Give it to me! Yea? I¡¯ll give you money if that¡¯s what you want. Will a billion do? Or else two billion? Just say the word!¡±


    Smack!


    Minshik struck the youth with a fist. The youth was the eldest son of a CEO who headed one of the 100 big enterprises in Korea, but Minshik¡¯s expression remained cold and unchanged.


    ¡°Looks like you¡¯re still out of it. There¡¯s nothing you can do here with that insignificant money of yours.¡±


    Minshik shook his head as he continued speaking.


    ¡°And if you wish to obtain it, fight for it. Struggle for it! Nothing exists in this world thates for free. All the more so in the world toe!¡±


    Minshik tossed Orbion¡¯s magic book on the ground, and then...


    ¡°Move!¡±


    ¡°It-, it¡¯s mine!¡±


    ¡°Aaarrrgh!¡±


    Chaos ensued. Minshik simply watched it y out with his arms crossed. I bit my lips, and opened my mouth with difficulty.


    ¡°This kind of method isn¡¯t good.¡±


    ¡°And why is that so?¡±


    ¡°Why are you creating a hierarchy, and make them hurt each other?¡±


    Those who had already obtained a ss were chuckling as they spectated the ongoing chaos. Already, a hierarchy was in the making from within. Minshik heaved a sigh.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you, Syria, someone from a prestigious military family? If so, then you should know well how potent an organized power is.¡±


    ¡°Even they didn¡¯t use a method of forcing people at each other¡¯s throats.¡±


    ¡°This is also a way of survival. Survival of the fittest! A world wille, where the weak are weeded out and the strong live on. You still can¡¯t trust in me?¡±


    Minshik...he was an unusual person. It was as if he knew of the future. Everything he spoke of woulde true, and every one of his actions held a meaning behind it. That¡¯s why Shaoting and Linlin, the Chinese siblings, followed Minshik. I, as well, wouldn¡¯t have evene to Korea, if not for a letter whose contents hinted at the past and future. Therefore...he must be right about it this time also; that, in the end, the world would be a ce only for the strong, and as he had also predicted, chaos woulde find us as monsters would invade on a global-scale. But this whole atmosphere of distrust didn¡¯t sit right with me.


    ¡°You are twisted.¡±


    ¡°Those people wille to thank me in the end. They would have died anyway if not for me. What¡¯s more, many, many would rejoice if they were to die, as these people have alreadymitted sins, and they will have gained a chance at redemption if they do survive.¡±


    Minshik had filtered out a select crowd of people and gathered them within the ¡®gate¡¯. Most of the people here were those who had alreadymitted a big sin.


    ¡°So you decide their life and death. As if you¡¯d be a god.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t like me doing so then you decide. Regardless, it makes no difference to the fact that their fate, life or death, rests in your hands.¡±


    At the end of his words, Minshik spoke no further. Instead he simply watched the ongoing chaos with a calm gaze. His words were certainly not wrong, but it couldn¡¯t be considered as going about it the right way either. He had a personality of only looking at the result. It seemed that to him, the means didn¡¯t need to be just as long as the oue was good.


    ¡®I just can¡¯t believe he¡¯s friends with Hansung-nim.¡¯


    Hansung Oh...he was also hiding many things. Minshik, as well, showed apletely different appearance toward him, as opposed to the one being shown now. They were both keeping secrets from one another. How to put it...to Minshik, Hansung was akin to a sore spot that should never be touched. What¡¯s more, they possessedplete opposite natures as well. Like heat and cold, should I say. And here I was, confused, in between them.


    ¡®Right now...there¡¯s nothing else but for me to try harder.¡¯


    I, Syria, proved through actions rather than words. I had no thoughts of criticizing Minshik with words only. I will save them. I would make it so that none die in vain, at least. The least I could do was to prevent further deaths from being caused by that twisted hero.


    ..


    29th level, moor¡¯s Shelter.


    After defeating the monsters called ¡®remnant soldiers of the desert¡¯, I had discovered their depot.


    ¡®Almost all of it is trash.¡¯


    The depot wasrge, but most of its contents were either rotten or damaged. But I managed to fish out several rtively intact items afterbing through the entire depot. Such as,


    <Shield of Gal¨¢pagos (Value ¨C 700)>


    ??Sturdy.


    ??Can obtain the ss ¡®Shieldbearer¡¯ upon equipping.


    <moor¡¯s Straight Sword (Value ¨C 4,300)>


    ?? Str, Agi+1


    ?? Durable and sharp.


    The ce was full to the brim with all kinds of equipments that were heirlooms, and unexpectedly, there was even a decent sword. However, I already had the ss ¡®Universal Man¡¯ which was much superior to anything else. There was no particr need to obtain a ss like Shieldbearer or Spearman.


    ¡®moor¡¯s Straight Sword. This is pretty good.¡¯


    Although I finally managed to get my hand on a single sword at the end of a long bout of hunting, its quality wasn¡¯t bad. And there was no need to be disappointed so soon. There were still many ces to go.

 Chapter 42 - Yaksha (Fin)

    <strong>Chapter 42 ¨C Yaksha (Fin)</strong>


    After I obtained moor¡¯s Straight Sword on the 29th level, I headed toward the 33rd level: ¡¸Realm of Sloth¡¹. When I touched the seal on my earlobe, space would distort and a ¡®gate¡¯ would appear, and through that I could go to whichever level I wished to between the 1~50 levels. There was something I absolutely needed to obtain on the 33rd level.


    ¡®Pdin¡¯s Cape.¡¯


    There had been alot of research regarding this ce, Rakshasa Mountain. An endless amount of information was documented and stashed away in secret libraries, and I perfectly recollected the things I had seen here because this is where I had met Rakshasa and obtained ¡®Heartless Soul Stealer de¡¯ as well. There also existed a variety of unusual dlevels on Rakshasa Mountain. For example, like this very 33rd level.


    There were countless stairs here. The ground below it was like a gaping bottomless chasm, and it would spell death the moment a single misstep is made. While there were no monsters here, resting wasn¡¯t an option. These stairs were made to simply disappear if one stayed still for more than 3 seconds. I could almost feel the intention of forbidding even a moment of sloth. However...the ¡®Pdin¡¯s Cape¡¯ was here somewhere.


    [Constitution is ¡®45¡¯.]


    [Regeneration abilities are nulled.]


    [115,799 stairs must be climbed to reach the next level.]


    This was the problem; the condition. It was designed to drive a person to their very limits by measuring their constitution. What this meant was that at about 45 constitution, climbing 115,799 stairs without rest would lead to utter exhaustion, or even near death. However, only by oveing that limit would the ¡®reward¡¯ be given. I had heard from somewhere that the person had who obtained the Pdin¡¯s Cape had obtained it upon climbing stairs equivalent to three times that person¡¯s limit.


    ¡®Equipments thatprised a single set under the name Pdin. The name itself held the most weight among what could be obtained on Rakshasa Mountain.¡¯


    The five pieces of equipment with the name Pdin were the sole set equipment that could be found on Rakshasa Mountain. Shocking extra powers could be exhibited with every addition of a set piece, allowing their user to take the battlefield by storm. Although there was no precedent of all five being gathered, there was a famous case of a person who had only gathered three of them, who used the ability ¡®Brilliance¡¯ and instantly thwarted the ¡®Invasion of Lord Ormos¡¯. If only I could, at this moment, obtain all the equipment with the name of Pdin...


    ¡®I would be one step closer to them.¡¯


    Demon lords, and the monsters within the purple gates. I had no thoughts of simply leaving them be, to watch from the sidelines as Earth is invaded. I will strike before theye. And for that I needed to endeavor to grow stronger. The Pdin equipments were only the beginning.


    ¡°Are you all with me?¡±


    Growl!


    Etaqua nodded his head, and the gnoll warriors also expressed their will to challenge. Chuckling, I began to climb the stairs.


    ..


    Limit. What did a limit mean? I always did muse over it. There was a time when, in the past, I had also thought to myself ¡®I have no limits¡¯; that I could do anything, be anything. But after crashing into the wall called reality, I despaired and slowly began to weary. I had realized that people, and the world, weren¡¯t subject to my will. Many times had I smiled bitterly at the vanity of beinguded as the strongest. As time passed in that manner, bit by bit I came to realize my limit. It should be attributed to age.


    As people age, theye to possess eyes capable of calm self-analysis. They behind themselves foolhardy adventures and rash judgements, and made decisions only from within the ¡®range of safety¡¯ they had previously experienced as they sought stability. This couldn¡¯t be said to be a bad thing, however, one would slowlye to forget the word ¡®challenge¡¯; this, at least, was true. The more one aged, the more the responsibilities that needed be taken after all.


    I was the same. Pressed down by the weight of my responsibilities, I had sought stability only. My failure would spell humanity¡¯s failure. To shoulder that risk alone was much too heavy for me. Although, now that I¡¯vee back, I whip myself into action under the notion that nothing can stop me, but would it truly be so? My mentality differed in no way from the Hansung Oh of the past. It¡¯s not as if my mental age had reverted together with my return. Perhaps when I truly ran into a ¡®wall¡¯, I would once again fall into resignation and worry about my ¡®limits¡¯.


    [115,799 stairs has been climbed. Will you head to the next level?]


    I felt short of breath, as if my brain was being deprived of oxygen. The gnoll warriors had already gone inside the Jewel of Space. Although I was climbing together with Etaqua, he appeared to be in suffering no less than mine; perhaps he had reached his limit also. My head feltpletely nk. But...I felt as if I could go a little more. Ignoring the message, I continued to climb the stairs. Rest for more than 3 seconds and the stairs would disappear entirely, while the stair count would reset as well. Thus, I mustn¡¯t stop.


    [200,000 stairs has been climbed. ¡®Rune Crested Shield¡¯ can be obtained. Will you head to the next level?]


    Gulp!


    I swallowed my spit. It was extremely tempting. My legs trembled, and I felt as if I would copse at a touch. But even Etaqua, who had lower constitution than me, still hadn¡¯t stopped. The two of uspeted in good faith. I had climbed merely twice my limit. All my resolutions up to this point would be a joke if this was enough to make me fall. My pride wouldn¡¯t allow it.


    I lost feeling in my legs. I had even stopped sweating at this point; all the moisture in my body might have evaporated. It felt like I had been doing nothing but climbing stairs for several days or so. I was already half out of my mind. And atst,


    [390,000 stairs has been climbed. ¡®Pdin¡¯s Cape¡¯ can be obtained. Will you head toward the next level?]


    What I had been aiming for, the Pdin¡¯s Cape, had appeared as a reward. I swallowed audibly. Goosebumps broke out all over my body as a sense of liberation filled me. I stared at Etaqua. Etaqua also stared at me.


    ¡°Right now...if you stop...then I¡¯ll also stop.¡±


    Shake shake!


    Etaqua strongly shook his head. He then gave up walking, crawling instead. This, little bastard. Dragons, down to the veryst one of them, were famous for their excessive pride. Of all things, a dragon that crawled up stairs. I was clueless as to whether he had thrown away his pride, or was saving it, but apparently he had no intention of losing to me. It was the moment that the friendlypetition became a desperate battle.


    Afterwards, a message asking ¡®will you head toward the next level¡¯ would appear every 50,000 stairs climbed. But at this point, these kind of messages didn¡¯t even enter my eyes. I simply walked. Walked, and walked. On this never-ending path, I continued to climb these stairs.


    [500,000 stairs has been climbed. ¡®Garb of the Fist King¡¯ can be obtained. Will you head toward the next level?]


    It changed, from Pdin¡¯s Cape to Garb of the Fist King. My entire body felt heavy. It was as if the force of gravity had changed. I got the impression that someone was telling me to stop here, that I¡¯d done enough.


    Pant..pant...!


    Thud!


    Etaqua copsed. But it was amazing enough an achievement to havee this far; his constitution was lower than mine. He, who should have been exhausted long ago, hade to this point onpetitive spirit alone. After putting Etaqua into the Jewel of Space, I once again began moving. I hade this far. As such, shouldn¡¯t I see it through the ¡®end¡¯?


    [Stamina has reached the limit.]


    [Stamina has reached the limit.]


    [Stamina has reached the limit.]


    A notice repeatedly popped up as if in warning. The color of my legs had taken on a livid blue, and the veins bulged as if on the verge of bursting. But still I had yet to arrive at the ¡®end¡¯.


    I will reach the ce that none could reach. That¡¯s how I intended to confirm my determination. It was like putting a restraint on myself as if in reminder: How could I, someone trying to change everything, be allowed to be incapable of even this?.


    I even lost my sense of time. It felt as if I¡¯d been walking ceaselessly for a week, a month...perhaps even longer than that. My entire body felt stretched and withered, and my mind had shut down. I was mindlessly moving forward as if I¡¯d be a machine.


    [1,000,000 stairs has been climbed. User may obtain the final reward which is only given to those who has far transcended their limits. A higher reward than this does not exist.]


    The end...where none could reach!


    With that, after having reached the millionth step, I couldugh.


    ..


    A man appeared on the summit of the 33rd level. A height that easily passed 2m. Stiff-looking countenance. A man with the seal of ¡®Heavenly Fire(»ðÌì)¡¯ branded on his earlobe.


    ..


    (Hwacheon Perspective)


    ¡°To think an ascendant would appear in the realm I¡¯m in charge of, has it been 3,700 years?¡±


    Looking at the copsed person, I rubbed my chin.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why a Yaksha who has only just finished the Warrior¡¯s Ritual would challenge the Ritual of Ascension, but there¡¯ll be an upheaval at Rakshasa Citadale. And...the ck Yaksha¡¯s seal?¡±


    Finally, Iughed delightedly at this interesting find. It wasmon practice for Yaksha to head straight to Rakshasa Citadale after carrying out the Warrior¡¯s Ritual. There had never been a Yaksha like this who challenged the Ritual of Ascension as well, because in the first ce, the Ritual of Ascension was a trial given to Rakshasa like me, not Yaksha.


    The Twelve Rakshasa. Half-god beings who managed the 12 realms of Rakshasa Mountain. However, a Yaksha had carried out the ritual of a Rakshasa. A hugemotion would arise at Rakshasa Citadale if this truth weree to light. Such an incident hadn¡¯t urred for the past 3,700 years. What¡¯s more, he even had the ¡®ck Yaksha¡¯s seal¡¯ which wasbeled as cursed.


    ¡®There are some peculiarities, for a Yaksha, but interesting. I have to say, there are many fellows who are quite interesting among the greenhorns who seeded in the ritual this time.¡¯


    Of course, this one was a masterpiece even among them all. Perhaps, after such a long time, a bunch of ¡®Sessors¡¯ would appear.


    Sessor. A title given to those qualified to reach the apex. There had been none for the past several thousands of years. And now this time, a flock of Yaksha who may be worthy of that title had emerged. They were still no more than fledglings, but their potential was limitless.


    ¡®What kind of means did sir Daerasun use?¡¯


    There must definitely have been an abnormal set of events for so many of them to appear, when no such individuals had appeared in the past several thousand years. At the same time, the appearance of fellows like this, who weren¡¯t normal in more ways than one, was a powerful sign of someone ying behind the scenes. A serious expression took over me for a moment.


    ¡®He¡¯s in a hurry for some reason. It looks like it wasn¡¯t false when sir Daerasun was saying something threatening had appeared.¡¯


    Daerasun, who governed this Rakshasa realm, the Rakshasa Mountain, was an absolute being. If even he felt threatened into taking action, then it must mean that something ominous was urring somewhere he didn¡¯t know. Following these thoughts, I shook my head. It wasn¡¯t my ce to worry about that. Daerasun was someone who could perceive everything and see farther than any other. However the Twelve Rakshasa may be considered an amazing entity, Daerasun was someone who stood even higher above. It was preposterous for the likes of myself to judge his thoughts. I will no doubte to understand when the time is right.


    ¡®In any case...the tournament this time round should be worth watching.¡¯


    Rather than that, right now I should be directing my attention to the greenhorns who have finished their rituals. Many outstanding Yaksha worthy of being deemed as an all-time new generation had appeared. I was curious as to just how many of these could win the title of Sessor. Finally, I lifted the copsed fellow and slung him over my shoulder. The next moment, I was gone like a sh.

 Chapter 43 - Rumination (1)

    <h4>Chapter 43 ¨C Rumination (1)</h4>


    Tap.


    A drop of water fell.


    Tap-


    The drop of water falling onto my forehead brought me to my senses. But I couldn¡¯t move, as if my body was entirely bound. I opened my eyes at this and discovered I was buried in a pit of sand with only my head narrowly popping out.


    ¡°The foolish Yaksha has finally awoken!¡±


    A sonorous voice. I turned my head around and saw a red-skinned man, holding a rod, looking down at me. Although he appeared to be a human, he wasn¡¯t one, because there could be no human with blue mes zing from their hair. Furthermore, the seal branded on his earlobe was colored red unlike me. It was definitely the seal of a Yaksha.


    ¡°What, are you a mute who can¡¯t speak?¡±


    ¡°Who are you? And where is this?¡±


    ¡°Oh! You do know how to speak.¡±


    The man grinned.


    ¡°Sir Hwacheon has ordered me to save your life. I am a Yaksha of the ¡®Rising Mountain¡¯ n, named ¡®Hwarang Gu¡¯, and in this Rakshasa Citadale I am assigned the position of ¡®me Lotus Chief¡¯. This here is, well, the treatment room so to speak. That¡¯s enough for exnations, yes?¡±


    Not at all. In the first ce all I did was climb the stairs, and yet when I opened my eyes, I was in Rakshasa Citadale.


    Rakshasa Citadale...the ce I had surmised to be the ¡®center¡¯ of Rakshasa Mountain. I did n on going there at some point, but this was much faster than anticipated. The surrounding scenery was as strange as this situation itself as well. Although this was called the treatment room, all I saw were circr holes dotting the ce and the dirt which I was buried with, and through a strange device made of bamboo, which was fixed on the ceiling, some unknown water drops were falling. I was withholding my reply, when the man who introduced himself as Hwarang Gu spoke.


    ¡°Anyway, I hear you even passed the ¡®Ritual of Ascension¡¯ right after finishing the Warrior¡¯s Ritual? Do you know that Rakshasa Citadale is in upheaval because of you?¡±


    ¡°The Ritual of Ascension?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! That cape above your head right now is proof of it.¡±


    I raised my head with difficulty, and why, a ck cape was floating there. When Hwarang Gu made a move to touch me, the cape flew over in a furious flutter and struck the back of his hand.


    ¡°Woah, woah. Look at it go, thinking I want to harm you. Anyhow, it sure is feisty. Indeed a battlegear with ego given only to ascendants.¡±


    I frowned. Come to think of it, I remember seeing a message of having obtained something like that. I opened Mind¡¯s Eye, and the information regarding the cape popped up.


    <Ascendant¡¯s Cape (Value ¨C 300,000)>


    ?? Agi +5


    ?? Due to possessing ego, will only serve a worthy master.


    ?? Possesses Great Magic(S)-grade defensive capability.


    ¡ºA special battlegear given only to those who have safelypleted the Ritual of Ascension. The type of battlegear given varies, but it is told that each and every single one of them contain tremendous powers.¡»


    Is this how it feels to be struck on the top of my head with a hammer? A cape possessing ego...what¡¯s more, a Great Magic(S)-grade defensive capability...Just this cape alone could defend against most magic. An S-grade defensive capability meant that it could even block powerful magic with destructive power matching the scale of a city. The equipments under the name Pdin? Sure they were good, but even 10 of those gathered couldn¡¯t hold a candle to a single gear with Great Magic(S)-grade defensive capability; that¡¯s how immense its ability was.


    With just this one cape, it would be possible to put most magicians to shame. I had seen such items of A-grade a few times before, but an S-grade was a first. Moreover, it even possessed an ego which allowed it to detect and defend against dangers by itself. Could it get any better than this?


    ¡°Originally it is something only granted to the Twelve Rakshasa. For the likes of a Yaksha to perform the ritual of a Rakshasa, you¡¯ve got some guts there. And so, this is this most important question but...what are you up to? For what reason did you go so far as toplete the Ritual of Ascension with the ck Yaksha¡¯s seal?¡±


    It seemed that I was being recognized as a ¡®Yaksha¡¯. He was unhappy at me because of the ck seal branded on my earlobe, although I had thought it was because of the Yaksha stone I had absorbed.


    ¡°Before that, can¡¯t you first take me out of here?¡±


    ¡°Come out by yourself.¡±


    ¡°By my self?¡±


    I exerted all the strength in my body, but it didn¡¯t budge. Hwarang Gu clearly showed no intention of helping whatsoever as he merely watched.


    ¡®It¡¯s sticky.¡¯


    I didn¡¯t seem to be simply dirt. It stuck to my body with a strange viscosity. It was most likely a specially produced dirt, and it was as if it had the effect of urging stability on the body and mana.


    ¡®It¡¯s dirt which moves mana. It should be repelled and fall off if I circte it in reverse.¡¯


    It wasn¡¯t such a difficult thing to do, because I could freely circte the mana twisted into helical forms in any direction after undergoing the mana reconstruction.


    Pssh.


    The grains of sand drew apart from me slowly. After I felt that sensation, I moved my body once more, and in one go I managed to pull myself out of the sand pit.


    ¡°You are quite well-versed in manipting chakra. Even though most reasonably skilled Yaksha would suffer for a long time if they were to fall into the ¡®dirt of purification¡¯.¡±


    Chakra? It was probably another name for mana. He seemed to be sizing me up in his own way, but I did feel a bit of apprehension. By the look of things, I would surely have to act like a Yaksha. If anything, I was relieved to see the Jewel of Space on top of a white outfit ced right before me. After collecting the Jewel of Space, I put on the outfit piece by piece as I opened Mind¡¯s Eye, and as a result of my inspection I could tell that the man before me was the ¡®real deal¡¯.


    Name: Hwarang Gu (Value ¨C 167,700)


    ss: me Lotus Chief


    Titles: None


    Stats:


    Str 80a


    Agi 80a


    Con 84a


    Int 81a


    Mag 90a


    Potential (415/460)


    Special Note: The master of the azure mes, a pure and extremely powerful me.


    Skills: Nine Phoenix Azure mes(Lv9), Yaksha Movement Art(Lv9), Extreme me Mind Art(Lv8)


    The perfect specimen of pure stats, I would say. This is someone who had trained himself to the extreme! In the present situation, he was practically ¡®impossible to confront¡¯.


    ¡°Hansung Oh.¡±


    ¡°Hansung Oh? What an unusual name. From which mountain did youe?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t remember.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t remember?¡±


    There was nothing for it. No other choice than to pretend to be a Yaksha as I explore this ce. It was also an opportunity. Although I would have to examine the others as well, I felt that most other other-races couldn¡¯t evenpare when it came to pure strength alone. They could be a great source of strength if I could move them in a friendly way. That, or I could make early preparations for a potential threat. I may even find something of benefit to me.


    ¡®This is a challenge and adventure as well.¡¯


    To me, they were a ¡®mystery¡¯. Likewise, they also treated me like a ¡®mystery¡¯. I wanted to look a little further into this mystery. I nodded my head.


    ¡°When I came to, I was climbing the stairs.¡±


    ¡°Did your memory ascend to heaven too while performing the Ritual of Ascension?¡±


    ¡°What a boring joke.¡±


    ¡°...You¡¯re quite the interesting one aren¡¯t you.¡±


    Hwarang Gu crossed his arms. He looked at me as if wanting to determine the truth. I decided to go all-out brazenly. If they recognized me as a ¡®Yaksha¡¯, then there was no need to be shy.


    ¡°What do I have to do from now?¡±


    ¡°Are you truly unaware?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have asked if I¡¯d known.¡±


    Shrugging his shoulders, Hwarang Gu gave a small click of his tongue.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be participating in the ¡®Stigma Tournament¡¯. It¡¯s where the greenhorns who havepleted the Warrior¡¯s Ritualpete with one another. You¡¯ll be targeted since you became famous the moment you appeared. But don¡¯t worry. You¡¯ll only die at worst.¡±


    ¡°Will it begin immediately?¡±


    That would be troublesome. I had to consider withdrawing just in case that Stigma Tournament is beyond what I can handle. But thankfully, Hwarang Gu shook his head.


    ¡°We value and respect harmony amongst the Yaksha. The next 34 days will be free. You may form a group before the Stigma Tournament begins, or even enter another¡¯s group. Or else...hm, exining with words is too vague so follow me. I¡¯ll give you a tour of Rakshasa Citadale while we¡¯re at it.¡±


    Hwarang Gu moved at one, and I quickly followed behind. Upon leaving the treatment room I could see countless other rooms. The height of the ceiling appeared to be about 20m high, and white-winged monkeys were moving here and there, either cleaning or carrying out tasks.


    ¡®I never expected there to be so many white monkeys.¡¯


    White monkeys were special monsters. They weren¡¯t aggressive, but they had high intelligence, and more than anything they were experts at finding ¡®miracle elixirs¡¯. Not much about them was known apart from that, because they were so few in number, and the number of people who seeded in taming one could be counted on a hand.


    However, this ce was teeming with white monkeys. There were over two hundred of them, as far as the eye could see. It was quite a marvelous sight, to see those rare white monkeys cleaning or doing misceneous work. We finally left the pce only to be greeted by Mother Nature.


    ¡®...Unbelievable.¡¯


    It was beyond the scale of vast nature. Nothing was small. A precipice reaching as high as the sky, the clouds that mysteriously enveloped it, and the waterfall descending from that precipice...and pces, no smaller than most reasonably sized buildings, lined up in rows. And there were the Yaksha. The appearances of the Yaksha werergely varied. Mainly it was their color of skin or hair that differed. Most possessed features simr to humans, but it was like they were divided into every color of the rainbow. Every single one of them stared at me strangely.


