Chapter 325
Chapter 325
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 325
Chapter Title: Large-Scale Update (3)
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Heavenly Map Expansion!
It was certainly larger—much vaster—than anything on the surface.
Rokan had thought it was just divided into the neutral zones, Heaven, and the Demon Realm. But after hearing from the information broker, he realized how much of a frog in a well he’d been.
“Spirit Realm, Familiar Realm, Ghost Realm? And this place is just the outskirts...?”
The Heaven he’d been in was merely a fraction of the true Heaven. In fact, it was an extremely narrow region that could only be called the outskirts.
The newly unlocked maps dwarfed his former domain, revealing three even more massive worlds. Even Heaven and the Demon Realm had vast mainland regions of their own.
He felt ashamed of himself for thinking he was ready to take on Heaven’s overlords.
“The Lord really is fun.”
Just when he thought he’d reached the top, unimaginable powerhouses kept popping up endlessly. Just when he thought he’d caught them, they slipped away.
Rokan found that frustration exhilarating.
He enjoyed the battles with the strong. Sincerely.
And that drive made him even stronger.
“So, how do you get to those places?”
“There are plenty of ways. You could get an invitation from them, or keep traveling and stumble upon one eventually. You’ve got the basic ‘qualifications,’ so any method should work.”
At Rokan’s question, the information broker flashed another sleazy grin.
He didn’t need to ask what those qualifications were. They meant level 400, obviously.
Ching.
Rokan tossed over a pouch of coins as if to say he understood, and the broker continued.
“The simplest way is to snag a Heavenly Rune inscribed with their ‘coordinates.’ I don’t recommend it, but random teleportation works too. If you can cross the borders, you might end up in one of them someday. Head to the edge of Heaven or the Demon Realm, and you’ll hit other Heavens or Demon Realms. Or grab an invitation from spirits, familiars, or ghosts, head to their territory, and navigate from there—that cuts down on time. Hmm, not something I’d ever recommend, but crossing through the ‘Void’ is a method... of sorts.”
There were all sorts of methods. Each came with its own conditions and risks. But one term stood out as unfamiliar.
“The Void?”
“Yeah, the Void. Where things that devour everything—things not of this world—live. Like I said, I really don’t recommend it. You could get eaten by the Void or lost inside forever. It’s the second-fastest option after a coordinate-marked Heavenly Rune, though.”
The broker said he didn’t recommend it, but Rokan’s interest was piqued.
High risk meant high reward in The Lord, didn’t it?
He couldn’t help but wonder what titles and items he might earn by conquering it.
“How do you get to the Void?”
“I’m telling you, don’t go there! ...Damn it, fine, I took your coins, so I’ll tell you. But seriously, stay away. Opening the Void Gate puts not just you but everyone in danger.”
“Hmm...”
Rokan handed over another pouch of coins, and the broker reluctantly explained how to enter and escape the Void.
It was simple: gather specific materials, perform a ritual at a certain location, and a gate to the Void would open.
But he repeated the warning several times—if you didn’t escape in time, the Void would erode you.
“Even if I can’t eat it, I still know.”
But such threats weren’t enough to deter Rokan.
The broker was level 400 himself, so if even he feared it, the difficulty had to be insane. But so what? Rokan had escaped a rift in space-time.
Players always got new paths. One death was a cheap price for new experiences.
“First... I need to meet Gaokan.”
But he wasn’t reckless enough to fling open the Void Gate right away.
No, he couldn’t yet. He knew the materials needed, but the broker had clammed up on where to get them.
He knew someone who could tell him, though.
Rokan headed to Gaokan’s territory.
“Hey, heard you pulled off something impressive?”
As he entered, Gaokan spotted him first and came out to greet him.
He must have finished recovering his strength in Samalian’s lair. Rokan had planned to go there if he wasn’t here, so this saved him the trip.
“Oh, that? All sorts there. Plenty claiming to be kings or lords, looking like nobodies but turning out to be real threats. That Gmoltan you smashed? He wouldn’t dare show his face there. Heh heh. Scared yet?”
Gaokan spilled the info with eyes full of mischief.
Rokan knew it wasn’t just teasing to frighten him.
As Gaokan said, a place swarming with level 450s had to be a whole new world.
“Sounds good. I’ll have a blast. Heh heh!”
