Chapter 260
Chapter 260
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 260
Chapter Title: Heavenly Realm (4)
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Of course, it might be partly because he himself was strong, but for someone with such a massive bounty on his head, the guy had seemed surprisingly frail. Who would have thought a trap like this was lurking?
Rokan grabbed what he needed to take and hurriedly scanned the surroundings to check if that so-called owner would show up.
“……He’s not nearby?”
Fortunately or unfortunately, the guy didn’t appear right away.
With a disappointed look, he fell back to the undead pioneer village for now, where they erupted in cheers.
The quest was completed, and the rewards were disbursed.
Bounties were fundamentally claimed from those who posted them, after all.
[You have leveled up.]
The experience from Karocl and the boar humans had been more generous than expected, and while it was listed as standard experience, that apparently meant standard at the High Master level—it even pushed him up another level.
But the situation wasn’t one he could simply enjoy.
After collecting all the rewards, Rokan asked the rejoicing undead about “Karocl’s owner.”
Clack clack clack clack.
The skeletons’ teeth knocked together, producing eerie sounds.
The cheering creatures froze, then began trembling violently instead.
“You didn’t know? We figured anyone living here would already be aware……”
“Skip the chit-chat. Just tell me who he is.”
“Ahem, that guy is…… a demon.”
“……?”
What kind of twenty questions nonsense was this? A demon?
Rokan shot him a demanding glare, and after hesitating, the undead continued.
“To be precise, he’s demonkin. Demonkin Kabrahmal. A powerhouse vying for mid-tier status among the demon factions. He’s unique as a beast tamer class, releasing his demonic beasts to roam and graze not just in the demon realm but across neutral zones everywhere. He’s infamous for starting fights with anyone who kills his beasts……”
“Hold up. Demonkin? Demon realm? What the hell are you talking about?”
The explanation dragged on, but most of it was incomprehensible to Rokan.
He still lacked knowledge about the heavenly realm, after all.
Everyone had just vaguely said, “You’ll figure it out when you reach the next area,” without clear details.
But wasn’t this a special situation? Pressing them further, the undead residents spilled all the information they had about this world.
“So, the heavenly realm gets lumped together, but it’s actually split into three areas: the neutral zone, the celestial realm, and the demon realm. Once you hit the next city, there are scouts who run a simple test to assign you to the celestial or demon realm?”
“Yes, that’s right. The demon realm has some special conditions attached, but for a human—no, for you, Rokan—you should qualify for either side. You’ve racked up an insane amount of kill karma, after all.”
“Hmm, new factions, huh……”
The truth they revealed was shocking.
He’d wondered why the ground’s race-based faction system didn’t apply here—it was because factions were reassigned anew in this place.
Celestial realm and demon realm.
Angels and demonkin.
Once you picked a side in this clichéd dichotomy, the faction wars would kick off all over again.
Right now, things were in a lull since no oracles had come down from the Celestial God or Demon God, but didn’t that just mean war could erupt anytime the system stirred?
Lost in thought for a moment, Rokan nodded and confronted reality.
“So, what happens if you join the celestial or demon realm? Can I shake off that beast tamer’s target?”
“That…… I can’t guarantee. If you join the demon realm, he might see you as same faction, but there are so many lunatics over there. If you go celestial, you could get help from the other celestial folks.”
It wasn’t a satisfying answer, but it was an answer.
Truth be told, Rokan hadn’t asked this to dodge a fight with the guy.
If powerhouses like this were scattered all over the heavenly realm, wouldn’t hunting them down be a blast?
He had zero intention of passing up such a sweet opportunity.
‘Even if he’s a Grand Master, how tough could he be?’
Of course, there was a chance the guy was stronger than expected.
This was a place where High Masters littered the ground, so Grand Masters weren’t unlikely either.
But so what?
Rokan had already taken down a Titan.
With Martial Soul Awakening on top, he was confident he could handle anyone.
He filed it away for reference and returned to the starting village for now.
[ wanted: Hammer-Head Tyrant Armadillo][Quest]
[ wanted: Stinky Mage Kendalf][Quest]
He ignored the rest for now and picked up more bounty quests to tackle.
Each one was High Master-tier, so hunting wasn’t a cakewalk, but with Stormwind Incarnation, they were opponents he could definitely handle.
‘If it were anyone else, they’d be whining while grinding trash mobs.’
The fact that even Rokan felt this way spoke volumes about their caliber.
In reality, if other users had just hit High Master and arrived here, they probably couldn’t even leave the village, let alone handle bounties.
He cleared several bounty quests like that, racking up coins and fame, when something unusual caught Rokan’s eye.
“Huh? What’s that?”
“What? Oh, that? What else—tamed beast, obviously.”
“……?”
The thing one of the heavenly folk was dragging around was none other than a monster.
A multicolored spider called Osaekgeomi, spewing various attribute poisons.
