Chapter 237
Chapter 237
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 237
Chapter Title: Hanok's Ascension Ceremony
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Hanok Wilbria.
He had finally completed the 16th Ascension quest and boarded the carriage bound for the capital.
Even reaching 15th Ascension Hero rank was cause for celebration across the Empire.
But Hanok had gone beyond that to 16th Ascension Bronze Hero rank.
The birth of this new powerhouse had Sahā Village buzzing with excitement.
It was no exaggeration that an Imperial carriage had come personally to fetch him.
"Man, he's even climbed higher than the Steel Wolf Guild Master now."
"Did you see that Imperial carriage? Talk about luxury—nothing tops it."
The Pioneers active in Sahā Village chattered as if it were their own achievement.
Hero rank was the dream realm for any Pioneer.
Naturally, they envied Hanok for making that dream a reality.
"And he's ridiculously young too, right?"
"His skills are off the charts, from what I hear. Second Sword-Tooth Clan Pioneer to hit Hero rank after the Shadow Warlord, isn't he?"
"Gotta envy that Sword-Tooth Clan talent."
Hanok soaked up all their envy in one go.
But those onlookers had no idea just how terrified Hanok was aboard that carriage to the palace.
Inside the Imperial carriage, Hanok was dressed to the nines.
Yet despite the finery, beads of cold sweat dotted his face.
'Me... to the Imperial Palace.'
His mouth felt like sandpaper.
He'd thrown himself into the thrill of hitting 16th Ascension, but the reality of heading to the palace already had him fretting.
The Sword-Tooth Clan had been wiped out by the Imperial Family itself.
A deep-rooted fear of the palace lingered in his bones.
It wasn't the sort of terror that washed away easily.
And so Hanok sat rigid as a board.
In that moment, a voice rang in Hanok's ear.
The owner was none other than Leyzon.
"Le-Leyzon-nim."
Hanok's face eased a bit at Leyzon's voice, his breathing steadier.
Hanok nodded vigorously.
Meanwhile, the Imperial carriage barreled onward.
The closer they got to the capital, the stonier Hanok's face grew.
As the carriage passed, capital folk gawked at it.
Kids ran alongside, waving frantically.
Grown-ups watched with keen interest.
And it wasn't just that.
Banners celebrating the birth of a new Hero rank Pioneer hung along the route.
The entire capital was in festival mode for one man.
"U-uwah..."
Only then did Hanok grasp the sheer magnitude of 16th Ascension.
Sticking so close to Leyzon had shattered his sense of scale.
A 16th Ascension Pioneer could helm even a major guild.
A bona fide powerhouse anywhere.
That was Hero rank.
But Leyzon's power scale was just as warped as Hanok's.
Hanok flashed a wry smile.
He couldn't help sharing the sentiment.
"J-just to be sure... does every Ascension come with this kind of fanfare?"
"Uh, um... maybe turning undead isn't so bad after all."
Hanok shuddered, a queasy look on his face.
He loved getting stronger, but this kind of welcome? Not so much.
Before long, the carriage pulled up to the palace.
"Whoa."
Hanok let out a gasp at the palace's colossal size and grandeur.
The Empire's palace put every other domain to shame in opulence.
It felt like all the world's luxury had been funneled here.
One pillar alone could buy a manor.
Structures of that caliber sprawled on an overwhelming scale.
The carriage halted at the entrance.
Imperial attendants stood in neat rows.
Hanok stepped down, tense as a wire.
"Welcome, Hanok Wilbria-nim."
"Y-yes, thank you."
Such treatment was a first; he flinched.
But they guided him inside with practiced ease.
The palace interior outshone the exterior in splendor.
Priceless artworks lined the halls, beyond valuation.
Even the furniture screamed high art.
Soon the corridor converged to a single path.
White and gold pillars adorned it.
Marble floors gleamed white; knight statues stood sentinel.
Hanok's tension ratcheted higher.
The air screamed important.
At the corridor's end...
Hanok arrived at what seemed the world's most exotic garden entrance.
Golden and white plants bloomed everywhere.
Impeccably tended, like a living masterpiece.
The garden's shape was bizarre too.
A perfect sphere.
Complete with artificial sky and underworld.
A shrunken world encapsulated.
The palace enveloped the sphere in a ring.
Like guarding the Imperial heart.
"This is the site prepared for the Ascension ceremony."
"Th-the Ascension ceremony, right."
"Yes. The Ascension Priestess will guide you shortly."
Hanok glanced at his outfit.
Half-hoping Leyzon might chime in, but silence.
Clack, clack—
Footsteps echoed from afar.
Hanok whipped his head up. A woman approached.
