Chapter 89
[The Power of Chaos has been strengthened.]
[The Stat Chaos has increased by 1.]
[Summoning of Golem]
# Summons a Golem with appropriate attributes to the carrier.
[Seal - Unlock Level 3]
# Default Stats + 100
# Dominance + 150
Lee Shin’s ability had skyrocketed. He had never imagined that he could unlock the seal of Gene's body there. Since he hadn't known how to progress from Unlock Level 3, he had assumed that he could only gain more abilities by climbing the tower.
With the seal unlocked, Lee Shin's mana level had gone to level 4, and his mana class had also risen. As a result, he could now use the magic of sixth-order or higher. Even his mana was now over 500,000 because he had just gained 150,000 mana at once.
Considering the massive mana that the first heart possessed, 150,000 mana felt a little disappointing to Lee Shin, though.
‘These are the real goodies.’
Lee Shin was referring to the Chaos and Luck stats and the Qualification of an Adversary.
[Chaos]
The power created by the failure of all forces to harmonize and eventually disintegrate. Reject and accept everything concomitantly.
# Resistance to all elements +20%
# Random amount of stat extortion at a low chance from the stat in the opponent’s possession when hit.
# Random amount of stat extortion at a low chance from the stat in the opponent’s possession when attacking.
The resistance of all elements had increased by 10 percent, and the chances of stat extortion had gone from very low to low. Even when there was a very low probability, Lee Shin had acquired some good stats. However, now that the probability had increased, thinking about using it more actively seemed appropriate.
‘I never expected to find the Power of Chaos here...’
Lee Shin now had to consider the relationship between Chaos and the forgotten god. Furthermore, the Power of Chaos was found on Abaim Monstre on the 20th floor and the waiting room on the first floor. That meant more remnants of the Power of Chaos were out there in such obscure places, waiting to be found.
From now on, Lee Shin needed to keep in mind the Power of Chaos as he moved. The Luck stat was also just as unexpected as the Power of Chaos.
Chaos or Divinity Class were legendary, and while the Luck stat was a level or two below them, it was still a rare stat. The way to obtain the Luck stat was really absurd, and not many wanted to jump through those flaming hoops.
‘I was just fortunate this time.’
Having more luck than others was a much more significant advantage than one could ever imagine. And Lee Shin was well aware of that fact. So, he was as happy about receiving the Luck stat as he was about obtaining the Power of Chaos. However, acquiring the Qualification of an Adversary was what pleased him the most.
[Qualification of an Adversary]
For those who dare to go against the gods.
# You are taking one step closer to transcendence.
# Your transcendence will increase if you defeat someone with a divinity class of 5 or higher.
The Qualification of an Adversary was a class of transcendence. It was a level that Lee Shin could not even achieve in his previous life. It was unbelievable that Lee Shin could step toward that level just on the 20th floor.
In his previous life, he could only take that one step after reaching the 90th floor. To approach transcendence meant living in a world different from the rest. It also meant that one could stand in a position equal to that of a god. That was why it was the happiest news for Lee Shin.
Acquiring the Qualification of an Adversary was utterly different from acquiring the divinity class. If achieving the divinity class was about getting closer to the existence of a god, obtaining the transcending class meant that the rank of the existence itself had risen.
‘Beings with a divinity class of 5 or higher…’
Lee Shin already had a target: The one he had planned to defeat. And now, Lee Shin had a more definite motivation.
Crack—! Thud!
The space began to shake, maybe because Abaim Monstre’s corpse was sinking deeper into the ocean. Or maybe the ocean equivalent of hyenas, once terrified of the monster, were approaching it after its death. When Lee Shin extended his mana to Shun and Decan, who had collapsed, his two subordinates' eyes began to glow again.
"Why... am I...?" Shun asked.
"Did I... faint?" Decan muttered.
The two were bewildered, unaware of what was happening. Lee Shin roughly explained the situation and then returned them to the shadow space.
Lee Shin’s heart was pounding, feeling the power he had lost. He extracted and condensed his mana that was smoothly flowing. He was still deep in the ocean, but his mana control was stable now.
[Ice Wave]
He shot an ice wave toward the ceiling. An ice spike was formed and flew to the target, freezing the seawater along the trajectory and pierced through Abaim Monstre's skin.
There were no signs of the seawater disappearing despite them having traveled for quite a distance. Just how deep had they descended?
Lee Shin read the mana flow with the ice remnants. As they continued up further, he could sense a more familiar flow.
Swoosh—!
The Ice Wave finally reached the surface and generated ice spikes on the surface. Lee Shin, who had measured his current location and distance, stopped using the Ice Wave and sealed the hole.
“Harpness!” Lee Shin called out.
At Lee Shin’s call, a reaper, seemingly just a big clump of black fog, appeared before Lee Shin.
- Did you call me
“Make Abaim Monstre into an undead,” Lee Shin ordered.
- It’s a powerful being… It will still be uncontrollable… with the power of He Who Knows Death…
“It’s fine. Just do it,” said Lee Shin.