That’s why Rokan laughed. He grinned back at Gaokan, unleashing the madness within.
“Don’t laugh, man, you’ll get attached. Hmm, I’d love to hand over a Heavenly Rune, but I used all mine up. Nothing on hand right now.”
“It’s fine. I’m thinking of going through the Void.”
“...The Void?”
For a split second, Gaokan’s playful expression hardened. He knew about the Void too.
“...You really gotta go there? That place is seriously dangerous.”
“Even you’re scared of something, Gaokan?”
Rokan prodded him on purpose. He’d spill eventually anyway.
“Scared? Nah, I’d win if I fought properly. Problem is recovery’s slow there. Those lunatics swarm you nonstop. They’re no pushovers individually, and without knowing the way, it’s tough. Fact.”
“Hmm.”
If Gaokan was saying this much, it had to be brutal.
This was the guy who’d been beating down level 450s before he even hit that level himself.
If he was wary, it surpassed the undersea tunnel to the central continent or the cosmic ordeal to reach Heaven.
“Sounds fun.”
“Yeah, it kinda does.”
Gaokan grinned.
Gaokan was cut from the same cloth as Rokan. He’d given a light warning, but he didn’t mind Rokan’s challenging vibe.
After that, the details poured out: how to acquire the materials for the Void Gate, where to open it, and so on.
But no info on the monsters inside.
“Unknown’s half the fun.”
He said that, but truthfully, even he didn’t know. The Void housed every freak imaginable.
Void Orcs, Void Imugis, Void Drakes—familiar types—but plenty of unclassifiable ones too.
Still, knowing how to open the gate was progress. The materials were tricky to gather, but doable with time.
“Essence of Power? Where do I get this?”
“Oh, that? Hmm, you could whip it up in no time.”
“Whip it up?”
“Yeah. Simple. Gather about a thousand hearts from level 350+ beings—or equivalent items—toss ’em in an Essence Extractor. Since you took Gmoltan’s territory, you probably have one if you rummage around. Hundred level 300+ hearts make one level 350 equivalent, so massacre some lowbies if you’re lazy.”
“Ah...”
Seemed like a feature he’d overlooked since he hadn’t inspected the territory closely. He’d mostly checked the territory management screen, so it was plausible.
Level 300, 350+ hearts from beings?
A long smile crept across Rokan’s lips.
It had started as just disrupting the Heavenly and Demonic events, but this changed things.
Rokan parted ways with Gaokan, thinking he’d need to swing by the surface again soon.
Now, what to do.
Simple. Start with what he could.
Rokan returned to his own territory—Gromoto, seized from Gmoltan.
There, he confirmed the Essence Extractor Gaokan mentioned, gathered what materials he could with coins, the territory, and his soldiers. He didn’t forget to summon Drokshi, who’d been hiding to avoid Gmoltan.
“Hmm...”
“What’s wrong? Problem?”
Handing over Gromoto’s top-tier crafting facilities was a given.
Rokan had expected delight at the extreme grinding ahead, given his artisan status, but Drokshi’s face was grim.
“It’s weird. Just weird.”
“...?”
“My level isn’t going up.”
His issue was straightforward.
While Rokan fought Gmoltan, he’d reached Grand Master and grown leaps, voluntarily crafting gear to test his skills—but no level gains.
He was getting some experience, but pathetically little compared to before.
“So that’s how it is.”
Rokan pinpointed the cause instantly upon hearing it. Drokshi had simply grown too much.
At High Master, crafting rares or uniques shot up experience. But at Grand Master, even uniques gave mere scraps.
‘It’s only natural.’
Even Grand Masters couldn’t churn out uniques endlessly, so frustration was expected.
To recapture that joy of growth, he’d need to craft epics or higher somehow.
And it was Rokan’s dilemma too.
He’d swept Gmoltan, his minions, and level 400 Heavenly folk, but only gained two levels? Previously, that would’ve been at least five.
The experience needed for level-ups had skyrocketed, but the gains had plummeted.
That made venturing into bigger worlds—facing new, powerful monsters—even more urgent.
‘Gotta hurry this up.’
Rokan pushed his soldiers to collect junk items, spread out a map, and rechecked main material locations.
“Lord, we have a visitor.”
“A guest?”
And just as he was about to move, an utterly unexpected figure arrived.