Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Bergarf's Ascension
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"Will the Winter King think the same?"
"At least when it comes to Mitra, there's a high chance he'll have similar thoughts. Moreover, the Winter King is a swordsman. He'll probably want to corrupt Mitra into a demonic sword and wield it."
[Uhmm.]
It was a groan from Mitra in the mental world, as if she were shrinking back.
Cheon-ho gripped Mitra tightly in his hand once more and said,
"I'll definitely protect you."
[Th-thank you.]
Just as Mitra was somehow flustered for some reason, Lucas asked Bergarf,
"Will that Winter King bastard come up to the 8th floor too?"
"It's not certain. But the possibility is plenty."
Having said that much, Bergarf suddenly turned to look at himself. There really wasn't much time left now.
"Beware the Winter King. In my laboratory, there are all sorts of things piled up, so take them all. The demonic sword that summons blizzards will be good food for Mitra, the magic tomes will surely be useful in many ways so don't dispose of them lightly, and the undead legion I've raised will definitely have their uses too. Lucas, it was good to see you. Now that I've seen your old self, I have no regrets. Mitra, it's a shame I can't speak with you directly. It would have been wonderful to hear your lovely voice again. Take care. May fortune favor the path of your new hero."
Finishing his words swiftly, Bergarf closed his eyes and spread his arms wide. He floated up slowly, as if ascending to heaven.
"May the blessings of the God of Healing be with you."
Cheon-ho spoke, and Bergarf smiled.
Thanks to Cheon-ho, who bore the divine power of the God of Healing, Bergarf's ascending soul became enveloped in red light.
[Bergarf...]
Bergarf's soul scattered. It rose into the sky along with the red light.
"You damn talkative fool. Chatty to the very end."
Lucas, his eyes reddened, let slip a wistful smile. It was regrettable to part like this, but satisfying nonetheless. He had reunited with his old friend after hundreds of years, and his friend's soul, shrouded in darkness, had been liberated.
"Hero, thank you. You saved both this Siliphian Fortress and Bergarf."
"I only did what was right."
As Cheon-ho recited one of the hero's 18 classic lines, Lucas beamed even more.
"It feels like meeting Leon again. Thank you truly, Hero."
Cheon-ho nodded with a smile and stretched his body a bit. He saw Lucille and Eizel joyfully receiving the soldiers' cheers, along with the angels.
[It seems the angels alone aren't enough.]
At Mitra's words, Cheon-ho looked around. The soldiers and officers, waiting for their conversation to end, were peeking slyly.
"Let's go, Hero. For now, savor the victory."
Lucas grinned and patted Cheon-ho's back, and as if on cue, the troops gathered. Without anyone taking the lead, they hoisted Cheon-ho up and tossed him high into the air.
"Hero!"
Lucille shouted from afar. She, who had soared high, suddenly spread her wings and flew to Cheon-ho. Thanks to her, the soldiers who had been cheering her looked stunned. But only for a moment. They soon erupted in cheers.
Because Lucille had embraced Cheon-ho tightly in midair.
[Haa, really.]
Mitra sighed with a smile, and Cheon-ho forgot, if only for a moment, all the complications swirling in his mind.
He savored the victory alongside Lucille.
* * *
News of Cheon-ho's victory spread rapidly through the Angel Network.
Super Rookie Park Cheon-ho Defeats Evil God.
Dark Horse Makes Fierce Debut Upon Entering Mid-Layers.
Park Cheon-ho's Hero Ranking Soars Vertically.
Birth of a Hero Favored by the God of Healing.
Articles with rather stimulating titles for the angels filled the front pages of the Angel Network, and all who used it—angels, heroes, and benevolent gods—began showing interest in Cheon-ho, each to their own degree.
And one person.
Perhaps the one with the most interest in Cheon-ho among all the heroes of the Labyrinth World began ascending the Great Labyrinth.
Chris von Crisaor, the hero from Phaien.
Her reverse climb had the grand justification of searching for the Primordial Forge, but like most justifications, it was just that—a pretext.
'But what do I even do when I meet him?'
If he really is that person's son, then what next?
"Ah, whatever. I'll figure it out when I meet him. I'll think about what to do then."
Chris didn't think too deeply. She had already missed the man she secretly loved by overthinking once before.
She wanted to meet him, so she would. For now, that was all she needed to focus on.