    ¡°It¡¯s because everyone has an interest in you. It¡¯s been a long 3,700 years since a Yaksha has passed the Ritual of Ascension after all.¡±


    Just what is this Ritual of Ascension he¡¯s been going on about...


    The ck cape was already naturally worn on my back. It gave no difort, and it was so light as if I weren¡¯t wearing it that I just might lose it by mistake. Finally, Hwarang Gu took me to a spacious training hall.


    ¡°This is the sparring hall. Here you can spar with a white monkey of your choice.¡±


    White monkeys and around a hundred Yaksha were in the midst of sparring. Normal white monkeys resembled small monkeys, but the white monkeys in the training hall were the size of boulders. Moreover, they showed extraordinary movements as if they¡¯d learnt martial arts.


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t touch the monkey king. It has a foul temper, so you might die.¡±


    Cra-cra-crash!


    There was a huge white monkey even among them. It was the owner of a herculean power; the ground quaked when it stomped its foot, and a thrust of its punch would send the air screaming.


    Grooaar-!


    One woman was facing that monkey king bare-handed. Indigo colored hair, white skin, and graceful looks that wouldn¡¯t look out of ce on a portrait depicting beauty. Although she had an exemry feline look and appeared strong-willed, she showed a much closer look to a ¡®human¡¯ than the Hwarang Gu who was before me.


    ¡°Yuseol! Her Divine Spirit True Fist is as beautiful and destructive as ever.¡±


    Craack!


    The woman exchanging fists with the monkey king stomped the ground andunched a fist. The ground split apart as the monkey king was struck directly on his stomach. The monkey king¡¯s huge body was blown back and, with a crashing noise, was embedded in the ground. The woman called Yuseol casually dusted off her fist and exited the sparring hall.


    ¡°If only she was a bit more affable then she would have easily formed a group already. Tsk tsk.¡±


    Looking at her prowess, she probably wouldn¡¯t need a group. I could clearly feel the difference in ¡®level¡¯ between her and the other Yaksha in the sparring hall. Although not quite at the level of Hwarang Gu, it was definitely enough to be included among the ranks of the powerful.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take you to the library next. If you neither want to form a group, nor to train, then you can just stay in the library and read.¡±


    Hwarang Gu moved busily. As far as scale went, the library didn¡¯t lose out to the other pces. As usual, there were white monkeys inside as I entered the ce, either organizing books or cleaning dust. Behind them was an enormous library. Books, appearing to number in the tens of thousands or perhaps tenfold that, were lined up in rows. Every single one of these books were rted to martial arts. And in the midst of it all was one man.


    ¡°Dear me, I never expected sir Wolcheon to be here. I would haveeter if I had known.¡±


    Hwarang Gu hastily got onto a knee and bowed his head. The person called Wolcheon...it was an old man with white hair, with a face that gave off a harsh impression without a hint of benevolence.


    ¡®That old man is...¡¯


    I couldn¡¯t help but to share in Hwarang Gu¡¯s surprise, because that old man was the person who had introduced himself as Rakshasa and handed over the ¡®Heartless Soul Stealer de¡¯ before dying.

 Chapter 44 - Rumination (2)

    <h4>Chapter 44 ¨C Rumination (2)</h4>


    It was at the time when I was the sole one climbing the 77th level, ¡¸Realm of Inmmation¡¹. The most humanity had explored of Rakshasa Mountain was up to the 81th level, or at least officially it was. I was in the midst of challenging to see which level I could climb to by myself, and I had seeded in exploring up to the 78th level.


    The reason why I had met the Rakshasa old man on the 77th was also because I was in the middle of going back, as my progress had been impeded by a gigantic monster that controlled the atmosphere on the 78th level, the ¡®dark fire beast¡¯. At the time, the old man had many injuries to the extent it wouldn¡¯t have been strange for him to die immediately. He had appeared to have been done in by some other, and it was with apparent desperation that he had handed over the sword manual of the Heartless Soul Stealer de to me.


    ?I would rather...you have it! This should also be fate and karma!


    I had tried potions and healing type skills, but it didn¡¯t work on the old man. At the same time, I could tell at a nce that the ck clouds rolling over from the south were ominous.


    ?Go! They will not be able to find you, an ¡®usurper¡¯!


    I remember having no choice but to retreat, my back pushed away by the old man. After that I realized the Heartless Soul Stealer de wasn¡¯t any ordinary sword art, and practised it like mad. The 9th level...the boundary called shedding at which one bes capable of using force.


    The book which the old man was reading appeared familiar to me as well.


    ¡®Heartless Soul Stealer de?¡¯


    The old man was reading the book which had the same name to it, even the same appearance, when he put it back on the bookshelf, as if it was of no particr importance.


    ¡°Pay no mind. Had I wished none to enter, you would have been chased off by the white monkeys from here.¡±


    He was of soft speech in contrast to his rather fierce-looking features. Hwarang Gu raised his head slightly.


    ¡°Thank you. But to see sir Wolcheon in the library, I think it a rare sight.¡±


    ¡°All martial arts are gathered here. Continuous reading may at times grant new enlightenment. You have not seen me because while Ie here often, you do not.¡±


    Hwarang Gu scratched his head as if pricked by the truth.


    ¡°Ahh...because well, the dizziness I feel when breathing in the air of this ce is like the symptoms of enlightenment to me.¡±


    ¡°Tut tut, it must be that you simply dislike reading letters. They say Yaksha as ofte only understand the ¡®outside¡¯ and never try toprehend the ¡®inside¡¯. I can see why, seeing you now.¡±


    ¡°Haha. I shall take it as apliment.¡±


    ¡°Like an old fox, you only resemble Hwacheon in this aspect.¡±


    Unable to spit on a smiling face, Wolcheon simply shook his head as Hwarang Guughed contentedly. He then turned his gaze to look at me.


    ¡°This child is? I think it my first time seeing him.¡±


    ¡°It seems sir Wolcheon has yet to hear. Rakshasa Citadale is in upheaval because of this rascal.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, seeing as he has the Ascendant¡¯s Cape, apparently a Yaksha has carried out the Rakshasa¡¯s ritual.¡±


    ¡°You can tell?¡±


    His gaze became sharp, causing goosebumps to break out over my body. The gaze of the old man in my memory was of desperation, but merely facing the Rakshasa before me called Wolcheon and it felt like another ¡®wall¡¯ was towering over me. Carefully I opened Mind¡¯s Eye.


    Name: Wolcheon (Value ¨C 919,500)


    ss: Twelve Heavenly Generals


    Titles:


    ?? Wolcheon (Lv9, all stat +5)


    Stats:


    Str 101(96+5)s


    Agi 102(97+5)s


    Con 100(95+5)s


    Int 101(96+5)s


    Mag 110(100+10)s


    Potential (484+30/493)


    Special Note: A Rakshasa who governs the 12 realms of the Rakshasa Realm. Has seeded the name of Wolcheon(Heavenly Moon), one of the Twelve Heavenly Generals.


    Skills: ???


    Equipped Gear: Ascendant¡¯s Gauntlet (Mag +5)


    I could see through everything except his skills. It must be the limit of what I could see with the Authority of Mind¡¯s Eye, something close to a defensive zone.


    I was slightly shocked. Although it definitely wasn¡¯t a match for demon lords, he possessed a peerlessly powerful ability ranked right below them. Uriel Diablo¡¯s overall stats was 555. Wolcheon was 514. Though there may be some slight differences in other areas as well, Never before had I seen an overwhelming being like this among ¡®other races¡¯...with the except of just one person: The Elf Queen.


    However, he was named as one of the Twelve Heavenly Generals, meaning there were 12 such individuals like this in this ce. At the same time, a question rose in my mind. Just who exactly could kill a powerful individual like this? The Wolcheon of the past was clearly fatally wounded by another. He had appeared wretched, cornered to the edge of death.


    Looking at me with interest in his eyes, Wolcheon spoke.


    ¡°So there was a reason why the other Rakshasa were paying attention to the ¡®Stigma Tournament¡¯ this time.¡±


    ¡°What say sir Wolcheon also take this opportunity to select a ¡®sessor¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I shall consider it if ever a child to my liking appears.¡±


    ¡°I hear you were like that even before I was born. The rumours are wide-spread. That sir Wolcheon will never take a sessor.¡±


    ¡°It seems some loose-tongued fellows have been spreading it thoughtlessly?¡±


    The atmosphere became cold rapidly. Hwarang Gu hastily covered his mouth with both hands. He had realized his slip of the tongue. Finally, Wolcheon patted Hwarang Gu on the shoulder as he began moving.


    ¡°I shall be off now, so make sure to cause no incidents. Escpecially your sister.¡±


    ¡°Haha, she¡¯s already out of my hands so...¡±


    Ssssrng!


    A ck fog gushed up from the ground to envelop Wolcheon¡¯s body, and then hepletely disappeared.


    ¡°Ha! A ghost-like technique as ever. Sir Wolcheon should be the sole person able to so freely use space movement techniques like that. Ah, this guy. You can breathe now.¡±


    Huaaah!


    Hwarang Gu¡¯s words became the trigger, and I could finally gasp for air. Only then did I realize my breathing had been stopped. Perhaps it¡¯s because I had encountered a ¡®wall¡¯ which I was incapable of confronting with my current ability.


    ¡°You are fortunate. Because sir Wolcheon is very busy, he is harder to meet than the other sirs.¡±


    ¡°I will...read books. I find this ce to my liking.¡±


    I recovered my senses and told Hwarang Gu. Hwarang Gu said as he chuckled,


    ¡°The Yaksha who find this ce for the first time all say the same thing as you did. And at most 3 days, they would give up to go outside and exchange blows with the white monkeys.¡±


    It seemed that Yaksha weren¡¯t particrly friendly with letters. As I appeared to look through the library, Hwarang Gu shrugged his shoulders.


    ¡°Anyhow, my guiding ends here. Do as you wish with the remaining 34 days.¡±


    Hwarang Gu gave a long yawn and turned around to leave the library. He had drawn a line as if to say this was as far as his obligation went. Immediately I took out the book which Wolcheon was reading. Heartless Soul Stealer de. The name on the book was definitely the same as what I had learnt.


    ¡®The contents are different.¡¯


    But the contents differed slightly. What¡¯s more, it only contained knowledge of up to the 10th level, not the 12th level. A suspicion grew in my heart as to why the content differed even with the same name, and why Wolcheon was reading it with interest.


    ¡®I should take a look at the other books too.¡¯


    It was like all the martial arts of the world were gathered here. This ce was a gold mine. It was a strange fate handed out to me by heaven, and an opportunity that mustn¡¯t be lost. I sat on the spot and began reading the books from beginning to end.


    ..


    World Sovereign Step, Iron Blood Beast Fist, Heavenly Demon Mind Art. I endlessly came across skill books with grandiose names, and they recorded surprising contents worthy of such names. Even in the past there was no books with such systematic and technical martial techniques, because humans learnt magic or techniques as skills, not from books. The vast majority of people didn¡¯t even know how mana actually moved when they used skills, meaning they only literally had superficial knowledge.


    I was the same as well. I had thought myself different, but I could realize how ignorant I was after entering this library and reading countless books.


    ¡®I never knew it was this systematic...¡¯


    It was surprising. Going above the level of surprise, it was awe-inspiring. The chakra which they spoke of. The mana which we spoke of. The two was definitely the same thing. But these people didn¡¯t neglect their study of chakra. They had explored further deeply the inner aspects of it, going through enlightenment, seeking truth and the like. By contrast, humans had approached the subject scientifically. It was only natural for no proper findings to result from that.


    A whole new world had opened. Hwarang Gu had imed that I would give up and leave within 3 days, but I immersed myself in reading books even going so far as to reduce intake of food and drink. Often times I wouldn¡¯t even touch the food, water and the like which the white monkeys brought me. I wasn¡¯t even sleepy. The things ced around me right now was much too amazing for those things. If I could go to the outside with the knowledge in this library contained in my mind, then perhaps the birth of countless ¡®supermen¡¯ woulde about much faster.


    ¡®What is clear is that sword arts, fist arts, kick arts are all prerequisites for the mind arts.


    Mind arts; it was a way to train the mind, and therefore cultivate chakra. At the same time, I found the answer as to why I was unable to move past the 9th level of Heartless Soul Stealer de.


    ¡®I have no matching mind art.¡¯


    What¡¯s certain was that ¡®Heartless Soul Stealer de¡¯ was superior to all the other sword techniques in this ce. No, Heartless Soul Stealer de contained the basics of all skill books, including sword techniques. That¡¯s why every time I read these countless books I could ¡®understand¡¯. But the Heartless Soul Stealer de was, in the end, also iplete. Thousands of kinds of mind arts existed, but there was no mind art which perfectly matched the Heartless Soul Stealer de. Did it truly not exist? Or perhaps...


    ¡®Wolcheon. Maybe he would know.¡¯


    My heart stirred. But I couldn¡¯t easily ask either. If I were to inform him that I had learnt the real Heartless Soul Stealer de, then I need to have him understand that I hade back from the past. I had no way of predicting what action Wolcheon would take in that process. The possibility of being killed was obviously high. Wolcheon of the past had handed over the Heartless Soul Stealer de out of desperation. He had done so it hide it from someone. Probably, it was highly likely that his death was also rted to the original copy of the Heartless Soul Stealer de. That¡¯s why I needed to take even more care in approaching the topic.


    ¡®Sessor. I should be able to learn if I were to be his sessor.¡¯


    I was still uncertain as to what the Stigma Tournament was. But I knew that the Rakshasa were looking for ¡®sessors¡¯ through that tournament. Wolcheon...hadn¡¯t he said this also? That he would ¡®consider it if there is anyone to his liking¡¯. If he selected me as his sessor, perhaps...I maye to learn the mind art which matches the Heartless Soul Stealer de. Or else I might find even a small clue rted to it.


    I continued to bury myself in books. The books remaining were aplenty. Perhaps there were parts that I had overlooked. Also, all the martial arts here were what became the ¡®foundation¡¯ to other Yaksha or Rakshasa. This meant that if I absorbed and understood all the martial arts of this ce, it should be much easier when facing other Yaksha. At the same time I ruminated on the things I had learnt, and discovered the things which I had to learn from now on. I organized the things I had to learn without fail and saved it in the storage of my mind.


    ¡®Hundred-step God Fist, Vajra Body. I should make sure to learn these two.¡¯


    The inside of my mouth was dry, my eyes were thoroughly bloodshot, but I didn¡¯t mind. Who knew when an opportunity like this woulde again. I was using my time in a most significant way.


    ..


    ¡°Look look. He¡¯se out.¡±


    ¡°Schr-nim has finally stepped out of the library.¡±


    ¡°So he¡¯s the Yaksha who finished the Ritual of Ascension? I should have a look at his skills.¡±


    All the attention of the Yaksha was gathered to one ce in the sparring hall. Hansung Oh...the center of all rumours, the Yaksha who had passed the Ritual of Ascension! He stood before a rank 3 white monkey. A rank 3 was the lowest rank in the sparring hall, the basic level at which any Yaksha who had passed the Warrior¡¯s Ritual could deal with.


    ¡°Pfft haha! What, is he ying around?¡±


    ¡°Look at him tripping over himself. Is that what he calls the Hundred-step God Fist?¡±


    ¡°Drunken fist, more like!¡±


    But his performance was pathetic. Each and every one of the Yakshaughed in derision and clicked their tongues. His footwork was foul for a start, and he wasn¡¯t even capable of dealing with a single rank 3 white monkey. He only earned a beating, far from even striking back, so for the Yaksha, who revered strength, it was only natural for them tough in ridicule. Had the rumours been exaggerated? Or perhaps it turned out that the Ritual of Ascension wasn¡¯t much for the mere likes of that Yaksha to pass it.


    ¡°Hwarin. Look look. It¡¯s so funny.¡±


    ¡°Kukuk! There¡¯s no way he¡¯s doing that on purpose to make usugh, is he?¡±


    But among them there was one Yaksha with no interest in the spectacle. The Yakshi with crimson long hair called Hwarin Gu took one look at him before whipping her head around to say,


    ¡°I¡¯ve no interest in weaklings.¡±


    <hr ss="wp-block-separator">

 Chapter 45 - Rumination (3)

    <h4>Chapter 45 ¨C Rumination (3)</h4>


    (Hwarin Gu)


    Skills and movements like that...it was worse than even the weakest of the Yaksha here. I had some expectations hearing that he had passed the Ritual of Ascension, but it was mere rumours after all.


    ¡®The story about him being a ck Yaksha must be exaggerated too.¡¯


    I was certain, that the fearful stories of ancient times passed down regarding the ¡®ck Yaksha¡¯ were in fact a fabrication to raise the vignce of other Yaksha. Instead, I poured all of my attention to a certain woman.


    Graaaaaar-!!


    A gigantic beast roared. The Monkey King, who solely held the title of ¡®king¡¯ among all the other white monkeys in the sparring hall. The earth shook up and down and everyone held their breaths. Before the beast quietly stood a woman with beautiful indigo hair.


    ¡°As expected of the junior head of the Heaven Bound n. Unaffected even before the monkey king.¡±


    ¡°The generations of the Heaven Bound n has declined muchpared to the old days, but she not called the st pride of Heaven Bound¡¯ for nothing.¡±


    ¡°How beautiful. Beautiful!¡±


    The majority of Yaksha within the sparring hall had stopped their actions and focused their attention on her. Yuseol. She was among the Yaksha counted on one hand who had just finished the Warrior¡¯s Ritual and could face off with the monkey king. Her Divine Spirit True Fist was, how to put it, restrained yet beautiful. Her movements themselves contained dignity; extremely fast and powerful, and appearing hard yet soft.


    Groaar!


    The monkey kingunched a fist as if to pay back his grievances until now. It was a wild and crude fist. Simply stretching it out caused a huge wind-pressure. It wouldn¡¯t be strange to get pulverized if struck by that fist. Yuseol parried that fist at an angle. She naturally averted the overwhelming difference in strength, and then spun her body on the spot to strike the monkey king¡¯s arm. The monkey king¡¯s gigantic arm was bent in an instant. She had urately targeted the joint.


    Graaaaargh!


    The screaming monkey king spread his arms and attempted to size Yuseol. But Yuseol¡¯s movements were like flowing water; a quietly flowing wave that couldn¡¯t be caught, passing through the openings.


    ¡°Growing stronger by the day. Her Shifting Blossom is at a high level.¡±


    ¡°Would they be called for show? Even among them the Dark Dragon is number one!¡±


    ¡°Nah, not as good as Mubaek no matter how you look at it. In front of War Dragon, even Dark Dragon will have to think twice!¡±


    ¡°Well, in any case the winner of this time¡¯s tournament should be one of them. I hear sir Daerasun will be giving a reward personally. There are wide-spread rumours that he will give a dragon and a soul shield.¡±


    They argued back and forth, while in the meantime, Yuseol¡¯s fist once again made contact with the monkey king¡¯s chest.


    Thump!


    A short powerful sound. Unlike the other day, the monkey king didn¡¯t roll over the floor or get blown away. Instead...


    Ssssrk!


    He fell over, appearing to have fainted. The small white monkeys swarmed over, pping his cheeks or pulling up his closed eyelids, and then fifteen or so of the white monkeys lifted him up using both hands and began moving somewhere.


    ¡°That¡¯s settled then.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll have to be at least a monkey emperor, not a monkey king, in order to face the Five Dragons.¡±


    ¡°Really now, no matter how you look at it a monkey emperor is...¡±


    Yuseol dusted off her fist once and began to move leisurely, and then several small white monkeys carried over a longrge umbre, with an indigo dragon drawn on it, to cover her. Yuseol left the sparring hall with long steps, and Hwarin Gu, who was watching her, narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°Look at her acting proud.¡±


    ¡°Even though Hwarin-agassi is stronger.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, the Sanguinary Demon Sword is way stronger than the Divine Spirit True Fist. Making such a fuss about beating the monkey king!¡±


    When the sparring ended, the Yakshi near me began chattering. But my expression didn¡¯t change. Though I didn¡¯t want to admit it, it couldn¡¯t be helped that all the Yaksha paid close attention the Yuseol¡¯s movements, as if entranced. Even I was no exception. I knew as well that what they said to me were empty words. While I did make myself known as the ¡®Crimson Dragon¡¯, one of the ¡®Five Dragon¡¯s, I knew that the credit was all due to my oppa Hwarang Gu, chief of the me Lotus Division. My strength was at the lowest even among the Five Dragons, and I wasn¡¯t capable of taking down the monkey king is such a cool way.


    ¡®When the Stigma Tournament begins...at that time for sure.¡¯


    My eyes were lit with mes. It¡¯s merely the beginning. I was strong when it came to actual action. I was confident that I wouldn¡¯t lose in a showdown with my life on the line. Slightly turning my head, I saw the Yaksha, who had nothing but rumours going for him, getting beaten up by a rank 3 white monkey as usual.


    ¡°Haha! Still with the pstick routine as usual.¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t even be able tond a hit at that rate.¡±


    ¡°Is that really the Hundred-step Ghost Fist?


    It would be a lie if I said I had no expectations for him. But having seen him in real life, it was nothing but pathetic. I was considering whether to recruit him into my own group, if he had shown a pretty good performance, however...


    ¡®Weaking!¡¯


    Reality was the total opposite; failing to meet expectations. Ipletely pushed him out of my mind. A Yaksha like that entering my group would do nothing but drag me down.


    ..


    ¡®It¡¯s difficult.¡¯


    Hundred-step Ghost Fist. It wasn¡¯t about striking with the fist. It was about stretching out the fist and exploding the mana. Only then, being capable of instantly destroying rock from a hundred steps away, could it be called Hundred-step Ghost Fist. There was no other reason for me choosing the Hundred-step Ghost Fist. It was because I was rather confident when it came to the fine control of mana. The infinitely circting helical mana enabled a fine control iparable to any other. But theory and actual practise was different.


    ¡®I¡¯ll end up dying if it¡¯s like this every day.¡¯


    Thest time I got struck on the chin and fainted. My brain shook for an instant from the urate blow. I was in the treatment room when I opened my eyes again.


    ¡®I can¡¯t be daunted at the first step.¡¯


    I had only taken the first of steps, however. There was no need to be disappointed so early. Leaving the treatment room, I headed toward the room I was allocated. It was the room which a white monkey had guided me to after Hwarang Gu had went off. It was quite spacious, about 1780 square feet wide. The interior was bare-bones, but it was fine as long as I could lie down withfort.


    ¡®There are still many superfluous parts in my movements.¡¯


    My body was stiff. Its reaction was slow too. I was feeling the severity of it.


    ¡°Etaqua.¡±


    As I took out the Jewel of Space and called Etaqua¡¯s name, he appeared before with a small sh of light. The room was closed on all four sides, and the only entry was the door in the front. It was built in a way hard to spy in on, so I could unhesitantly take out Etaqua.


    Growl!


    He was healthy. Vigorous to the point it was unthinkable that he had copsed after climbed 500,000 stairs. I had obtained the ¡®Ascendant¡¯s Cape¡¯ from that ce, but after Etaqua climbed those stairs he had broken through his limits and received a reward as well.


    ¡®He obtained an elixir, and ate it.¡¯


    Even I didn¡¯t know what an elixir was. I had thought it was something simr to miracle elixirs, but it was only after confirming his status with Mind¡¯s Eye did I know.


    Name: Etaqua (Value ¨C 264,300)


    Race: White Dragon


    Titles:


    ?? Cry of the Storm (Lv9, Agi +15)


    Stats:


    Str 61ss


    Agi 56(41+15)s


    Con 45s


    Int 37a


    Mag 33b


    Potential (217+15/487)


    Special Note:


    Has inherited the Blessing of the Sage, Cry of the Vast Storm.


    Has formed a powerful bond of trust with the user.


    Has consumed an elixir.


    His stats had increased overall, but there was a part that was subtly changed. It was the growth potential of magic power. Although it only ended at changing from C to B, but better than nothing. His potential had slightly increased as well. By 2.


    ¡®How extraordinary.¡¯


    But I was amazed. Etaqua¡¯s potential was already at 485, a tremendously high range. It virtually meant that there was no more room to grow. Even in this ce, apart from ¡®Wolcheon¡¯ who was one of the Twelve Heavenly Generals, there was none who possessed higher potential than Etaqua. It went without saying that the higher the stat, the harder it was to increase. And yet at 485, almost near the peak, a whole 2 increased. None of the miracle elixirs I had consumed in the past had ever caused a change of that level. It meant that if an individual with low potential had eaten it, about 10~20 should have risen.


    ¡°First, eat.¡±


    I passed over a fewrge tes of food. They were already in the room thanks to having asked the white monkeys earlier. Of course, what could be called food here were mostly things like grass, fruits and extremely small amounts of meat. The food was cooked as little as possible thus retaining natural vors, which was a plus, but it wasn¡¯t able topletely fill Etaqua¡¯s stomach.


    Etaqua, having emptied the tes in moments, smacked his lips with regret. He was 2m tall when I first saw him, but now he almost reached 3m. He had grown 1m during this time. It would be impossible to hide him if he continued to grow at this rate.


    ¡°You need to eat a little less.¡±


    Whine.


    Etaqua¡¯s tail sagged. Well I admit it is a bit too much to chide him over food. After hiding Etaqua once again, I called for the white monkeys and asked for more food. The monkey whites were wide-eyed at my abnormal appetite. Following that, it was only after the gnoll warriors had eaten as well that I could move on to the next stage.