- All right…
Harpness, a big clump of black fog, spread and spread until it was large enough to cover Abaim Monstre. Lee Shin could feel a strong sense of death.
With his ability as He Who Knows Death, Lee Shin had seen the death of this creature. Born as a normal monster, Abaim Monstre had eaten a piece of the forgotten god by chance and lived for hundreds of years.
Was it because Abaim Monstre had held onto the Power of Chaos for so long? Through Abaim Monstre, Lee Shin realized that even ordinary beings could become powerful. With his eyes half open, Lee Shin felt the death energy fluttering around.
Woosh—
As if something massive had passed him, Lee Shin felt a gust of wind. Opening his eyes, he saw a huge soul writhing and wandering around the area.
Kukukkuku—
The aura of death began to bloom in Abaim Monstre's lifeless body. Lee Shin touched the creature and injected his black mana.
[The black mana is attempting to dominate Abaim Monstre.]
[Abaim Monstre resisted the black mana!]
[Your dominance is increased due to the effect of Death Ruler.]
[Abaim Monstre fears you.]
Abaim Monstre's flesh and skin gradually decayed and rotted away. It began to move and convulse in agony, struggling. Before it turned into an undead, liquid trickled down from the holes created by the rot. Therefore, Lee Shin injected black mana once again.
[Abaim Monstre had failed to resist the black mana.]
[The black mana forcibly dominates Abaim Monstre.]
[Your Dominance has increased by 1.]
[Your Dominance has increased…]
[Your Dominance…]
‘Good.’
In the end, Abaim Monstre would break free, but a short period of dominance was enough for now. Despite having a high Dominance stat, the title of Death Ruler, and black mana, Abaim Monstre had still resisted Lee Shin’s subjugation.
Excluding Lilian, this was the first time that perfect dominance over the undead had failed. Lee Shin had somewhat expected it but did not know it would be this difficult. Even with Abaim Monstre under his forced authority, Lee Shin could still feel the monster resisting.
‘Rise up.’
Lee Shin’s strong will was transmitted to Abaim Monstre.
Gurgle—
Lee Shin heard the sound of water being parted. The decay of its flesh accelerated, and its thick rib bones became visible, making way for seawater to rush in. So, Lee Shin quickly grabbed the creature's rib bones and anchored himself to not fall off.
Other deep sea monsters around, coveting the creature's corpse, were startled and fled. Lee Shin was moving so fast that the hits from the water current were draining his Health Points.
In the darkness of the deep sea, Abaim Monstre’s corpse, which was close to several kilometers long, was so shrouded in darkness that its end was not visible. And every time that monster moved, it created such a huge wave that it changed the direction of the current.
Quaaaa—!
The currents in the path were destroyed and scattered around. How great it would be if there were more undead like this one. Sadly, Lee Shin found dealing with this one alone overwhelming, despite using all his Dominance. Although he knew it was impossible, he still wanted Abaim Monstre as his subordinate, so he had a bitter smile.
Wooosh—!
Soon, Abaim Monstre broke through the ocean surface and soared into the air. Simultaneously, Lee Shin exhaled a breath he had been holding and took a refreshing breath he hadn't had in a long time. Looking around, he couldn't see the challengers' ships.
[Detect]
Immediately, Lee Shin spread his mana and searched for the challengers' mana. His Detect skill now had a completely different range and scale from before. His mana wave, which had spread over several kilometers, instantly found the faint traces of their mana.
“Let’s head over there,” said Lee Shin.
***
The chilly sea breeze brushed against the challengers’ skin. Hwang Il-Han had been staring at the sea for hours, while Vuela continued to massacre the hapless sea creatures as they bobbed up and down in the sea.
“Well… I think it’s time for us to get going,” Hwang Il-Han whispered, looking at Vuela.
At Hwang Il-Han’s words, Vuela pounded the railing angrily with his fist.
“You want to leave like this?” Vuela shouted at Hwang Il-Han.
“If it were just me, I would have waited for days…” Hwang Il-Han muttered, looking at Vuela.
Hwang Il-Han did not want to leave like this either. However, there were hundreds of challengers on the ship. None were attached to Lee Shin enough to give up their progress or achievement to wait for him.
They had to quickly follow the Sirens or the compass to locate the entrance to the Treasure Island. Otherwise, they would miss the opportunity and fail the stage.
If there were a high probability that Lee Shin was still alive, the challengers would have waited longer. However, Abaim Monstre had devoured Lee Shin and then had dove into the sea. His mana connection to his subordinates was also gone, which had made them act like marionettes without strings.
It was, therefore, difficult to believe that Lee Shin was still alive, even though he was so powerful. Since Vuela could also understand how the other challengers were feeling, he had to give in at the end.
“...Alright,” Vuela muttered.
As Hwang Il-Han nodded with a sigh in response and turned to leave, Vuela’s voice stopped him.
“But! I’ll take a small boat,” said Vuela.
“What? Are you serious?” Hwang Il-Han asked, looking at Vuela.
“At least I should wait here,” said Vuela, looking at Hwang Il-Han.