From the 13th floor to the 12th.
Chris von Crisaor ascended the Great Labyrinth.
* * *
[You have completed the Hidden Quest 'Fortress Defense.']
[You have completed the Hidden Quest 'Evil God Repulse.']
[The Labyrinth World remembers your tale.]
[Your tale is recorded in the Angel Network.]
[Hidden Quest Reward: Legend of the New Hero - The legend of the new hero spreads among the former imperial citizens. Your fame rises.]
[Hidden Quest Reward: Angel Network account level has increased by 2. You can now do more things on the Angel Network.]
[Hidden Quest Reward: Bounty has been paid via the Angel Network.]
[Hidden Quest Reward: Acquired title 'Evil God Repulser Lv1.']
[Evil God Repulser: Angels show you favor. Your power slightly strengthens in battles against evil gods. Your resistance slightly strengthens in battles against evil gods.]
[Level up.]
[Level up.]
The Winter King is on the move.
The God of Healing sat on his jade throne, propping his chin.
The Winter King.
An evil god situated in the eastern part of the 10th floor.
Not much was known about him. Because he huddled in his domain without moving.
Yet now he was moving. Mobilizing his forces.
Why?
What had spurred him into action?
The Plague God's instigation?
Mere coincidence?
'Not a bad thing.'
The Winter King had left the 10th floor.
Regardless of reason, it was good news.
The fact that the strongman of the 10th floor's east, the Winter King, had vanished meant the eastern 10th floor had become easy to infiltrate.
The God of Healing rolled his eyes. He reread Raguel's report floating in the Spear of Light.
In one line: a request for support.
He wouldn't refuse.
He would send support.
He would bolster Cheon-ho's group.
But not commit full forces.
Among the support groups, redirect some—the truly strong ones—elsewhere.
Infiltrate the 10th floor vacated by the Winter King.
Simple logic.
It didn't have to be Cheon-ho who found the Primordial Forge.
From the God of Healing's perspective, as long as someone found it, that was enough.
"That's why I hate being in charge."
In the old days, he didn't have to act like this. He could just charge ahead with full power, purely and always.
The God of Healing closed his eyes. He scratched his head, swept back his hair once, then sank into the jade throne.
It was painful.
To view the otherworldly heroes risking their lives for the Labyrinth World as mere numbers.
He loathed himself for thinking this way, but he had to.
'Mother.'
The Goddess of the Sun, Aiter.
The five goddesses opposing the Demon God to halt the Great Labyrinth's encroachment.
The God of Healing withdrew the Spear of Light. To enact his thoughts, he summoned deep-layer angels.
* * *
At the same time.
As Chris diligently climbed the stairs to the 12th floor and the God of Healing met with the deep-layer angels.
In Siliphian Fortress, a sacred ritual was in full swing.
"Light of purification!"
"Ascend!"
"With the light upon you!"
Led by Lucille, the angels gathered under the God of Healing's banner, praying and chanting endlessly.
It was to ascend the undead legion that Bergarf had led.
They had temporarily quelled the urgent threat with the necromancy grimoire, but outside the walls, tens of thousands of undead still camped.
Even those with thick nerves couldn't ignore it.
Moreover, the Winter King was an undead lord. If he stayed on the 9th floor or came up to the 8th and assaulted Siliphian Fortress, Bergarf's undead legion could fall under his control.
So, eliminate them first.
Liberate the empire's people who had become monsters, bound by the Great Labyrinth's magic.
'Levels rising nicely, really stacking up.'
Individually, nothing impressive, but there were tens of thousands. With high-tier types like dullahans mixed in, the experience gain went beyond worthwhile—it was phenomenal.
Instead of mobilizing the fortress troops to sweep the defenseless undead legion, Cheon-ho insisted on this method.
"They were once the empire's people. I want to liberate them properly."
Not entirely wrong. Purifying souls with the God of Healing's power looked better and yielded better results than slaughtering them mercilessly with blades.
But what Cheon-ho desired most was the current situation of experience points pouring in steadily.
Cheon-ho looked warmly at the angels.
They were all sweating profusely, diligently performing the ritual. With tens of thousands of undead to purify, they were surely exerting every ounce of strength. Especially Eizel, the weakest in stamina among the angels, was panting heavily.
But the results were clear.