    ¡®I have to release mana and then detonate it.¡¯


    I brought over a huge basin of water, and then assumed the horse stance. With my legs spread wide out, I thrusted a fist toward the water in the basin.


    Ssh!


    The water overflowed. The water mustn¡¯t overflow in order to make the Hundred-step Ghost Fist possible. Only when the water is still and the basin is punctured will the starting point of the Hundred-step Ghost Fist be a sess.


    ¡®How to puncture the basin by striking the water?¡¯


    The instant I strike the water, it is inevitable that the repelling force causes the water to heavily rise. It was impossible to only puncture the basin¡¯s bottom part by quietly pouring in mana. No matter how I thrust my fist, over and over, the result was the same. In mere moments, the surrounding was drenched in water.


    Knng?


    Etaqua, who was ying with the gnoll warriors and pretending to eat them, stared at me attentively. No doubt he wondered, ¡®what is up with the guy¡¯, seeing as how I spent a quarter of the day striking at water.


    ¡°You want to try as well?¡±


    Nod nod!


    Etaqua nodded his head. When I handed over the basin full of water to him, Etaqua whipped down his tail.


    Ssh!


    Naturally, water overflowed.


    ¡°The water mustn¡¯t overflow. You have topress mana and puncture the bottom of the basin.¡±


    Ssh! Ssh!


    Truly, a watery disaster. Etaqua tilted his head in confusion. Looks like my troubles were conveyed to him. He then erected his tail in a straight line, pointed it toward the basin and plunged it in just like that, making a loud ¡®crash!¡¯ noise and causing a vortex in the water. At the same time, the bottom of the basin was punctured.


    ¡°...Although that¡¯s not quite it, simr.¡±


    Etaqua held his head high, as if asking for more praise. Holding up the punctured basin, I stared nkly.


    ¡®A single point. Moving the center of gravity and in that very instant before striking, like a loaded spring...the answery in rotation, not detonation.¡¯


    It was only for a moment, but the mana which Etaqua concentrated in his tail had rotated crazily. That¡¯s where the answery. Cirction. It turns out that the Hundred-step Ghost Fist was a product of cirction as well. Though it did bother me that the question which had been troubling me over the past few days was resolved in an instant by Etaqua, it wasn¡¯t a bad thing.


    ¡°Etaqua.¡±


    Krrng?


    The rascal tilted his head. I became convinced. There were plenty more times where teaching another and learning with certainty was helpful rather than learning and acting alone. What¡¯s more, together with Etaqua, I would be able to more easily grasp the parts which I overlooked or don¡¯t know about. Lightly smiling, I opened my mouth to say,


    ¡°Let¡¯s learn it together. Hundred-step Ghost Fist.¡±


    ..


    For three days straight I went to the sparring hall.


    ¡°Here again.¡±


    ¡°No doubt he¡¯ll faint and be carried out again.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t he get sick of it?¡±


    I had challenged three times, and fainted at three times so I had to be carried off to the treatment room. Rank 3 white monkey...a monkey with a slightly smaller size than me was cackling with mockingughter. I quietly assumed a stance.


    Gibber. Screech!


    The white monkey then began moving. It leaped about 5m into the air, and hid its body using the sunlight. This was a method of attacking in the moment when the opponent closed or squinted their eyes. I had already experienced this numerous times. I altogether closed my eyes, and then gathering everything into a single point, Iunched a fist. The white monkey pped the wings on its back and dodged the fist, but the Hundred-step Ghost Fist wasn¡¯t a ¡®striking¡¯ technique in the first ce. The Hundred-step Ghost Fist was a technique which pulverized an opponent a hundred steps distance away without even touching.


    Thud!


    A short and heavy sound. Simultaneously, the white monkey tumbled about the ground.


    Gibber! Gibgib! Screech!


    The rank 3 white monkey let out groans of pain. Seeing that, I calmly nodded my head.


    ¡®It worked.¡¯


    Only after a four long days did I learn the basics of the Hundred-step Ghost Fist.

 Chapter 46 - Rumination (Fin)

    <h4>Chapter 46 ¨C Rumination (Fin)</h4>


    Only after a long four days did I learn the basics of the Hundred-step Ghost Fist. The basics. Literally, I had learnt the part which was the foundation. Although its destructive power may be weak for now, since I had grasped the theory to Hundred-step Ghost Fist, the rest could be worked on gradually. At the same time, the jeering of the Yaksha stopped. Though I hadn¡¯t minded it in the first ce, silence arrived abruptly.


    ¡°Did I just see wrongly?¡±


    ¡°You must have. If a white monkey got hit by a proper Hundred-step Ghost Fist, its body should have entirely exploded.¡±


    ¡°Looked to be a simple force discharge.¡±


    But soon various different opinions arose. The fundamental of Hundred-step Ghost Fisty in force discharge under the category of force pration, so their words weren¡¯tpletely wrong.


    Force discharge was the extension of instantaneous force which stems from the leg, transfers to the hips and from there to the hands. Force pration was the name of an advanced technique above force discharge which impacted the internals only. But no one acknowledged that I had executed force pration, because the subtleties of force pration was counted among the most difficult throughout the entirety of all martial studies. If not for the theory of cirction and the helical mana, not even I would have seeded in 400 days, much less 4.


    ¡®I¡¯m struggling in actual practise.¡¯


    If it was a proper Hundred-step Ghost Fist, indeed as they said, the body of the white monkey tumbling about the ground should have exploded. This meant that though I had seeded in delivering a one-point strike, the concentration of mana was insufficient to agitate the internals and explode the opponent to death.


    I felt like I was wholly drained of mana with one execution of the move, as if I had failed to disy even a quarter of my magic power out of a total of 64. But the sense of aplishment was much greater than my disappointment.


    Those geniuses that I couldn¡¯t catch up to...they were naturally endowed with the talent to perform these kinds of theory-based techniques. When they saw one thing, they would understand ten things, and when they understood ten things, they would open up a whole new level of understanding.


    Now, I had managed to stand shoulder to shoulder with those people. At the very least, I could proudly say that I possessed a foundation. All that remained was practise. Practise, in the form of unrestrained battle.


    ¡°It¡¯s only natural to be capable of force discharge if you¡¯re a Yaksha.¡±


    ¡°He was lucky. If only the white monkey wasn¡¯t careless, it wouldn¡¯t have been hit by the likes of that blind fist.¡±


    ¡°If it were me, I would have dodged it with my eyes closed.¡±


    Even as they ndered me, there were no Yaksha straightforwardly trying to approach me. I had a gist of the reason.


    ¡®The ck Yaksha¡¯s seal.¡¯


    You¡¯ll be cursed if you get involved, or so I hear. It is said that long ago in nearly ancient times, there was an incident where a Yaksha ,who had the ck Yaksha¡¯s seal, killed one Rakshasa and ughtered a huge number of Yaksha.


    Moreover, Yaksha had an extremely strong sense of pride. What this meant was that they wouldn¡¯t deign to throw a punch at someone who appeared weak at a nce. Only those deemed as a ¡®worthy opponent¡¯ would the Yaksha choose to fight.


    That¡¯s how it was here in Rakshasa Citadale, at least. All those here were warriors, and they were proud to be regarded as ¡®Yaksha¡¯. If I had appeared even vaguely strong, then there would have been many Yaksha requesting for a spar, but any thoughts of doing so had been extinguished upon seeing me being toyed by a rank 3 white monkey from the outset. Only, I think that I had be the main target of nder as their ¡®expectations¡¯, borne from myself having passed the Ritual of Ascension, copsed. That was about it of course. They must think it would be an embarrassment even if they were to fight me and win.


    ¡®It¡¯s all too convenient for me.¡¯


    I didn¡¯t even have enough time to polish my techniques. Rather than pointlessly being swept into their antics and wasting time, it was easier for me to be perceived as a ¡®bottom-feeder¡¯.


    ¡®There¡¯s no need to form a group, nor to join one.¡¯


    The Stigma Tournament. The Yaksha were making ns to emerge victorious in that battle. They were in the midst of creation factions, and fighting a cold war. During this time I had gained an understanding of five factions. There were four groups centered around the powerful Yaksha titled the Five Dragons with the exclusion of Dark Dragon Yuseol, and one group of ¡®neutral¡¯ disposition which was formed to oppose them. The restprised of Yaksha who either failed to join a group, or had no intention to do so. All in all they numbered 1,500, more or else.


    ¡®The individual martial prowess among Yaksha widely varied. Moreover, whenparing their potential with humans, theirs on an average were much higher.¡¯


    The average potential of an awakened human was 250. For Yaksha it was 350. But this was only as far as average was concerned. The variations between Yaksha were especially dramatic. Of course, even the weakest Yaksha was at a simr level to me when looking at pure stats, while the Five Dragons they spoke of were literally ¡®monsters¡¯.


    ¡®I may end up like a curled shrimp on the floor if I get involved in vain.¡¯


    Thus, there was no need to go too far. I would benefit much more to take away everything in the library. If I could have it my way, I would hole myself up in the library without even participating in that ¡®tournament¡¯. There wouldn¡¯t be any Yaksha wanting to have me in the same group anyhow. There was no chance of a Yaksha joining me either, even if I were to invite them. Therefore...I can conclude that it would be much more beneficial to grind and polish my own techniques in that time. I wasn¡¯t a Yaksha in the first ce, after all.


    ¡®Next up is Vajra Body.¡¯


    Since I had learnt the basics of Hundred-step Ghost Fist, the next thing to learn was Vajra Body.


    Vajra Body. It was an external art which served to make the body hard like diamond, referring to thebination of the diamond body impervious to des and swords, and the undying body impervious to water and fire. It is said that a properly achieved Vajra Body is able to nullify any kind of physical attack. I knew of one person who had possessed a simr skill to this.


    ¡®Steel King. He as well had ended up dying.¡¯


    The skill he had learnt was the A-rank ¡®Steel Scales¡¯, and he had even reached Lv9 in it. He was crushed to death in hisst moments, however. He was squashed to death beneath the massive body of a crystal golem, evident proof that simply hardening the skin doesn¡¯t give you immunity to all attacks.


    ¡®Will a Vajra Body really be any different?¡¯


    But at the very least, the description of Vajra Body was amazing inparison to ¡®Steel Scales¡¯. If the words written about the Vajra Body were true and I attain mastery in it, then I wouldn¡¯t be crushed to death no matter how much a crystal golem stomped on me. Indeed, worthy of being called the best when it came to external arts.


    ¡°Next.¡±


    I beckoned with my finger toward the rank 2 white monkey who was sitting down and idling. Although I taunted it obviously, I had no thoughts of winning from the start. To apply mana and be familiar to pain...this was the first method to achieving the basics of the Vajra Body.


    ..


    I was swollen and bruised all over. I would have been straight-up beaten to death if not for the treatment room. There wasn¡¯t a ce without a bloodied bruise on my body, and for the first time in a while I had seen stars covering my vision. It was a madman¡¯s antics, no matter how one thought of it. Cultivating resistance to pain by being beaten to the edge of death wasn¡¯t a method that could originate from a sane mind.


    ¡®I can understand why the other Yaksha don¡¯t learn Vajra Body.¡¯


    The library is basically open to all. Any Yaksha can enter and read books. They also knew that the Hundred-step Ghost Fist and Vajra Body were good things, yet why didn¡¯t they learn it? Because they were that much difficult.


    For Hundred-step Ghost Fist, it was hard to even begin learning it with little understanding of cirction and knowledge of infinity. One may be able to barely scrape by the basics with the application of chakra, namely mana, but it meant that an in-depth progress into the study wouldn¡¯t be possible. On the other hand...what about Vajra Body...


    ¡®This is a martial art that can only be learnt by dying.¡¯


    For starters, getting beaten up was a must, and the application of mana mustn¡¯t stop during the process as well. Getting beaten to the verge of death, over and over, thereby gradually increasing tolerance. Common sense dictated this was nonsense. Only people altogethercking sensation in their body could be capable of this. Thus I had considered acquiring medicine which removed the senses, but it was in vain. There was an interaction between the application of mana and the senses. Like how when bone breaks it grows stronger as it mends back, the body needed to be enhanced by injecting mana on a cellr level.


    That¡¯s why it felt like I was dying. Perhaps only after I really did die could I learn it. But I had no thoughts of giving up. I headed toward the sparring hall the next day, and the day after as well. After I grew a little more familiar with it, I practised the Hundred-step Ghost Fist together as well.


    ¡°That guy¡¯s truly a freak.¡±


    ¡°He must enjoy getting pummelled.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s got guts I¡¯ll give him that. Did he pass the ¡®Ritual of Ascension¡¯ with that spirit as well?¡±


    Rank 2 white monkeys were much faster than rank 3 white monkeys. They appeared to use movement arts. They knew how to include mana in their attacks, and how to parry my attacks as well. And it seemed that they also knew well which spot to strike to cause pain.


    Thud!


    After a long while of getting pummeled, I received a blow to my sr plexus. Oof, I groaned, and between that interval my chin was sent swiveling, and at the same time I saw huge stars spinning above my head.


    ¡°Fainted and carried off again.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know whether he¡¯s stupid, or thoughtless.¡±


    ¡°They say the body suffers when the head is spoiled. Well if that isn¡¯t a fine example.¡±


    ..


    The routine repeated over like a running treadmill. To the library in the morning, sparring hall at lunch, and to the room at night. Even in my room I continued to train the Hundred-step Ghost Fist with Etaqua or studied the Ascendant¡¯s Cape.


    Normally my body should have copsed long ago, but the ¡®dirt of purification¡¯ raised my recovery rate to a surprising extent. Owing to that, I could receive a beating every single day.


    As time went by, it felt like I was gradually bing resistant to the pain. I felt it wascking while getting pummeled by a rank 2 white monkey, so I thenunched myself at a rank 1 white monkey.


    Truly, I was almost sent to meet my maker. A single fist blew my body away and copsed the wall. But when I got back up like a self-righting-doll, the white monkeys and Yaksha even stared at me, astonished.


    ¡®Now it feels like this is home.¡¯


    Today was the same as any other day. I opened my eyes in the treatment room. Roughly fifteen days had passed since entering the Rakshasa Citadale, but I got the feeling that since this was the first ce I woke up in, I¡¯ll be leaving through this ce as well.


    Rustle.


    At that moment, I heard the sound of someone getting up at the side. Although I regrly visited the treatment room, I almost never saw anyone else receiving treatment here. For that reason I turned my head and saw a rather familiar face.


    ¡®Yuseol.¡¯


    Of the Five Dragons, the Dark Dragon. She wore a thin white fabric over her body, and she was also staring at me nkly.


    ¡®Did she get injured fighting the monkey king?¡¯


    Yuseol wasn¡¯t capable of besting the monkey king 100% of the time as well. Although she had a 80% chance of winning, there definitely were times when the monkey king won by the skin of his teeth as well. But I had heard that she had a treatment room for her exclusive use; a specially made treatment room specially prepared by the Heaven Bound n. Meaning, there was no particr need for her toe here.


    ¡°...Rx the tension in your shoulders more.¡±


    Her back turned, Yuseol left behind that one line before exiting the treatment room.


    ¡®What was that?¡¯


    I couldn¡¯t help but space out for a moment there. Those words just now, were they meant for me? There was no one else in the treatment room, however. Rx the tension in the shoulders she said.


    ¡®Advice, is it?¡¯


    She was a pugilist, who was second to none where it concerned fighting with fists. But it was my first time hearing her talk, though the image of her I had in my head was of an aloof and mysterious wolf. Her voice was quiet, but remained clearly in my memory.


    ¡®Shoulders. The shoulders, is it.¡¯


    I stroked my chin thoughtfully. Now that I thought of it, it seemed that I had a slight tendency to shrink back at the thought of having to receive a beating. Hundred-step Ghost Fist wasn¡¯t being performed properly because of tension going into my shoulders.


    ¡®In any case, I¡¯m grateful.¡¯


    Only after hearing it did I realize. I stared at the door which Yuseol left through. I didn¡¯t know why she advised me, but thanks to her I could realize what Icked.


    ¡®Finishing a training session isn¡¯t everything. I have to review the details of the battle. Only then can I prevent mistakes like this from happening.¡¯


    If a wrong habit had caught on, I would have wasted time fixing it. That¡¯s why retrospection is important. If I had properly reviewed the details of those battles, I would havee to a realization even if she hadn¡¯t told me.


    Ruminate, and thus advance. Taking a step back doesn¡¯t mean to stop advancing. I must have been harboring thoughts of, ¡®this much should be enough¡¯, even when I knew the importance of that fact. It was an obvious mistake.


    At once, my body burned with spirit. Late at night, I made my way to the sparring hall alone. There wasn¡¯t a single white monkey in sight, not to mention Yaksha, but I began to move. I pushed myself unforgivingly, whipping my self who was growing feeble-minded, my self who triedpromising through self-justification. As time passed...


    [¡®Hundred-step Ghost Fist(Lv1)¡¯ has been learned.]


    [¡®Vajra Body(Lv1)¡¯ has been learned.]


    A change urred. It had happened because I understood, realized, and put it all into action. It had bepletely ¡®mine¡¯, beneath the lonely full moon. As I thought to myself, ¡®truly, everything depends on attitude, I didn¡¯t pause in my momentum.

 Chapter 47 - Depth of the Abyss (1)

    <h4>Chapter 47 ¨C Depth of the Abyss (1)</h4>


    Normal ¡®skills¡¯ would activate at the mere thought or utterance of it. Persisting to use skills in thatcent manner, however, would result in loss of ¡®depth¡¯. My past self didn¡¯t know that, and only after entering Rakshasa Citadale did I realize I was wrong. Perhaps...it may have been an excuse, that being unable to reach the apex was because I had been a Magic Swordsman.


    ¡®I hadn¡¯t explored deeply.¡¯


    I had thought it wasn¡¯t possible chasing after those geniuses. I didn¡¯t search for the reason why geniuses were geniuses. I settled for self-constion, that because they were geniuses it was possible for them.


    No. I was wrong starting from my presumption. They had known how to ¡®disassemble¡¯ skills. They were able to reach the ¡®apex¡¯ because they had endeavored to understand everything about skills, their theory and structure. Of course, if that was a talent as well then it could be called a talent, because it was a feat which entailed looking at the exterior of apleted machine and assembling the interior. Here in the ce, only after looking into the interior did I realize the error of my ways. Was I to be relieved about this, or to curse at my own stupidity...


    The reason why the Heartless Soul Stealer de had stopped at the 9th level was simply because its matching ¡®chakra mind art¡¯ was missing, and the other Magic Swordsman skills couldn¡¯t reach Lv10 because I only knew how to simply use them.


    The only limitation of a Magic Swordsman was that it wasn¡¯t possible to learn ¡®S-rank skills¡¯. Just that. But perhaps there may even be a way around that as well. I had lost myself in the use of the skills and rapid initial development, however, and failed to see what was important, ignoring it.


    ¡®Dumbass.¡¯


    Could there be anything more stupid than this? And to think, despite it all I kept harping on about the apex. I had a mind to hide in a rat hole out of embarrassment.


    Growl!


    Etaqua approached and licked my face, instantly covering it in slobber. Having felt the disturbance in my heart, he was trying tofort me in his own way.


    ¡°Rascal.¡±


    Etaqua was innocent. He was like a white drawing paper, albeit of arge size. Anything that was written or drawn was taken in as is, so his achievements in ¡®Hundred-step Ghost Fist¡¯ were higher than me. Etaqua was in the midst of learning how to maximise the use of the least amount of mana in order to assist physical attacks.


    I wasn¡¯t alone. I had more time than I did in the past, and the ways in which I could grow stronger were unlimited as well. Everything depended on my will.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s have another go.¡±


    I held out my palm, and Etaqua moved his tail to face my palm. And then...


    Whooosh!


    Wind gathered between my palm and Etaqua¡¯s tail. It gathered into a sphere and continuously spun in a spiral. It was an extremely delicate process. The slightest loss of concentration would result in the spiraling sphere to scatter into air. It was a kind ofpetition. Whenever there was time like now, together with Etaqua I would practise the theory of force pration regarding the aspect of ¡®rotation¡¯ and to maximise it.


    ..


    ..


    My shoulders felt light. I rxed all tension in my body after hearing Yuseol¡¯s words of advice. Doing the best I could to produce the best possible result still wasn¡¯t enough, so it was only natural that being stiff as a board would only drag me down.


    ¡®If you can¡¯t avoid it, enjoy it!¡¯


    From then on I began to ¡®enjoy¡¯ everything I was going through. Many times I had to grit and bear the merciless pain, but it lessened a degree when I thought of it as the foothold for my sess. As time went by, the surrounding reactions changed as well.


    ¡°Truly have to admit his willpower.¡±


    ¡°I feel raring to go just watching.¡±


    ¡°There was a time when I was like that as well.¡±


    Yaksha were warriors at their core. Watching the weakling, namely myself, putting in unceasing effort and diligently working roused their emotions as well. There must have been a sense of pressure too. Day by day I was changing slowly. They were also aware of that fact, because they watched every day. They wouldn¡¯t want to taste the humiliation of being caught up to by someone they thought of as a weakling, a bottom-feeder.


    Gibber! Screech!


    A rank 2 white monkey. I still wasn¡¯t its opponent with my current abilities. Itughed cringingly upon seeing me appear again. Seeing the guy getting beaten up every other day unfailingly show up again, it must find it funny. Opening Mind¡¯s Eye, I examined its status window today as well.


    Name: Rank 2 White Monkey (Value ¨C 7,850)


    Race: Beast


    Stats:


    Str 55b Agi 60a Con 53b


    Int 41b Mag 51b


    Potential (260/300)


    Skills: 108 Dash(Lv5), Free Breakfall(Lv3), Monkey Fist(Lv6)


    The abilities of rank 2 white monkeys were approximately within this range. The stats itself were simr to rank 3 white monkeys as well, but the problem was that they knew how to use martial arts from rank 2 and above. 108 Dash and Monkey Fist. These two made for an extremely trickybination.


    ¡®Today, I will win.¡¯


    But today I was different. Today, at least, I decided to take it extremely seriously. I took a stance and clenched my fists. Deeping inhaling, I then slowly moved my feet.


    Screeech!


    Had it noticed the difference in my atmospherepared to the past? The white monkey bared its teeth as it ferociously pounced at me.


    Boom! Boo-boo-boom!


    The Monkey Fist raining down from the air was greatly intimidating. It gave off the impression as if the fists were increasing by two, and three. Instantly my shoulder was scraped by a fist and my body was blown back. But it didn¡¯t sound like it had hit muscle, instead sounding as if it had hit a sack of rice. This was due to the effects of Vajra Body, an external art that reduced the damage of physical attacks. I had intended for this as well. I had no thoughts of blocking in the first ce.


    ¡®Trade flesh for bones.¡¯


    Wham!


    Focusing the subtleties of Hundred-step Ghost Fist, I attacked the white monkey right in its stomach. It was sent flying far, getting up again stumbling and shaking its head.


    Screech!


    Enraged, it then stomped the ground as it pounced at me using movement arts. I didn¡¯t dodge. During the past few days my Vajra Body had reached the 3rd level.


    ¡®3rd level Vajra Body has roughly 30% physical resistance.¡¯


    I was in the midst of feeling, with my whole body, the thrice effect of roughly 10% resistance having increased with the rise of each level. At 3rd level, I got the feeling that even if I was stabbed with a sword, it wouldn¡¯t even pierce me properly.


    Bam! Smack!


    It was a hideous slugfest. No matter how much my physical resistance had increased, the white monkey¡¯s attacks still shook the entirety of my body. But the white monkey as well couldn¡¯t remain unharmed. While Vajra Body was at 3rd level, Hundred-step Ghost Fist was still at 1st level.


    ¡®It¡¯s hard to use it to good effect unless I can get real close.¡¯


    In exchange, there shouldn¡¯t be anything better for attacking than Hundred-step Ghost Fist in extreme close-quarters.


    ¡®Now.¡¯


    I clenched my jaws, and caught the white monkey pouncing on me with my left hand. After locking it in ce to prevent evasion, I struck the white monkey¡¯s body with my right fist.


    Bam!


    Following the sound, the white monkey went limp.


    Huu! Huu!


    My breathing was rough. Hundred-step Ghost fist...although it was a fist technique, I got the feeling that as long as I could raise my mastery in it, with good application I wouldn¡¯t be restrained by any armor or weapon. In fact, there were someplementary parts to it. That¡¯s why I had chosen it, but the results until now were extremely satisfying.


    ¡°What, it worked?¡¯


    ¡°It does feel a little weak though.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem to be a simple force discharge. Maybe he¡¯s reached the level of short discharge.¡±


    The difficulty rose in order of fleeting force, medial force, and force pration. I opened Mind¡¯s Eye and examined the Yaksha, but there was no Yaksha among them that had learned Hundred-step Ghost Fist. That¡¯s because of how difficult and abstruse it was. For that reason they weren¡¯t able to properly understand whether I had utilized the theory of force pration. I was able to use it because for my foundation I had the helical mana, understanding of infinity, and what opened the doors to all possibilities, Universal Man, and more.


    ¡°Fleeting force? Isn¡¯t that amazing by itself?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll be giving up trying to advance it to medial force anyway. Dark Dragon Yuseol or Sleeping Dragon Jugaram are about the only Yaksha to realize the subtleties beyond medial force, no?¡±


    Themotion intensified. They had begun debating my level of mastery with that one strike I¡¯d shown as the subject. When a conclusion couldn¡¯t be made despite that, a bulky Yaksha approached me.


