Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: The Ninth Myth
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I began meditating, sinking deep into my inner self.
"...Good. It's applied."
Over the course of three days, I cleared seven additional dungeons.
[Cool Breeze Beach], [Forest of Refugees], [Coniferous Forest], [Wind Cannon Goblin Fortress], and so on.
As a result, most of the checkpoints in the upper right ear were now in my hands. Excluding the fire points and the dungeons around them—that is, the ones with heroic-grade bosses.
"What can I say? Even so, the only castle I'm actually controlling is the starting one. Once the troops Swordman took arrive at Windbreak Plateau, it'll be two?"
Just like with Blue Whale Earldom, I'd claimed ownership of the remaining dungeons but left them abandoned.
The outermost dungeons still had their governing nobles alive and well, and I knew that hastily swallowing up shattered territories would just waste manpower.
'First things first: consolidate my foundations. Once I build up my strength, taking the surrounding lands won't be hard.'
Standing by a first-floor window, I gazed at the seven pillars of light.
It was a satisfying sight, but there was a problem.
"I've taken seven castles, and I'm still only on the first floor?"
When I won the siege and claimed the starting castle, I was able to open the third gate: Giant Gate.
It wasn't impossible for a mere first-layer practitioner to open the third gate, but considering the preparations and long-term damage it required, there was no doubt my castle provided some kind of [bonus].
But it gave that much correction for one castle, and now with seven, there's barely any difference?
"Log out."
I traveled back and forth between Earth and Ardania to test my abilities.
And from those results, I obtained several meaningful insights.
'I see. The checkpoints are bonuses or aids. Up until now, they've been supporting the Infinite Layered Palace itself, raising the limit on how many gates I can open.'
I couldn't summon heroic-grade items. Taking more castles had only expanded the [capacity] of the aid, not strengthened its [level].
I could summon more rare-grade items, but summoning higher-grade ones was impossible.
"...Hold on."
Then, an idea suddenly struck me.
I stood by the window.
Far in the distance, a massive continent came into view.
'But it's just an image.'
It wasn't that there was actually a continent there, visible from my high vantage point overlooking the land.
If that were the case, I could've stood here and surveyed Ardania's situation on a macro scale.
Blink.
And that.
Blink.
If it's merely my image...
Blink.
Each time I closed and opened my eyes, the distant continent drew closer and closer.
Bang!
With a harsh sound, the window vanished. In its place on the wall appeared a massive Go board.
Clack!
A white stone was placed on the checkpoint above 3-3 in the upper right. In coordinates, R18: my first conquered castle. The starting point.
Clack!
S17. Blue Hammer Fortress.
Clack!
T17. Fox Den.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
Go stones dropped one by one onto the lands I'd claimed.
"This is the image of the lands I've taken... Huh?"
Clack!
Just when I thought it was over, something descended onto 3-3 in the upper right: Bronze Sword Barony.
But it wasn't a Go stone.
"No way... Why's a horse coming down? You think this is chess?"
Identifying the chess piece-like thing wasn't hard. It took the form of an orc wielding a sword.
"Khan Slasher."
A Go board where Go stones and chess pieces coexisted.
But there was no time to be stunned by the absurdity.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!
Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!
Chess pieces poured down across the entire board.
"This..."
Before I knew it, the board was packed full.
The pieces, shaped like dozens of different monster types, looked vividly alive, and they weren't mere dungeon data.
"...This is."
The Ice Queen's piece, which should only be at the fire point, had one each to its east, west, south, and north.
It meant the fire point's monsters had conquered the surrounding dungeons.
"As expected."
I'd half-suspected as much.
Ice Elementals wouldn't have marched that far without a purpose.
But for that 'conquest' to manifest as new pieces on the board was beyond my expectations.
"Does getting conquered subjugate the dungeon's monsters? No. If so, there'd be other monsters mixed in among the invading Ice Elementals. Maybe... the respawning monsters change upon conquest."
For now, it was good that no Khan Slasher could reach me, but if things got messy, it could mean Ice Elementals swarming in.
"Whatever."
I shook my head to dismiss the unexpected info and did what I'd originally intended.
Slide.
I picked up the element positioned on the first floor: [Body].
My initial body was about the size of a small mannequin, but as I focused my mind on it, its size shrank to that of a fingernail.
And then I...
Pop!
Inserted it into the starting point—specifically, the white stone there.
As [Body] entered the Go stone, I felt the half-filled first floor suddenly become spacious.
"It's done...!"
Chakra practitioners have a limit to the number of [elements] they can open.
Opening [Weapon], [Sword], [Shield], [Gun]... It's not impossible, but each one occupies a kind of [capacity] within the layer.
'That's why I've only opened Body.'
Choosing which elements to open requires careful consideration.
Pondering elements that suit you perfectly, that are absolutely necessary, that you can delve into for life—that's the calling of chakra practitioners.
'Of course, it's not like there's no way to overcome that calling.'
As the Infinite Layered Palace realm advances, the chakra capacity itself increases. And as the Profound Extremity Eight Gates deepen, the capacity each element takes shrinks.
'Ardania does that for me.'
A complete microcosm already open all the way to the Heavenly Gate.
That vast world imposes no burden on the Infinite Layered Palace precisely because it's so vast. It exists on its own.
That's why chakra practitioners fully master one element before opening the gate to a new one.
"Alright. Now I can stack up a ton of elements? Log out!"
I exited straight from the inner world to Earth.