Even Lucille, whose level was already high thanks to Cheon-ho and the party, was leveling up rapidly.
No need to mention Eizel, the lowest-leveled angel.
[Hmm, somehow it doesn't feel right.]
Growing stronger like this. It felt like cheating.
"Sometimes you just gotta take the highway to Seoul. And speaking of which... Mitra gets stronger just by eating, right? Saying it out loud, this is totally cheating."
[Uhmm.]
It felt like being labeled a glutton, but it was true, so hard to argue.
Cheon-ho stroked Mitra's golden gem and said,
"Anyway, the empire's people get liberated, the fortress folk's worries vanish, the angels level up—best of all worlds."
[Hm.]
Nothing bad about it. All good things.
[By the way, what do you plan to do with Bergarf's grimoire?]
The magical artifacts gathered on travels had their fates decided by type.
Magic swords went to Mitra to eat.
Important non-sword artifacts went to Lucille for safekeeping.
Unimportant or unusable ones went to Zanbuli to eat.
The grimoire fell into the category Cheon-ho couldn't use.
It required substantial magical knowledge, and ultimately, it was an evil item for commanding the dead.
But feeding it to Zanbuli felt wasteful.
"I've been pondering that... I'm giving it to Raguel."
[Hm? Raguel?]
"Yeah, she's the most magically adept among us. Since the Winter King commands an undead legion, wouldn't it help to have a necromancer on our side?"
[Hmm, true, but.]
An angel as a necromancer.
Mitra wondered if that was okay.
"It's fine, Mitra. Raguel's a blonde beauty, so black clothes will suit her well."
[No, it's not about whether the clothes suit her or not.]
But Cheon-ho wasn't wrong.
In battles against undead legions, having a necromancer on their side would be far better.
Bergarf's grimoire was too valuable to just dispose of.
[Hmm, well... if you say so, then so be it.]
"It will be."
They hadn't even asked Raguel's opinion yet, but Mitra and Cheon-ho were convinced.
"Anyway, let's keep going."
[Yes.]
Cheon-ho raised Mitra high and channeled the God of Healing's divine power.
* * *
"Haa... huff... I'm... dying......"
After an all-nighter ascending the entire undead legion, the angel group returned to the fortress lodging and collapsed one after another, led by Eizel.
Unlike games, leveling up in the Great Labyrinth didn't restore stamina or mana.
But their levels had skyrocketed impressively.
Especially Eizel: continuous level-ups had elevated her rank to 7th-rank angel.
"Divine power control level rose a lot too......"
Aurael murmured blankly. Having used divine power all day, it was natural.
"Come on, I'll prepare baths for you all, so wash up and sleep!"
"Yeees......"
Lucille replied in a voice lacking her usual energy. She loved baths more than anything, but today she just wanted to collapse and sleep.
Unknowingly, Cheon-ho stroked Lucille's head a few times before heading to the fortress bathhouse.
[You're still fine. Not tired?]
"Maybe because I devoured Bergarf's divinity... I'm tired, but not dying."
No, he even felt a bit more comfortable. Perhaps from channeling divine power all day, he'd grown accustomed to it.
[You learn everything so quickly.]
"Yeah, I've been like that since I was a kid."
Otherwise, he wouldn't have absorbed even half of Father's teachings.
"Tomorrow, we head to Bergarf's lab. He said there are useful things, so grabbing them should help."
[Hmm, true, but it feels like being a grave robber.]
"He told us to take them, so it's fine."
Cheon-ho pointed Mitra at the large bath tub, and Mitra naturally released hot holy water.
Mitra now felt no resistance whatsoever—it was familiar.
"We'll feed the blizzard-summoning demonic sword before bed."
[Okay.]
It was a sword, not a midnight snack, but eating was eating.
After a short reply, Mitra stalled a bit before speaking again.
[Hey, if you're not that tired... how about eating the demonic sword and visiting the mental world?]
Her voice held subtle anticipation. If she were a person instead of a holy sword, you'd hear her heart pounding.
So Cheon-ho chuckled softly, stroked her golden gem, and said,
"Mitra."
[Yes?]
"You want to show me your changed form?"
Mitra had been excited, saying her mental world appearance must have changed after eating the cursed demonic sword Lucas gave.
She was sure to change even more after the blizzard one.
Caught sharply by Cheon-ho, Mitra floundered in response.