    ¡°Hey. Try it on me once.¡±


    ¡°Try what?¡±


    ¡°I mean what you used to knock out that rank 2 white monkey just now. That martial art simr to Hundred-step Ghost Fist!¡±


    I scratched my head for a moment. Had I made too much of a scene? But it was the first time something like this happened. They, who had remained consistent in their ¡®ignoring¡¯ of me, showed themselves before me. It meant that they had acknowledged me to a certain extent.


    It would have been good if they continued to ignore me, but it¡¯s something I had to go through sooner orter anyway. I was changing by the day. Since I had even defeated a rank 2 white monkey, I now had the opportunity to challenge the rank 1, even the monkey king. I had predicted that I would have a sh with the Yaksha during that process.


    Since I had been expecting it, it was on to the next task. If I was to do it, then I should show it properly.


    ¡°You¡¯ll regret it.¡±


    ¡°Regret? Ah, you mean what you do all the time? Pft haha! Worry not. I¡¯ll do no more than take a hit!¡±


    The Yaksha raised both his hands, as if to imply that this wasn¡¯t a fight. I hoped that he could continue to maintain that expression. Chuckling, I slowing stretched out a fist.


    Tap.


    ¡°What¡¯s this, are you ying around? What do you expect a cotton-like punch like this to...¡±


    I had lightly pressed my fist against him, but as long as it ¡®touched¡¯ then the rest was easy. I had long ago passed the stage of simply puncturing the bottom of a basin. The skin of a Yaksha was thick, but I didn¡¯t know if the innards would be as strong.


    Cruunch!


    The bones and innards became twisted. In an instant, the Yaksha¡¯s face burned a bright red. The strength in his body left him and saliva leaked from his mouth.


    ¡°Kuook...!¡±


    Just barely, he cried out. The Yaksha hastily took a step back. His leisurely appearance from before was nowhere to be seen. The pain must be agonizing. There was a time during practise with Etaqua when he had struck me using Hundred-step Ghost Fist. I remember my body being assailed by pain on a different leaguepared to getting pummelled by white monkeys. He should be feeling the same, or more than that, but not less.


    ¡°One more hit?¡±


    Shake shake!


    The Yaksha swiftly shook his head. He mustck the energy to talk or even the strength to move. In a bid to preserve his pride however he could, he began making way toward the treatment room, gripping his stomach like a puppy feeling the call of nature.


    ¡®Extraordinary.¡¯


    I felt pure admiration. I never expected that he could endure it to that point without even betraying much emotion.


    The 1st level of Hundred-step Ghost Fist can exhibit true might when in extreme close-quarters. I still wasn¡¯t capable of affecting objects outside 100 steps. As of now I could manage at most 2 steps, and the only impact it would have is like being shaken by the wind as well. Only inplete closed distance could it take proper effect.


    But Hundred-set Ghost Fist, which impacted the innards, was in a different sspared to swords, which cut the ¡®outside¡¯, and other magics. If I could utilize it well together with Heartless Soul Stealer de, it may be the birth of an amazing skill which could destroy both the outside and inside at once.


    ¡®This will work as long as the innards aren¡¯t trained.¡¯


    I felt as if all the sufferings I went through until now had flown away. All the observing Yaksha kept silent. Fleeting force and medial force wasn¡¯t capable of this much damage by just touching with a hand. Only force pration made it possible to twist bones or even rupture the internals.


    ¡°No way...force pration?¡±


    ¡°Someone who has realized the subtleties of force pration has been getting pummelled by a mere rank 2 white monkey all this time?¡±


    ¡°Coincidence...it should be.¡±


    All of them had gazes of disbelief. But they couldn¡¯t carelessly make a challenge. The ck Yaksha¡¯s seal branded on my earlobe was shining.


    [User has won against a Yaksha.]


    [The ck Yaksha¡¯s seal is releasing light.]


    [Out of the opponent¡¯s stats, 0.05 ¡®agility¡¯ will be stolen.]


    [Upon winning against or killing other Yaksha or Rakshasa possessing a seal, the ck Yaksha¡¯s seal can absorb a small amount of a random stat from the opponent.]


    [The effect does not stack on a target.]


    [Stats beyond the range of potential cannot be absorbed.]


    [The umted stat will be reflected in units of 1 in the status window.]


    [umted stats at present ¨C Agi(0.05)]


    The ck Yaksha¡¯s seal! Feared and distanced by all. Who would have known it had this kind of ability. I think I knew why the person who had possessed the ck Yaksha¡¯s seal in ancient times had killed one Rakshasa and then ughtered Yaksha.


    A yearning for power! Perhaps the ck Yaksha¡¯s seal was given because of endless desire. Swallowed by that desire, that person hadmitted a mass ughter, and died in the end.


    Gulp!


    My adam¡¯s apple bobbed. I knew that the moment I lose myself in power, it would be the same as setting foot on the same path as my predecessor. I knew, but even so it was an tempting ability. To think, all one needed to do was win. Killing, on the other hand...obviously would grant an even greater reward.


    ¡°That is...¡±


    ¡°Is he truly cursed?¡±


    The Yaksha retreated a step. They raised their guards against me with gazes half full of fear. The barely gained favorable public opinion was reversed in an instant.


    ¡®A natural enemy like no other.¡¯


    I slowly moved my feet to exit the sparring hall. With every passing moment the fierce lights in their gazes intensified. Until this moment it had been no more than a story going around, an oral tradition, but they had instinctively felt a repulsion when the ck Yaksha¡¯s seal shined with light. That¡¯s because in the end...this was the mark of a predator which had preyed on them!

 Chapter 48 - Depth of the Abyss (2)

    <h4>Chapter 48 ¨C Depth of the Abyss (2)</h4>


    My head was in a mess. How could it not be? The ck Yaksha¡¯s seal, the ability to grow stronger through fighting with Yaksha and Rakshasa. The person who held this power in the past hadmitted a mass ughtering. That person must have decided to do so because rather than winning a fight, killing would reap more benefits. So strong that person must have been to have even killed a Rakshasa, but that person also died in the end.


    ¡®Among the Rakshasa there are those who have lived for a good several thousand years or so.¡¯


    The Twelve Heavenly Generals. There is no way they didn¡¯t know. They had assumed indifference and left me alone, even though they knew I had the ck Yaksha¡¯s seal.


    Why? Shouldn¡¯t I be a potential dangerous element? Was it because I had passed the Warrior¡¯s Ritual and the Ritual of Ascension?


    Perhaps it is because I am a promising talent not seen for several thousand years. I had no way of knowing, since the specifics of their tradition was unclear to me, but what¡¯s certain is that the moment I spill blood with my hands is the moment an absolutely unavoidable arrowes flying my way.


    ¡®J?rmungandr might have been able to give a refreshing answer to this.¡¯


    J?rmungandr was being quiet. As if she were dead, she didn¡¯t show so much as a twitch from the moment I entered Rakshasa Mountain. She merely curled up her body, further shrunk in size, and hung about my neck like a ne. The thought did cross my mind that if it¡¯s her, she may know about about this Rakshasa Mountain and Rakshasa Citadel, but I couldn¡¯t even seek a clear answer seeing as she wasn¡¯t moving.


    ¡®Nothing has changed, except that I have to aim higher.¡¯


    It was good news as long as I thought positively. In any case, it was the Rakshasa who had brought me into Rakshasa Citadel. They would have killed me long ago if they had that intention. Sparing my life and bringing me in meant that they had some ¡®expectation¡¯ of me. It would be fine just as long as I don¡¯t get greedy.


    Bnce. Everything needed to be bnced. Taking action after bing drunk on power and blood would only be hastening myself along the road to death.


    ¡®Impatience is a poison that kills one¡¯s self.¡¯


    I want bing stronger. I could feel that I was growing stronger with each passing day. It was a faster rate of growth than I had anticipated, in fact.


    Further impatience at this point? Eating too fast would only result in a sore stomach. Just like how, in the past, I had developed faster than anyone after obtaining the Magic Swordsman ss...but got into the wrong habits, became convinced it was impossible to reach the ¡®apex¡¯, and decided on my own limit.


    I calmly sat down and began meditating. Clearing away the noise in my head, I reviewed today¡¯s fight, because now was the time to think only about myself growing stronger.


    ..


    ..


    -Mubaek


    The Yaksha who had the ck Yaksha¡¯s seal learnt the Hundred-step Ghost Fist!


    The rumour had spread in a matter of moments. Talk of the ck seal shining was exaggerated and falsified to the point that there was now stories going around that ¡®you¡¯ll be cursed if you get touched¡¯.


    ¡°Mubaek. Did you hear? They say it¡¯s the Hundred-step Ghost Fist.¡±


    I am one of the Five Dragons, War Dragon Mubaek. I had an entire huge pce to myself, and I was the junior head of the prestigious ¡®Warring Mountain Folk n¡¯. I had gathered 99 Yaksha into the same group and it was widely rumoured that in terms of pure martial prowess I was the strongest among the Yaksha participating in the tournament.


    In front of me was a Yaksha with orange hair who wasughing yfully.


    ¡°I believe I have told you that this isn¡¯t your living room at home, Honjae Yeon.¡±


    ¡°Between us there¡¯s nothing wrong withing over to y, why be so stingy?¡±


    Sword Dragon Honjae Yeon! A Yaksha crazy for the sword. He was also one among the Five Dragon.


    ¡°Anyhow wasn¡¯t Sleeping Dragon Garam Ju the only one who¡¯d learnt Hundred-step Ghost Fist? I¡¯d never dreamed someone else apart from that monstrous fellow would learn Hundred-step Ghost Fist.¡±


    ¡°You say that but aren¡¯t you a monster yourself. A monster of the sword.¡±


    Honjae Yeon grinned. He didn¡¯t seem to deny it in particr.


    ¡°Mubaek. That guy, is it fine for me to take him?¡±


    ¡°Have youe here just to say that?¡±


    ¡°You gotta understand. I want to fight with you in the tournament after all. There¡¯s nothing to gain from us shing in this kind of ce, no?¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case then don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s something not of my concern.¡±


    I turned my head away, and at that Honjae Yeon¡¯s smile grew deeper.


    ¡°Sleeping Dragon should be sleeping on a roof again, and Dark Dragon shouldn¡¯t be interested in anything apart from his own training, so the only one left is Crimson Dragon Hwarin Gu.¡±


    ¡°Nothing good wille of getting involved with the ck Yaksha, Honjae Yeon.¡±


    ¡°Why? Isn¡¯t it fun? He killed one of those who seemed almost immortal, the Twelve Heavenly Generals. Ilcheon(Heavenly Day). The Yaksha named after none other than the Sun God!¡±


    I could even feel insanity from his gaze. I didn¡¯t reply at all, instead turning my head to signal to the surrounding Yaksha with my eyes, ¡®the words you have heard here, forget them¡¯, because the words he had spoken were sphemous here in Rakshasa Citadale.


    ¡°Back at my n, I¡¯m also praised as a talent born once in ten thousand years or whatnot, but aren¡¯t you curious? About who would be the one to win, if the guy who killed a Rakshasa and I were to fight.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you were going to bring him in? Also, he is not the originator of that story made tradition.¡±


    ¡°I know. That¡¯s why I mean to raise him up under my wings myself. If tradition is telling the truth then that guy will definitely end up craving for blood anyhow. That¡¯s when, snikt!¡±


    Honjae Yon made a motion of slitting his throat. Even among the Five Dragons, Sword Dragon Honjae Yon was truly insane. Maybe it was because he was crazy for the sword, but it seemed that he was nutters in other aspects as well.


    ¡®Getting involved will be wearisome.¡¯


    I shook my head. It wasn¡¯t right to stick my head into these kinds of matters. I knew from past experience that I would stand to gain by simply observing.


    ..


    ..


    In the past I was the target of countless scoutings. Every nation held their hands out to me in hopes of recruiting me, who was powerful and a hero. There was a nation offering me their biggest city, and there were even some who said they would receive me as their king. Simply put, there were many who went frantic, saving no effort in order to recruit me. But an absurd scouting like this was a first.


    ¡°Crimson Dragon Hwarin Gu-nim wants you. Consider it an honor.¡±


    It was when I was struggling against a rank 1 white monkey. Out of the blues, a certain muscr Yakshi had approached me to say something.


    Crimson Dragon Hwarin Gu. I also knew that she was one of the Five Dragons. So this meant that she had elected me to be recruited into her group, but...


    ¡°Let her know toe in person if she has something to say.¡±


    To recruit someone, it was only natural for the person with intention to recruit to personallye and negotiate. Few people, if told in this manner to e here!¡¯, would reply ¡®Yes, dly¡¯.


    I didn¡¯t want to belong anywhere in particr either, because the closer I became to the Yaksha, the more likely for them to realize I was different from them. More than anything, I preferred being alone.


    ¡®It is surprising though.¡¯


    I had expected them to only fear and be vignt against me. The ck Yaksha¡¯s seal. Proof of a predator. It wasn¡¯t strange for hostilities to arise from this. As a matter of fact, the most of the Yaksha had stared at me strangely when I had entered the sparring hall. But to think I¡¯d be scouted. Did that signify how important victory was in the Stigma Tournament?


    Hearing my words, the Yakshi¡¯s expression became even fiercer.


    ¡°Insolent fellow!¡±


    ¡°Does your master have no feet? Or is she perhaps mute? If it happens that her body is crippled to the point that each and every matter need be taken care of by others, then I would apologise.¡±


    ¡°Recklessly talking drivel however you want.¡±


    ¡°A warrior wouldn¡¯t stoop to low methods like pressuring the few with many. Neither would a Yaksha knowing the dignity of a warrior send another in their ce to deliver a message.¡±


    ¡°How dare...!¡±


    All Yaksha possessed self-esteem as a Yaksha. The Yakshi shut her mouth when I touched upon that part. I wondered whether I¡¯d gone too far, but it was better than showing an ambiguous attitude. I had done some studying of my own on the physiology of the Yaksha during the past twenty or so days. They wouldn¡¯t treat someone appearing weak as their equal.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    ¡°Ahgassi.¡±


    And then Hwarin Gu, who was watching from afar, personally made to move. It was an obvious result, seeing as how I¡¯d bluntly said ¡®you¡¯re not a warrior if you don¡¯te yourself¡¯. I admit that I had purposely said it in part so she could hear it.


    ¡°Good. Maybe because you¡¯re a ck Yaksha, but even your words contain thorns. I truly hope that your skills are as strong as your words. That¡¯s why join my...¡±


    ¡°I have no intention of joining anybody¡¯s group.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like it when someone interrupts me speaking. You¡¯d better take clear note of that.¡±


    Hwarin Gu¡¯s expression didn¡¯t look all that good. Hwarin Gu was just like a thorny rose. If she¡¯s going to thrust those thorns at me, I¡¯m going to dodge. Fighting together means being able to entrust their backs to one another. There was no point joining if I wasn¡¯t considered an equal.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like having to speak twice either, but this time I¡¯ll specially say it. Join my group. I can promise you a suitable position if we win in the Stigma Tournament.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, that sounds good. Then I¡¯ll promise as well. Join my group and I¡¯ll offer you two drops of Skylight Stonemilk, and I¡¯ll let you be my immediate right hand man. How about it?¡±


    It was at that moment that a Yaksha suddenly approached my side. A handsome youth with orange hair. Sword Dragon, Honjae Yeon!


    Hwarin Gu frowned upon seeing him.


    ¡°Honjae Yeon.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you don¡¯t like it when people butt-in the middle of conversations, right? Sorry. I could just stand by and watch him being taken away, you see. Let¡¯s see. You were called Hansung Oh, was it?¡±


    Haa. I breathed out a small sigh. I never expected this kind of urrence. Although I hadn¡¯t hidden that I was learning the Hundred-step Ghost Fist in the first ce, I had thought that none would try approaching me after seeing the ck Yaksha¡¯s seal shine with light. That way was more convenient for me as well, so I didn¡¯t think it was bad. Unexpectedly I encountered an ambush, however. By two people at that as well.


    ¡®I have no time to be doing this.¡¯


    A mere half a month remained until that so-called Stigma Tournament would happen. My goal was to fully utilize the time before that. I never had an iota of interest in the tournament, to begin with.


    Showing a tantly wicked smile, Sword Dragon Honjae Yeon spoke.


    ¡°Hansung Oh. If two drops of Skylight Stonemilk aren¡¯t enough, then I¡¯ll also give you a single root of a He Shou Wu cultivated for a thousand years. Elixirs like these will be hard to find even for other ns.¡±


    ¡°Just what do you mean by this, Honjae Yeon?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t I courting him? So that he¡¯ll join my group. That¡¯s why...huh?¡±


    Honjae Yeon suddenly turned his head. With a 2 second dy, Hwarin Gu also turned her gaze toward the sky.


    ?Be careful.


    J?rmungandr spoke for the first time since entering Rakshasa Mountain.


    Rumble-!


    At the same time, a ¡®hole¡¯ opened up in the sky.


    ¡°What¡¯s that? A great preta?¡±


    ¡°The great barrier...has been broken through?¡±


    Honjae Yeon and Hwarin Gu were astonished. Great pretas were raining down from the skies. The rifts between the levels had been broken through. The other Yaksha were wide-eyed as well. They did nothing but stare until Hwacheon, one of the Twelve Heavenly Generals, appeared.


    ¡°Everybody prepare for battle!¡±


    ¡°Hwa, Hwacheon-nim! Just what is going on?¡±


    As one Yaksha asked, Hwacheon shook his head.


    ¡°I do not know. Something has forcefully torn apart Daerasun-nim¡¯s barrier and entered. They have the appearance of great pretas, but they are not great pretas!¡±


    Other Rakshasa like him also made their appearances. They fended off the great pretas falling from the skies, but their numbers were far too many.


    Kieeeee! (screech)


    The sizes of the great pretas were varied. The smallest was at 20m, and the big ones went over 50m. A great preta with a foul appearance closely resembling a small preta, except bigger, was running towards the sparring hall like mad.


    Shiing!


    Hwacheon lifted his spear. mes bursted out from the spear and instantly beheaded the great preta. But its head regenerated in moments. It then ignored Hwacheon and began consuming the other Yaksha.


    ¡°Baastard!¡±


    A huge pair of fiery wings burst out from Hwacheon¡¯s body.


    Craash!


    He flew up and began thrusting his spear at the great preta. The earth trembled each time the spear struck. The attack was so violence that even the great preta¡¯s regenerative ability couldn¡¯t keep up with it. Truly worthy of being called Rakshasa.


    The great preta, unable to regenerate due to being entirely burned,y defeated on the ground. And then a part of the great preta¡¯s chest opened, as a ck shadow person wearing a silver knight helm came staggering out.


    Its height was merely reached about 1m. Its body was pitch-ck like shadow. Hwacheon kicked off the ground, instantly closing the distance as he pierced the ck shadow person with his spear.


    Shatter!


    Simultaneously, the ck shadow person left behind only the helm and simply disappeared as if into thin air. And then Hwacheon turned his head and shouted.


    ¡°The ck shadow person which I killed just now is the true body controlling the great pretas! They are hidden in the head or chest of a great preta, so everyone bear this in mind and prepare!¡±


    Hwacheon left behind those words before quickly moving. His role seemed to be dealing with the great pretas that hadnded here and there.


    ¡°Things are turning interesting. Breaking through the barrierid down by sir Daerasun? Just what are these guys?¡±


    ¡°Honjae Yeon. This is no time to joke. Right now we have to gather our strength.¡±


    Sword Dragon and Crimson Dragon struck an alliance. All of the nearby Yaksha began to gather with these two as the center. And...I was in the middle of feeling astonishment for another reason. The ck shadow people. I know these things.


    ¡®Dark merchants...!¡¯


    They were definitely dark merchants. However, how? How did the dark merchants, who should be within the abyss, break a hole through Rakshasa Citadale¡¯s barrier, and appear here as they controlled great pretas?

 Chapter 49 - Depth of the Abyss (3)

    <h4>Chapter 49 ¨C Depth of the Abyss (3)</h4>


    They, who made up the Dark Company, clearly upheld the will of the ¡®Great Star¡¯ for all to see. It was for that reason that even a demon lord couldn¡¯ty a hand on the Dark Company and its dark merchants. But this wasn¡¯t Earth. Earth was the ¡®final ce of the deciding battle¡¯, and demon lords were capable of using the Dark Gate to create ¡®gates¡¯ leading into Earth. At the same time, I recalled something however.


    ¡®Transit point.¡¯


    Uriel Diablo. It was when I used his body to create a gate. I had opened a gate into a go-between transit point on Rakshasa Mountain because the rift hadn¡¯t wasn¡¯t open sufficiently. It was thanks to that gate that I was able to enter Rakshasa Mountain after all.


    ¡®If demon lords can do it, so can the dark merchants.¡¯


    The dark merchants should be capable of opening gates into other realms as well, and I had an inkling as to what kind of method they used to acquire ¡®goods¡¯.


    ¡°Gaargh!¡±


    ¡°Why are the great pretas suddenly...!¡±


    Even for Yaksha, great pretas were monsters among monsters. They were masses of desire whose strength grew along with their sizes, and only inhabited the levels 70 and above.


    It was impossible to confront the great pretas unless the Yaksha were to face them together. Even with all the Twelve Heavenly Generals moving out, it wasn¡¯t possible for them to deal with hundreds of great pretas at once.


    And the great pretas...were indiscriminately eating up the Yaksha. The great pretas that had filled their stomachs would then spread their crude wings to once again take to the skies, and disappear beyond the barrier. Beyond the barrier, there was something resembling a ck hole.


    ¡®The abyss.¡¯


    It was a gate leading into the abyss. The Rakshasa tried going over, but they weren¡¯t able to go close to it as if blocked by something. Only the great pretas...the dark merchants, were able to pass through the gates and enter the abyss.


    ¡®They are plundering.¡¯


    I nodded my head. It was an act of plunder. The dark merchants stole items by force, and they sold them at the Dark Company within the abyss. In this way, the useful items would be supplied to the demon lords. Igneel and Etaqua¡¯s egg must have been acquired in this manner as well. Indeed, where on earth would anyone find a crazy dragon willing to obediently hand over their egg?


    ¡°Wanna bet on who can hunt the most?¡±


    ¡°Honjae Yeon! Haven¡¯t I told you that this is no time to y around?¡±


    Before I knew it, there was a long sword gripped in Honjae Yeon¡¯s hand. It was sharp and as long as his own body, but it appeared just as tricky for its user to handle. But Honjae Yeon swung that sword as if it were child¡¯s y. Afterwards, he leaped out and charged toward a great preta by himself.


    ¡°That fool...¡±


    Hwarin Gu held her forehead. Although they had agreed to cooperate, Honjae Yeon was a Yaksha mad for the sword. Simply put, he had a screw loose in his head. But despite that he was hunting a great preta all by himself.


    The de of the long sword was suffused with a vibrant energy shining orange. It was Strong Ki. It was a technique which materialized energy and could cut through anything. It was a special technique exclusive to swordsmen who have reached an expert level. Honjae Yeonughed, cutting apart the flesh and bones of the great preta. He was sttered with blood, but he didn¡¯t mind.


    ¡°Hahaha! Fun, how fun it is!¡±


    I would say Mad Dragon suited him more, rather than Sword Dragon.


    ¡°The Rakshasa will exterminate these things! What we must do is to herd these great pretas into one side! Yaksha proficient in sorcery and tao magic will assist us, while Yaksha experienced in warrior skills will spread out widely and face the great pretas!¡±


    Hwarin Gu appeared to be rather well-versed in tactics. In mere moments she figured out what she had to do and tookmand of the scene. She was selfless, should I say. Not a bad type for a leader.


    ¡®Had they mustered this much troops just to hunt down the Yaksha?¡¯


    I pondered. I recalled every single details. Dark merchants. The Yaksha here were outstanding, however, they weren¡¯t exactly tempting enough for them to forcefully break through the barrier and deploy troops.


    Even for the dark merchants, they wouldn¡¯t be able to mobilise troops of this scale without taking any risks. I could be certain of it, as I was technically a demon lord myself. The dark merchants were able to raise their own ¡®prestige¡¯ by using the points earned through trading. That being the case, the troops that procured items should be simr. And I arrived at a single conclusion.


    ¡®The library. They¡¯re aiming for the warrior skills.¡¯


    Warrior skills. Skill books with authentic structure! I read those warrior skill books and saw a whole new world. Warrior skills could be called the essence of the Yaksha and Rakshasa, because while it was made avable to all of Yaksha, those warrior skills could never be seen by those not Yaksha. What¡¯s more, I had the feeling that they weren¡¯t here to simply procure goods.


    ¡®The rift is widening.¡¯


    It was being invaded...their world. The ws of the abyss were reaching out. I turned to stare at the library. One of the great pretas was running towards the library, taking advantage of the moment when all attention was elsewhere.


    I had to stop it. If the warrior skills were to pass into the abyss and reached the demon lords, they would obtain an even greater power.


    ¡®No matter what happens...!¡¯


    I mustn¡¯t let it reach that ce. My feet began moving, even before thinking. I drew out a sword from within the Jewel of Space. moor¡¯s Straight Sword!


    The Ascendant¡¯s Cape read my intention and immediately equipped itself on my shoulders, and then I felt as if the flow of the wind had changed. The headwind became tailwind, removing air resistance. I arrived there even faster, and hung myself on the nk of the great preta.


    Shlrrk!


    Crash!


    But it wasn¡¯t enough. The moment I hung onto it, a hand that popped out of the great preta smacked me to the ground.


