The Black Pharaoh Devoured
The Black Pharaoh thrashed wildly.
Its jaw quivered.
Sorry, but a Tyrannosaurus’s bite force is the strongest among the primordial species.
Even without martial arts.
Dark Aura is now active.
A skill similar to qi manifestation.
Its power is a notch below, but it has the advantage of being usable on any part of the body.
I wrapped Dark Aura around my razor-sharp teeth and chewed the Black Pharaoh again and again.
Crunch! Crunch!
“Tough as hell.”
「H-How dare you! To place this one inside your filthy maw……」
“You talk too much.”
The Black Pharaoh’s energy was rapidly draining away.
A massive amount of experience has been acquired.
Level has increased.
Silver-grade level cap has been reached.
A crawling existence.
No—the Black Pharaoh had been thoroughly chewed and annihilated.
If this was how it would end, there had been no need to struggle implementing the orc’s two arms.
The Tyrannosaurus’s most powerful weapon.
I should research ways to combine its bite force with martial arts.
Ptui—!
I spat out the Black Pharaoh’s hide and deactivated Void Mirror.
“Aaaagh.”
A reflexive groan escaped me.
It hurt like I was dying!
The pain was comparable to when Hyperion’s spear had pierced my heart.
—Art thou not being overly dramatic?
I lacked the strength to retort.
My body had been pushed beyond its limits.
Neither Regeneration nor Mutation could dull the pain.
Even using healing spells as a last resort only reduced the agony by a negligible amount.
I needed to devour more essences related to healing spells.
While I was groaning, Nyx dropped her playful demeanor and materialized.
“Lean upon me.”
I obediently rested my head against Nyx’s lap and took a deep breath.
The pain began to recede.
“Whew, I really can’t get used to this.”
“This foe was similar to thee in many ways.”
“If I had dragged it out, I would have lost.”
The Black Pharaoh’s sole weakness was ‘experience.’
Just as Yog-Sothoth had been in Time’s Edge.
Time had been the key to this battle as well.
The more time I gave it, the more accustomed it would have become to wielding its various abilities.
“Hohoho, how does it feel to meet one of thy kind?”
“A disgusting hybrid.”
I clicked my tongue.
Working with it had been revolting. I never wanted to meet it again.
“Still, I should take what I can.”
The black tide that had once covered part of the plains.
Now only a piece of hide the size of clothing remained.
A tiger leaves its pelt when it dies.
“A monster leaves its essence.”
Devouring the essence of the Crawling One.
Essence Grade: Legendary
Essence Devoured: 100%
Perfectly absorbed the essence of one species.
Skill — Void Projection has been added.
Void Projection
Grade: ★★★★★
Classification: Active
Designates an essence the user has devoured to 100% and manifests a body crafted from the power of the Void in its original form.
While the essence is manifested, its effects cannot be used.
Manifesting an essence via Void Projection permanently consumes Mana.
The cooldown varies depending on the level of the manifested essence.
An appropriately altered form of the ability to manifest captured souls.
I smiled.
“I do not understand.”
“What?”
“Must thou not expend some of thy power?”
“Well, that’s true.”
A penalty severe enough that ordinary players would consider it a sealing technique.
But then again.
I could steadily raise my stats through Devour.
“Even after devouring an essence to 100%, it is the same.”
The essence of the Dragon Fang Soldier I devoured in the tutorial stage.
Because it granted additional Mana with every devouring, my Mana had been overwhelmingly high compared to others.
Now every stat receives the additional devouring effect.
Yet because I had been stacking it since the tutorial, it remained overwhelmingly high.
“So it’s fine to use a little.”
“Then what essence shall thou manifest first?”
“Kekeke. I already decided.”
Void Projection is now active.
Target: Primordial Species — Tyrannosaurus essence.
Manifesting a Legendary-grade essence. 200 Mana permanently consumed.
The original owner of the manifested essence was far stronger than the user. Level and stats have been adjusted downward.
Can be used again after 180 days.
A violet glow swirled near my heart.
The power of the Void devoured my Mana.
I had experienced this many times before the regression, but it still felt unpleasant.
The Void, having absorbed sufficient Mana, burst outward.
A purple current slowly formed a skeletal structure.
Soon tendons and muscles adhered to the bones, shaping a living creature.
The species that once ruled the Earth in ages past.
“KRAOOOOO!!!”
The Tyrannosaurus roared.
“Kraooo……”
The primordial species slumped down right after letting out a vigorous cry.
“Was this also part of thy plan?”
“Hardly.”
I was just as troubled.
Manifesting the Tyrannosaurus had been fine.
Who would have guessed it would turn out to be a flashy case of osteoporosis(?).
Its specs were overwhelming for level 200, but because its body was so enormous, a penalty had been applied.
“Useless thing.”
“Krao……”
“Mana parasite. Can’t even carry its own weight.”
The Tyrannosaurus stretched its snout toward me.
What now?
Was it trying to act cute just because I scolded it a little?
“Krao. Krao.”
The Tyrannosaurus slowly rubbed its snout against my thigh.
Did it think it was a cat?
