The Priest of the Moon
The moment I mounted the War Golem, a new ability awakened within Enrique.
[I have understood the structure of the War Golem.]
[If materials are procured, a War Golem can be crafted.]
[It is also possible to manifest parts of a War Golem using mana.]
His unique ability, Mechanic, had analyzed the War Golem’s internal framework and allowed him to partially manifest it with his own power.
“Hmph! Who are you calling a shorty who can’t even see without standing on tiptoes, you little brat!”
“I never said that…”
“Don’t make excuses!”
Blue flames erupted from behind Enrique’s armor as he shot forward like a bullet, slicing through the air.
Park Jongwon gripped his sword tightly.
If I give him time, he’ll summon something again like before.
His body still tingled. Even though the Unique-grade Tower Shield provided by the Hwarang Guild had only lost a third of its durability, some of the impact had still gotten through.
He didn’t know the full extent of Enrique’s offensive capabilities, but taking two direct hits would be dangerous.
“I don’t know what you’re babbling about, shorty, but you’re about to get beaten and sent packing!”
A razor-sharp blade carved a deadly arc through the air.
Exceed Break
It was a perfectly timed slash aimed at the charging Enrique. The blade carried two enchantments—Slashing, which increased penetration, and Heavy Strike, which amplified destructive power.
The instant the silver-white armor collided with Park Jongwon’s sword—
CLAAAAANG!
A crimson flash exploded, hurling Enrique several meters backward.
“Ugh, my head’s ringing.”
“You took that hit and you’re still fine?!”
Shock flickered across Park Jongwon’s face. For someone who had taken a full-power strike without any guard, Enrique looked far too composed. The only visible damage was a deep gouge where the sword had struck.
He hadn’t managed to pierce the mana-reinforced armor.
“Fine? My head feels like I drank a whole bottle of soju.”
Not exactly the kind of thing a minor should be saying.
Enrique poured mana into the dent, and it restored itself as if time had been rewound.
Park Jongwon frowned deeply.
Swish!
Realizing that giving Enrique time would put him at a disadvantage, he closed the distance again.
“Hmph, who said I’d let you?”
Blue flames surged from behind Enrique’s back. Right before the blade could reach him, he shot into the sky.
Park Jongwon looked up like a dog chasing a chicken.
Vrrrrrm—!
Brilliant blue light poured from Enrique’s outstretched hands.
Shield Boomerang
The shield that had been rolling on the ground flew straight back into Park Jongwon’s grasp, blocking the barrage of magic bullets by a hair’s breadth.
Enrique created another magic circle above his head.
“Just die already, old man.”
“Y-you little…!”
What emerged from the magic circle was a massive War Golem foot.
BOOOOOOM—!
Before Park Jongwon could pull back, the enormous foot slammed down. He frantically deployed defensive skills and tried to hold it back with his shield, but—
“GAAAAAAAH!”
Crack. The sound of breaking bone echoed.
“So, old man. Who’s the dwarf now?”
“Wait, I never called you a—!”
“Making excuses is a sin!”
A second magic circle manifested the War Golem’s other foot. Park Jongwon’s face turned deathly pale.
* * *
The tribute competition was split into two separate battlefields.
The three guilds had apparently done their own analysis and assigned positions beforehand, but—
“R-run!”
“If they catch us, we’ll be offered as tribute!”
“Damn it! Why are they so strong?!”
The battle was completely one-sided.
Ping Lei, who had grown even stronger after contracting with Sun Wukong, dominated the field. Lee Jiyoung had analyzed the structure of the barrier Ellen had used during their spar and was now handling her unique ability with far greater proficiency. The recently recruited Enrique was also pulling his own weight. Even Hyung-nim was carefully observing the flow of battle and applying wide-area buffs at the perfect moments. And Karla’s scythe was mercilessly carving through the enemy’s tank line.
Frontal assault. Encirclement. Guerrilla tactics. No matter what formation they tried, every single one was crushed.
『The Monkey King of Huaguo Mountain yawns.』
『The God of War from Olympus is wary of the Monkey King of Huaguo Mountain.』
『The one seated upon the corrupted throne…』
That damn monkey. Did he really have to yawn because he was bored?
—It is not wrong to say this is rather dull.
“There’s only one mistake those guys made.”
—And what would that be?
“They made me their enemy.”
Nyx stared blankly for a moment, then—
—Pfft… Puhuhuhuhu!
She burst into loud, unrestrained laughter.
“What? Why are you laughing?”
—To think you would say ‘they made me their enemy.’ How truly amusing.
When Nyx repeated it back, it sounded like the words of someone completely drunk on their own ego.
“That’s not what I—!”
—I must remember this line. Hehe!
I really can’t say anything freely in front of Nyx.
Even if you died, you could return to the front lines after sixty minutes. But if you were offered as tribute to the Moon God, you would be immediately eliminated from the mission.
After countless clashes—
“We can’t lose like this…”
All the captured players from the allied guilds had been turned into tribute. Nearly half of their forces had already been wiped out.
It was about time for their final card to appear.
[The dark energy surrounding Mount Kosku is growing stronger.]
[The Priest of the Moon is personally joining the tribute competition.]
A strange figure appeared, completely covered in a pure white mask and a blue robe.
The Priest of the Moon had finally revealed himself.
“The dark energy is abundant. Lady Kijia will surely be pleased…”
“I was starting to think my neck would snap from waiting so long.”
Roaring Dragon Emperor Fist
The instant the Priest appeared, I thrust my fist forward.
The Priest blocked the strike with his staff. A powerful repulsive force surged from the bone rod, pushing my Roaring Dragon Emperor Fist away.
“What is the meaning of this?”
