Chapter 364
Chapter 364
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 364
Chapter Title: Illustrious Realm (2)
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# 364
Hunting in the Illustrious Realm was incredibly easy.
The monsters that appeared here were mostly incorporeal spirits without physical forms, so critical hits didn't trigger, but that didn't mean Rokan's attack power was any less devastating.
His overwhelming destructive force scattered their souls, and while some spirits tried to attack using the 'Pierce' attribute, they were blocked by the divine power flowing through his body and couldn't rupture his heart.
What more explanation was needed? Whether High Master or Grand Master level, none of them were a match for Rokan.
Some damage was inevitable, but nothing reached a critical level.
"Nice."
With hordes of them pouring out endlessly, his experience points shot up nonstop.
Even massacring High Master-level ones gave at least 1.2 times the experience of regular monsters, and since Rokan was the only player who'd entered the Illustrious Realm, there was no shortage of prey.
[You have leveled up.]
Thanks to that, he hunkered down for a few days of solid hunting, and his level rose once more.
Already level 432. Thanks to the level-up in the Black Mountains, he was now just 17 levels away from 449.
There was another reason this place suited him perfectly: hunting ghosts didn't lower his reputation.
As expected of these sinister bastards, they couldn't care less about the deaths of their own kind.
'Hmm, can these even be considered a single race?'
A thought suddenly crossed his mind.
Familiars were hard to classify as the same species in many ways.
They shared the commonality of being 'born from illusions,' but their individual traits and forms were completely different.
For example, could a human mage-type familiar and a wolf-type familiar be considered the same species? No way. They had zero shared characteristics.
They were just creatures living in the same world—calling them the same race was a stretch.
But what about ghosts? They varied in form, but they all shared the trait of being 'soul bodies.'
So, could they be considered a single race?
"Set nemesis: Ghosts."
Rokan decided to check via the nemesis setting.
[Nemesis has been set.]
[Nemesis: Ghosts confirmed. Nemesis can be changed after 168 hours.]
[All attack power and defense increase by 30% against Ghosts.]
"Good."
The test was a success. The system recognized that ghosts, despite their varied appearances, had enough fundamental commonalities to be grouped as a race.
As a result, his attack and defense against them rose by a whopping 30%.
It was a catastrophe for enemies who were already no match for him.
"Heh heh heh heh. Chant it with me: They're all dead."
No, they were already dead, weren't they? Rokan flashed a smile more wicked than the ghosts and resumed battle.
The experience points flowed in so abundantly that he considered camping here all the way to level 450, slowly traversing the Illustrious Realm.
"Hmm, a city?"
He walked and walked for a long while.
He slaughtered every ghost that appeared, and when he encountered small villages, he didn't rest—instead, he wiped them out entirely.
His reputation dropped as a result, but it was only village-level reputation, so erasing them completely made it meaningless. He had no intention of using those places again anyway.
Pressing forward triumphantly like that, he came upon a grand city that could truly be called a metropolis.
"This one's gonna take some time."
Rokan aimed for total annihilation here too, but he didn't charge in blindly.
A city this size would have an insane number of ghosts, and above all, the high probability of a Majesty Master-level being present.
Rokan had grown through his duel with Gale Wind and regained his confidence, but he wasn't stupid enough to pick a fight head-on without knowing the opponent's level.
For now, he sheathed his weapon and walked toward the city entrance.
"Huh? A human?"
"A living one showed up here? Is someone possessing it already?"
"It doesn't seem to have an owner? Heh heh, mine then!"
Reactions came immediately. The guard-like ghosts at the entrance stirred, exuding a sinister aura.
"Not moving?"
"Hic!"
Who the hell were they messing with?
Rokan instantly unleashed his power.
He didn't even need Gale Wind Incarnation. Just infusing his voice with a subtle War Cry sent the approaching ghosts scattering in panic.
"What a pain. Should I just start now?"
But that drew the ghosts from inside the city. Though fearful, they were instinctively drawn to the unmistakable aura of the living.
He debated just fighting.
Ghosts were obsessive enough to linger as souls after death. Attacking the city would make them forget their fear and charge in.
Once battle began, there'd be no stopping it.
He might not even be able to escape until he'd slaughtered the tens or hundreds of thousands in this metropolis.
Irritation filled Rokan's face as a result, but if they struck first, he had no intention of dodging.
A tense standoff dragged on.
"Heh heh heh, what an amusing human."
Then, the ghosts lined up like a white carpet parted in half. A higher being had arrived.
