Let's Level Up!

"Haa... damn, you're tough."

To cut to the chase: I won. It would be stranger if I struggled against a guy whose pattern I’d already broken, especially after I’d built up enough potential to surpass level 17 ages ago. Honestly, the time when I’d struggle against some degraded, mass-produced monster—whatever a "Ten Kings" is—has long since passed. The Mansion Lord I briefly encountered in the Jeonyul Mansion was way scarier than this guy. That bastard was spamming bullshit magic by the second.

Still, since I leveled up twice, I’ll consider this Ten Kings guy a good fellow. It didn't seem like he was the real deal anyway.

"Nice."

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hopped off the dead Ten Kings. His corpse was a mess. Bitten to pieces by Abyssal Maw, his limbs ripped off by a cluster of tentacles. Honestly, I beat him so relentlessly that I started to wonder if his massive health pool was a curse for him.

Maybe because the Ten Kings died, the Ghost Gate shuddered and collapsed, kicking up a cloud of dust. For the record, the Ten Kings' army stopped appearing the moment he died. Furthermore, the ones already out lost their will to fight, collapsed, and died.

"WE DID IT!!!"

"I'M ALIVE!!!"

The cheers of the Americans echoed through the Seoul night sky. Quite a few had died or were bitten and dying, but about 70 of them survived. Considering there were at least three thousand zombies that poured out, this was a remarkably high survival rate.

"Pssssss!!!"

"Poooot!!!"

The Mushroom Men gathered together, puffing out spores to express their joy. Excluding the ones I sent back midway, only 3 out of 46 had died. Truly an incredible survival rate. If you look at their appearance and behavior, they’re just smelly little pranksters, but once they start fighting like mad, they’re the best front-line infantry. Their tanking is insane, and they dish out crazy damage. Since they fight this well and have the skill, I can't bring myself to kill them even when they act up.

As the Ghost Gate completely crumbled, the achievement notification popped up. It seems like an achievement you can only get if you’re the one who contributed the most to hunting the monarch of the afterlife that jumped out of the gate. I waited to see if an achievement like "Ten Kings Slayer" would pop up, but... it didn't. Probably because the guy I just killed was a fake, not the real deal. There’s no way something like that could be the Ten Kings. It was definitely a degraded version of a clone.

"Oh..."

While I was busy speculating about the nature of the Ten Kings, 44,444 coins were deposited into my account along with a new notification. The achievement reward wasn't the end of it. I got 44,444 coins—as if to symbolize the number four (death)—and on top of that, I unlocked the 'Auction House'.

'What the hell is an Auction House...'

I was about to check the function immediately when a new window popped up in front of me.

'Infinite Hell...?'

What could that be? A dungeon for high-level players over level 20? 'No... calling level 20 high-level... this isn't the early 2000s...'

They said the clue to ending the zombie crisis would be given if I conquered the Ghost Gate... these bastards just used it as a linked quest. 'In reality, the simplest way to end this night is for one of the three factions to win... this is just to stall for time.'

That was the truth I deduced. Ultimately, all current events and quests are just stalling. In the end, it's just a fight over who remains. Maybe the guys who made this world like a game didn't plan the settings that deeply. Setting the level cap at 20 is probably their limitation, too. Maybe they capped it because anything higher would be a pain to manage?

'Or maybe they just didn't want humans getting too strong for no reason...'

Anyway, it means a new area is opening, so I'll have to try to get the maximum benefit from it. Honestly, I'm more interested in making my base the best in the world than in wars or fights between factions. Eternal Night or whatever, my retirement plan is more important.

"Oh..."

This was a bit novel. Updates seem to have been halted for over a month now, but if they start again after only 3 more gates are conquered... 'Wait... should I not conquer the Ghost Gates?'

Maintaining the status quo is better than having some bullshit update. It's just right for living now... If the updates restart, they'll probably make the difficulty absurd with more nonsensical changes. The operators are the kind of assholes who changed all zombies to evolved ones when we were barely surviving against normal ones, and even banned the use of guns.

"Huu... fuck..."

Still, to reach level 20, I have to conquer at least one more Ghost Gate... and it's not like I can level up alone...

"Master!! Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Ah, Mer."

As I stood there blankly, lost in thought, Mer descended from the sky, flapping her wings while carrying Anna in a princess carry.

"I'm fine, but there are quite a few people who are hurt. Anna, I'll leave it to you."

"Yes... Hey! Come here!"

Anna called the American Awakened ones with a native accent. The Awakened stood up and lined up in front of her. They naturally sent those who were dying to the front of the line. Bringing Anna along was a good choice. She wasn't much help in combat, but after the fighting ended, she was more useful than anyone else.

"Thanks for your hard work, Mer."

"Master, you're the one who worked hard."

Mer had wanted to help me midway, but if she entered the barrier, there would be no one left to erase the names, so she just fluttered her feet in the air. Actually, I could have just summoned a Shadow Moth to erase the names in the air, but I kept Mer there just in case it wasn't handled properly.

"Mer, your level... ah, you don't have a level anymore, right?"

"Fufu... I no longer belong to the system, Master."

"Yeah. That's right. Haha..."

I sat on a bench with Mer for a while to rest. My back muscles were aching from flying around with wings.

'Hmm... first, I need to check my skills...'

There are three things I need to check right now. First, the 'Auction House' system opened after killing the Ten Kings, the achievement reward, and then the skill selection. I decided to pick the skill that was my goal from the start. My current level is 19. Maybe because it's been such a long time since I leveled up, the pleasure was quite intense.

All stats broke 100. The moment I confirmed that, a new achievement was unlocked.

Growth is now ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠leading to more growth. I'll check this later, too. First, I have to pick a skill.

It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠feels like it's been ages since I've seen a skill selection window. Maybe because my level has been stagnant for so long, I felt strangely happy. The effects of the skills are quite good, too.

'Profane Resonance is... this is literally making them suffer in my stead...'

If I dump all the wounds and pain onto one person and heal only that guy, everyone else can keep fighting without dying. If I force-link non-awakened people who can't join the battle with awakened slaves, park that guy in the base, and keep healing him, the other slaves linked to him will recover in real-time the moment they take damage, allowing them to keep fighting. Transfer of pain. Sacrifice for the greater good. It was a very good skill.

'Void Observation is, as the name implies, an observation-type skill...'

Ideal Projection, judging by the description, was similar to the descriptions of Tentacle Ejection and Abyssal Maw. Since I've already met Botamilli, it appeared in an already-evolved state, just like how my other skills evolved after encountering gods. This is a must-pick.

'Finally, Frenzied Evil Eye... this is fun too.'

Frenzied Evil Eye, funnily enough, was a skill that made whoever I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠made eye contact with go crazy with rage. Isn't this the best skill for teabagging? What kind of god made this skill? Their personality seems quite excellent.

Anyway, which one should I pick among these four? It would be best to pick Ideal Projection, the Void-type attack skill, first...

[Don't pick Void Observation yet.]

"Huh? Uh... why?"

[Ah, not yet... I'm not ready...]

"Huh?"

[Th-that is... I haven't been resurrected for long... so I'm not ready yet...]

Botamilli is shy. Cute.

"I will choose Void Observation."

I immediately chose Void Observation.

[Ah, I told you not to...!]"

An evil god shy because she's unprepared. I can't help but choose this.