Chapter 259
Chapter 259
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 258
Chapter Title: Pay-to-Win Knight
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* * *
"What? Has the crisis of universal destruction finally arrived?"
Without any sign—no ripple in space, no flow of mana—the man simply stood there.
He glanced around briefly, but soon realized there was no issue and turned his head. There stood the friend who had summoned him.
"Universal destruction? Where'd that come from out of nowhere?"
"You used a summons you haven't touched in fifty years, so yeah. Oh... ah, more importantly, I'm busy. I've only got 37 minutes and 45 seconds to spare, so spit it out quick. I'll handle it at full power and go."
Speaking with the man, he felt a chill of dread mixed with envy.
It wasn't hard to imagine just how terrifying 37 minutes and 45 seconds at [full power] from this man would be.
In that span, he could wipe out an empire-class civilization that dominated on a galactic scale.
If he wanted, he could forge god-tier gigas, create an entirely new star system, or even build planetary-scale habitats for billions of humans.
His very existence was an irrationality in the universe.
He was a being no one in the greater cosmos could fail to bow before.
'Of course, this relationship holds because I don't ask too much of him.'
With that thought, Bae Jaeseok, chairman of Ilseong Corporation, spoke up.
"My daughter slept with some punk yesterday."
"......"
The face of Gwandaeha—ruler of the 34th Earth and the Game Master who dominated the very concept of [Games] across the greater universe—twisted in dismay.
He scratched his head for a moment before replying.
"Come on, Jaeseok. Isn't Sarang over seventy? Back in the day, she'd have kids, grandkids, maybe even great-grandkids by now. I know you're the famous doting dad, but this is a bit much."
He shook his head in disbelief, but Jaeseok, seated in his massive chair, continued calmly regardless.
"And she became a Transcendent."
"......Huh?"
Daeha tilted his head, momentarily failing to process the words. Then his expression brightened as a certain figure came to mind.
The Color Emperor.
A being so rare across the vast cosmos that even those who had elevated their sex arts to the Natural Realm or Life-Death Realm counted as special cases.
Rumor had it he could grant women supreme physical prowess, higher realms of attainment, or even superpowers simply through intercourse.
"Oh! Did the Color Emperor come to the 34th Earth? Promise him the red-carpet treatment and snag him! I've got things I want him to—"
"It was Han Jaeyeon. One of your apostles."
"......Never mind. Not the Color Emperor, huh. Well, yeah, it'd be weird for him to pop up on the 34th Earth out of nowhere when he's basically dead."
Jaeseok raised a puzzled look at Daeha's deflated expression.
"Basically dead? I heard he dropped off the map after visiting Dragonia and Prian'ya Heaven... Don't tell me the Noblesse got him?"
Daeha shook his head at Jaeseok's question.
"More like karma caught up with him."
"Karma?"
"He got stabbed mid-lay. No matter how mighty the Color Emperor's powers, turning a Sword Emperor-level powerhouse—not through mere seduction, but gender-bending him into a love slave—that was bound to bite him in the ass eventually."
Daeha clicked his tongue in regret. Even if he wasn't thrilled about it, a mid-tier god attained through sex arts was precious beyond measure.
The gap between a top-tier god like himself and a mid-tier like the Color Emperor was like heaven and earth, but their [lineages] were so vastly different that mimicking his powers was no easy feat.
"Ah, if only that guy had come to the 34th Earth. I'd have protected him and had all sorts of uses for him. You could've lived longer too."
Jaeseok recoiled at the words.
"Turn into a cute girl at my age to get dominated by some dude?"
"Better than a withered old geezer."
"You psycho!"
Boom! A shockwave erupted, enough to level a skyscraper, but it naturally dissipated without touching Daeha.
Daeha's expression turned serious.
"Jaeseok... your lifespan's running out. Even my divinity can only extend it so far now."
"So it's really just the Transcendent Realm left?"
"Yeah. The Sword Emperor used Infinite Spacetime Slash to block his resurrection, but if we pull a hero via [DLC]..."
"......Gwandaeha."
Daeha fell silent at the heavy tone.
Jaeseok gave a wry smile.
"I've already lived way too long."
He held up his right hand. The taut skin stretched tight over its massive form.
He hadn't perfected the Ultimate Body, but his physique surpassed most who had. Thanks to countless elixirs and aid from the top-tier god Gwandaeha, his flesh remained mighty and vigorous.
But his soul was another story.
Six hundred years on Earth, in the crevice of apocalypse, in the Steel Realm.
A lifespan rivaling most Transcendents had worn his soul and mind to the brink.
'I lived fiercely.'
Unlike dragons who slept for centuries or meditated for decades at a stretch.
He'd endured decades of torment from death, starvation, and above all, loneliness in struggle. He'd poured even longer spans into surviving against mighty foes. And through it all, he'd led people.
"Now I'm done."
"We'd be more comfortable with you around... No way on the cute girl thing?"
"I'll kill you. For real."
Daeha chuckled at Jaeseok swinging his fists playfully, then sobered up and returned to the main topic.
