Chapter 362
Chapter 362
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 362
Chapter Title: Meeting with Gale Wind (4)
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Defeat. And death.
In the end, Rokan lost to Gale Wind. Even after using Ultra.
But Gale Wind was inwardly shocked. His victory had come by the slimmest of margins.
If Rokan's Ultra had been a perfected skill, his avatar might have been obliterated. Though he didn't show it.
In the next bout, and the one after that, victory still went to Gale Wind.
Even when Rokan used Ultra several more times afterward, Gale Wind had gotten the knack for it now. The trick to severing the power of the incomplete Ultra.
Not slicing through the power of Ultra itself, but cutting its connection to make it self-destruct.
It was an incredibly dangerous maneuver—one wrong move and he'd be devoured in return—but Gale Wind executed it flawlessly.
With that, Rokan gave up using Ultra any further. Even if he won with it, there wasn't much to gain for himself.
Better to save that energy and swing his battle axe one more time.
He chose to spar with Gale Wind and embody the lessons through his body.
[You have died.]
[Divine Space: Colosseum is released.]
It wasn't enough. He couldn't reach him.
He tried full doping, stacking every buff skill imaginable, but he still couldn't claim final victory over Gale Wind.
13 wins, 100 losses.
Even without using divinity, racking up double-digit wins against a being who had attained godhood was remarkable—but judging purely by the results, it was defeat.
Rather than exalt himself, Rokan accepted the outcome painfully.
"Thank you."
He left words of gratitude and farewell to Gale Wind, who was now departing.
"You slippery bastard. You've finally gotten it."
He had won streak after streak, but that was only in the early and middle stages.
By the end, Rokan had reached near parity, and Gale Wind shook his head as if fed up, waving his hand in farewell.
"I'd rather not see you again anytime soon... but you'll climb up eventually, won't you? Let's clash once more then. I'll use plenty of divinity that time."
But he wasn't scared or anything.
Gale Wind, born a warrior, vanished with anticipation, and the savage warriors cheered as Rokan reappeared in the Savage Village.
"Uwoooo!"
"Apostle of Gale Wind!"
"Hou! Hou!"
Rokan flinched.
When he glared at them, the cheers died down. His eyes brimmed with killing intent and madness.
"Why...?"
Thud.
Moments later, the savage warriors collapsed like bundles of straw. They had been struck by Rokan's attacks.
"No need to share the good stuff, right?"
Boom!
Rokan proceeded to destroy the Savage Village outright.
He slaughtered even those who fled, then smashed Gale Wind's altar as well.
His divinity might have diminished somewhat because of it, but it didn't matter. It wouldn't affect him much, and even if he got angry, they wouldn't meet again for a long while.
Until then, he left Gale Wind's altar as his own private memory, ensuring no one else could meet Gale Wind and learn from him.
"...This guy's a real lunatic."
When he fully destroyed the altar, Rokan discovered something beneath it.
[Sealed Gale Wind's Gauntlet][Unique]
The final piece of Gale Wind's armament. Gale Wind's gauntlet.
Hiding his armament under his own altar, obtainable only by destruction—what a twisted hobby.
Did it mean you had to be that much of a madman to claim his power? In any case, Rokan gladly accepted it. He released the seal on the armament.
[Gale Wind's Gauntlet][Set]
The gauntlet used by the god of slaughter known as Gale Wind.
-Defense: 15,000
-Durability: 1,000,000 / 1,000,000
-Strength increased by 30%
-Stamina increased by 30%
-[Ancient Power] effect: Attack power increased by 20%
The raw stat boosts to strength and stamina were satisfying enough, along with the outrageous percentage increase to attack power, but the set effects were exceptional too.
[You have collected 5 pieces of Gale Wind's Armament.]
[Set effects activate.]
[3-Set Effect: All attack power increased by 20%]
[4-Set Effect: All damage received reduced by 30%]
[5-Set Effect: Berserk's power amplified and duration doubled]
An amplification of Berserk's efficiency and double the duration!
It neatly resolved Rokan's lingering concern about the skill's time limit.
But that wasn't the end of it.
Meeting Gale Wind completed the quest that had dragged on for so long.
[Gale Wind's Footsteps][Quest]
Having found all traces of Gale Wind, you are now qualified to succeed him.
Seek out Gale Wind's footsteps and find him.
He will gladly welcome one who surpasses his own feats.
-Wings acquired (Complete)
-Heavenly Cannon crafted (Complete)
-Entry to the Heavens (Complete)
-Conversation with Gale Wind (Complete)
It was the completion of the tiresome quest that had lingered from the game's launch until now.
No separate reward had been listed, leaving him curious all this time, but now he had his answer.
[Impossible feat! In pursuit of Gale Wind's footsteps, you have finally followed in his path. We salute your achievements and tenacity.]