    ¡°Cough!¡±


    I coughed up blood. I would have broken a bone if not for Vajra Body. Soon after, the Ascendant¡¯s Cape forcefully moved my body, and protected me from the countless hands pouring out from the great preta¡¯s body. Shaking my head, I once again fixed a re at it.


    ¡®Stygian Touch.¡¯


    The surrounding ground turned ck. Countless ¡®hands of death¡¯ emerged and fended off the hands pouring out from the great preta¡¯s body. The Ascendant¡¯s Cape lifted me into the air. The preta¡¯s weakness was the neck. The neck was weakerpared to its other parts.


    ash!


    The had begun running moment Inded on the great preta. I headed straight for its neck and plunged my sword in, and then the great preta greatly twisted its body.


    Kieeeeeeek! (Screech)


    My ears went deaf. The great preta¡¯s scream alone inflicted magical damage. It caused anyone who heard it to instantly faint. But the Ascendant¡¯s Cape was capable of defending against great magic(S). Thanks to that, I could avoid fainting at least.


    Following that, the great preta buried its own face into its body. In that instant, the great preta¡¯s face appeared through its back, and attacked me with its huge mouth gaping towards me.


    Riip!


    I managed to barely dodge it, but my clothes were ripped, and half of my left forearm was bitten off and eaten. My bones weren¡¯t damaged, but I couldn¡¯t properly exert strength into it.


    ¡®Damn it!¡¯


    I couldn¡¯t cope with the great preta¡¯s speed. The difference in stat was too great for that. The great preta¡¯s face became divided. It instantly split into dozens of faces and attacked me from all directions.


    ?Dodge it!


    ?This bad preta!


    ?Dear grasses, protect that person.


    Lime, Layul, Laon. It was at that moment that the spirits of grass appeared. They had forcefully materialized and used their powers to protect their contractor. Until now they had been avoiding the Yaksha and Rakshasa, thus refrained from making an appearance, but they couldn¡¯t just watch me die.


    Roots began to grow from the ground in mere moments. All the trees here, in Rakshasa Citadale, had long roots which were harder than iron. The great preta became bound by the roots. In an instant, its movements faltered, and in that time I seeded in moving away. But that was all. I couldn¡¯t deal any direct damage excluding the first time. Was it beyond my abilities? Was I incapable of protecting that ce!?


    ¡°You have endured well.¡±


    At that moment, a shadow fell from above me. I raised my head. An ill-tempered looking old man was there.


    Wolcheon!


    The Rakshasa that died after handing me the Heartless Soul Stealer de. He was holding onto a sword. The sword lookedpletely ordinary, but it was suffused with a powerful blueish energy, appearing as if it would sever all that is in the world.


    ¡°Mere scum coveting our history?¡±


    The books in the library were the history of Yaksha and Rakshasa. The memories of their lives, the breaths they took was recorded there. Only Wolcheon knew of its value. That¡¯s why he was enraged. He was ame with fury. The moment he swung the sword,


    Craaaash!


    The great preta¡¯s body was cleaved in half. The sword Ki sted towards it like wind and tore apart the great hungry in half, and left behind a huge fissure on the ground. To think that he was capable of not just suffusing sword ki, but to even discharge it!


    Following that, a preta was ripped apart every time he swung his sword. It took less than 1 second to rip them into hundreds, thousands of pieces, even making it impossible for them to regenerate.


    Overwhelming. There was no other word for it. Afterwards, Wolcheon turned to look at me.


    ¡°Thank you. It could be protected thanks to you.¡±


    ¡°...Not at all.¡±


    I shook my head. In the end, it couldn¡¯t have been protected if he hadn¡¯t appeared.


    ¡°A Yaksha beloved by spirits. I¡¯ve seen something interesting for the first time in a while.¡±


    Wolcheon left together with a calm smile on his face. Like the wind.


    I clutched my injured arm. In the distance, it appeared that the Rakshasa and Yaksha, including the Five Dragons, were quickly suppressing the situation.


    ¡°It¡¯s sir Daerasun!¡±


    ¡°Sir Daerasun has appeared!¡±


    A typhoon blew all over Rakshasa Citadale. There appeared a man with a strange appearance, neither human nor monkey. He held a cane in his hand, riding on top of clouds as his white beard fluttered in the wind.


    He looked to about as small as 70cm, but the moment he swung the cane, a typhoon blew and lightning fell. Simultaneously, the ck rift began to shrink.


    Daerasun. The name of the absolute being ruling over the Rakshasa realm. The moment he appeared, the dark merchants abandoned the great pretas and ran. Perhaps they realized at a nce that he wasn¡¯t an opponent they could confront.


    ¡°Let none escape alive!¡±


    The Yaksha and Rakshasa...even the abyss shouldn¡¯t be able to easily provoke them if they were tobine their strength. They were more powerful than any other group I hade across. Together with a slight shiver running down my spine, I burned the scene of their battle into my eyes.


    ..


    ..


    They had won the battle, but the atmosphere wasn¡¯t good. The reason being that although they had caught several dark merchants as hostages, not much time passed before they disappeared like dust. Whether it be the question of who had attacked them, nothing was revealed in the end.


    ¡°Exactly who had attacked Rakshasa Citadale?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d never seen such lifeforms on Rakshasa Mountain.¡±


    ¡°How strange. Strange indeed.¡±


    The great pretas weren¡¯t the culprit. The great pretas were merely being ¡®controlled¡¯. The bizarre lifeforms with pitch-ck bodies wearing nothing but a hat. No, it wasn¡¯t certain if they were even lifeforms.


    Only I was aware that they were dark mechants. The battle was settled, and the barrier was reconstructed. The rift connecting to the abyss had cleanly disappeared, and there was an official announcement.


    ?This year¡¯s Stigma Tournament will be postponed until next year.


    ?The Rakshasa shall guard the levels with further vignce.


    ?Five days from now, Rakshasa Citadale will be evacuated. All Yaksha shall return to their own mountains. This is for the sake of carrying out the ritual of ¡®One-hundred-eight Barrier¡¯ for 108 days.


    ?All this is the will of Daerasun.


    There was no dissent. Daerasun. If he decided so, then the Yaksha and Rakshasa had to follow. The One-hundred-eight Barrier was the most powerful of barriers. It implied the seriousness of this time¡¯s affair.


    For the remaining five days, they paid tribute in honor of those Yaksha who had disappeared or died. It was estimated that dozens of Yaksha were caught in the mouths of the great pretas, and disappeared into the abyss. And as for me...


    ¡®I should go.¡¯


    I entered preparation.


    Transfer. Through it, I wanted to confirm the truth with my own two eyes. If they had trulye here for the sake of acquiring ¡®goods¡¯, then it was possible that the kidnapped Yaksha would be sold at the Dark Company. Also, I felt the need to investigate the dark merchants, because it may be that they were the chief instigators of all these incidents.


    I had never thought in this direction before. I had only considered the demon lords as a problem.


    ¡®Transfer.¡¯


    [¡®Transfer¡¯ will be maintained for 72 hours(144 hours in the abyss).]


    [Transfer beginning.]

 Chapter 50 - Depth of the Abyss (4)

    <h4>Chapter 50 ¨C Depth of the Abyss (4)</h4>


    Every day spent in Rakshasa Citadale had been fulfilling. Coming into contact with a new world called warrior skills, I could discover myself growing stronger with each day passing and even came to reflect upon my own mistakes. That¡¯s why I dyed using Transfer for as long as possible. I had thought that since Etaqua and Igneel were connected, Etaqua would show a reaction and let me know if ever something happened on the other side.


    But now I couldn¡¯t ignore it. The abyss had invaded reality. The dark merchants. They hade to Rakshasa Citadale, forcefully tearing apart the barrier and attacking. While it was important for myself to be stronger, it was just as important to reveal and hear the truth.


    Hiss!


    I heard what sounded like a snake. My arm felt a little numb as well, perhaps because I had yet to recover fully. When I opened my eyes, I saw that Igneel was sitting on the ground and looking at me.


    Golden Dragon Igneel. Unlike Etaqua, however, his body hadn¡¯t undergone a drastic growth. From front to back he was sized 1m at most, simr to the average dragon¡¯s rate of body development. But the golden shine of his body was even more beautiful. An extraordinary phenomenon of mana, perhaps caused by his SS-grade magic power. I let out a smile seeing his weing figure.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time.¡±


    I estimated that about 50 days should have passed going by time in the abyss. When I spoke those words remaining seated on the throne, Igneel slightly unfurled his wings as if to express his joy as well. He had a quiet personality unlike Etaqua, so it felt like he only took only the minimum of necessary movements.


    ¡®Mind¡¯s Eye.¡¯


    I was curious as to his growth during this time, because Etaqua and Igneel possessed the qualifications to be the strongest in their respective differing areas; physical and magical.


    Name: Igneel (Value ¨C 255,000)


    Race: Golden Dragon


    Title:


    me King (Lv9, Mag+13)


    Stats:


    Str 35a


    Agi 30a


    Con 33


    Ing 44s


    Mag 68(55+13)ss


    Potential(197+13/485)


    Special Note:


    Has inherited the powers of the Blessing of the Sage, Power of the me King.


    Recognizes the user as the parent.


    Indeed, my expectations weren¡¯t disappointed. The amount of magic power was, in particr, at a praiseworthy level. There would probably be nothing to fear if he were to continue growing at this pace. Moreover, Igneel¡¯s me King title raised magic power of all things. While the stat increase was lower than Etaqua¡¯s, despite being at the same level, but it was in fact a positive factor when considering that it was magic power ¡ª although I couldn¡¯t really point out this and that as good or bad, seeing as the both of them focused onpletely different areas.


    I slowly stood up.


    ¡°Where is La?¡±


    Hiss!


    Igneel tottered as he lead the way forward. Following behind, I made my way toward where La was.


    ..


    ..


    A group of intimidating dwarves were sculpting something outside the castle. The sculpture appeared to be about 10mrge, and a single nce at its massie body and wings was enough to call a certain person to mind.


    ¡®It¡¯s me.¡¯


    To be specific, it was Uriel Diablo. The dwarves were making a stone statue of him, and at the side dark elf warriors riding smilodons were in the middle of doing something which looked like training. La was looking at them as if supervising or coaching. When I appeared, La was the very first to turn her head.


    ¡°My Lord!¡±


    Then, appearing joyful, she approached me and kneeled. If she were a puppy, her ears would have been perked up and her tail wagging lightly. That about summed up the yearning that could be felt in the way she looked at me.


    ¡°Much seems to have changed during the time I was not here.¡±


    ¡°The first business carried out by the Absolute Domination Company was sessful. 99 items, all of them werepletely sold. It just happens so that Gourmandi had said he had something to speak with my Lord on that subject.¡±


    ¡°Gourmandi did?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I have given him permission to build a separate house and live nearby, should I call for him?¡±


    ¡°No. It is fine for now.¡±


    I shook my head, and did a calction. The remaining stock of the Jewels of Space was 99. Each one went for 800 points, and 63% out of that made the actual profit. Since slightly less than 30 was sold before I had used Transfer, it meant that around 35,000 was earned. I drew a cross mark in midair and confirmed the remaining points.


    [Points are being linked.]


    [Remaining points ¨C 26,600]


    The original amount of points I had was around 13,000. La had used roughly 20,000 points. She must have used that to have the dwarves construct the statue, and to hire the dark elf warriors.


    ¡°Is that statue for the sake of honoring me?¡±


    ¡°Because the statue which was there before was destroyed in the war with Carpediem...my Lord¡¯s ruling power should increase when this stone statue ispleted.¡±


    Ruling power?


    I fixed my gaze on the stone statue, and soon its rted information popped up.


    A stone statue depicting the demon lord ¡®Uriel Diablo¡¯.


    It is filled with the devotedbor of dwarves. (69%pleted)


    Fame rises. (500)


    Fame. It was corrted to the public evaluation of my name. It is said that with high fame, powerful beings would evene looking to be subordinates. Also, there were even buildings that required high fame before being able to be constructed. Before now there was nothing fame-worthy to my name, because I hadn¡¯t made any personal achievements after awakening. It wasn¡¯t a loss when looking at it that way.


    ¡°And the dark elves?¡±


    ¡°Carpediem¡¯s provocations are bing worse. Thus I had hired the dark elves for 1 year as a temporary measure, but is it not to your liking?¡±


    There seemed to be around 200 of them, and every single one of them appeared worthy to be called a warrior. Several tens of thousands of points may not be enough to buy all of them, so it was only under the pretext of being ¡®hired¡¯ could they bemanded.


    I nodded my head. In the first ce, I had entrusted full authority to La in my absence. She was the guardian deity who had protected this castle for a long time. She was a faithful woman who would even throw away her life to protect Uriel Diablo, so she must have spent neither too much, nor too less. I gave her suitable praise.


    ¡°Well done. They look quite strong.¡±


    ¡°They are a rank 1 mercenarypany who operate in the ¡®Horizon of the Abyss¡¯. Together with the 500ncers in my Lord¡¯s service, even Carpediem will not easilye attacking.¡±


    ¡°It is an honor to meet you, Uriel Diablo, demon lord. Please call me Hayman.¡±


    Someone who looked to be the leader of the dark elf warriors approached. A man with a huge injury that spanned from his face to his back. I waved my hand, and he retreated.


    ¡°I shall be heading to the Dark Company. Make preparations.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    La didn¡¯t ask the reason. She had unconditional trust whenever it came to what I wanted to do, after all.


    Although it was important to meet Gourmandi and discuss the new business, taking a good look at the Dark Company came first for now. In doing so, I had to find out whether or not my conjectures were right.


    ¡®The reason why gates are created.¡¯


    To find the answer to this question: was it possibly the dark merchants creating all of the ¡®gates¡¯?


    Finding ves, and plundering all other items. Was that the end of it? Perhaps there may be something else. A much bigger reason behind their endeavors.


    ¡®I have to find out.¡¯


    ..


    ..


    Thepany was as busy as ever. Maybe even more so than before.


    ¡°Uriel Diablo-nim, wee to the Dark Company. This is the first time receiving your visit aside from the emergency auction that day. I take it that our product must have been satisfying.¡±


    A dark merchant wearing a silver crown approached. He must also know that I had taken the egg of ¡®Igneel¡¯ and ¡®Etaqua¡¯. Since I hadn¡¯t gone to return it I must have seen the product, and having seen the product I couldn¡¯t have been anything but satisfied.


    It seems that to them, it must be a rather aggrieving incident.


    ¡°It is unusually busy today.¡±


    ¡°Hahah. A sharp observation. Actually we¡¯ve discovered a new ¡®race¡¯. Owing to that the merchants are moving busily.¡±


    A new race. It was much too timely an urrence to be passed off as coincidence.


    ¡°Oh? Then an assessment of the race should be under way right now?¡±


    La asked out of interest, and at that the dark mechant nodded his head.


    ¡°We are experimenting with their various limits. To see whether they are truly suitable to show to the esteemed lords, or so worthless that they should be disposed of.¡±


    La looked at me brightly.


    ¡°My Lord. The discovery of a race is nomon urrence. It does not hurt to take a look at least. If we happen to discover a ¡®pearl¡¯, we should be able to buy it on the spot.¡±


    ¡°The first round of bidding is between the merchants, so you may participate with the same rights.¡±


    The dark merchant added ament of his own.


    There were subdivisions among the dark merchants as well. It appeared that they even individually carried out their buying and selling. It must be that the merchants carry out auctions among themselves, and the merchant winning the auction would then sell their merchandise to the demon lords or other customers through various methods.


    ¡°Lead the way.¡±


    I spoke heavily.


    ..


    Screams resounded in a confined ce resembling a cage. An ¡®auction¡¯ was going on, while several dark merchants, who wore the helms of ordinary soldiers, kept the goods bound in chains.


    Other dark merchants made up the participants of the auction; there were a good 50 of them. The dark merchant who lead me here exined what was going on.


    ¡°It is a race called Yaksha. They are an unusual folk that carry jewels within their hearts as they live. After dissecting one it turned out that even their internal organs are unusual. Mana is concentrated in the jewel, and all the organs move in ordance to that jewel. Something which isn¡¯t even a heart, ys a role even greater than that of a heart...¡±


    I listened through one ear and let it out through the other.


    It was as I had predicted. The newly discovered race...was the Yaksha.


    ¡°The ability used differs depending on the jewel, and their physical abilities aren¡¯t bad either, but the ¡®jewel¡¯ they carry have quite the use. There are magic gems which power golems, no? While there are indeed differences in level between Yakshas¡¯, but among them there are some who possess jewels that can even substitute highest-grade magic gems. Isn¡¯t that amazing?¡±


    Amazing you ask?


    Well it is amazing I admit. Magic gems were rare, and golems, which were powered by highest-grade magic gems, were easily ssified as monsters of Lv8 and above, after all; though creating a suitable body was even more expensive, of course.


    Besides that, it was a gruesome scene.


    Inside a steel cage, there was a Yaksha lying down with their innards dissected and open to view. Behind that, there were about 40 Yaksha lined up. There were injuries all over their bodies, and there were even some who were still resisting.


    ¡°Untie this! Untie this and let us battle fair and square! You preta-like bastards!¡±


    ¡°Bastards less than the shit of ck wagons!¡±


    ¡°Bastards like thezy moor!¡±


    It was questionable whether they were cursing, but sure enough they were warriors. Even the merchants seemed to marvel at their ferocity.


    ¡°As you can see, because their tempers are extremely bad, opinions are leaning towards extracting the jewels. I think that correcting their tempers will be difficult, even by branding a ve¡¯s seal on them. We¡¯ve tried torturing them mentally, but it seems that theyck the very concept of a ¡®nightmare¡¯.¡±


    Yaksha. They were warriors ¡ª revering martial prowess, abhorring weakness. They had failed because they tried to tame the beasts among beasts. But my eyes were fixed to one point. The one with his head quietly hung down, unlike the other Yaksha. A Yaksha with crimson hair. An azure me was zing from his head.


    ¡®Hwarang Gu.¡¯


    He was there.


    Hwarang Gu! Chief of the me Lotus Division, and elder brother to Crimson Dragon Hwarin Gu. Although he was being quiet, his eyes were shining with light. Just like a wild animal. He had an air about him as if he would tear apart anything thates near. From how I remembered him, he was rather mild for a Yaksha, but that must be his true appearance. But the strength of the azure mes were weak. Those bindings suppressed movement and mana.


    ¡°I shall participate in the auction.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have topete with the other merchants. That¡¯s the rule, you see. Will you be fine with that?¡±


    I didn¡¯t reply. A silent affirmation.


    When I made my way closer, the attention of all the others focused on me.


    ¡°Uriel Diablo?¡±


    ¡°Why is he here?¡±


    The merchants murmured among themselves, as if it were strange for me, a demon lord, to be in such a ce. The Yaksha¡¯s reactions were intense as well.


    ¡°Are you the boss of these ck fellows? Come at me, why don¡¯t youe at me!¡±


    ¡°Damn, if only I had a sword!¡±


    Regarding the warrior skills that they learnt...fortunately, it seemed that they hadn¡¯t managed to properly understand it. If they had been sold to someone and the existence of warrior skills were to spread, that would have been a headache as well.


    ¡°How far have you proceeded?¡±


    ¡°O-, overall the biddings has proceeded until 22,000 points.¡±


    The auctioneer had broken out in a cold sweat. He was panicking at the sudden appearance of a demon lord.


    I walked before him, and calmly crossed my arms.


    ¡°22,300. Anyone going higher?¡±


    Following that, I shot a single look at the merchants. A very intense look.


    <hr ss="wp-block-separator">

 Chapter 51 - Depth of the Abyss (Fin)

    <h4>Chapter 51 ¨C Depth of the Abyss (Fin)</h4>


    The merchants kept quiet as ever.


    An abrupt intrusion of a tyrant. Regardless of the non-aggression agreement between the dark merchants and demon lords, they couldn¡¯tpletely ignore my sudden appearance.


    23,000 might be a heavy price at present, but it was pretty much a ¡®freebie¡¯ when considering the value of the Yaksha. Especially Hwarang gu. I had used Mind¡¯s Eye and saw that his value was over 100,000, after all.


    But the dark merchants only put importance on the ¡®jewels¡¯ of the Yaksha. As the jewel of a Yaksha was one of the two greatest jewels, magic gems being the other, it definitely had much value. If the race couldn¡¯t be subjugated, evaluating them based on the value of a magic gem was understandable.


    ¡°Come on closer,e on!¡±


    ¡°Kuaaargh!¡±


    The Yaksha struggled desperately. It seemed that they nned on killing any who came close, even if it means biting them to death. The merchants clicked their tongues. Then, La came forth to speak.


    ¡°It is a race that cannot be tamed in any case. Attempting to tame them by force will only serve to expend time and even more money. What¡¯s more, attempting to dominate them by putting excessive pressure on their minds may result in a bacsh, causing them to physically weaken or be unable to use their skills properly.¡±


    She believed that there was no way I would buy something useless, because La Diablo knew that with Mind¡¯s Eye I was the ¡®one with piercing sight¡¯. Thus, she stepped forward to sway the other merchants, to help me. Her words weren¡¯t wrong either.


    This was the 1st round of auctions. Here, the merchants bought ves at rtively ¡®cheap prices¡¯, but the buying merchant was wholly responsible for the money and time to be invested in training or dominating. In the end, all the customers woulde across would be these kinds of monsters with pleted training¡¯. Excluding those thate in the form of eggs from the outset, of course.


    La continued her words.


    ¡°23,000 should be enough purely considering the value of a magic gem. I shan¡¯t oppose if you intend on showing off and spend more, truly I wonder if the demon lord will be pleased.¡±


    ¡°La Diablo! This is a sacred ce of auction. Please refrain from threatening the merchants in that manner.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, threaten you say? Should you not be feeling thankful instead? A barbaric race like that, what demon lord would show interest in them? It should be difficult for those not demon lords to rule those barbaric folk...you should think it fortunately to even cover the price of a magic gem. Any higher than that is tant profiteering disguised as an auction.


    Her words implied that asking for a greater price than that will be considered as making an unjust profit.


    La¡¯s words had an impact to them. For a long time she had undertaken the role of ¡®acting demon lord¡¯ on my behalf, meaning that she had some acquaintance with all the merchants here. Moreover, while she may not match up to other demon lords, she couldn¡¯t bepletely ignored as she belonged to the group of ¡®big customers¡¯ in a sense.


    At that moment, a merchant who wore a soldier¡¯s helm spoke up.


    ¡°Damn it. 23,000 won¡¯t even cover the funds gone into catching these ves!¡±


    ¡°Do you mean to me us for your stupidity? If my memory serves correctly, your ¡®business ethics¡¯ entails providing good products at good prices, no?¡± said another with a crown as its merchant hat¡±


    La didn¡¯t lose out even once in words.


    The dark merchants wearing the helms of soldiers. They had lost the majority of their forces when they invaded the Rakshasa realm. Hundreds had gone in, but those that returned were merely twenty or so; a number which represented a near wipe-out.


    Thanks to La, the momentum shifted to our side. Those who wore winged copper crowns as their merchant hats began making noise again.


    ¡°Certainly it does seem expensive.¡±


    ¡°Training those ves will easily cost 50,000 points. Magic rted to the mind is expensive after all...¡±


    ¡°Even the price of a magic gem will be a relief. Butchering them cleanly and extracting the jewels is work too.¡±


    If 100,000 points went into purchasing and training, at least 130,000 points should be received in return for the sustainedbor and costs. But apart from demon lords, there were almost none who could cope with such an expense. In other words, there was a high possibility that their efforts would go to waste if they failed to encourage customers¡¯ interest.


    The auctioneer breathed out a sigh.


    ¡°We have a bid at 23,000. Is there anyone bidding higher than 23,000?¡±


    The dark merchants scrutinized one another. There hadn¡¯t ever been a case where a demon lord personally came to bid on a recently procured item. There were times where they spectated, but no more than that.


    Who would go looking for ves that haven¡¯t undergone even the basic of training? Excluding those like dragon eggs, which doesn¡¯t even require training, wild monsters weren¡¯t particrly popr. What¡¯s more, training and reselling the Yaksha would be a problem as well. As La Diablo said, the merchant would wholly incur the loss if they failed to promote customers¡¯ interest in the demon lords.


    ¡®The merchants here aren¡¯t united as one either.¡¯


    I gained a small realization; while they were tied under the Dark Company¡¯s name, the merchants themselves were ¡®individual¡¯ beings, and they alsopeted among themselves as they endeavored to raise their ¡®prestige¡¯.


    The hats they wore were symbols of ¡®status¡¯. While they were called the servants of the Great Star, I could guess that for the sake of even greater honor, they needed to raise their status and prestige. That, and the fact that...


    ¡®Apparently the attack on the Rakshasa realm wasn¡¯t intentional.¡¯


    It seemed that they had simply entered a randomly created gate, just like how I opened a gate. But the Rakshasa realm was an extremely powerful ce, and they had managed to catch only around 40 Yaksha. Chances were very high that they hadn¡¯t gone there aiming for the library or warrior skills.


    Of course, it was definitely problematic that they attacked numerous ¡®worlds¡¯ in this manner. The demon lords are expected to head toward Earth after the war in the abyss is finished to a certain extent, but from time to time the dark merchants would carry out invasions to ¡®plunder¡¯. Was there no good way to tie them down?


    ¡°The Yaksha pack goes to ¡®Uriel Diablo¡¯ at 23,000 points. Congrattions.¡±


    When I was about to go over my thoughts again, the 1st round of the auction came to an end. Unlike the auctioneer or the merchants, those who wore soldier hats clenched their fists. What they had obtained and brought back at the cost of all their troops was sold for dirt cheap. You reap what you sow, however. I turned my head to look at La.