[White Flame King Hirikanto][Lv 469]
"I am the White Flame King, ruler of this region. You're the one who's been slaughtering my subjects these past few days."
Level 469, no less.
Rokan knew now that levels from 450 onward weren't just about a bit more experience—he tensed slightly.
A being with that much divinity could do quite a lot.
"Subjects? They didn't seem affiliated with anyone."
"You're lying. After wiping out how many villages, you have nothing to say?"
"Me? Hmm, no idea. Can't remember."
But he didn't back down. If push came to shove, he'd fight—playing dumb with deflection instead.
The White Flame King looked exasperated, but what could he do? No witnesses.
The death of soul bodies meant complete annihilation, making it hard to dig up remnants as evidence.
"Fine. Let's say that's the case."
Surprisingly, Hirikanto's response was cool. Even knowing it was an obvious lie, he'd let it slide.
What was this guy's game? Rokan stayed vigilant.
"That's not it, it really is."
He shrugged casually, but was ready to draw his battle axe and fight at any moment.
"Right, must be. In that spirit, let me make a proposal."
"Proposal?"
[White Flame King's Proposal][Quest]
White Flame King Hirikanto proposes a partnership.
Accept to gain non-aggression from ghosts.
-Success Condition: Construct and protect the White Soul Tower
-Success Reward: Massive experience, Title: Ally of the White Flame King
-Restriction: Renews monthly
A quest window appeared before him.
It wasn't compulsory, so he could accept or decline, but the "massive experience" tempted Rokan strongly.
Hadn't he already tasted free level-ups from the Great Spirit's quest? Fulfilling this one's conditions might grant another.
"Construct the White Soul Tower, huh..."
But he couldn't accept lightly. What was the White Soul Tower? What effects did it have?
He couldn't hug a time bomb for just experience and a title.
"Decline."
Rokan firmly refused.
Would they attack now? Bracing himself, Hirikanto issued the quest again.
[White Flame King's Proposal][Quest]
White Flame King Hirikanto proposes a partnership.
Accept to gain non-aggression from ghosts.
-Success Condition: Construct and protect the White Soul Tower
-Success Reward: Massive experience, Title: Ally of the White Flame King, 50,000,000 coins, White Flame King's Gift, Wish Voucher
-Restriction: Renews monthly
"Huh?"
Rewards added: 50 million coins, a gift, and a Wish Voucher.
The Wish Voucher was essentially a blank check to demand anything from the White Flame King.
What the hell was the White Soul Tower that he'd go this far?
Rokan's resolve to refuse wavered.
"What's this White Soul Tower exactly? Why propose this to me?"
He cut straight to the chase.
These sneaky bastards might dodge if he didn't demand an immediate answer.
"Heh heh, no need to overthink. To humans, the White Soul Tower is just a shop. Why you? I checked your soul records. You hold vast territory on the surface world. And the power to defend it. So, what I want is land to build the White Soul Tower and protection to keep it intact. Of course, it'll be tougher than most walls, so it won't break easily."
Rokan's eyes narrowed. Highly suspicious.
Offering this much for just one shop? On the surface, not even the heavens?
No matter how you crunched the numbers, it didn't add up.
So, there had to be another purpose...
'I see.'
Observing Hirikanto calmly, Rokan quickly grasped his intent—and the subtle flaw woven into his words.
"By human standards, huh? What does it mean by your standards? Does it expand your 'world'?"
"Kuh, kuahaha, impressive. You're just a Transcendent, yet you figured that out? Yes, exactly. One function of the White Soul Tower is collecting abandoned souls from that world. It can increase the Illustrious Realm's population that way."
'Look at that?'
Dodging again, cleverly.
He admitted the White Soul Tower acted like a transmitter but glossed over his 'world'—Rokan heightened his wariness.
All Majesty Masters were like that, but this one's slyness was already obvious.
So, he added a condition.
"Fine, then how about this. I'll set up a shop here too."
"A shop? Sure, permitted."
"And one more. I won't pay taxes. And the White Soul Tower... it'll pay 30% tax."
"This feels like getting robbed blind. Isn't that too much?"
The White Flame King griped at Rokan's near-extortionate demands, but Rokan knew full well that sales revenue from the White Soul Tower meant nothing to them.
That's why he pushed hard.
"Take it or leave it."
"Fine. Deal. Humans are as sly as us—I can't keep up."
And so, the contract was sealed.
Thanks to Rokan's meticulous review and revisions, the quest rewards changed substantially, and they added a contract document, but both sides ended up satisfied.
True to the agreement, fulfillment began immediately.