"Still, Han Jaeyeon instead of the Color Emperor? That's peculiar all around. He didn't strike me as the type to pick up sex arts with time to spare."
Woooong—!
Daeha's eyes blazed blue as he muttered. Jaeseok, who had seen this before, knew what ability it was.
Absolute Authority. Omniscience.
Daeha's expression grew bizarre as he read the world's information.
"This... what... what the hell? How is this even possible? A bug?"
"A bug? Dropping game god vibes?"
"Not a metaphor... this is straight-up freakish."
His blazing blue eyes dimmed, and Jaeseok asked.
"Did that guy really make Sarang a Transcendent with his power?"
"Bottom line... yes. But it won't work on you."
Jaeyeon's [factors] typically created special [organs] in the target or instilled special [bloodlines], but if the target harbored a strong [desire], it manifested by [evolving] their body to fulfill it.
'Biological factor trait.'
Since it was [physical evolution], Jaeseok's damaged soul made it ineffective.
"So it's not just a power that turns targets into Transcendents."
"Right. Sarang becoming one is an extreme exception—this isn't how it normally works. Across the whole 34th Earth, maybe three people could even become Transcendents with it?"
It couldn't make Transcendents, but applying the factor boosted anyone's combat power.
Especially for qi cultivators or bio-force trainers... the growth would be dramatic.
'There must be limits... but even so, it's a dangerous ability. In peaceful times, I might've considered sealing or nullifying it.'
Of course, with monsters rampaging now, it had to be utilized. Still, something didn't add up.
'No matter how I look at it, the output dwarfs the input. The cost would be unsustainable...'
Even Omniscience left him baffled. This power defied logic.
'Above all... where does the karma imposed on the recipient come from?'
* * *
After learning I could produce special factors, I'd spent ages experimenting and probing their limits.
I could now control it to consume muscle instead of bone during production and regulate to avoid ejaculating factors every time.
I could output normal factors instead of special ones or make special factors from blood or flesh rather than semen.
'But that ramps up the consumption. Nearly 30 kilos of muscle gone, plus heaps of blood.'
I'd tried it once, and the beneficiary—my son Jiseong—gained boosted intellect and mana recovery. Absurd.
Through trials and research, one thing was clear: my factor-production ability held unimaginable potential.
But even so.
'No way.'
This crossed the line.
'The Transcendent Realm...'
I gazed at Sarang, seated cross-legged in the room's center.
Her appearance hadn't changed much. No growth spurt like mine, no bulging muscles. No light from her eyes, no darkness in her hair.
Yet.
It was different.
Woooong...
I sensed the vibration emanating from her. Heaven-Shaking Seven Colors, the technique pro fighter Olya Grant had wielded.
I'd seen plenty who'd mastered it—for combat or industrial use.
'On another level entirely... So this is Heaven-Shaking Seven Colors at the Transcendent Realm.'
A power with clear weaknesses but equally clear strengths—like a sharpened awl!
"Hoo."
Sarang opened her eyes from meditation. Her black pupils mirrored me like a looking glass.
"Han Jaeyeon. No, Jaeyeon-ssi. No, Jaeyeon-ah..."
She faltered in confusion before asking.
"Did you... do this?"
I could've denied it, but didn't. I'd never expected the Transcendent Realm, but I'd orchestrated the situation.
"Biological factors."
"What? Don't bio-force trainers make those all the time?"
"A bit special. Look at me."
Grinning, I spread my arms. Sarang finally noticed and gasped.
"You've lost weight! Like 20 kilos."
"Yeah. Pure muscle, too."
"What kind of bio-factor eats 20 kilos of muscle... Ah. No, with these effects..."
Sarang still seemed dazed, stumbling over her words.
And then.
[Carlton the secretary has arrived.]
[Ma'am! Urgent report!]
Sarang responded to the voice.
"Let him through."
Despite wearing only a thin robe, her tone was unflinching as the door opened and Carlton burst in.
"Ma'am! The Cosmic Peace Force right now—oh."
He froze upon spotting me belatedly. Even in my half-naked state—shirt off, just in underwear—he showed no shock or anger.
"Ah, so it came to this..."
Resignation, like he'd seen it coming. Sarang cut in regardless.
"Report. Looks urgent."
"Uh, but..."
He glanced at me hesitantly. Classified info, apparently. But Sarang pressed on calmly.
"Now."
"......"
Carlton opened his mouth, then composed himself.
"Report incoming. Rescue signals from our employees in the Cosmic Peace Force. They're under attack."
"The Cosmic Peace Force shouldn't be something that can be attacked like that."
True enough. With its vast numbers of elders and soldiers, the Force was a power no empire-class faction dared provoke lightly.
But Carlton's face was grave.
Flash!
He gestured, and an image materialized in the air. First came three Terra-class battleships floating in space—the Cosmic Peace Force's full might.
And then.
"No..."
"What is..."
Encircling those three battleships were not hundreds, not thousands.
Tens of thousands of warships.