Chapter 220
Chapter 220
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 220
Chapter Title: The Hermit Drakan
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Outside the tower.
While receiving treatment from the emergency team waiting outside, Lingling gazed at Lee Hyuk-soo.
'The rumors going around aren't all lies after all.'
Lee Hyuk-soo's skills were the real deal.
He had climbed to the 10th floor and single-handedly butchered the "Black Evil God."
And he did it with a single strike.
There was a reason people called him the Messiah.
She had doubted the stories of him shining in every "Night," but he had exceeded her expectations.
'That skill using the massive shadow. It must have been passed down from an ancient being.'
Lingling had also received skills from an "ancient being."
Her talent was so profound that all sorts of creators coveted it, reaching even the heavenly realm—it was only natural.
On top of that, she had grown insanely under the full support of her government.
She had monopolized every reward.
Her growth rate was unmatched by anyone.
Of course, she had been curious about the skills of Lee Hyuk-soo, who was hailed as the strongest.
But what Lee Hyuk-soo possessed wasn't just skill.
'To push all the way to the 19th floor in that condition...'
Lingling was genuinely impressed.
Unyielding even after a hundred defeats. Lee Hyuk-soo never bent, no matter how many times he was broken.
He wouldn't stop unless he died.
If his disciple Han Min-oh hadn't cried and begged him to stop, he would have charged like a rhinoceros's horn until death.
Even after clearing up to the 19th floor and coming down, regret was plain on Lee Hyuk-soo's face.
'Though it's even more absurd that someone cleared the 20th floor.'
Who could it be?
There were beings who had achieved better results than Lee Hyuk-soo, the so-called Messiah, and herself, China's secret weapon.
It was hard to believe.
Of course, their party had been a total mess.
They lacked party members for support, healing, and defense.
Even if they had everything, breaking through the 20th floor would have been tough.
They had retreated upon seeing the "boss monster" on the 20th floor.
Dragon Fang Soldiers.
A knight forged from a dragon's tooth had greeted them.
She knew the moment she saw it.
They couldn't win.
Lingling was confident.
If she unleashed her full power, even Lee Hyuk-soo could win.
Yet even she lost all will to fight the moment she faced the Dragon Fang Soldier.
She'd need at least ten more levels and proper gear to even try.
And that was assuming a four-person party of her caliber.
'...There's no way someone stronger than me exists.'
The one who broke through the 20th floor had triumphed over the Dragon Fang Soldier.
It didn't seem like they'd won fairly.
They must have used some cheat.
Definitely not the type like Lee Hyuk-soo, who insisted on frontal assaults.
Unlike Lee Hyuk-soo, who knew only to advance without retreat, this one had resorted to some cowardly trick.
"Your wounds are deep. Are you alright?"
"...Yes, I'm fine. Please tend to the more urgent cases first."
Lee Hyuk-soo said to the doctor disinfecting his wounds.
He meant for them to prioritize patients worse off than him.
Lingling couldn't look away.
...Lee Hyuk-soo was a real man.
An honorable one who lived by the law of the jungle: strong against the strong, weak against the weak.
Fierce beyond measure to the mighty, but endlessly gentle to the frail.
"I like strong men."
"......"
Lee Hyuk-soo pretended not to hear.
It was a conversation they'd had countless times already.
But Lingling didn't give up.
"Want to come to China with me? The treatment's way better than in Korea."
"Our master would never naturalize."
Han Min-oh, who had been listening silently, stepped in.
Talent drain was already a severe problem in Korea.
Promising awakeners were already flocking to China.
If Lee Hyuk-soo naturalized, there'd be no saving the country.
And if he went, his disciple Han Min-oh would have to follow.
'Where the needle goes, the thread follows. I can't let Master go to China!'
The two were already inseparable, like needle and thread.
A bond impossible to sever.
...Of course, only Han Min-oh thought that way.
"Climbing the Tower together was the contract condition. Now go back to your country."
Lee Hyuk-soo broke the silence.
He had only added Lingling to his party at the minister's request.
With the contract fulfilled, there was no need to keep her around.
Lingling scoffed at his utterly cold tone.
"Your country's got no hope anyway. Know why?"
"......"
"Too many Creation Abysses per population and land area. It's way beyond what you can handle."
"So what?"
"Don't you get it? Korea's become a target for the demons. If you stay here, you'll be the first one they go after, Lee Hyuk-soo. You think the creators will just let you keep interfering?"
Lingling was confident.
China's research on the "Abyss" outpaced Korea's.
They ran experiments by grinding through people, so the quantity and quality of their intel was on another level.
