Chapter 324
Chapter 324
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 324
Chapter Title: Large-Scale Update (2)
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“What brings you to the surface?”
“Why, merchants come where there’s profit to be made, of course.”
The undead merchant Sveno didn’t bother hiding anything. They shared a friendly rapport, but more importantly, if the rumors about Rokan were true, there was no need to stir up unnecessary trouble.
“What kind of profit?”
“All sorts. Heavenly goods fetch high prices down here, and it’s worth scouting the visitors who are growing so quickly. Oh, and right now, I’m here not just as a merchant, but also as an envoy for Lord Tauhon.”
“Tauhon...”
Tauhon. Rokan had heard the name before. One of the rare powerhouses in the neutral zone, right?
If his memory served, Tauhon was like Lion King Gaokan—a dominant force in the neutral faction who had carved out his own territory in the heavens.
Was he trying to expand his influence through the visitors?
“I’ve heard that celestials and demons have come down too.”
“That’s right. Probably because of you.”
“Because of me?”
“Haven’t you been growing at an insane pace? The new visitors who came after showed some decent speed too, but nothing compared to you. Then word spread that you’d reached transcendent status, and everyone got anxious. There’s no guarantee another talent like you won’t appear, right? Even a few more like you could shift the balance of power, so they had no choice but to get hasty. Lord Tauhon thinks the same.”
“Hmm...”
It was just as he’d expected.
As he hit level 400, the celestials, demons, and neutral powerhouses realized their positions were shaky. They’d started sending envoys to prepare for the future.
Using weapons and armor unavailable on the surface as bait.
Sveno didn’t hide that fact and shared a few other tidbits.
Beyond recruiting potential heavenly recruits, they had another goal for coming down.
“Altars...?”
It was the excavation and activation of altars.
The Celestial God’s Altar and the Demon God’s Altar.
Hidden somewhere on the surface, activating them would plant new faiths on the ground and bolster the power of the Celestial God or Demon God.
‘Altars...’
That sparked a memory for Rokan.
The Altar of Massacre.
The one Gale had told him to find before they met.
Did that mean Gale’s altar was on the surface too?
Rokan’s eyes gleamed.
“But why tell me all this?”
“Who knows? Maybe because you scare me? Heh heh heh. Or say it’s because we’re not thrilled about the celestials or demons succeeding.”
No more useful info came after that.
And Rokan’s dilemma deepened.
Should he use his emperor’s authority to issue a quest for the Altar of Massacre? Hmm. It felt too risky to rush in blindly.
Without knowing which was the Celestial God’s Altar, the Demon God’s Altar, or the Altar of Massacre, bringing it to light could just benefit others.
The enemy might have already issued quests to find the Celestial or Demon God’s Altar, but he couldn’t assume that.
He figured the odds of them publicizing such a critical quest right away were low.
So all he could do was watch and wait.
Recognizing that this wasn’t just simple map expansion and accelerated heavenly access, but a massive update beyond imagination, Rokan sought out another heavenly being.
Using Polymorph to disguise himself as someone else.
“Want to grow stronger? Then bring me what I ask. In return, I’ll gift you a demonic armament infused with the supreme power and techniques of our demon race.”
[Power of the Demons][Quest]
To gain the power of the demons, a price is required.
Hunt monsters level 300 or higher and gather their hearts.
-Completion Condition: Hearts from level 300+ 0 / 100
-Completion Reward: Demonic Armament
‘Well, well?’
Pretending to be someone else, Rokan accepted the demon’s quest. His eyes sharpened.
This was a scam. Highway robbery, even without the knife.
Hearts from level 300+ beings held little value to true power demons, but for high-master level ones, they were potent power-ups—pure essence of strength.
And they wanted to trade that for a single armament?
“Demonic armament” was vague, but Rokan could guess. It was probably some common trash flooding the heavens.
No blade, but pure daylight robbery.
“Ooh, perfect excuse to check out the new hunting grounds anyway?”
Unaware players lit up with excitement. The celestials were probably offering the same.
To them, monster hearts were junk. Grind a bit, snag heavenly gear—weapon, armor, any slot—and it felt like a win.
