Chapter 295: The Lost Language (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 295: The Lost Language (1)
The wife of the one whose name must not be spoken.
The Goddess of Black Abundance.
The Black Goat that birthed madness.
The entity adorned by these countless modifiers was one of the strongest deities in the Cthulhu Mythos.
Shub-Niggurath.
“…….”
Branches bristling with countless teeth reached out beyond the Tower.
For eons beyond measure, she had drifted on the 50th floor of the Tower, watching the rise and fall of each floor.
Countless factions had climbed the Tower, only to meet their demise.
But.
Hundreds, thousands of powerhouses, and the absolute beings who transcended them.
Even those who possessed the 'Crowns'.
None of them had lived up to her expectations.
It was tedious.
They were lacking.
Thus, she intended to take this opportunity to lightly descend the Tower and soothe the boredom that had seeped into her very bones.
Yes. In other words, this was mere entertainment.
A transcendent existence trampling the insignificant creatures below.
And yet...
“…….”
One by one, the signals from the thoughtforms she had sent immediately after the partial release of the Gate were cut off.
To think there was someone below capable of opposing the Black Goat.
She had never imagined such a skilled individual would exist among those outside the Tower.
“Keter de Casbaya.”
A language that was not a language flowed from her mouth.
At that,
“Ugh... T-That is...”
Hastings, who was standing beside her, bowed his head with a face contorted in pain.
Just by her expressing a hint of discomfort, the world itself threatened to warp.
“Doom! Arbaya k Kimasha.”
“Kang... Jinhyuk. Y-Yes, that's right. That guy... that human bastard is the one trying to interfere with your great plans and climb to the top of the Tower.”
Kang Jinhyuk.
She had heard the name of the mastermind behind this incident from Hastings.
Clack!
Click!
Her teeth repeatedly parted and snapped shut, producing a spine-chilling sound.
...To stop me?
Now that is...
quite amusing.
It had been so long since she had felt the emotion of interest.
In that case, she would play along a bit more playfully.
For this endeavor, she had already established contact with the vampire families and Samaja, the Left Guardian of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
Since it would still take more time for her to be fully unleashed.
“Kaidro pe Maybach.”
“R-Right now?”
“Paylak t Sodraxtus.”
“Yes, I... understand. I will convey your words to everyone.”
Shub-Niggurath commanded briefly.
To begin the war in the middle floors.
* * *
Inside the barrier where the Sanctuary of the Sun was active.
The Queen, fleeing while hiding deep within the sand, could not comprehend the current situation at all.
I'm hiding this deep, so how on earth is he pinpointing my exact location?
She was moving at high speed through the sand a whopping ten meters below, yet for some inexplicable reason, her opponent was pursuing her with uncanny precision.
Thud! Thud!
Air holes pierced through the sand.
The precision of the gunfire grew even sharper.
She had to run.
Further.
Deeper.
She had to buy time and tie him down somehow; only then would everything he held dear crumble to pieces.
But right then...
[Lv14 'Glacial Shaping' has been activated!]
Crack, crack!
The sand froze rapidly.
The Queen's movements, which had been freely traversing the sand, slowed down visibly.
“Got you.”
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth curled upward.
As expected, the Queen had chosen flight over fight.
Tracking her location with the Inescapable Net is child's play.
He could predict where she would head next based on the minute vibrations of the shifting sand.
And once both conditions were met, sealing her movements with Glacial Shaping was not difficult either.
No matter how powerful the Queen was, she wouldn't be able to move easily within the freezing, solid sand.
[Unique Ability: 'Core of the Legion']
[Acquisition Difficulty: S]
[Copy Conditions: A queen who commands a swarm is always escorted by her countless children. If you can isolate her and deliver the killing blow while she is in 'solitude,' you will be able to copy one of her unique abilities or skills.]
'Core of the Legion' was a special ability possessed by only a tiny fraction of swarm-type boss monsters.
Not only did it boost the stats of contracted summons by 10%, but it also possessed the broken trait of allowing contracts to be maintained with only half the usual mana.
Considering he would eventually create undead and control spirit beasts or other summons, mana optimization was an issue he absolutely had to resolve.
I'm gaining so much here too.
Recreating the desert through the Sanctuary of the Sun, letting the Queen flee, and gradually cornering her into a dead end...
...was all to satisfy the copy conditions and acquire the unique ability.
Now, it's time to finish this.
Jinhyuk drew out every last drop of his remaining mana.
Now that they had reached the finale, there was no reason to hold back his mana.
Vroooom!
Different lights gathered at the tips of his two gun barrels.
The bullet enhanced by 'Daylight' cleared the path first.
Immediately after, the bullet enhanced by 'Blood Demon Qi' struck the Queen's back.
Boom!
“Aaaargh!”
A critical hit landed, but she didn't die in a single blow.
Her carapace had merely cracked, and she continued to resist fiercely.
So she wouldn't go down easily, living up to her title as the ruler of a floor.
But no matter how much she struggled, the outcome would not change.
It would only prolong her agony.
Boom! Thud-thud-thud! Crash!
A storm of multicolored lights raged.
“Ugh... uuugh...”
As the onslaught intensified, her screams gradually subsided.
And at that very moment...
Ding!
Along with a dazzling flash, multiple status windows popped up.
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[Your level has...]
[...increased!]
[You have successfully copied the unique ability 'Core of the Legion'!]
[The copied ability has been stored in 'Memory of the World'.]
[You have obtained 'Ink-Colored Blade (Yellow Grade - Material Type)'!]