Its sheer size made my body sway even from the light contact.
“Hohoho. It is adorable despite being mountain-sized.”
“Krao. Krao.”
When Nyx stroked it, the creature purred contentedly.
Good grief.
“Yet it is strange. Thou must have foreseen even this.”
“That’s why a goddess with sharp eyes is……”
I clicked my tongue.
The Tyrannosaurus’s essence was stronger than the Dragon Fang Soldier’s.
If properly manifested, it would have been a Challenger-grade monster.
Because its stats had been adjusted to match my Silver grade, it could not display its true power.
“Same as the goddess.”
“Dost thou mean this adorable one can also level up and grow stronger?”
How long had it been since we met for her to call it ‘adorable’?
Only a goddess would look at a fifteen-meter-long dinosaur and say that.
“It did eat some of my experience. There’s plenty going to waste anyway.”
Even now, having reached the level cap, experience was being wasted, right?
Even while Nyx was steadily devouring my experience, plenty was still spilling over.
I had manifested the Tyrannosaurus to secure a powerful asset in advance while also salvaging the wasted experience.
“Krao. Kraooo.”
“That does not erase thy shortcomings.”
“Kraooo……”
The Tyrannosaurus looked dejected.
“Partner, how long dost thou intend to keep calling this adorable one ‘you’?”
“Why don’t you give it a nickname, Goddess?”
“Lexy would be fitting.”
“Krao. Kraooo.”
The Tyrannosaurus wagged its tail excitedly.
Thud! Thud!
The plains trembled.
“If it gets excited twice, it will plow the entire land.”
“Hohoho. It is a creature thou hast made, so treat it kindly.”
“Kraooo! Krao!”
The Tyrannosaurus—now Lexy—protested.
“Fine, fine. Let’s head back.”
“Even after obtaining the map, dost thou intend to remain here longer?”
“No. I’ve gotten everything I need.”
The northern, eastern, and central regions of Dreamland were danger zones.
At my current level, surviving was the best I could do.
There were more essences I wanted, but none urgent enough to risk my life for.
“Lexy, you can at least carry us, right?”
“Kraooo! Kraooo!”
Lexy snorted and lowered its head.
The moment I climbed onto its exposed neck, it kicked off the ground and sprinted.
“Speed’s not bad.”
“Kraoooo!”
Encouraged by my praise, Lexy accelerated further.
A sudden question crossed my mind.
“Goddess, why Lexy, though?”
“Is there a problem?”
“It sounds like a girl’s name.”
“Indeed it does.”
……So it was female.
My jaw dropped.
* * *
When we neared the city, I returned Lexy to the Void.
“Is it not hollow to summon it only to expend thy Mana?”
“Once registered, I can summon and dismiss it anytime.”
“I see. How convenient.”
As long as it did not vanish, I could call it from anywhere.
“I have a question.”
“What?”
“The being thou defeated on the plains. Didst thou not devour the essence of a single entity?”
“Ah, that one was unique.”
Like a named monster in the Tower of Babel.
After all, it was a monster that had received Nyarlathotep’s power.
There was only one Crawling One across all universes.
“There is no more business here.”
“No. The core entity must have returned to Nyarlathotep.”
The Black Pharaoh.
Neferen-Ka was bound to Nyarlathotep.
Even if I devoured its essence, its soul would not disappear, so it would automatically return.
I had devoured its essence before the regression as well, but I had heard it reappeared in Dreamland sometime later.
“For that abomination to revive…… How truly dreadful.”
Nyx shuddered.
“We won’t see it for a while, so don’t worry about it.”
I waved my hand dismissively and entered the port city of Dylath-Leen.
“I never imagined thou wouldst truly hunt a Crawling One.”
“You didn’t forget our promise, did you?”
“Of course not. Take it.”
I also obtained a map recording the entirety of Dreamland.
I roughly remembered Dreamland’s characteristics, but the people of this era did not.
Sergei would be thrilled if I gave it to him.
After completing the exploration, I returned to southern Dreamland, which we had used as a base camp.
“Senior Hong Yunsu, you seem to have had quite the ordeal.”
“Don’t even mention it, Guild Master. The east was an absolutely horrific place.”
The domain of the serpent-man Uth-Nagharai was no place for humans.
That was why I had sent Hong Yunsu to eastern Dreamland—there was nothing to gain there.
Also.
With his mobility, I believed he could somehow survive even in the perilous east.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“I’m sorry the results weren’t more substantial.”
“I had good luck.”
When I casually presented the Dreamland map, everyone stared at me in shock.
“A-A map of the Demon Realm?”
“Yes. There were cities where people live, so I received it after fulfilling a request.”
“Truly…… Guild Master, you are remarkable.”
“Junior won’t starve no matter where you throw him.”
Hong Yunsu and Shin Junseok kept exclaiming in admiration.
Their intense reactions somehow made me feel a twinge of guilt.
“We seem to have enough information about the Demon Realm, so let’s head back.”
“Understood, Guild Master.”
After several days of exploring Dreamland.
Having achieved meaningful results, we returned to Irkutsk.