I moved to enter the login pod for a consultation with Sohyang about newly opening elements!
But my movement toward the login pod halted.
[Level Up!]
The character on the monitor was enveloped in a burst of light.
[Main Quest -In the Name of the Legion- has been changed to available!]
"Whoa. Makes me wanna puke. Level 40 now?"
Even staying in the low-level zone for months, hunting nonstop, and only now level 40?
I ate the food items Push had given me and proceeded with the quest as usual.
Meaning I clicked through the quest list.
Dyein: An evil ice flower has stolen the holy book! Could you hunt down 150 of them?
Percival: We need to restore the holy book's power. Hunt 400 Ice Elementals!
Drova: We lack the mana to wield holy magic! Get 300 Ice Golem hearts...
Poor Killians chugged potions while slaying monsters. Of course, I'd visited the city multiple times for quest progression.
And as I did those quests, I spotted players dancing in my view.
[JumpJumpBoom Bro's Dragon Knight (Legendary) Guaranteed Summon Luck Dance]
"That guy's always there."
Even now, he's streaming.
I can't fathom why he'd advertise to the whole neighborhood that he's burning his own money into thin air.
[For real, for real this time... Here we go... Argh!! Fuck, seriously! You Nemesis bastards! This make any sense!? Rigged rates, right!?]
Above the raging man's right side: [Cumulative Spend: 480,000 Diamonds. Currently No-Spend.]
Meaning he'd blown about 50 million won and gotten squat.
"Brutal."
Seeing that, I realized how delusional my early-game hopes of pulling Sword Saint were.
[-In the Name of the Legion- completed!]
[Acquired Advanced Class Summon Ticket (Quest)!]
[Acquired 1.5 million gold!]
[Acquired Crystal Blade (Rare)!]
[Acquired Crystal Ring (Rare)!]
[Acquired Great Soul (Rare)!]
Quest items.
I delivered the Frozen Holy Book (Legendary) to the NPC, and sure enough, it gave main-quest-level fat rewards.
[Ah! It came... Ha... What a victory scarred only with wounds... Ha... But Dragon Knight's sweet... Sob sob...]
In the central square, I saw the guy staring vacantly at his legendary card. He'd pulled it, but after spending so much, he was still in the red.
"Tough luck."
I clicked my tongue and gripped my first Advanced Class Summon Ticket.
A warning popped up.
[Quest reward!]
[Heroic summon probability increased, Legendary summon probability decreased. Mythic summon probability greatly decreased.]
"They want me to settle for heroic? Well, I'd still be grateful for that."
Heroic odds were high, and I would've loved to take it to Ardania, but quest rewards being non-deletable items couldn't be withdrawn there.
"Well, even game characters need baseline combat power... Wait, don't tell me it's gonna be regular advanced?"
Grumbling, I tossed the card into the sky.
Ching!
The card soared. The goddess statue's playful face flashed by.
And then.
"...?"
I waited a bit and voiced my doubt.
The card.
Didn't fall.
Rumble...
Boom! Boom! Kwang!
Out of nowhere, storm clouds gathered over the castle.
The dancing players froze en masse, and chat exploded.
JumpJumpBoom: Huh? Huh huh? Whaaat?? Those storm clouds, no way?
SlaveOfIlseong: Isn't this that thing? Only heard rumors...
DoAnything: Real? For real? Legit? Happening?
DogokDongGoddess: Blessed to witness this live ㅠㅠ Blessed to witness this live ㅠㅠ Blessed to witness this live ㅠㅠ
Players ran every which way.
I blankly watched before looking up.
The goddess statue, always wearing a mischievous smile, now gaped in shock.
[This.......]
"No, she talks?"
Whether I was stunned or not, she spoke.
[This can't be.......]
And with that.
Dong...... Dong...... Dong......!
A grand bell toll resounded out of nowhere, splitting the storm clouds as light poured into the city.
Flash! Flash! Flash! Flash! Flash! Flash!
The castle square, once holding just a few hundred, suddenly overflowed with thousands of teleporting players, no room to step.
SlaveOfIlseong: Ack! Isn't that guy over there? That aura [Guardian of the Ice Holy Book].
At someone's words, players swarmed.
They crowded around my character, chattering.
JumpJumpBoom: Wait, green ID. Class is advanced right now?
BulletproofMiddleAge: Gear's... Common... Advanced... No way, a no-spender...?
SlaveOfIlseong: That's not the point!? He has [Guardian of the Ice Holy Book] buff, right? Just cleared the level 40 main quest?
JumpJumpBoom: Quest... Advanced... Class... Summon Ticket... For real?
DogokDongGoddess: Wow. Even if the world's full of degenerates... This is...
Chats flying nonstop.
Not just them reaching out.
KillerKingQueen: Bro! Joined a guild? Killer King Guild...
ScoutTrade: Buying account! DM via Secret Window ScoutTrade~!
AlangaTV: Hi! Alanga here! Interview possible!?
Standing dazed amid the frantic chat, the sky-blanketing storm clouds parted as a majestic voice boomed.
-Finally ascending to transcendence in human form, rising to the heavens.
-O God, forgive him.
The intensifying light scattered the clouds entirely.
[Praise him all. The 9th Myth has been born here and now.]
[His name is Killians.]
[For the next 24 hours, all hunting grounds grant 100% EXP buffs.]
[Reannouncing. The 9th Myth has been born here and now.]
With the grand world message—
Flash!
Something shining in five colors.
Plummeted down before me.