He could understand if it were a mount, but no matter how he looked at it, this wasn’t.
Especially considering the size of its boar-headed human owner—riding that thing would look like a bear on a tricycle.
Staring oddly, the undead junk shop owner—now friendly after repeated village visits—explained it offhandedly like it was nothing.
“Tsk tsk, you’ve still got some ground dirt in your veins. Here, as long as you meet the conditions, even non-tamers or beast trainers can tame monsters. Beat ’em to near death to break their will or hit a specific trigger, then use a Subjugation Orb to seal ’em. Not every monster works, but at High Master, you could subdue most. Gotta figure out the method yourself, though. Want one? Keh heh heh!”
‘Now I see why he’s being nice……’
He wanted to sell, obviously. Curiosity piqued, Rokan peeked—and damn, it was pricey.
A single Subjugation Orb cost a whopping one million coins.
Over a hundred gold, converted.
All that for taming a mere High Master monster?
He might consider it for one with a useful master skill, but apparently, you couldn’t stack them infinitely. Limits depended on class—for Rokan, just one slot.
Taming a second would automatically release the first.
‘Sounds fun.’
But that didn’t mean he’d back off.
A playful grin spread across Rokan’s face. Used right, this could lead to some hilarious outcomes.
“Give me two Subjugation Orbs to start, plus the monster guidebook.”
He bought two Subjugation Orbs and a monster compendium summarizing heavenly beasts’ traits, habits, habitats, and key skills.
A cool half a million coins gone, but he still had plenty left.
Coins could always be farmed later once he boosted his fame enough for exchanges, right? He splurged without regret to get what he wanted.
“Heh heh heh, perfect.”
Right there, Rokan pored over the guidebook and narrowed down monsters catchable nearby.
He picked ones with useful skills or traits, then settled on a final target.
He headed to the “farm goods direct market” on one side of the village, loaded up on certain items, and left.
He tracked down his marked monster.
[Giant Ketopi][Lv 399]
The same one he’d met upon first stepping into the heavenly realm.
Its gluttony should’ve stripped the area bare of grass and trees, but heavenly plants grew at insane speeds—lush green leaves still surrounded it, and the Ketopi was happily chomping away.
“Come on over.”
Rokan began piling items in front of it.
Growth Grass.
Useless to users, but a different story for plant-eating NPCs, monsters, or mounts.
Crunch crunch.
He stacked the Growth Grass and backed off; the creature eyed him warily for a second before approaching and digging in.
It had already been munching leaves before he arrived, so it should’ve been full, but its massive bulk let it pack away more with ease.
One pile vanished in no time.
“What’re you waiting for? Eat.”
Rustle rustle.
Meanwhile, Rokan had stacked another pile elsewhere. He’d anticipated this wouldn’t even scratch its appetite given its size and brought plenty.
Crunch crunch.
Warier now or just too greedy, the Ketopi approached faster than before. It tucked in with gusto again.
One pile. Another pile.
The feast dragged on for quite a while.
Rokan didn’t rashly toss a Subjugation Orb during this. He just watched quietly.
‘Damn thing eats like a black hole.’
Of course, other calculations ran through his mind, but he didn’t stop stacking grass.
He could’ve forced submission through violence, but he’d chosen a different path.
[The wild Giant Ketopi feels affinity toward you.]
And as expected, it started warming up to him.
But it wasn’t enough yet. Rokan was aiming for what came next.
“……!”
When the Growth Grass he’d brought was nearly gone, Rokan—who’d been watching with subtly tense eyes—flashed a grin.
Changes began rippling through the Giant Ketopi’s body.
Craaaaack!
A hard carapace started enveloping its plush frame.
Evolution had begun.
“Jackpot!”
Ketopi was one of the rare evolvable monsters even in the heavenly realm. Spotting a level 399 one was sheer luck.
Satisfy the conditions for one more level: 400.
A Grand Master-tier being, tamable.
[Giant Pupa][Lv 399]
Moments later, the Ketopi transformed into a pupa—immobile like a rock or fossil, blinking only its eyes.
Toward this, Rokan finally hurled the Subjugation Orb.
Leveraging the boosted affinity and the pupa’s inability to move, he attempted the taming.
Tremble tremble.
The orb struck the Giant Pupa’s hard shell, unleashing magical power. It injected mental forces of submission and obedience, draining energy to force its surrender.
[The Giant Pupa submits to you.]
[You can now summon the Giant Pupa anytime via the Subjugation Orb.]
“Plan went off without a hitch.”
He’d seen setups like this before—throwing orbs with pocket dimensions to collect monsters, like in that old comic.
Since heavenly monsters often mirrored those comic ones’ traits, his experiment had paid off big.
And so, Rokan sealed the Giant Pupa in the orb and pocketed it before heading straight off to hunt the bounty target he’d previously deemed too risky.