“But, it’s impossible to make it through the ‘God’s Wrath’ and get to Treasure Island in just a small boat. Going anywhere far with it will be impossible, actually,” Hwang Il-Han explained to Vuela.
“Well, then I’ll have to aim for the next stage. I really don’t feel comfortable leaving Lee Shin behind,” Vuela said.
Vuela’s attitude was firm, so Hwang Il-Han did not ask any more questions. He prepared to depart and dropped a small boat into the sea for Vuela. He had wanted to give Vuela a larger boat but couldn’t because Abaim Monstre’s appearance had destroyed most of them.
"We'll put buoys up regularly. They may be swept away by the waves, but it's better than nothing," said Hwang Il-Han.
“Thank you,” Vuela replied.
“Please come back with Lee Shin safely,” said Hwang Il-Han.
Vuela nodded, put Lee Shin’s subordinates on the small boat, and went on the boat. Hwang Il-Han bowed his head in farewell and started sailing away. Vuela stared at the calm waves for a while.
How long had it been? Being in the open sea with nothing around him, his sense of time became increasingly vague.
"Now it looks like I'm seeing things... What kind of wave is that?" Vuela muttered.
He saw a giant wave far away. Vuela rubbed his eyes and looked at it again, but it was still there.
"Could it be...?" Vuela muttered, thinking about Lee Shin.
The only monster that could cause such a wave was Abaim Monstre. Whether Lee Shin was there or not, Vuela thought that he could get a clue about Lee Shin.
Nervous, Vuela gulped and drew his sword. He now had to face a monster that Lee Shin could not defeat. The self-doubt lingered and distracted Vuela.
‘It’s coming.’
The wave was so massive that it could have easily annihilated Vuela’s dinghy. Vuela activated his mana but hesitated to cast it after seeing something strange in the wave.
“Bones…?” Vuela muttered, staring at Abaim Monstre.
However, before Vuela could even express his astonishment, something even stranger happened.
Gurgle—! Woosh!
In the distance, the waves gradually faded as if they had crashed into something. It gave rise to smaller, non-threatening waves which overturned Vuela’s boat. So, he and the undead fell into the sea.
"Puhah!" Vuela spat out some water and gaped at the undead in front of him. The undead was massive.
Its size alone was enough to overwhelm Vuela. On top of the undead was Lee Shin. Only a part of Lee Shin’s head was visible above the sea, so Vuela had to lift his head up to see him. He didn’t say anything, still befuddled by the monster’s size.
"Why are you here alone?" Lee Shin asked, looking at Vuela.
Driving Abaim Monstre into the sea, Lee Shin adjusted his gaze to meet Vuela's and asked him a question.
"Well, don’t you think you’re a little late?” Vuela said to Lee Shin.
"Well… I guess," Lee Shin muttered.
Lee Shin looked around but failed to spot May, Warrie, Lakers, or Ahn Jin. He quickly sent his mana into the sea and found them drowning. He let out a shallow sigh and used Psychokinesis to pull them up and put them in the shadow space.
"Hey, can you bring me up too?" Vuela asked Lee Shin.
Vuela, who had risen to the sea's surface, climbed onto Abaim Monstre's head.
"How long has it been since they left?" Lee Shin asked Vuela.
"I don't know, but it hasn't been that long," Vuela replied.
"That should be enough," Lee Shin muttered.
Lee Shin immediately spread his mana and looked in the direction the challengers’ ship had left.
"They haven’t gotten that far. Let’s go,” said Lee Shin, looking at Vuela.
Abaim Monstre began to move at Lee Shin’s command. Vuela, riding the monster for the first time, grabbed something sticking out of Abaim Monstre’s head with a startled look.
"Be careful, or else you'll fall," said Lee Shin.
As soon as Lee Shin said that, Vuela found their stead moving at a truly insane velocity. Vuela spent that trip screaming continuously.
***
"Captain! We have located the Sirens!" a crewmate shouted excitedly.
"Good, it looks like the alcohol worked," said Hwang Il-Han.
Hwang Il-Han had attracted the Sirens by dropping the Gretaean alcohol Lee Shin had given him earlier. Sirens had an unexpected love for alcohol, especially the expensive ones humans considered a luxury. The Gretaean alcohol proved that point.
"Phew." Hwang Il-Han sighed.
Hwang Il-Han sighed as he gazed at the calm sea. Since the Sirens had appeared, ‘God’s Wrath’ wasn’t too far away; the Treasure Island’s entrance would appear soon too.
Most of the challengers here, including Hwang Il-Han, had come to climb up with Lee Shin. They had decided to move forward without Lee Shin, but they could not hide their regret.
The marine compass had lost its direction and just kept spinning. All phenomena showed that ‘God’s Wrath’ was about to come.
‘It's not too late yet.’
As Hwang Il-Han closed his eyes to pray, he heard the surprised scream of the crew.
"Hey, look over there!" a crewmate shouted.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Hwang Il-Han asked with nervousness.
"It’s the pirate fleet! The fleets of SuYak and Jiang are approaching!"
"What?" Hwang Il-Han realized that something big was about to happen.
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