“You came here to help me, didn’t you?”
“That is what Lady Kijia commanded.”
“Then dying here is how you help.”
“How dare a mere citizen of the moon defy the Priest?!”
A silver wave erupted from the Priest, swirling violently around him. Even bracing my legs, resisting the repulsive force was impossible. After shoving me backward with the shockwave, the Priest swung his staff.
“Rise, my subjects.”
Raise Dead
The residents of the moon who had been sleeping beneath the hills clawed their way out of the earth. Skeleton Warriors. Ghouls. Countless other undead appeared.
“Guild Master, please give us your orders.”
“Hyung-nim and the rest of the guild members, please guard the perimeter.”
“Understood.”
The mission was still in progress. We didn’t know how the players from the three guilds might interfere. Besides, I could handle the Priest of the Moon by myself.
Body of Darkness
Dark Dominion
Shhhhhh!
I shaped the power of Polar Night into dozens of rotating blades that spun around me like a deadly storm. The undead monsters summoned by the Priest were shredded the moment they approached the spinning saw-like blades.
“With this much dark energy, I can resurrect the undead as many times as I wish.”
The Priest slammed his staff into the ground once more. The destroyed undead army restored itself as if time itself had been reversed.
—Why not simply devour their essences?
“They were created by the Priest’s mana, so they aren’t valid targets for Devour.”
I smiled bitterly. If that were possible, I would have used Polar Night to devour their essences from a distance.
Still, there was a silver lining.
[You have gained 0.1% experience.]
[You have gained 0.07% experience…]
Every time the dark blades cut down another undead, my experience steadily rose. I advanced slowly.
Using Shrink would let me close the distance instantly, but to defeat the Priest of the Moon, I first needed to exhaust all the dark energy saturating the area.
“How long do you think you can keep raising these cannon fodder?”
The closer I got, the fiercer the undead army’s assault became.
“Why do you not tire?!”
“Why would I get tired?”
The undead repeated a cycle of destruction and regeneration. My Polar Night did the same. The amount I recovered far exceeded what I spent. Simply maintaining the spinning dark blades didn’t consume much mental energy at all.
The moment he challenged me to a war of attrition, the battle was already over.
Because the Priest had spammed Raise Dead so recklessly, the surrounding dark energy had grown thin.
Shrink
I instantly folded space and appeared right beside the Priest, then thrust my fingers forward.
Light-Piercing Finger.
The concentrated energy in my fingertips aimed straight for his heart.
“I will not fall for such cheap tricks.”
The staff in the Priest’s hand moved on its own, blocking the Light-Piercing Finger. It was a tool that controlled the abundant dark energy in the area. I had been waiting for his staff to run out of power.
“Cheap? Hardly.”
Crack… Crackle…!
The bone staff became covered in fractures. The Priest’s eyes widened behind his mask—the only part of his face visible.
“H-how?!”
“The staff’s defensive power is determined by the amount of dark energy it holds. I already knew that.”
The staff shattered into pieces. There was nothing left to block my attack.
Shuk!
My fingers, wrapped in concentrated energy, pierced straight through the Priest of the Moon’s heart.
“Guh…”
With a short death cry, the Priest collapsed.
“Master, is this really okay?”
“Team-killing doesn’t cause the mission to fail.”
The mission objective was simply to offer tribute. There was no penalty for killing the Priest. If it weren’t for the fact that I could only absorb his essence, I wouldn’t have done something this crazy.
[You are devouring the essence of the Priest of the Moon.]
[Essence absorbed: 100%]
[Essence Grade: Ancient]
[You have perfectly absorbed one type of essence.]
[Skill - Raise Dead has been added.]
Raise Dead
Grade: ★★★
Type: Active
Turns corpses into undead.
The type of undead created depends on the user’s mana, as well as the corpse’s original level and condition.
Consumes dark mana.
It was the same undead creation skill the Priest had used.
—It does not seem to suit you at all.
“Why not?”
—Raising corpses and using them as servants? How vulgar.
“Did you not feel anything while watching the Priest?”
—That foolish one simply walked the path of his own destruction.
“Come on, it was just a bad matchup. His endurance in battle was pretty decent.”
The true strength of Raise Dead was its regenerative ability. As long as you didn’t completely incinerate the bodies with fire or light attribute mana, you could keep resurrecting even low-quality corpses as long as you had enough dark mana.
And as it happened, I was someone who overflowed with mana.
I had gained a skill that would be extremely useful for creating variables in large-scale battles.
“Let’s wrap this up.”
I offered the Moon Fruits that grew on the World Tree of Heaven and Earth, then hunted additional Urkans and offered their hearts as tribute as well.
The moon shone brilliantly in the sky.
Main Mission - Tribute to the Gods - Cleared
📍 The Moon Tribe has fulfilled the victory condition.
📍 The Sun Tribe failed to offer a single tribute.
📍 The Korean Team (Yeokcheon Guild) has achieved the highest record. Additional rewards will be granted.
It was an overwhelming victory. The three-guild alliance couldn’t even put up a proper fight before collapsing helplessly.
The mission process was probably already being broadcast outside. I was curious what kind of faces the three guild masters were making right now.
◈ A mysterious stone containing the power of the sun.
[You have received 100,000 CP as a reward.]
“Whoa! We got this much CP?!”
“As expected, traveling with Master really brings in massive rewards.”
“Guild Master, congratulations on the victory.”
The guild members were all overjoyed.
A Sun Stone, huh. Not a bad reward at all.
The guild alliance bastards were probably writhing in agony right about now.
I covered my mouth and smirked.
—Hoh.
My lady goddess. Isn’t it a bit much to be monitoring whether I’m smiling or not?