But Rokan couldn’t just call them out. He wasn’t handing out the gear himself.
To players starving for new items, it seemed like an unbeatable deal.
‘Wait a sec?’
Then an idea hit Rokan.
If they could do it, why couldn’t he? Especially with his upper demon authority.
“Let’s see how they like this.”
Back at the imperial palace, Rokan checked one thing first.
What quests the dispatched celestials were issuing.
Turns out, demons and celestials offered the same. They wanted level 300+ hearts to empower their own forces.
“Quest activate.”
Rokan triggered his own without hesitation.
Same content.
But fewer hearts required.
[Celestial Armament Exchange][Quest]
Seek out a human administrator for celestial armaments. Hunt level 300+ monsters, gather their hearts, and anyone—regardless of faction—can exchange for celestial-grade gear.
-Completion Condition: Hearts from level 300+ 0 / 90
-Completion Reward: Celestial Armament, a bit of EXP
Down from 100 to 90. Enough for players to bite. He could buy celestial gear with gold-converted coins anytime.
Plus, level 300+ hearts weren’t easy to farm.
High-masters might snag them quick, but it’d still take days. New hunting spots meant fierce competition.
Players not rushing to the heavens would flock here.
Meanwhile, Rokan could farm dozens or hundreds in a few hunts.
Like the old shop gacha on the surface, drop a few rare or unique early, and they’d swarm.
“Heh heh heh. I know player psychology inside out.”
The minor perks from later celestial or demon faction choices still had appeal, but this added EXP.
How many would pick those over immediate gains?
Grinning, Rokan ordered Hamel to report any changes in celestial or demon quests immediately.
He might not get instant updates from the heavens, so he granted Hamel a title and set message alerts for changes.
Word spread, stirring players—not just humans, but Golden Lion faction and Black Dragon Legion too. Curiosity spiked about what level 300+ hearts did.
If they were true junk, celestials, demons, and Rokan wouldn’t push so hard.
‘But knowing won’t help.’
Even if they knew, nothing changed. No player could use them effectively, and without thousands, they couldn’t even tip a faction balance.
Only Rokan could gather enough to haggle.
“Hm, speaking of...”
As he issued the disruptive quest, Rokan recalled an item.
[Heart-Eating Ogre][Legend]
A dagger called the sacred relic of the troll race.
Devours the target’s heart to transfer power to the user. Efficiency rises if absorbed from a living heart.
-Attack Power: 10
-Durability: Indestructible
-Pierce target’s heart to absorb abilities
-Higher efficiency on living targets’ hearts
-Sacrifice your own heart for 5 minutes of double all stats
-Current absorbable hearts: 5 / 10
Heart-Eating Ogre. It fueled his creation skill, Blood Awakening, with immense power.
And as expected, hitting level 400 expanded slots. From 5 to 10—five more hearts.
“Such a waste.”
He regretted Ibullian taking Gromtan’s heart, but that ship had sailed. Instead, Rokan scouted absorption targets.
Ideally level 450, but could he hunt one? Fear lingered.
He wouldn’t drop below 400, so maybe charge in, but Gromtan’s case showed touching such forces took resolve.
Gromtan was weaker in single combat than other 450s, which made it possible. Caution was key.
Blindly hunting 400s was wasteful too.
Absorption underpinned his creation skills—better be picky. Level 450 might expand slots again, no guarantees.
Lost in thought, Rokan marked a few candidates.
Then used the Rune of Celestial Leap to return to the heavens.
He’d gauged surface changes; time for heavenly business.
New surface maps and hunts intrigued him, but heavenly expansion mattered more.
“New regions? As if.”
To gather intel, Rokan hit the demon realm’s information brokers.
Capitalism’s slaves who’d spill an upper demon’s panty color for coin. Gromtan’s pressure gone, no reason to shun Rokan.
But even they had nothing solid.
Had the update skipped the heavens? They claimed no special info despite his offer.
“But there are places even you couldn’t reach before.”
‘Bingo.’
Rokan flashed a sly grin at the broker rubbing fingers for coins.