Including the levels gained from defeating Murcielago, his level had increased by seven.
On top of that, a material-type item used to enhance sword-type weapons had dropped.
And it was of the prestigious Yellow Grade.
This is... an absolute jackpot.
Jinhyuk swallowed hard.
To be honest, because the rewards for defeating Murcielago had been underwhelming, he hadn't expected much from this floor.
Instead, the best possible item that could drop from the Queen had fallen into his hands.
The sharpest and hardest part of her carapace.
Furthermore, it hadn't dropped as a finished weapon, but as a material that could be applied to other items.
I could use it on Fang or the Twin Dragon Swords... or it would be pretty sweet to use on the Taesan Sword I got from the Yaksha.
The possibilities for its use were truly endless.
Good.
Next...
Jinhyuk activated his personal status window.
——————————————————
Name: Kang Jinhyuk
Gender: Male
Age: 28
Level: 115
Strength: 109 / Agility: 47 / Stamina: 57 / Magic Power: 273 / Gap: 100 / Luck: 10 / Adaptive Stat: 78 / Vitality: 78.25
Stat Points Available: 21
Coins Held: 9,253,137
Class: Rune Interpreter
Unique Abilities: 'Fusion', 'Grave of Swords', 'Blessing of the Stars', 'Judgment of Anubis', 'Blood Demon Qi', 'Mandala', '1-Second Invincibility', 'Thousand Poisons', 'White Beast', 'Universal Sharing', 'Sanctuary of the Sun', 'Black Heaven Demonic Emperor Art', 'Triple Magic', 'Colossus Strike', 'Fire Dragon's Breath', 'High-Speed Sword', 'Tombgrave's Right Arm', 'Berserker', 'Domain of Wind', 'Shadow Extreme Kill', 'Blood Explosion', 'Black Tears', 'Tombgrave's Leg', 'Monstrous Strength'
Skills: Switched to 'Collapsed' due to the large quantity.
Barriers: Switched to 'Collapsed' due to the large quantity.
——————————————————
Before he knew it, his level had reached 115.
If the situation weren't so urgent, he would have indulged in a moment of sentimentality...
Jinhyuk, who had been wearing a faint smile, quickly shook his head.
Right now, even thinking about such things was a luxury.
Since I've acquired the Core of the Legion, I can put off investing in my Magic Power stat for now.
[Agility increases from 47 → 58.]
[Stamina increases from 57 → 67.]
He distributed the points evenly between Agility and Stamina.
He had to start paying attention to his overall balance now.
Right then...
[You have passed the trial: 'Conquer the 16th Floor within 24 Hours'!]
[A gift has arrived from the High Administrator 'Bendivia'.]
[Soul Stone of Longing]
[When using a unique ability, skill, or similar power, it allows the effect to transcend the target's potential.]
He had finally secured the 'Soul Stone of Longing', the last crucial card he needed to obtain here.
I can leave the minor clean-up to the Titan Guild.
Though the remaining insects would run wild now that the Queen was dead, rankers like Aidan and Mei Ling should easily be able to handle that much.
If three S-ranks can't even deal with mass-produced bugs, they might as well bite their tongues and die.
Now, only one thing remained.
Jinhyuk pulled out the reward he had obtained from defeating Amuram, one of the True Ancestors, from his subspace inventory.
The painting inside the frame, 'Where Silence Seeps In'.
A place where twelve black pillars towered high.
Acquire the lost language...
...and recreate the ancient barrier.
This was humanity's sole path to survival against Shub-Niggurath.
[You have used the 'Boundary-Breaking Mirror'.]
Vroooom!
Jinhyuk's eye caught a green gate materializing before him.
A door that allowed him to travel freely between floors.
His destination was already decided.
“The 30th floor. Take me to Constellation Hill.”
* * *
Countless stars embedded in the night sky.
Holding unfathomable mystery and beauty, this was the sole peaceful sanctuary on the blood-soaked 30th floor.
A meteor shower was falling.
Watching it made his heart ache slightly for some unknown reason.
Step.
Jinhyuk began walking upward along a familiar path.
Twelve black pillars towering over a vast grassland.
He had visited this place in the past, but he hadn't known it was where the lost language could be acquired.
He had merely thought of it as a place with beautiful scenery.
However, thanks to the painting obtained from Amuram, he was able to uncover the true meaning hidden within this location.
Jinhyuk scanned the painting inside the frame meticulously.
Sure enough, in the painting, a different rune was engraved in the center of each pillar.
Yet, no runes were visible on the actual pillars.
To be precise, faint traces remained, but a significant portion of them had been damaged.
It meant I have to restore them.
It was a task that demanded an incredibly high level of difficulty.
He didn't just have to restore the runes engraved on the pillars themselves; he had to complete a transmutation formula that encompassed all twelve runes.
Needless to say, there was no room for error.
Calmly. Patiently.
He had to perform the delicate work.
The mana gathered at his fingertips traced through the empty air.
Along with the first rune, a barrier began to form in the sky.
[Activating 3-Star Barrier 'Mana Synchronization'!]
[Activating 4-Star Barrier 'Memory Restoration'!]
[Activating 6-Star Barrier 'Prime Substitution'!]
Crackle!
Blue runes revealed themselves along the surfaces of the pillars.
And yet...
As he rearranged the mana through the barriers, an unbelievable phenomenon occurred.
Could this be...
“Oh?”
Jinhyuk let out an exclamation filled with complex emotions.