    ¡°La.¡±


    ¡°Please speak, my Lord.¡±


    La¡¯s was a big help in this auction. She would never have done what she did if she was alone; she took the initiative regardless of everything, killing her own pride all for the sake of helping me. Contrary to what happened in the past, it was an extremely praiseworthy deed. But the words of praise had difficulty leaving my lips.


    ¡°Take the Yaksha and return to the territory. I have a separate matter to attend.¡±


    ¡°May I ask as to what that matter is?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t reply, and La didn¡¯t press further. Instead, she turned her head as if slightly sad.


    ¡°As youmand.¡±


    ..


    ..


    The matter which I had to attend to alone...was to uncover what¡¯s behind these merchants here. To be specific, I wanted to know what method they used to go into ¡®other worlds¡¯.


    Since there was no way they would answer if asked, I had no other choice than to chase their backs. La shouldn¡¯t know the answer regarding this either, because all those whoe here only seek to buy ¡®good items¡¯, rather than the origins of those items.


    I saw the dark merchants wearing soldier hats going toward the back of building.


    ¡®The great preta should havee back together.¡¯


    Where could they be?


    I had a feeling that I could find out by chasing them.


    ¡®Stygian Touch.¡¯


    An attack magic which turned space ck, and summoned deathly hands. But an attack magic wasn¡¯t all it was. It was S-ranked, and if its level is raised I could even contain myself within that dark space.


    Countless ck hands pulled at me as I used Stygian Touch. Having entered the dark space, I then mimicked the ¡®shadow¡¯ of a dark merchant wearing a soldier hat, and began to shadow him around.


    Fortunately, the dark merchants failed to notice me. While they called it an non-aggression area, it seemed that one wouldn¡¯t be sanctioned in any other way in particr, as long as one didn¡¯t attack.


    Around 20. The number of dark merchants wearing soldier hats. They talked among themselves as they moved toward a narrow alley.


    ¡°Losing the rank of nobility will be certain at this rate. There¡¯ll be a limit even if 23,000 is used to rebuild the troops.¡±


    ¡°What will you do?¡±


    ¡°The great preta should still be alive, yes?¡±


    ¡°Regardless, isn¡¯t it just a matter of time? They¡¯ll all die around 3 days from now.¡±


    ¡°No other way than to quickly prepare for a trip within 3 days and ¡®infiltrate¡¯ again.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t it be dangerous? There¡¯ll be big restrictions when admitting lifeforms of a different dimension into another dimension. Making a move ourselves will also be a bit too much...how about just plundering the lifeforms of a suitable dimension?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no time. Moreover, the lifeforms called great preta have quite the superb regeneration and adaptive abilities. We should be able to make a sufficiente back by infiltrating a lower dimension.¡±


    ¡°Huu, no way around it. I never imagined that it was such a high-level dimension.¡±


    ¡°We tried ¡®infiltrating¡¯ the one ruling that dimension, but almost died instead. Damn it! You¡¯ll need to be at the rank of count at least before barely being able to even challenge it. I¡¯ve only be a mere bar now, I was too greedy.¡±


    There was a part to their conversation which was difficult to follow. But I knew now that they were trying to ride the great preta and attack somewhere again. The dark merchant wearing a silver horned helmet, who appeared to be their leader...it seemed that he was the culprit behind all that had happened.


    ¡°Lord Uriel Diablo. We could have earned twice the amount if it weren¡¯t for him.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t there those who trade with us? If we make a request of them...¡±


    ¡°No matter what, us dark merchants can¡¯t attack demon lords, the candidates of the ¡®Great Star¡¯. Though it¡¯s a different matter if they were to turn against one another.¡±


    ¡°I heard that he and lord Carpediem don¡¯t get along well.¡±


    ¡°Did we have a ¡®line¡¯ connected to him?¡±


    ¡°I have heard that ¡®Mountain-eating Yeti¡¯ is together with Carpediem.¡±


    ¡°Mountain-eating Yeti is it...fine. We support Carpediem. But seeding in ¡®infiltrating¡¯ a lower dimensiones first. At the very least, demotion has to be prevented.¡±


    Officially, ¡®backdoor dealings¡¯ between merchants and demon lords were wrong. But there was no way a demon lord would go on living an honest life. Apparently, they open channels in this manner. It was also quite curious that the dark merchants called themselves dark people. It made for aplete different feeling, though there was only a single word difference.


    Soon they headed toward the end of the Dark Company. Only after being checked multiple times by dark people wearing soldier helms could they move toward the next location.


    ¡®Security is thorough.¡¯


    I would have been caught long ago if I hadn¡¯t melded into a shadow.


    ¡®This ce is...¡¯


    It was a deep valley. There were countless dark people near it, appearing to number in the tens of thousands. They all appeared to soldier ranked, and even now they continued tounch themselves into the valley.


    ¡°Please permit entry into the lower dimension open to the public.¡±


    There was a dark person at the edge of the valley, who held a marble the size of a torso. When the soldier approached him and spoke, the dark person holding the marble tilted his head.


    ¡°You won¡¯t be going pioneering ?¡±


    ¡°Are you making fun of me? Everyone died after attempting to pioneer! I¡¯m at the brink of demotion.¡±


    The dark person spoke as he peered inside the marble.


    ¡°Hmm, Rakshasa realm is it. You¡¯ve only managed to explore 3%? If it¡¯s this much then I could designate you to the 18th dimension. Although you¡¯ll need to be a marquis at the least to be able to challenge it.¡±


    ¡°Are you ignoring what I said?¡±


    ¡°Ahh, hang on. Let¡¯s see, the 3rd dimension happens to be open.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t there nothing but beasts like kaim at best in the 3rd dimension? Are you telling me now to attack and loot some animals?¡±


    ¡°The only lower dimension you¡¯re permitted to is that ce. That¡¯s why you should have explored at least 10% of the Rakshasa realm. If you¡¯d done so, you would have been granted a big reward.¡±


    ¡°Hu...damn it all. Can¡¯t be helped then.¡±


    Cursing harshly, he nodded. He had no options to choose from.


    Finally, the dark person holding the marble stretched out his fingers, toward the other side of the valley. The soldier began to move to that ce, and I followed the soldier from behind, remaining as a shadow. Afterwards, I drew near the edge of the cliff and looked down the valley.


    Rumble! Ruuumble!


    Booom! Boom! Craash!


    I could feel shivers running all over my body at the same time.


    The bottom of the valley...it was a ce where countless ck vortexes were crazily swirling. It was like a nuclear fusion, the vortexes endlessly twisting together to give birth to countless explosions!


    The dark people threw themselves toward the valley. The moment they did, they transformed to take the appearance of great preta.


    ¡®A great...rift!¡¯


    I felt like my mind waspletely empty.


    In a deep ce of the abyss, there existed an uncountable number of rifts.

 Chapter 52 - Laila Diablo (1)

    <h4>Chapter 52 ¨C La Diablo (1)</h4>


    I couldn¡¯t help grinding my teeth upon returning to the territory. I shook all over, unable to contain the fury.


    It was them. They were the culprits widening the rift.


    ¡®Invasion of Earth bes easier the wider the rift bes.¡¯


    If the rift grows wider, the restriction of travel from the abyss to Earth would gradually disappear. Although Lv5 was the limit for now,ter on all animals, monsters, and demons would be able to go over to Earth.


    I did wonder about something though.


    In what way does the rift widen? Perhaps it grew bigger by itself over time.


    No.


    Darkmen. Those who we had called dark merchants. Every time they carried out ¡®invasions¡¯ of dimensions, of worlds, the rift had been growing wider.


    My hand curled into a fist by itself. While it was the demon lords who had let loose destruction upon the world, in the end, the darkmen were the ones to have opened its floodgates.


    ¡®How can I obstruct them?¡¯


    I agonized over it, thoughts revved into overdrive.


    I wasn¡¯t capable of crushing the Great Star and the Dark Company by myself, of course. Those powerful demon lords wouldn¡¯t have agreed to ¡®non-aggression¡¯ with them for no reason; it was in their nature to beat and break to obtain what catches their fancy. But even they did naught but participate in the auctions like docile sheeps, did they not?


    ¡®Fight demon lords with demon lords.¡¯


    I recalled the words spoken by the darkmen, that the darkmen couldn¡¯ty a hand on demon lords. In other words, it was possible for other demon lords!


    Then...what if I were to win over a darkman?


    ¡®Fight darkmen with darkmen.¡¯


    In that instant I felt as if a very small light turned on in my mind. If I couldn¡¯ty a hand on them, then I should make the darkmen cause troubles among themselves.


    But there still remained the question of how I should go about creating that ¡®line¡¯.


    ¡®They¡¯re hierarchy oriented.¡¯


    Their ranks were just like those of medieval society. I had definitely heard words like bar, count, and marquis being mentioned. Simply put, the higher rank they became, the more powerful an ¡®influence¡¯ they could have. And at the top of them all, there should be a ¡®king¡¯.


    A king would listen to his subjects and handle all ambassadors. In other words, I may be able to prevent the rift from opening if only I could nt an agent by the king¡¯s side!


    ¡®What if I were to dominate a darkman?¡¯


    The Dominator¡¯s Authority which I had.


    I could definitely dominate a darkman. They also showed ¡®values¡¯ as well. They each had different values, which meant that they could be affected by Dominator.


    I had to be careful, however. If a darkman I dominated were to be exposed by another darkman, the aftermath would be a great mess.


    A single weak demon like me might be disposed of in an instant. It was obvious that things would be difficult if they were to immediately give even a little bit of strength to Carpediem.


    ¡®I have to pick the agent to nt, and increase my own strength too.¡¯


    I decided. I mustn¡¯t be negligent in whatever I would do.


    Until now I had only held importance in myself as ¡®Hansung Oh¡¯; I had taken into ount the possible situation of being unable to return to Uriel Diablo¡¯s body again. If that happened and Uriel Diablo were to develop upon the foundation that I had built, my efforts would be for naught.


    But now it was all-or-nothing. I ruled out that possibility. Even if it dide to pass, all I had to do was develop myself as Hansung Oh even faster.


    Because in one way or another, all the same I would dy the opening of the rift as much as possible and obstruct the demon lords.


    ¡°My Lord. I have brought the Yaksha.¡±


    Inside the castle. I sat on the king¡¯s throne and looked down upon them.


    The Yaksha who were captured and moved. Among them was ¡®Hwarang Gu¡¯.


    They looked up at me. Right now I was an existence they couldn¡¯tpare to. Because however strong they were, they couldn¡¯t do anything to a demon lord.


    ¡°What do you intend with us?¡±


    Hwarang Gu. He asked a question on behalf of the group. The fierce light in his eyes remained as ever.


    A powerful individual who was chief of the me Lotus Division, and blood-rted elder brother to Hwarin Gu.


    I was in the middle of contemting how to deal with him. The moment I had purchased him at the auction, ¡®Dominator¡¯s Authority¡¯ did activate. But notpletely.


    [Dominator¡¯s Authority has activated. However, the Yaksha¡¯s jewel, Yaksha¡¯s soul, possess resistance to the power of ¡®domination¡¯. This is a permanent power of blessing which the ¡®Great Warrior¡¯ passed down to their descendants, Yaksha and Rakshasa.]


    Domination resistance!


    It wasn¡¯t as if it had no effect, but it wasn¡¯tplete either. I didn¡¯t know who the Great Warrior was, but apparently the jewels of the Yaksha possessed such an effect.


    ¡®So an Authority isn¡¯t omnipotent.¡¯


    Indeed, if the Authority was omnipotent then I would be able to dominate other demon lords, and the Colossus as well. The impossibility of it proved that the Dominator¡¯s Authority wasn¡¯t perfect.


    I gave a short reply.


    ¡°You all will fight for me, and die protecting me.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t make fun of Hwarang Gu or the other powerful Yaksha. Especially Hwarang Gu. He was one of the super strong individuals above Lv8.


    If he were to fight for me, then the war against Carpediem would be far easier.


    Out of everything I had, La was the only one who couldpete with him. Igneel and Etaqua still hadn¡¯t developed enough.


    Hwarang Gu raised his brows.


    ¡°Fight with our lives staked for someone we do not even know?¡±


    ¡°I am Uriel Diablo. Your new master, Hwarang Gu.¡±


    ¡°...!¡±


    Hwarang Gu became wide eyed. He must wonder how I knew his name.


    But the first person I saw when I had opened my eyes on Rakshasa Citadale was him, Hwarang Gu. There was no way I wouldn¡¯t know, even without Mind¡¯s Eye.


    But then right away Hwarang Gu hardened his expression and spoke.


    ¡°A strange character you are. However, I do not fight for someone weaker than I. The same goes true for the other Yaksha as well. No...even if you, Uriel Diablo, happen to be stronger than I...¡±


    ¡°I shall let you return.¡±


    ¡°...What?¡±


    I spokezily.


    ¡°Give your all for my sake. Do so, and I shall send you back to Rakshasa Citadale. Besides, the life and death of all that is in Rakshasa Citadale rests in my hands.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t a lie. I was certain of it.


    The barrier of Rakshasa Citadale would be broken through. Even if the 108 Barrier, or something even more powerful was set up, the darkmen would begin raiding once again.


    It was a matter of time in the end.


    Abruptly I recalled the time I had met Rakshasa, or Wolcheon.


    He had called me an ¡®usurper¡¯. He had said that because I was an usurper, those chasing him wouldn¡¯t be able to find me.


    Thinking closely, I wasn¡¯t a person of the Rakshasa realm. It was only natural that the darkmen wouldn¡¯t be able to find me, someone who wasn¡¯t an inhabitant of that world.


    Perhaps Wolcheon was being chased by the darkmen. Rakshasa Citadale had already fallen at that time. To prevent the downfall of that ce, to change the future, I am the only option.


    Many things may already bete by the time Minshik arrives at the Rakshasa realm. Moreover, Minshik wanted to be the ¡®hero of humanity; he hadn¡¯t the slightest of inclination to be the ¡®hero of the Rakshasa realm¡¯.


    In conclusion, it was no exaggeration to say that their life and death depended on my efforts.


    ¡°Just...who exactly are you?¡±


    There was a faint disturbance in Hwarang Gu¡¯s expression. Clearly he was wondering as to how I knew all that.


    But I had no reason to reveal it. There was no way he would believe it even if I were to say that I was Hansung Oh. It would only buy further suspicion in this state, and I would keep silent even if suspicion didn¡¯t arise.


    Instead...


    ¡°Uriel Diablo. The one to be your new master.¡±


    I made this one point crystal clear.


    Then I said to La,


    ¡°La. Let them know who is on top.¡±


    ¡°Will that be okay?¡±


    ¡°They are no easy opponents. You will also have to do your best.¡±


    La smiled slightly.


    That smile was full of confidence.


    ¡°Worry not, my Lord. I give my all even when facing weak enemies.¡±


    No doubt about that.


    I knew she spoke truth after all. Her asking ¡®Will that be okay?¡¯ was seeking confirmation with me, because she was incapable of being lenient and she may greatly injure, or even kill the Yaksha.


    At that, I gave my permission, and she spread her wings.


    ash!


    La then cut away their bindings.


    Life returned to the Yaksha¡¯s eyes as their physical restrictions disappeared and mana returned. They were mostly full of ferocity. Even Dominator¡¯s Authority couldn¡¯tpletely affect them; this was how the Yaksha were. Hadn¡¯t even the dark merchants marveled at their ferocity?


    The moment their bindings were released, it was a clear indication for them to attack.


    Before they began acting, I spoke slowly.


    ¡°I shall promise. You shall be free if you defeat La.¡±


    ¡°Free? You mean you¡¯ll let us go back?¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡±


    Hwarang Gu breathed in deeply.


    ¡°How can I trust those words?¡±


    ¡°What will you do if you don¡¯t trust?¡±


    ¡°I will kill you.¡±


    Kill a demon lord, he says. I liked it, even though the words were directed at me.


    ¡°Then you will not be able to go back?¡±


    ¡°Kill all those here, and one among them should lead the way.¡±


    I tried to suppress theughter.


    The will to break through if blocked, and smash apart if that doesn¡¯t work. It was clear to see that they would be a big strength, if only they could be made to follow me.


    ¡°To believe or not, that is up to you.¡±


    Then Hwarang Gu nodded and spoke.


    ¡°We have been wounded, and starved. It should think it fair to give us weapons at least.¡±


    ¡°La.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    La waved her hand once. Then a demi-ne appeared in midair, various weapons pouring out of it. Nothing that could be called masterpieces, but suitable enough for casually swinging around. They were all trophies which La had taken after killing. It seemed that the good weapons were all sold and only the suitable weapons remained.


    ¡°Pick what is familiar to you. For this is thest excuse for your ill-mannered lot.¡±


    La¡¯s words were prickly with thorns. She didn¡¯t even hide her great displeasure at the attitude Hwarang Gu showed toward me. Hwarang Gu, on the other hand, smiled.


    The warrior skills that he and the others learned. They seemed to think that as long as they were given suitable weapons, they could defeat La at least.


    It was true that they were no pushovers. Hwarang Gu¡¯s overall stats was 415. The other Yaksha were in the range of 300. On top of that, there were 40 of them, so there was a possibility of even La being defeated in a moment of carelessness.


    ¡®I¡¯m curious.¡¯


    I slightly looked forward to it as well.


    To see whether La could indeed show me the ¡®Queen of Terror and ughter¡¯ I had witnessed in the past against the Yaksha who weren¡¯t humans.


    I didn¡¯t think she would lose, of course. La wasn¡¯t a fool either. If she talked big, naturally she would match it with actions.


    Finally, the Yaksha had all picked their weapons.


    And then.


    Chwaruruk!


    Thorns sprang out from beneath La¡¯s feet.


    Countless thorns entirely covered La and gathered to create a silver mask. The mask covered half of her face. Following that, La lifted her right hand. Then as she brushed the palm of her hand with her lips once, a single drop of blood ran down her hand and fell onto the ground.


    The blood which was instantly absorbed into the ground created a magic circle. As the pentagram magic circle came into effect, a ck sword rose out of the ground.


    Demon Sword ck Sun. It was a trademark weapon of the Queen of Terror and ughter. The ultimate reason why Carpediem couldn¡¯t simply underestimate my territory.


    The moment La grasped it.


    Roooar!


    Her body radiated ck waves of heat.


    It was as if she were a berserker. But she didn¡¯t lose her rationality, for her mind was far too great to be controlled by the likes of a demon sword.


    Behind the silver mask, La smiled enchantingly.


    ¡°Since I have also drawn my weapon...shall we start then?¡±


    A stage prepared for her, and her only.


    <hr ss="wp-block-separator">

 Chapter 53 - Laila Diablo (2)

    <h4>Chapter 53 ¨C La Diablo (2)</h4>


    The Yaksha who were looking at La¡¯s smile froze for a moment. Even the density of the outward mana that could be sensed had changed abruptly. The air which was being blown by the wind oppressively stuck to their bodies, drawing close as if it were a swamp.


    ¡®When she has the ck Sun in her hand, La Diablo¡¯s true form appears.¡¯


    I knew. More clearly than anybody.


    Over a hundred heroes had died ¡ª at La Diablo¡¯s hands.


    The title hero was normally used to refer to people who had an overall stat of between 400 to 450 or above, or else possessed a very special power. By herself, she who wasn¡¯t a demon lord could absolutely not handle such opponents. However...


    The ck Sun. And the tell-tale silver mask which identified her as the one and only ¡®Queen of Thorns¡¯. She who possessed these two things could fight without tiring, because if there is an enemy, she can ¡®steal¡¯ the opponent¡¯s mana by simply shing swords.


    There was only one way to face her.


    It was to destroy her entirely in one go ¡ª a single instant ¡ª by using mana which exceeded hers. If that isn¡¯t done, then even that mana would be absorbed and she would brandish her sword with abandon; such is the being called La Diablo.


    I looked at ck Sun more closely, and then Mind¡¯s Eye opened, revealing more details regarding the sword.


    A demon sword which eats away the mind of its owner.


    Currently recognizes ¡®La Diablo¡¯ as its owner.


    Siphons the mana of all it strikes and transfers it into its owner¡¯s strength.


    ¡®ck Sun(Lv10)¡¯ can be used when mana reaches the limit.


    The more it is used, the crazier one bes for blood and ughter.


    Its value was unknown. I didn¡¯t know whether it was because its ability differed depending on its owner, or if it was because the demon sword itself possessed such prestige that even ¡®Mind¡¯s Eye¡¯ couldn¡¯t see through it, but just looking at its exnation was enough to tell what a ridiculous weapon it was.


    The reason why one had to kill her as fast as possible when facing her.


    Because as if absorbing mana wasn¡¯t enough, ¡®ck Sun¡¯ would be used when the mana limit is reached. It was a gob-smacking, horrifying Lv10 transcendent magic,which would even make demon lords wary.


    ¡®Everyone would have died if not for Syria¡¯s sacrifice.¡¯


    I recalled that time.


    When the sun became dyed in ck, when that all-epassing magic unfolded...if Syria hadn¡¯t given herself as an offering to activate ¡®Sacrifice¡¯, the majority of the heroes would have been massacred. It was thanks to Syria that we were barely let off with about 50 deaths.


    Although La Diablo was pushed to the brink of death from the recoil of the magic, ck Sun was that much powerful. One could dare to specte that might surpass S-rank when ites to attack magic.


    As she headed toward the outside of the castle, the Yaksha organized themselves outside the castle as well.


    ¡°The enemy is one. We use the 18 Arhat Battle Formation, split into two sides and take her on.¡±


    Hwarang Gu showed extreme seriousness. He had realized on an instinctive level that she wasn¡¯t an opponent he could go easy on. Instead, because he had acknowledged her as a ¡®powerful individual¡¯ above himself, he was going to fight using the most powerful formation tactic.


    As a rule of thumb, Yaksha didn¡¯t call those weaker than them as an ¡®enemy¡¯. But Hwarang Gu recognized La as an enemy, and going beyond that, he was seeing her as someone to ovee. I could feel an intensebative spirit from his eyes.


    The 18 Arhat Battle formation was a strong formation whichprised of 18 people each in charge of their own defense. He intended to split that into two, and pressure La from both sides.


    As they formed the 18 Arhat Battle Formation, it felt as if a high mountain hade into being. I did witness the Yaksha banding together like that at the time when facing the great preta, but it was definitely effective.


    ¡®So they share the flow of mana.¡¯


    More than anything, it seemed that the 18 Yaksha participating in the formation shared the mana they each had. It became faster, harder, and stronger. Enemies encountering that formation would fall into confusion as to where to begin attacking.


    I had also seen that formation tactic in the library. With a minimum of 18 participants up to a maximum of 500, it was a method which enabled facing a more powerful enemy.


    Its weak point was the person who formed the center of the formation; it was either kill that person, or crush the entire formation.


    La, however, snorted.


    The moment she lifted her foot...the ck waves of heat radiating from her entirety became like a brandishing whip, striking the ground.


    Cruumble!


    Snap!


    The earth shook, and countless huge thorns sprang out of the ground at that moment. Regardless of any formation, La was capable of destroying formations themselves.


    A natural enemy. She was the Queen of Terror who toyed with those banded together to face her.


    ¡°Kuaarrgh!¡±


    ¡°Damn it!¡±


    The 18 Arhat Battle Formation copsed in an instant.


    Hwarang Gu shouted


    ¡°Do not disperse! Quickly regroup!¡±


    But La wasn¡¯t one to lose that moment.


    Crack!


    Boom!


    Every time La swung her sword, a Yaksha was blown away. Even if they did barely block it, the difference in basic ability was too big in the first ce.


    Moreover, the ck wave of heat radiating from La¡¯s entire body was growing stronger every time they shed. She was absorbing mana.


    Hwarang Gu was aware of that as well. He knew that La Diablo wasn¡¯t someone who couldn¡¯t be dealt with numbers. He had realized that it was a mistake, believing numbers to be enough in facing her!


    ¡°You monster of a...!¡±


    Would fighting the Twelve Heavenly Generals be like this I wonder. Would I feel such a difference in ¡®level¡¯?


    Hwarang Gu hardened his expression as his azure mes burned more strongly. He then raised his sword. A blue vital power suffused the sword. It wasn¡¯t as clear as sword force, but it was at the level where it could be called sword energy, the stage right below sword force.


    It was a technique exclusive to swordsmen of a high level, and it added a cutting force which could easily cut through iron swords.


    Cling!


    ng!


    Hwarang Gu began acting in earnest, because he had realized he was the only one capable of stopping her, and that the other Yaksha banding together would only make it disadvantageous instead.


    But with every sh of the sword, the sword force shook ever more precariously. Even the materialized energy was being absorbed by that ck sword.


    Boom! Boom! Bang!


    With every downward strike of the sword, Hwarang Gu¡¯s feet dug further into the ground. His muscles ruptured with every sh.


    That wasn¡¯t all. La¡¯s eyes had be dyed in crimson.


    ¡°...!¡±


    Even Hwarang Gu shivered when he met those eyes.


    It was likeing face-to-face with an evil spirit gone mad for ughter at the sight of blood. Even he, a great warrior, was frightened by La¡¯s gaze. This was something that couldn¡¯t be, that shouldn¡¯t be. Hwarang Gu grit his teeth.


    ¡°Kuaaaah!¡±


    Hwarang Gu bellowed, and then his sword zed with mes. Azure Nine Phoenix mes. This warrior skill at the 9th level could burn all things.