Thus, the Chinese government had already assessed Korea's situation.
Lingling paused before continuing.
"...And have you ever thought that the reason this land has so many Creation Abysses is because of you?"
"Stop with the nonsense! Master has nothing to do with the Abysses!"
Han Min-oh scowled.
He thought Lingling was spouting absurd nonsense.
But Lingling didn't care.
"Lee Hyuk-soo. You killed the Dragon God General in the first Night. Achieved the 'sole accomplishment' in the second Night, and in the third, you led people to war against the Legion of Death."
"What's the problem with that?"
"Every creator in the Abyss knows you now. They see you as their arch-nemesis and obstacle. As proof... you got sniped right before climbing the Tower, didn't you?"
"Sniped? Quit talking rubbish..."
"You didn't tell your disciple either, huh? Because we got sniped together?"
"...?"
Han Min-oh blinked in surprise.
How did she know he had been sniped?
But hearing that Lee Hyuk-soo had been sniped was news to him.
"...Is it true, Master?"
"You're quick to catch on."
Lee Hyuk-soo answered, deciding he couldn't hide it anymore.
It was true that a creator had sniped him.
The day before climbing the Tower of God, at dawn in the training grounds.
It wasn't a big deal.
He'd just killed a few monsters and that was it.
It felt like a probe to gauge his strength.
Lingling shrugged.
"This is just the beginning. Stay in Korea, and you'll get sniped nonstop until you die. You're way too famous now."
"...!!!"
Han Min-oh's eyes widened like saucers.
Lee Hyuk-soo dying?
But if the creators wanted someone dead, it was child's play.
Even for Lee Hyuk-soo, a human had limits.
"Why do you think I came all this way? It wasn't a request from China at first. Korea begged us. Pleaded for us to protect you."
Meaning China hadn't uncovered the sniping—Korea had told them.
Now all the pieces fell into place.
Why Lingling had suddenly come to Korea.
'Minister Park Sang-min.'
Probably him.
Lee Hyuk-soo had once collapsed with his heart stopped.
Even then, Minister Park Sang-min had shed tears, knelt, and begged him to rest.
Likely, after learning of the sniping, he'd asked China for help.
"Tell them I don't need help."
Lee Hyuk-soo stood up.
And immediately turned to leave.
Lingling's words weren't wrong.
But.
'This is all for me to bear.'
He had known this would happen from the start.
It all began with the "Prophet."
From the moment he started pretending to achieve the Prophet's feats as his own.
The Prophet wanted to hide his identity.
Probably to avoid detection by the creators.
That was why.
Lee Hyuk-soo had chosen to bear it all to protect the Prophet.
It was obvious he'd become the target instead and get sniped.
This was just the awaited event finally beginning.
But it was fine.
'You broke through the 20th floor. With an incredible score.'
Lee Hyuk-soo smiled.
A genuine smile he never showed others.
The top climber of the Tower of God had to be the Prophet.
The moment he cleared the 20th floor, the "remaining time" had exploded upward.
Of that, the Prophet alone had added roughly 400 hours.
Lee Hyuk-soo's climb to the 19th floor had only gained about 50 hours.
Thanks to him, they had bought over 30 days.
Without the Prophet, "Balmun" would have been summoned in just over ten days.
Look at that.
Something he couldn't do even in death and rebirth.
The Prophet was bringing hope to humanity.
It was surely the Prophet who had produced overwhelming results in every "Night," ultimately annihilating Aheta.
Therefore.
'This is what I must endure.'
Thoroughly hiding the "Prophet."
That was the only way to save the world.
The Prophet was the sole hope for creating a world where his mother could live safely.
Even a hundred sniper attacks were nothing...
The endless sniping began the moment he left the Tower.
A golem is a product of alchemy and magical engineering.
It wasn't an exaggeration to call it an extension of magic.
Of course, a mage alone couldn't create or control one, but strictly speaking, that's how it was.
'Golem creation is such a difficult field that it has its own dedicated classes.'
The process was so intricate and complex that only golem artisans dared attempt it.
Even with materials and techniques, it wasn't something just anyone could jump into.
But.
"...The prototype of the golem is the 'Dragon Fang Soldier.' Soldiers forged from dragons' teeth to guard their nests. The form passed down to other races became the 'golem'."
At his side was Ataraxia.
The progenitor of magic.
The dragon race, symbols of wisdom.
And she knew everything about the "Dragon Fang Soldiers."
But Ataraxia was flustered in her own way.
'...Who would have thought the Death Witch Adora ruled Aheta's territory.'