[You have acquired the title 'Gale Wind's Successor.']
[You are the first to acquire this title.]
[First][Gale Wind's Successor][Legend]
All the gods take note of your path that shakes the earth and heavens, succeeding Gale Wind.
Some may feel interest, others fear.
[Effects]
-All stats increased by 20%
-Gods' Interest and Fear
"Huh?"
The title acquisition message appeared upon quest completion. He was startled by the massive option of percentage increases to all stats, but the second effect was suspicious.
Gods' interest and fear?
'What the hell did this guy—no, this god—do?'
The title itself was 'Gale Wind's Successor,' so their interest and fear likely stemmed from Gale Wind, not him.
They were worried another like Gale Wind might appear.
'So what?'
But so what about their interest and fear?
A bit of confusion set in.
Heavenly Gods, Demon Gods, and even Gale Wind had sent him indirect messages before, but nothing had changed because of it, right?
Interest or fear—whatever, what could they do?
As Rokan's expression turned indifferent, the answer arrived.
[The Heavenly God wishes to appoint you as his apostle.]
[Will you accept the position of the Heavenly God's apostle?]
"Huh?"
The Heavenly God made the first move.
He stepped forward to appoint Rokan as his apostle.
What scheme was this? Before he could even refuse, more messages poured in.
[The Demon God wishes to appoint you as his apostle.]
[The God of Constellations wishes to appoint you as his apostle.]
[The God of Schemes wishes to appoint you as his...]
Not just the Demon God, but all sorts of gods he'd never even heard of sent him messages.
The content was nearly identical. They all wanted Rokan as their apostle.
Some were blatantly tempting him with items and such.
"Get lost, all of you."
Rokan answered their overtures with one phrase.
He closed all the message windows.
The Heavenly and Demon Gods were one thing, but what was this sudden talk of sponsorship and apostles from nobodies he'd never heard of? He showed clear displeasure at their transparent motives.
'Whether they want to recruit me to their side later or whatever, no need to get tangled up now.'
He could acquire divinity and ascend to godhood soon enough without any gods' help, couldn't he?
Moreover, Gale Wind hadn't sent even a message. Despite being the one whose interests aligned and who seemed to like him.
Honestly, if he had messaged, Rokan might have considered it.
But nothing like that happened.
Rokan interpreted it as Gale Wind knowing he wouldn't accept such lame offers.
Unless he absolutely had to choose, he wasn't about to do something stupid just for a few skills.
'Feels just like the crap the Heavenly and Demon races pull.'
On top of that, weren't there already factions doing the exact same thing, even without experiencing it firsthand?
The Heavenly and Demon races dispatched to the surface.
And he'd already confirmed that falling for such sweet talk and picking a side early only brought restrictions, with no real benefits.
"Whether it's apostle or whatever, I'm not doing it, so stop sending messages."
Rokan warned, glaring at the sky.
A few messages condemning his actions popped up, but they soon went quiet.
"God of Schemes, you bastard. We'll settle this later."
Rokan had singled him out with a warning.
With their vast difference in power, if they decided to cause trouble, it might be hard for Rokan to handle—but there was a reason even Heavenly and Demon Gods couldn't manifest on the surface or heavens directly.
Something like gods being unable to appear or interfere once ascended.
His guess hit the mark; the condemning messages slyly vanished, leaving only trivial ones flickering in and out.
They showed interest but seemed to lose it when the subject showed none.
"So this is possible too, huh."
But Rokan didn't miss the change.
Apostles.
If he received offers, others could too, right?
He didn't know the benefits of being an apostle, but they surely granted considerable power in the short term, so he couldn't let his guard down.
With all the things he'd stirred up, the gods' apostles might swarm him all at once.
He wasn't scared, but preparation was needed.
Moreover, gods who feared or condemned him could easily manipulate their apostles for schemes.
Even if the apostle system hadn't been officially announced, it might already be in contact with other players—he kept that possibility in mind.
"For now, time to head back."
Savage warriors, Black Mountains—the divine maps were full of intriguing elements, after all.
To the point where they might not even be content for players who hadn't reached the heavens yet.
But Rokan still had unfinished business in the heavens. He'd only toured the Spirit Realm and Illusion Demon Realm, without even glimpsing the Heavenly and Demon races' home bases.
So while scouring divine maps for new thrills was tempting, now was the time to push further ahead.
To hit level 450 and reach Majesty Master realm.
'Once I hit 450...'
He already had the next plan laid out. A very special one that, if it went as intended, would allow even faster leveling than before.
"Alright, let's go."
He returned to the heavens.
First, to his territory in the Demon Realm.
But the state of his Demon Realm territory, visited after so long, was a mess.
"What the hell are these guys doing?"
As he collected taxes and checked the spoils offered by the Russian guilds, Rokan spotted something odd.