    The azure mes moved and engulfed La. By no means were the azure mes a type of me that was easily put out. However...


    Whoosh!


    An even colder kind of energy began to whirl around La¡¯s surrounding. As the azure mes finally died out, a chill settled in. It was one of the skills he possessed, ¡®Unfeeling¡¯. A skill that erased all emotions, and at the same time ¡®nullified¡¯ the things touching her.


    The crimson eyes resembling an evil spirit were gone, but instead her eyes were now extremely cold.


    Gulp!


    Hwarang Gu swallowed a glob of saliva. And then...


    ng! ang-!


    He threw away his sword.


    Following which he raised both hands.


    ¡°I...we have lost.¡±


    A decided oue. Realizing the situation couldn¡¯t be overturned regardless of any struggle, he had given up.


    At Hwarang Gu¡¯s deration of surrender, all the Yaksha abandoned their weapons.


    sh!


    It was then that Hwarang Gu¡¯s right arm went flying.


    La didn¡¯t stop. Her eyes were cold like the pits of the abyss. She brandished her sword solely for the sake of killing the opponent, feeling not a whit of emotion.


    ¡°Kuhuk! Wait, am I not saying that I lost!?¡±


    There wasn¡¯t even time for him to pick up the severed arm. Before I knew it, La¡¯s entire body was covered in a shimmering ck haze. So ck that her body couldn¡¯t even be seen.


    ¡°God damn!!¡±


    Hwarang Gu hastily dodged. The other Yaksha were the same.


    La¡¯s sword scraped by Hwarang Gu¡¯s neck just barely. It waspletely different from before. She was swinging her sword purely to kill.


    ¡®Has there been an ovepping side effect from the demon sword and Unfeeling?¡¯


    Even I hadn¡¯t expected to be fronted with such a phenomenon.


    I raised my hands and prepared to stop her. I would stop her movements with Stygian Touch, and if even that proves not enough then I may have to resort to an all-out confrontation.


    ¡°La.¡±


    I called her name using a strong voice.


    And then...


    Halt!


    La¡¯s movements stopped. She then turned her head, and stared at me.


    It was effective. I once again opened my mouth,


    ¡°Stop. Your current appearance does not suit you.¡±


    Though I had spoken in a strong voice, was I mistaken to think it had an effect?


    Finally, La¡¯s sword was pointed toward me. Rather than it being La¡¯s will, it was as if the sword itself was moving on its own.


    But at the same time, a crack appeared on La¡¯s expression which waspletely empty before. Eyes narrowed and body trembling, she began trying to take back the sword pointed towards me.


    As she did so, the ck haze eroding La¡¯s body began to disperse bit by bit.


    ang-!


    A momentter, when her eyes and expression returned to normal, she dropped ck Sun onto the ground.


    ¡°Ah...¡±


    An expression which said she didn¡¯t know what to do. Her confusion was in to see.


    Her body then began trembling all over, following which she dropped to her knees, gripping her head with both hands.


    ¡°So-, sorr-...I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    She was like a child that had done a great wrong. Even in the past I had never seen La Diablo like this. She was nicknamed the ¡®Queen of Terror¡¯, and such was her unwavering strength that extreme organizations like Aletheia had even idolized her.


    But her appearance now was far from the image of that nickname.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry...¡±


    She endlessly repeated saying ¡®I¡¯m sorry¡¯.


    ¡®So it was unstable.¡¯


    Only then did I realize. The demon sword had been too powerful. Although it couldn¡¯tpletely invade her mind, it was capable of making her momentarily lose her rationality if she continued to use it.


    ¡®She got too excited.¡¯


    La Diablo. Come to think of it, this was the first time seeing her disy her powers ever since I woke up. From La¡¯s viewpoint it must have been 100 years.


    Perhaps it was because she had wanted to show off how much she had grown during that time, bing overly excited, that this situation hade to be.


    What to do...


    I heavily rose from my seat.


    To be honest, to be really honest, I still couldn¡¯t forgive La Diablo. No way could I forgive her.


    La Diablo was the one who killed Syria and my good friends. Even though it had now be something that didn¡¯t happen...it was an unforgettable memory.


    She was included among the reasons as to why I had avoided using ¡®Transfer¡¯. Because every time I saw that devoted look of hers, I would feel resentment along with an inexplicable strange feeling twist my insides.


    Standing up, I approached her. Then...slowly spreading my hands, I embraced La Diablo.


    Slowly patting that small back of hers, I spoke.


    ¡°Do not be sorry. You have done no wrong.¡±


    Did she...do no wrong?


    Truly, I wonder.


    Was I to treat the past as water under the bridge, because it was already past, something that didn¡¯t happen, I wonder.


    She had merely been desperate to protect Uriel Diablo, after all. They had only done their best in order to protect each other.


    La Diablo, who was curled up and crying like a small animal. What¡¯s more, I was the only one who could care for her, unstable as she was. Looking at her, my head was a mess.


    A big, big mess...


    ..


    A rather expensive potion was brought over and poured on Hwarang Gu¡¯s right arm. The severed arm began to reconnect to the wound, slowly stitch together.


    ¡°Please tell me. What you meant when you said that the life and death of all in Rakshasa Citadale depends on your will.¡±


    His eyes narrowed at the sudden onset of pain, Hwarang Gu asked.


    I once again sat on the throne, and contemted how much I should let on before opening my mouth.


    ¡®The ¡®darkmen¡¯ that had attacked you. They are invaders who invade all worlds. The Yaksha, Rakshasa, and Daerasun, no matter how strong they are they won¡¯t be able to stop all of the endless number of darkmen.¡±


    ¡°Darkmen? Then you mean to say you can stop them?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps?¡±


    I ced my hand on the armrest.


    ¡°There are 71 more beings like myself. I will be able to be the ¡®Great Star¡¯ if I were to rise victorious in the war against them. I should gain the authority to move the darkmen as I wish.¡±


    ¡°So you cannot be certain of it.¡±


    ¡°I have not be the ¡®Great Star¡¯ before, after all.¡±


    Hwarang Gu made a serious expression as I shrugged my shoulders.


    ¡°Where is the guarantee that you would keep your promise, presuming yourself to have be thest one standing?¡±


    ¡°Igneel.¡±


    Shaa!


    Igneel tottered as he walked over to stand by my side.


    ¡°Was there any lies in my words?¡±


    Shake shake.


    Igneel shook his head. It is said that dragons can tell between truth and lies.


    ¡°Are you trying to make meugh by doing that?¡±


    ¡°Pity. I was rather sincere.¡±


    I was exhausted. La Diablo...was it because I saw such a side of her, I wonder. When La had returned to her senses, she said she had shown an unseemly sight and went back inside the castle with her head bowed, but that appearance of hers was still reying itself in my mind.


    I spoke wearily.


    ¡°World destruction is not my objective. For what would I invade another¡¯snd when the abyss itself is plenty wide as it is?¡±


    ¡°Then...?¡±


    ¡°I wish for peace.¡±


    I meant it. I valued peace more than anything.


    Hwarang Gu chuckled.


    ¡°Seeing as it¡¯s too nd for a joke, it does not seem like aplete lie.¡±


    Hwarang Gu looked around himself.


    The Yaksha together with him. He also knew that their lives were at the mercy of ¡®my decision¡¯.


    I spoke finally.


    ¡°I know that you all do not cling to your lives. But if you are going to throw it away, would it not be better to use it more meaningfully instead?¡±


    Dying like this would be merely dying a dog¡¯s death.


    Then Hwarang Gu heaved a sigh.


    ¡°You are most likely a more powerful being than the Twelve Heavenly Generals. Perhapsparable to Daerasun...I trust that such a person would not easily speak lies. So, promise me one thing.¡±


    ¡°I shall protect Rakshasa Citadale and your sister.¡±


    I dered that I would protect his sister, Hwarin Gu, as well.


    I knew, in my experience at Rakshasa Citadale, that Hwarang Gu dearly cherished Hwarin Gu.


    ¡°...Truly a strange person. Do you possess an ability to see without seeing?¡±


    ¡°Close. Right now in Rakshasa Citadale they are holding a festival in your and the other Yaksha¡¯s disappearance.¡±


    As I spoke what I had really seen, Hwarang Gu appeared doubtful.


    ¡°Then my sister. How is that child doing?¡±


    ¡°She is hurling kicks at your portrait, asking how you could have died to the mere likes of great preta.¡±


    ¡°Damn it. I can¡¯t not believe.¡±


    Hwarang Gu kneeled at once. As he kneeled, the other Yaksha kneeled as well.


    ¡°I shall follow you.¡±


    ¡°I shall follow you!¡±


    My lips formed a calm smile. I had gained the trust of the Yaksha, albeit notpletely. Their martial prowess, knowledge and the like would all be of help.


    At the same time, I didn¡¯t know that I woulde to have a much clearer understanding regarding Rakshasa Citadale and the Rakshasa realm. These kinds of information would be useful in their own way after all.


    Having raised his head a momentter, Hwarang Gu spoke.


    ¡°Then, please tell us what we should do.¡±


    He exuded a fighting spirit as if to fight with everything at disposal, now that he had made up his mind.


    Truly. That willpower was to my liking.


    I spoke lightly.


    ¡°Slimes.¡±


    ¡°Slimes?¡±


    ¡°Catch some slimes for me.¡±

 Chapter 54 - Laila Diablo (3)

    <h4>Chapter 54 ¨C La Diablo (3)</h4>


    Gourmandi. He had said he wanted to discuss something rted to business.


    When I summoned him, his bones were cking as he spoke excitedly.


    ¡°Won¡¯t you please tell me about the method to ¡®evolution¡¯?¡±


    He sounded desperate. There was no way he would be that desperate if we were merely ¡®business partners¡¯. He was a magician, and researcher. No doubt he must have attempted to delve into the method to evolution.


    ¡®Evolution is the power of Authority, however.¡¯


    It was a phenomenon which had resulted from the fusion of the power of Universal and Dominator¡¯s Authority. Obtaining even one of these abilities would be considered a miracle, and two such powersbined to give birth to a special power called ¡®evolution¡¯.


    It was very likely that the reason why he had handed over those stocks of goods, which made no significant profit, to me was for the sake of researching that. A 7:3 split of profit, when excluding the cost of raw materials, meant that merely dozens of points would remain for Gourmandi.


    Even though he was selling stock, it was at the level of getting bare scraps, merely that he wasn¡¯t making a loss And yet Gourmandi had agreed.


    Evolution. To discover the principle behind it.


    ¡°It seems you failed to figure it out.¡±


    ¡°Tha-, that is.¡±


    Gourmandi panicked. His motive had been in to see, however. Gourmandi was a lich, not a phntropist. The personality of liches were very shady and bad. It didn¡¯t even need checking to know that they were scheming something behind one¡¯s back.


    ¡°I do not mind. I knew that you would not find out anyhow.¡±


    ¡°...I wasn¡¯t able to figure out the process of slimes evolving no matter what alchemical method I tried. I examined the various possibilities, but only the slimes caught by Uriel Diablo-nim had evolved.¡±


    Gourmandi¡¯s desire for research went beyond my expectation.


    I mused for a moment. The Jewel of Space. I had to re-negotiate for them because there was no more stock of it.


    That¡¯s why the truth mustn¡¯t be revealed if I am to continue holding the advantageous high ground. I, simply, had to throw a bait in order to stoke the fires of his research.


    ¡°Evolution is something that urs over repeated generations. To adapt to the environment, and to protect one¡¯s self from natural enemies. All I did was to merely shorten the time in between.¡±


    ¡°I-, mean to ask! Just what exactly is that so-called method?¡±


    ¡°La. Bring that over.¡±


    La was by my side, but wearing a cold face again; her expression was, in fact, much colder than before, as if the prior incident hadn¡¯t happened at all.


    She bowed her head in acknowledgement, went into the storehouse and brought ¡®that¡¯ back.


    Upon seeing it, Gourmandi appeared confused.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a queen slime?¡±


    ¡°This queen slime will soon divide. Even I do not know what it will really divide into.¡±


    ¡°Even if a slime divided, won¡¯t it still be a slime?¡±


    Slimes multiplied their numbers through the process of self-division. Naturally the divided slime wouldn¡¯t change in type from the original.


    But the queen slime I handed over was different.


    Slosh!


    Sssssk!


    When the queen slime was ced on the floor, it stayed where it was with its body full of tension as it began to inte.


    Finally, the queen slime divided into two.


    However...during the process of division, a different form to that of a queen slime was appearing.


    ¡°H-, how unbelievable!¡±


    Gourmandi¡¯s jaws dropped, making a ¡®ck!¡¯ sound as it did; while it didn¡¯t make for a pretty picture exactly, but I could tell that that was how surprised he was.


    Fur grew out from one of the divided slime. It became somethingpletely different as it grew legs, hands, then eyes floating up from within into being.


    Its very species was changing.


    It was shedding off the species of a slime, bing a beast.


    When the division eventually came to an end, one side remained as a queen slime, but the other had be a ¡®Giarant¡¯.


    Gyaak.


    Giarant. It was a mole-type monster that lived on a diet of tree trunks. Their nails had evolved to resemble sickles so that it could dig dirt and cut the roots of trees.


    Although it wasn¡¯t a particrly powerful or rare monster, however...


    ¡°To think a slime could divide into another species!¡±


    ...it seemed that Gourmandi saw it as the world¡¯s most valuable treasure.


    When the queen slime divided, there was a high possibility of it taking on a different form. But most of the time it never went beyond turning into weak monsters like this; monsters with nothing special in particr.


    Even I had no way of knowing why only queen slimes would exhibit this phenomenon.


    ¡°Researching that giarant should allow you to reach another truth.¡±


    Of course, even if Gourmandi did research it, there was a 99.9% chance that he would discover nothing.


    However, If he were to discover something with that 0.1%?


    I myself hoped for that to happen. If only Gourmandi could reveal to secret to this ¡®evolution¡¯, I too would be able to utilize it in much more various ways.


    It was close to a scam, but I also had some hope for it. Who knew?


    Maybe it would be possible to choose the direction of evolution I want.


    If that became possible, then this Authority would be an unparalleled ability. unparalleled ability


    ¡°Y-, you are giving it to me?¡±


    ¡°Not for free.¡±


    As I shook my head, Gourmandi looked at the giarant with yearning.


    ¡°What is it that you want of me?¡±


    ¡°As you know, the only one to have touched upon the truth of this skill, when excluding La and I, is you. Not many could be created through this method as well. You should know the reason as to why I am carrying out this work in such secrecy.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Evolution is akin to the entirety of alchemy, the highest of dreams, after all.¡±


    ¡°That is why...¡±


    I paused, and spoke slowly.


    ¡°Why not try investing?¡±


    ¡°Investing, you say?¡±


    ¡°Gourmandi. I shall give you the authority so that you can have monopoly over the research of this technique. I shall also give you a stake in thepany. If you properly invest in ourpany, that is.¡±


    In any case, Gourmandi¡¯s name was already put up as the representative of the Absolute Domination Company.


    He was a lich who has existed since long ago, and confirmed to possess a significant amount of funds gained through his countless inventions.


    ¡°You mean to give only me the opportunity to delve into that secret?¡±


    ¡°Indeed. In exchange, you must share the results of research.¡±


    Gourmandi froze.


    He chewed over it in his mind for a long while before asking cautiously.


    ¡°If I may ask, how much will be needed...?¡±


    ¡°The more the better, no doubt.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m neither the master of a city, nor a true billionaire. How much could a small lich possibly earn?¡±


    ¡°Worry not. I do not mean for you to invest all at once. As long as you remain the representative of the Absolute Domination Company, as thepany increasingly grows, would you not have further opportunities topensate?¡±


    ¡°That is...indeed.¡±


    Although he is temporarily a represntative in name only, I intended to give him a fair share if he were to invest; I nned on continuing to develop thepany, and to that end, Gourmandi was a core element.


    I was also refraining from thoughts of dominating him as much as possible. Gourmandi¡¯s inventions and research came from ¡®freedom¡¯. If Dominator¡¯s Authority affected him too strongly, it might even put a stopper on his ingenuity.


    Thus, I called out a reasonable number.


    ¡°100,000.¡±


    ¡°100,000 points? There¡¯s no way I could have so much money, is there?¡±


    ¡°Then it is to my regret. No other way than to look for someone else.¡±


    I hadbed through the Dark Store, again and again, and found all the items under the name of ¡®Gourmandi¡¯. That¡¯s why I was certain that his savings would amount to at least 100,000 points.


    The value which is assessed through Mind¡¯s Eye only pertained to the value of the individual. I had a feeling that the money in possession, equipments and the like had less of an influence on value than I had thought. Otherwise, there was no way Gourmandi¡¯s value would be assessed as merely 94,000.


    I had a thought that I may be able to squeeze some returns out of him sooner than expected, if I y my cards right.


    Gourmandi shot straight up from his seat.


    ¡°N-, now that I recall, I think I can arrange it.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Selling off some things lying around unsold should be able to cover that.¡±


    ¡°I feel that the Jewels of Space will be needed also.¡±


    ¡°It happens so that I¡¯ve already prepared about 200 of it. Hahah.¡±


    Indeed, very bing of an experienced lich. His readiness was thorough, as if to say that he hadn¡¯t lived so long in vain.


    When I handed him the giarant, Gourmandi¡¯s bones were trembling.


    It was the product he had gained in exchange for 100,000 points.


    Though it would be good if he could find something out from it...


    ¡®That would be good.¡¯


    I too was truly hoping for that to happen.


    To find out why only the queen slime had a very high chance of taking on a different form when undergoing division.


    Moreover, since he agreed to share the research results, I would be able to utilize it in my own way if he were to discover something.


    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t share everything as is, if there was even the slightest clue I would be able to make a conjecture based on it.


    Simply put, this was a battle of wits between Gourmandi and myself.


    An invisible fight where victory would be decided on how well the carrot and whip is used.


    ..


    103,000 points.


    It was the total funds I had after receiving the investment of 100,000 from Gourmandi.


    I didn¡¯t n on simply holding on to it. What¡¯s most urgent now was to nt an ¡®agent¡¯.


    ¡°La.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    La Diablo. After going berserk, she had refraining from speaking as much as possible. Most likely she was having a hard time epting herself of that time. I had a feeling that she had never even imagined in all her dreams that she would turn her sword on me.


    There were many asions when her words proved useful. But now that she only responded when I talked to her, this difference made my head ache more than I thought it would.


    ¡°Are you well informed regarding the Dark Company?¡±


    ¡°I do know regarding the other demon lords at least.¡±


    ¡°Then do you know of a promising dark mechant among them?¡±


    ¡°I apologise. I cannotprehend my Lord¡¯s thoughts for my head is slow of thought.¡±


    Her reactions was too much of a contrast from the norm. It was as if there was a chill blowing. Maybe I was to be thankful that she didn¡¯t abandon her duties and came back.


    ¡°I n on nting an agent within the Dark Company. To dominate a skilful dark merchant using my Authority and raise him until he can reach the heart of thepany.¡±


    ¡°An agent in the Dark Company, you mean?¡±


    ¡°My Authorities show the most light when used against the Dark Company. I will be able to profit much if I coulde into possession of the secrets of that ce.¡±


    La gave a small exmation, as if in realisation, and nodded her head.


    ess the secrets of the Dark Company, and reap the benefits. And interfere with the rift from opening as much as possible. These two things were what I hoped for. I only spoke of the former.


    La pondered for a moment, before slightly opening her lips.


    ¡°What rank do you have your eyes on?¡±


    Dark merchants acted in ranks of nobility.


    King, duke, marquis, count, viscount, baron, bar.


    There wre a total of seven ranks, and bar was ranked the lowest among them.


    But even with 100,000 points, at best dominating a bar or baron was the limit. That¡¯s what I had found out using Mind¡¯s Eye.


    ¡°Is there anypetent one among those ranked around bar? Someone with enough talent that could climb to the top with my assistance.¡±


    ¡°Among the bars, it is rumoured that Al, Creeky, and Chainam are about the only ones capable. They are dark merchants who have newly received titles of nobility.¡±


    ¡°Who would you choose if you had to pick one?¡±


    ¡°It would be Creeky. He is a merchant that mainly trades jewels and herbs. But because of his great greed, he even secretly keeps ves behind the scenes. He is someone who even procures rare lifeforms in their wild state if the customer so desires.¡±


    To sum up, he was someone who could prcoure anything for the sake of selling.


    ¡°It seems you know him well.¡±


    La nodded.


    ¡°I have traded a few times with him.¡±


    Some even directly traded through dark merchants, not through the Dark Company. Although the Company didn¡¯t encourage the act in particr, I heard that quite many demon lords were profiting from the direct trades. On the other hand, seeing as there¡¯s nothing like themission which the Company takes, the dark merchants seemed to prefer it as well.


    I stroked my chin, before rising from my seat.


    ¡°Good. I shall try meeting him.¡±


    I could call for him through La, but moving myself was faster and more covert.


    ..


    There was arge verdant garden in a ce some distance away from the Dark Company. The gates to the garden opened as I approached it, and a dark merchant came into view who wore a helm with silver horns.


    He had been in the middle of using scissors to trim the trees of the garden and the like, when he turned his head to stare at the appearance of a sudden guest. He then fell over with a ¡®thud!¡¯, nting his bottom on the ground. .


    ¡°Huk! I-, isn¡¯t this La Diablo-nim?¡±


    ¡°The person beside my is my Lord. Is there not someone you should be greeting first rather than me?¡±


    ¡°Hu~k...!¡±


    Creeky.


    Greatly surprised, he abandoned the scissors and came dashing over.


    I opened Mind¡¯s Eye. At the same time,


    Name: Creeky


    Race: Dark Merchant(Bar)


    Only the name and race came up even using Mind¡¯s Eye.


    However, that was enough.


    It was a challenging affair after all. Dominator¡¯s Authority didn¡¯tpletely affect the Yaksha as well. Likewise, if the dark merchants of noble rank had received something like a blessing from the ¡®Great Star¡¯, things may beplicated. There was a possibility that I might even simply waste my points.


    However...Challenge and adventure were my most favourite words. I knew from experienced that without these two things, one couldn¡¯t obtain what one wanted.


    ¡°I-, I amte in my greeting. My lord, I am called Creeky. I mainly sell herbs and jewels and...¡±


    ¡°Creeky. Look at me.¡±


    ¡°Yes...?¡±


    Darkmen had no eyes. No nose, nor ears as well. They only had a mouth.


    But they too were definitely capable of perceiving others. It was proven by the fact that his face turned toward me as soon as I spoke the words.


    ¡®Dominator.¡¯


    The name of the Authority. The moment I echoed the name in my mind,


    [Dominator¡¯s Authority has activated.]


    [56,000 points has been consumed in sessfully dominating ¡®Darkman Creeky¡¯.]


    Creeky¡¯s body tilted over.


    He fell to the ground with a ¡®thump!¡¯.


    ¡°Owowow. My apologies. I was too surprised.¡±


    Creeky had spoken as he still remained fallen.


    Surely it wasn¡¯t ineffective?


    He was acting no differently than before. Darkmen didn¡¯t have much of a face, so they couldn¡¯t be read through their expressions or eyes.


    ¡°Are you fine?¡±


    I held out my hand.


    Creeky then caught my hand and got up with difficulty.


    ¡°Tha-, thank you.¡±


    ¡°It is nothing. Rather than that...an unusual helmet you have.¡±


    The helmet with silver horns. Darkmen were separated into ranks ording to these helmets. Perhaps that being the reason, they cherished and loved their helmets more than anything. They would never stand by and simply watch someoneying a hand on their own helmets.


    But Creeky remained still even when I had touched his helmet.


    On the contrary, he got up and showed off his helmet.


    ¡°It is a helmet which I earned after receiving a title of nobility not too long ago. Haha!¡±


    ¡°Can you give the helmet to me?¡±


    ¡°That is...¡±


    Creeky briefly fell into troubled thought. His distress was in to see.


    Had it failed? Or is it that Dominator had too little an effect?


    ¡°Although normally it can¡¯t be done...¡±


    After struggling for about 10 seconds, Creeky took off his helm and tried to hand it to me.


    It was a relief. Upon seeing that, I smiled inwardly.


    ¡®It¡¯s done.¡¯


    Those under the influence of Dominator¡¯s Authority showed varying symptoms depending on the individual.


    There were even cases of the target beingpletely dominated, following words only, or simply holding some goodwill.


    And Creeky was definitely dominated to a significant extent.


    Otherwise, there was no way a darkman would try to hand over his own helmet!

 Chapter 55 - Laila Diablo (4)

    <h4>Chapter 55 ¨C La Diablo (4)</h4>


    To a darkman, his hat was his identity itself.


    ¡°...How surprising.¡±


    La quietly murmured, standing before him. She had almost never seen me actually use Dominator¡¯s Authority. That¡¯s because Dominator¡¯s Authority wasn¡¯t an inherent ability of Uriel, but a power which was granted to him by Diablo.


    And I had dominated a dark merchant at that too, a noble albeit the lowest of ranked. Apparently she couldn¡¯t have imagined at all that he would even bing willing to hand over his own helmet


    ¡°But for what business have youe for?¡±


    ¡°I want to have a private conversation.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, I see. This way please. Luckily, there is a good ce to talk.¡±


    It seemed that Creeky wasn¡¯t aware of the changes over his own behaviour. As naturally as water flowing, he behaved as if he hadn¡¯t realized being influenced by me.


    Otherwise, how could he not even show any suspicion or wariness at my wanting of a private conversation?