When Ataraxia first entered Valhalla's lands, she was horrified.
This was clearly the territory of the "second Night."
Yet the witch Adora, thought dead, owned it in the form of a "creator."
'You used the Black Witch's finger on Adora.'
The Black Witch's body parts granted false qualifications.
Turning Adora into a "creator," letting her claim territory and spawn "Creation Abysses."
It was unbelievable even seeing it.
She was accomplishing feats only demon lords could.
Ataraxia couldn't fathom Sepiro's intentions.
But now that he had begun "golem creation," she had some idea.
Sepiro had asked directly.
To recite the proper method of crafting a true golem.
At first, it puzzled her.
Then she nodded.
'Lord Sepiro has no need for golems. This must be a first.'
Sepiro had never made Dragon Fang Soldiers from his own bones or teeth.
Much less low-grade golems.
He had no interest, so it made sense he wouldn't know.
He never bothered memorizing things that didn't intrigue him.
So she explained from the basics.
Shaping the golem's exterior with materials brought by the demon merchant Dagon, enduring several trial and errors.
In the meantime, her doubts grew.
...Why had Sepiro suddenly taken an interest in golems?
"Great One. Are you perhaps planning to create a 'Giant God'?"
"Indeed. Using Arcana's soul as the core."
"Ah...!"
She felt foolish.
What an idiotic question.
Ataraxia cursed her own ignorance once more.
Why would the great Sepiro eye mere golems?
It was all for Arcana.
To revive the dragon of despair, who sacrificed herself, in the form of a Giant God.
It was touching.
Her chest swelled.
"...Please wait half a day. I'll scour every dragon archive, by force if needed, and bring back the surefire method."
A Giant God was beyond a mere golem.
Even Dragon Fang Soldiers were no match.
The recipe for such a Giant God had to be somewhere in the dragon archives.
Since Giant Gods were modeled after dragons.
And exactly half a day later.
"Found it!"
After ransacking her clan's archives and intimidating other ancient dragons, she discovered it.
【Method to Craft the 'Prime God'】
A tome containing what she was certain was the finest crafting technique.
And what she brought wasn't just the book.
"...Where is this place, Ataraxia? Why drag me here?"
"You're the only dragon who's actually made a Giant God."
"Haaah. I was sleeping so soundly..."
"You've slept over a hundred years. Time to wake up."
Ataraxia snapped at him and explained.
"He's a weirdo even among dragons. Loves solitary research, sleeps when there's nothing to study. The hermit Drakan."
"The weirdo's you, not me..."
The man called Drakan.
No, the dragon sighed.
Then he tilted his head at Park Chan-woo.
"By the way, Ataraxia. Who's this human? Some kind of avatar?"
"Bow your head."
"Why should I?"
"He is the Great One."
"The Great One? Let me see, how many 'great ones' have you had..."
"......"
Ataraxia glanced sideways cautiously.
Park Chan-woo stepped forward.
"I plan to make a Giant God. Will you help?"
"...I heard roughly."
Drakan didn't bow his head.
He couldn't even imagine it was "Sepiro."
Ataraxia hadn't mentioned it outright, causing this.
She had brought him in her enthusiasm without permission. Naturally, she couldn't casually name-drop Sepiro.
Drakan asked.
"What do you plan to do with the Giant God?"
What he meant was, what was the plan for it?
Of course, it wasn't solely to honor Arcana.
Park Chan-woo's ultimate purpose for the Giant God.
'A Giant God isn't for defense.'
Rather, for offense.
With a Giant God, even regular golems would be strengthened.
In other words.
'We can attack other Abysses with the Giant God.'
Not the vast territories of giant beings like the Demon King.
But with a golem legion, they could invade and destroy minor creators' territories.
Add Adora, and territory expansion was possible.
'We'll crush the territories of the creators who made Creation Abysses in Korea.'
He planned to eradicate not just the low-quality, useless Creation Abysses in Korea, but the creators' territories themselves.
"...No need for motives. More importantly, do you have enough materials? Giant Gods require things even dragons can't easily obtain."
"Is this enough?"
Park Chan-woo opened his inventory and laid out the materials.
As each one appeared.
"Hi, high-grade spirit stones—20 of them! Ultra-grade, and even supreme-grade...!"
Drakan panicked.
He had never seen so many spirit stones gathered in one place.
Especially the ultra and supreme grades—treasures permitted only to Sepiro.
But this was just the start.
Kirin horns—two of them.
And when he revealed the scales, bones, and heart of Despair.
"...Wh-what are you?"