Face veiled in sheer white silk.
Dress of white embroidered with gold.
She exuded profound mystery.
She bowed to Hanok upon seeing him.
He hastily mirrored her.
"Pioneer who attained Hero rank through tireless effort, will you follow me for Ascension?"
The Ascension Priestess.
The enigmatic woman who forged Hero rank Pioneers.
Hanok followed, entranced by her words.
Inside with her, butterflies unlike any he'd seen fluttered.
Wings like blazing flames.
The eerie butterflies drifted lazily through shafts of white light.
The garden was utterly alien.
Soon they reached an ancient well, starkly rundown against the opulence.
The Priestess approached, producing a cloth-wrapped cup.
She carefully scooped water into it.
The water was so pure it seemed absent.
"Hero rank Pioneer, receive this cup."
"Y-yes."
Hanok took it reverently in both hands.
From her long sleeve, she drew two cloths.
They wove together at her gesture.
She planted the woven fabric in an empty garden spot.
"Don't swallow. Just hold it in your mouth."
Hanok took a sip as instructed.
No flavor at all.
"Spit it onto the planted cloth."
Hanok hesitated but complied.
The water soaked into the cloth.
Curiously, even the dribbles on the ground were drawn in.
The cloth began morphing slowly.
"Whoa."
At last, it bloomed into a flower, just like those outside.
Hanok gasped in awe—then felt a tickle at his lower back.
A small tail sprouted from behind him.
Simultaneously, Hanok sensed his power expanding massively.
A surge incomparable to prior Ascensions.
His face lit with shock at the overwhelming strength flooding his body.
He hadn't dreamed Hero rank brought such a leap.
"Th-this..."
"Congratulations. You are now a 16th Ascension Bronze Hero."
Hanok stared blankly.
What an unearthly ordeal.
"With the ceremony complete, shall we head out?"
The Priestess turned toward the exit.
Hanok hurried after her.
Dazed the whole way.
Who knew Ascension was like this.
Stepping into another realm and back.
Like wandering a dream.
Eerily ecstatic.
Moments later, Hanok exited the garden fully.
"Thank you for your efforts."
The Priestess bowed and returned inside.
Hanok stood there, still spaced out.
The attendants from before waited at the entrance.
His eyes blinked slowly.
"Congratulations, Hanok Wilbria-nim."
That snapped him back.
"Pardon? Oh."
His Pioneer ID was in his hand.
Right, I ascended.
He pulled himself together.
Met the Priestess. She performed the Ascension.
He checked the ID.
Indeed, 16th Ascension.
"The first new Hero in three years. You deserve every celebration."
Becoming a Hero Pioneer was that grueling.
"A party awaits as congratulations."
"A p-party?"
The palace even threw parties for Hero Pioneers.
To spur them onward.
Hanok looked mortified.
He just wanted to bolt.
"Yes. The palace's finest chefs have prepared a banquet. You'll want for nothing."
"Ahem."
Too late—his stomach growled loudly.
Tension had killed his appetite before.
Now, post-Ascension, hunger hit hard.
"W-well then... party it is?"
"Yes, right this way."
Hanok let the promise of food pull him along.
And at that same moment...
A man had watched every scene through Hanok.
Leyzon of the Abyss.
Hanok's master.
Leyzon's face was etched with gravity.
"Syria."
"Yes?"
"Remember how the Ascension Priestess led Hanok to that well just now?"
"Huh? Did she?"
Syria's eyes went wide.
Leyzon sighed at once.
Yeah, figured it'd be something subtle like this.
"Kiiing?"
A tiny dragon atop Leyzon's lap tilted its head.
A hatchling dragon.
The spawn of the evil dragon's final, desperate surge.
Leyzon stroked the hatchling's head.
'Mukshi.'
Mukshi—the authority and power of Transcendents.
The Priestess had wielded it moments ago.
Erasing the memory from Hanok and every undead watching, himself included.
Without the hatchling, Leyzon's recall would be gone too.
'Never imagined a secret like this.'
Leyzon had mass-produced Hero-rank characters before.
But never a ceremony like this.
Just a screen transition after the notice.
'And that just now.'
A scene bubbled up regarding Ascension.
The deed in the Transcendent Church's basement.
Apostle corpses' blood forged into demon swords.
It contrasted sharply with today.
'Then...'
That well he'd glimpsed.
It might tie to the Transcendent of Ruin.
'Which means that demon bastard too.'
Could be lurking in those depths.
The doping devoured by Nightcrow Knight Hana—called devil fruit.
This was a garden.
Plants born of that well's water.
High odds Hana's fruit came from there.
'That seals it.'
He had to get in there.