    Creeky moved toward his mansion.


    ¡°My Lord. I advise prudence.¡±


    La, however, didn¡¯t let her guard down; she was the very image of vignce. Apparently she couldn¡¯tpletely trust a darkman, even if she had traded with him in the past.


    Even without having to do it myself, La would inspect the surroundings and warn me of dangers of her own ord. I rxed.


    The ce where Creekly lead me to momentster was a secret room underground. It was a securely designed ce; a hole was dug in the ground of the mansion, and it was covered up with a rug, and even had an invisibility magic cast on it.


    There were countless jewels and herbs, the names of which I knew not. La had said that on the ¡®outside¡¯, Creeky was a merchant who dealt in jewels and herbs. Then this must also be a cover meant to mask the ¡®inside¡¯.


    ¡®What a ck-bellied fellow.¡¯


    There were several safety devices. It was made so that a door leading further underground would appear when a specific pattern is drawn in a specific ce.


    It was water tight. An unreachable ce for the ignorant.


    From what I saw of the magical runic inscriptions on the sealing tool, it seemed to be made in a way to copse the house itself if the specific pattern wasn¡¯t drawn properly.


    ¡°What are you hiding?¡±


    ¡°I procure what the customer desires, whatever that may be. Even if it means going against the wishes of the Merchant¡¯s Association. However, I have some things which I have no other choice than to hide, as they may be confiscated if I were to be reported by another darkman.¡±


    So replied Creeky.


    A dark merchant was someone who sold everything. Did even they have things which ¡®mustn¡¯t be sold¡¯?


    There were numerous rooms nearby.


    And these rooms were full to the brim of monsters and items which I¡¯d never seen before in my life.


    ¡°Rather than jewels and herbs, I mainly trade in lifeforms on the brink of extinction. They are trade prohibited goods as they number few even in the Company. Surprisingly there are many customers that desire rare things, you see.¡±


    ¡°Do you even sell to the demon lords?


    ¡°Haha. My ¡®rank¡¯ is still not enough for that. How could I, a nameless nobody with no connections whatsoever, stand before a demon lord?¡±


    I stroked my chin. Indeed, it seemed that there were merchants who did trade with demon lords.


    Lifeforms in danger of extinction. They were mostly monsters of the deep sea, or creatures which had evolved in the wrong direction. They were a ¡®niche¡¯ kind, so to say.


    ¡°Here is the ce. Conversations held here will never leak out. It is a ce which I open only when meeting with important guests.¡±


    There was a huge stone wall. Behind that was the room for guests. There was a table, and a half-dragon wearing a maid uniform with her head bowed quietly.


    Half-dragon race. They were a hybrid species that had inherited the blood of dragons. Dragons would go into heat about once every 10 years, and at that time it is said that they would assault all creatures nearby. The number of those who survive from that encounter, and bear and give birth to the child of a dragon, could be counted with a hand.


    Even I had only heard of it; this was my first time actually seeing one.


    My god. A half-dragon. She had short bobbed hair, and the mana I could feel from her was extraordinary. Even if only half, a dragon was a dragon. I got the feeling that she was a mix of dragon and elf at that too.


    ¡°Wee back, master.¡±


    ¡°Shasha. They are important guests. Bring out the ¡®Tears of Dawn¡¯.¡±


    Upon hearing Creeky¡¯s order, the half-dragon called Shasha quietly bowed her head. She then went over to an area which was decorated like a kitchen.


    ¡°Uriel Diablo-nim. La Diablo-nim. Please sit.¡±


    Creeky quietly suggested we sit. Seeing as how there was a chair that wouldn¡¯t be strained even if I sat on it. apparently he had put some deep thoughts into preparing it.


    As I took a seat, Creeky began to boast.


    ¡°Although Shasha¡¯s dragon blood gauge is on the low side at 15%, she is a rare species who possesses beauty unique to the elves. Is she not beautiful?¡±


    ¡°Beautiful.¡±


    I spoke without reservation.


    At my agreement, the corner of Creeky¡¯s mouth rose with a twitch.


    Darkmen had no eyes, ears or nose, but only a mouth.


    ¡°And so the private talk you spoke of...?¡±


    ¡°Do you also take part in ¡®dimension invasions¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Dimension invasions you ask? Although I haven¡¯t personally taken part in an invasion...instead I use the ¡®Wolves of Twilight¡¯ which I¡¯ve raised.¡±


    ¡°Up to what dimension can you invade?¡±


    The Rakshasa realm was assessed as a higher dimension at 18th dimension. In other words, the higher the dimension, the more powerful it would be treated as.


    ¡°I have challenged up to the 8th dimension, a middle ranked dimension where monsters of the ocean exist.¡±


    ¡°I want to know in more details about the dimensions, invasions and pioneering.¡±


    I was curious about the reason why the darkmen tried so hard to carry out invasions.


    Because the most basic of knowledge was necessary to make it possible to do something about it.


    Fortunately, Creeky wasn¡¯t of slow understanding.


    ¡°As far as I know, it is said that the dimensions which exist start from 1 to 25. The 1st dimension is a worldprised of literally ant-like weak creatures. The higher you go, the higher the difficulty of the dimension along with a much higher density of life. Simply put, the number of the dimension is decided ording to the density of life.¡±


    In other words, there also exists a world more powerful than the Rakshasa realm.


    ¡°Of course, going over to the 21st dimension, it is dubbed the ¡®World of Gods¡¯. It is a world mostly ruled over by evil gods. Although they say there¡¯s also a ce where only the forgotten gods of ancient times exist, but we darkmen can only invade up to the 20th dimension.¡±


    [New knowledge has been learned.]


    [Upon entering a ¡®Realm¡¯, its rted information will be shown at that time.]


    It was an unexpected message. What Creeky was telling me now was of ¡®world history¡¯. Was that why?


    ¡°To invade is to infiltrate those ¡®beings¡¯ of the dimensions. Darkmen are able to dominate more powerful beings ording to their ranks. We spur those beings into action, giving rise to chaos, confusion and the like, and as we increase the exploration rate we also plunder good items and sell them separately. These kinds of acts assist in widening the rift.¡±


    I froze momentarily. If all beings were targets of invasion, if so...


    ¡°Is it also possible on Earth?¡±


    ¡°Earth? Ahh, it¡¯s possible. It¡¯s the sole 0 dimension after all. Only, Earth at present is slightlyplicated. Because, as you know, it is a world that exists for the sake of the ¡®Great Star¡¯¡¯s advent. Don¡¯t the demon lords think of that ce as the ¡®final battlefield¡¯ as well? Us darkmen can¡¯t carelessly set foot on that sacred ce.¡±


    ¡°More details.¡±


    ¡°They say that under the ¡®Great Star¡¯¡¯s influence, the 0 dimension, that is to say the lifeforms of Earth, are awakening. Those lifeforms are mainly called as ¡®humans¡¯ however...it is possible for the darkmen to dominate these awakened ones. By digging into their minds and sowing discord among their own kind. But as it is a ce which even we can¡¯ty a hand on carelessly, there are several binding restrictions.¡±


    Perhaps...


    The reason behind the numerous uprising of abnormal organizations, and the repeated ughter among one another may have been due to the darkmen. Such a thought crossed my mind abruptly.


    ¡°When the rift has opened at least 80%, only those ranked marquis and above can carry out ¡®invasions¡¯. Our role is to bring about the demise of humans while not interfering in the demon lords¡¯ war. It¡¯s because the advent of the ¡®Great Star¡¯ depends on the seeds he sowed. The awakened ones can be likened to bees that fetch the seeds of the ¡®Great Star¡¯. Only, the darkmen must never set foot into the 0 dimension before the condition is met.¡±


    The half-dragon called Shasha brought out tea, but I didn¡¯t even notice it. Evidence of how focused I was on Creeky¡¯s words.


    The emergence of the awakened was a predestined happening. The moment people touch the ¡®gates¡¯, a seed would be transferred to them. And so the gist of it is that the advent of the ¡®Great Star¡¯ woulde about faster when those seeds blooms to a certain extent and undergo sublimation through ¡®death¡¯.


    Squeeze.


    I clenched my fist.


    Feed. Humans were no different than feed. Right from the beginning, there was no case scenario of the humans¡¯ ¡®victory¡¯ to them. It was just like rearing dogs and pigs.


    However, there was a way indeed.


    I just had to make it so that the rift didn¡¯t open over 80%.


    There was still a chance.


    ¡°U-, uhh, have I done something wrong?¡±


    The mood had frozen in an instant, Apparently I had released energy without my knowing.


    I calmed my heart down the best I could before following up with a question.


    ¡°What is ¡®pioneering¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Ahem. Even we darkmen don¡¯t know specifically regarding the ¡®rift¡¯. The rift is a tunnel which leads to all realms, and is at the same time, an entrance and an exit. As our role is to widen the rift, there is a need to explore unexplored regions. That¡¯s why a significant reward is given when pioneering. It¡¯s an opportunity to strike it rich, should I say; the higher the dimension, one could even have their ranked promoted in one go.¡±


    On the other hand, the risk of failure was also big. One could lose all their troops and fall in danger of demotion.


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m not fond of pioneering. The possibility of gaining everything, means that one could also lose everything, no? I only ever entrust myself to certainty.¡±


    Only entrusting to certainty. Quite the interesting outlook. And yet despite that he conducted trade of lifeforms on the brink of extinction, walking a dangerously thin rope. How ironic. But perhaps that¡¯s why La had noticed him.


    ¡°How high do you have confidence in climbing to if I were to assist you?¡±


    ¡°Pardon? Lord Uriel Diablo intends on helping me?¡±


    I didn¡¯t reply.


    Despite establishing control through Dominator¡¯s Authority, the target¡¯s desire had to be fulfilled. There were cases of those that have been dominated, who didn¡¯t have their desires satisfied, not following orders properly, and even outright walking away.


    That was the result of the experiments I¡¯d done with hundreds of gnolls.


    ¡®Amand which goespletely against the desire of those dominated may fail.¡¯


    That¡¯s the reason why I deemed Dominator¡¯s Authority as imperfect.


    It can make others follow me and hold goodwill towards me, but unless it was absolute domination, there was a possibility of amand going ignored if it goes against the wishes of those dominated.


    Fortunately, my Authority worked on Creeky well enough to fall under the category of ¡®absolute domination¡¯. Seeing as he even handed over his helmet, he would lick my feet if I told him to.


    Even so, the power of the Authority may weaken if I were to continuously give conflictingmands which go against the desires of a darkman. When looking at it long-term, it wasn¡¯t the right thing to do.


    Creeky, having finally regained his senses, spoke with confidence.


    ¡°Duke. If my lord will definitely support me, I have the confidence to be a duke, of which there are only three at present.¡±


    ¡°Those words, you must never forget even for an instant.¡±


    ¡°...Is there something you require of me?¡±


    Give and take is the game.


    I liked how he caught on quick.


    ¡°Enter the core of the Dark Company and be an informant. You will have to give me information such as the lists of important auctions, and official documents, all of them without anything missing. Also...¡±


    Capable demon lords would all be doing the same thing, however. If there was something different, it would be that I intended on raising Creeky from the beginning, and that he was under the influence of ¡®domination¡¯. Through conversing with him I had confirmed that he couldn¡¯t lie to me at least.


    I continued speaking.


    ¡°Enter the rift and obstruct the other plunderers.¡±


    ¡°Do you mean for me to kill the darkmen?¡±


    ¡°There should be darkmen who are hindrances to us. The darkmen in contact with Carpediem, for example. Or those trying to make connections to him.¡±


    Demon lords against demon lords.


    And darkmen against darkmen!


    If we couldn¡¯ty a hand on one another separately, then I would make them fight among themselves.


    So that they won¡¯t be able to spare a mind for the likes of the rift and invading. But for that I had to first grow a base. The darkmen were anything but phnthropists. They also had ¡®desires¡¯. They must quarrel and even stab one another from behind.


    I nned on using Creeky, who will rapidly rise through the ranks, and cause great chaos within the abyss, and the Dark Company.


    Creeky carried out illegal matters without reservation anyhow. He must have at least had several experiences when it came to meddling with those of the same profession.


    Creeky locked his fingers together. He appeared to be calcting something, following which he spoke.


    ¡°Points and information are required. While I can acquire the information, in the end us darkmen are those that are moved by points. Naturally, an appropriate amount of troops and equipment will be necessary in order to keep the others in check. After all, at specific times, the performances of the darkmen arepared whereupon promotion or demotion is decided...¡±


    ¡°How much is needed?¡±


    Creeky waved his hand.


    ¡°Of course It¡¯s fine in the immediate present. For now I will be able to handle it with the amount I have earned. However, looking at it from a long-term view...the product of the Absolute Domination Company is excellent. Although there is still only one product, a rather fine picture should bepleted by filling in the other parts slightly. And so there¡¯s something I would suggest.¡±


    Gourmandi is the representative of the Absolute Domination Company. I had never showed myself on the surface. Despite that Creeky was certain that I was the owner of thepany.


    Moreover, it seemed that he perceived that my immediate situation wasn¡¯t good. Though I had woken after 100 years, I had nothing that could be called a foothold apart from the title of a demon lord. That¡¯s why I had even proposed the second best policy.


    In other words, Creeky was going to use me, just like how I was going to use him, with the intention of fulfilling each our own greed.


    He was quite good. It would have been exceedingly troublesome if I had met him as an enemy.


    ¡°Speak.¡±


    ¡°Why not consider ying in the ¡®big waters¡¯?¡±


    Big waters?


    At my puzzlement, Creeky followed up with an exnation.


    ¡°A banquet where the millionaires of the abyss gather will soon open. I will work my magic if the two of you participate in it.¡±


    Creeky¡¯s demeanor portrayed strong confidence as he spoke those words.

 Chapter 56 - Laila Diablo (Fin)

    <h4>Chapter 56 ¨C La Diablo (Fin)</h4>


    I left the mansion.


    The inside of my head was a jumble of the conversations I had with Creeky.


    ?As proof of my loyalty, right tomorrow I will eliminate for you one of the important traders of Carpediem, a darkman called ¡®Kakel. When tomorrowes my lord will naturallye to know of the result. Ahh, the 3rd dimension you ask? If it¡¯s a darkman in danger of demotion heading there, it should be ¡®Urashi¡¯. I understand. I shall eliminate him for you together as well.


    ?The banquet is two dayster. It will be held on the ¡®Ind of Blue Coral¡¯. Would Lady La praye dressed beautifully, and Sir Uriel gantly.


    Lastly, there was a jewel which he had secretly slipped into my hand.


    ?I see that La Diablo¡¯s body is very stiff. Please personally gift her this jewel. Lady La is sure to regain her vigor. Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s nothing bad.


    It was a brilliant purple jewel. Its size was about slightly bigger than a baby¡¯s nail. Its outeryer was transparent and its purple light shone more towards the inside, and there was a smokey figure which looked like a deer that pranced about inside.


    He said that it was a type of jewel which restored vigor. There wasn¡¯t nothing particrly harmful about it ording to what I saw using ¡®Mind¡¯s Eye¡¯ as well.


    -A jewel that gives off purple light which is extremely rare among soul jewels


    -The soul of a young deer is sealed inside


    -Grants peace of mind and body to the wearer


    There wasn¡¯t much details. If it could grant peace of mind and body, then she may be able to regain her vigor like Creeky said.


    ¡®She¡¯s definitely stiff.¡¯


    After the match with the Yaksha, La had changed to be extremely perfunct. Although her attitude in following hadn¡¯t changed, I could get an inexplicable feeling of distance. At the least, that feeling of distance wasn¡¯t what I caused.


    It would be easier for me if she could act proactively with energy. I would be making poor use of a talent if she continued to be so rigid and do nothing but the work given.


    On the way back.


    ¡°La.¡±


    ¡°Please speak.¡± La replied, walking slightly behind at my side as we were heading toward the gate of the Dark Company.


    ¡°Take this.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    La appeared slightly confused upon seeing the purple jewel. Truthfully, I did feel a slight reluctance regarding the very act of presenting a jewel to a woman.


    However, La¡¯s eyes began to gradually widen.


    Thus, I took the initiative.


    ¡°I was told it grants peace of mind and body.¡±


    ¡°Mi-, mind and body...is it?¡±


    La stuttered. It was a first seeing her like this. To this day I had never seen La being so flustered.


    By any chance, was there a strange meaning which that jewel held?


    I added some words, just in case.


    ¡°You seemed listless as ofte. I cannot remember anything, so act as you do usually.¡±


    ¡°As I do usually, you mean?¡±


    ¡°There is no other meaning.¡±


    I had a hunch that Creeky had given me something weird. I didn¡¯t know what that jewel was, but it wasn¡¯t as if I didn¡¯t have any tact as well.


    That¡¯s why I had given rification, but La had taken the jewel into both hands and hugging near her heart. Face flushed, and breathing rough...I would be an idiot to not realize what it meant even after seeing that reaction.


    I struggled to ignore it and walked forwards.


    ¡®Damnable fellow.¡¯


    Creeky. As I thought, the inside of his belly was pitch-ck.


    <hr ss="wp-block-separator">


    After Uriel Diablo and La Diablo went away.


    Creeky spoke as he savored the taste of tea.


    ¡°I must say, what a beautiful couple.¡±


    There was much talk regarding Uriel Diablo and La Diablo.


    The demon lord who woke only after 100 years. La Diablo, who had acted the substitute in ce of the lord for 100 years.


    La Diablo, in particr, was a popr subject of discussion.


    That beautiful martial prowess of hers, and her unfalteringbative spirit had resulted in her being called ¡®Queen¡¯. While she wouldn¡¯t know of it, she had countless secret admirers.


    However, to think she was even capable of standing against Carpediem!


    Seeing as she was waging war against a demon lord, and due to a mess of various other rtionships, none could easily proffer a hand of assistance.


    Of course, before war broke out, a great many had attempted to give ¡®help¡¯ to La Diablo. But as their conditions were betrothal and marriage, there was no way La would ept. On the contrary, it¡¯s said that several among those who had approached her to propose weren¡¯t able to return alive.


    It was to the extent that there were rumours that even Carpediem had ¡®waged war in order to get hold of La Diablo¡¯.


    If she were to make an appearance officially...the impact would berge.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think them beautiful, Shasha?¡±


    ¡°As the master says.¡±


    ¡°Their bloodline must be preserved at all costs. Such precious blood as theirs is rare, you see. Though I can¡¯t speak for the other dimensions, the inheritance of strength is nothing strange within the abyss.¡±


    The preservation of bloodlines. It meant a pure lineage.


    If Uriel and La were to be a pair, how wonderful the sessor born would be.


    Such happenings were frequent within this abyss; those of the same blood coupling for the sake of maintaining bloodlines, for the session of strength.


    ¡®The purple soul jewel. It signifies eternal union.¡¯


    The males of the abyss were unfamiliar with it. But a female would know well of the meaning contained with the jewel. Eternal union. And at the same time, it was like pledge of a powerful male to never abandon the other.


    Talk of how La Diablo dearly yearned for Uriel Diablo wasn¡¯t exactly a secret rumour either. Taking a step ahead of that, Creeky believed that La loved Uriel.


    It should be about now...


    Imagining the scene, the corner of Creeky¡¯s lips quirked up.


    ¡®Anyway, I feel that something is off.¡¯


    Creeky then fell into thought.


    Why was he following a demon lord who he had met for the first time today?


    He thought for a moment before shaking his head. In any case, if Uriel Diablo had his back, it wasn¡¯t impossible to raise ranks, climbing closer to bing a duke.


    Hadn¡¯t hemitted all kinds of deeds for the sake of climbing toward the top?


    This opportunity mustn¡¯t be lost. For the sake of mutual benefit, he had to first show ¡®proof¡¯.


    ¡°Shasha. Round up the Wolves of Twilight. I must go raiding.¡±


    <hr ss="wp-block-separator">


    The next day.


    There was an official announcement through the Dark Store.


    ¡¸Due to the dark merchant who was in charge of ¡®Dry Mine¡¯ going missing, for the time being the supply of ¡®Dry Ore¡¯ will be halted temporarily. ¡¹


    Creeky had said it. Thate today, I would naturallye to know.


    This was the only change.


    ¡°What is dry ore?¡±


    Wearing a gorgeous skirt and something simr to a blouse, unlike the usual brown leather clothing she wore, La replied.


    ¡°It is a crucial ore to maintaining golems orplicated magic tools. It is very rare and expensive.¡±


    ¡°They say the supply is halted.¡±


    ¡°That is extremely good news. The dry ore business should be backed by Carpediem, so right about now he should be jumping up and down. Creeky, clearly he had kept his promise.¡±


    Her rigid manner of speech had considerably softened.


    After giving her the jewel yesterday, La once again brightened.


    And that wasn¡¯t all.


    She went so far as to have it made into a ne and wore it around.


    ¡®He¡¯s morepetent than expected.¡¯


    In any case, La had an urate eye for things. Never did I expect that he would live up to his words only after a day, even thoughying a hand on darkmen in contact with demon lords was rather dangerous behaviour.


    The fact that the incident was treated as a ¡®disappearance¡¯ meant that they couldn¡¯t find the culprit. Creeky. He was meticulous.


    It was my turn next.


    ¡°Are the clothes to be worn to the banquet still being prepared?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Tomorrow, it should bepleted before we depart.¡±


    I had intended on wearing whatever and going, but La dissuaded me in the end. She said something about the need to show dignity appropriate to the importance of the event.


    After that I strolled about outside the castle. It was to take Igneel on a walk.


    La followed behind demurely, and the Yaksha who had returned from collecting slimes from outside the castle, upon seeing her, gaped with astonishment and disbelief.


    ¡°Heavens.¡±


    ¡°Did I see wrongly...¡±


    ¡°That demon of a woman...? Huh!¡±


    When La nced at them, the Yaksha hastily averted their gazes. She was powerful, and they were weak. To them, La spoke viciously.


    ¡°There should be no time for idle talk, no? Make preparations immediately and gather at the training hall. We shall spar in a short while.¡±


    Every day the Yaksha enhanced their skills as they sparred with La.


    It was for the sake of firmly increasing their skills that I had La learn the Yaksha¡¯s warrior skills, and the Yaksha La¡¯s irregr method of attack.


    I had tried teaching Igneel as well, but that fellow didn¡¯t show much interest in it.


    Hwarang Gu shook his head in resignation.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the discrimination between us and the lord too harsh?¡±


    ¡°That is because my Lord is whom I must serve, and you lot are those I must order around.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too much.¡±


    Breathing out a sigh, Hwarang Gu plodded inside the castle. He had to distinguish and separate the slimes, and then head over to the training hall.


    ¡°Is it fine for you not to go?¡±


    La had to prepare as well if she were to spar.


    At this, La asked cautiously.


    ¡°Will it be okay for me to apany you a little longer?¡±


    If I were to say that she had be more forting aspared to before, would I be mistaken?


    As I moved ahead without replying, La drew right close to my side and began walking, her gaze as if every minute and second were precious.


    <hr ss="wp-block-separator">


    At the Ind of Blue Coral.


    Truly befitting its name, it was a small ind with blue corals in abundance.


    A huge pce was built that, and countless individuals gathered there.


    There were so many that it should be likened to a sea of monsters, as opposed to a sea of people.


    Indeed, and of monsters. From a ¡®Bachelor Rats¡¯ who were the size of children and looked like a rat, there was a vampires and orc decked in all kinds of jewels, a twin-head ogre, and even a death knight.


    Powerful monsters rarely seen such as medusas. When I saw a balrog, which was called the most destructive monster, I thought I would stop breathing.


    The moment I made my appearance, crossing over the gate with a ¡®Shuang¡¯ noise, amotion broke out in the surroundings.


    ¡°La Diablo?¡±


    ¡°Is it really La Diablo?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it.¡±


    La received more attention rather than me.


    On the contrary, it seemed that they didn¡¯t know of me. In truth, it was only at the Dark Company that there were those with distinguishing eyes, officially Uriel Diablo had made no movements for 100 years.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it the first time that she showed up at a ce like this?¡±


    ¡°Ha! She is as gant and beautiful as ever.¡±


    ¡°That kind of attire...surely she hasn¡¯te in search of a partner?¡±


    ¡°D-, damn. I think the clothes I picked are too casual.¡±


    It was an explosive poprity. La acted nonchntly. On the contrary, she even showed signs of irritation at their interest.


    When La drew closer to me, only then did the attention gather on me.


    ¡°However, who is the demon race at the side?¡±


    ¡°Mm. I can feel extraordinary mana from him.¡±


    ¡°That appearance is definitely...¡±


    Only then did they be wary of me.


    While there were indeed some among them who recognized me, they were the extreme minority.


    I slowly took a look around me.


    Countless monsters. However, it definitely ¡®smelled of points¡¯.


    There were many who hade dressed up, even though they were monsters. As I used Mind¡¯s Eye to examine the things they brought, and the things they wore, I was soon able to realize the meaning behind this banquet.


    ¡®Indeed.¡¯


    I could tell why Creeky had said to ee dressed stylishly and beautifully.


    The ce where the millionaires of the abyss gathered. But these individuals were no simple millionaires.


    The owner of a military corps, the leader of a race, and even owners of several cities.


    Most likely there would be other demon lords as well.


    As such, it meant that today I had to be the main character of this ce. For the sake of leaping to a higher level, so to say.


    I ced a hand on La¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°M-, my Lord?¡±


    ¡°Smile withposure as you walk. You are too stiff.¡±


    ¡°U-, understood.¡±


    La forced a smile.


    It was passable, albeit awkward.


    Like that, we set foot into the banquet hall.


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