One Third of My Former Strength

It was incredible.

All my base stats exceeded two thousand. My magic power had broken into the three thousands. Inner power was still relatively low compared to the others, since it was a difficult stat to raise, but considering I had only been active as a player for a little over a year, the number was outrageous.

"Even if I convert everything into True Yeouiju, I can't exceed the maximum capacity my dantian can hold."

The vessel that could contain the water known as inner power—in other words, the size of my dantian—was influenced by my inner power stat. If I used advanced martial arts in rapid succession, the conversion rate from the True Yeouiju couldn't keep up. The latter twelve forms of the Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts consumed far more inner power than the first half.

"And where exactly is this spiritual medicine supposed to fall from the sky?"

Buying fossils was already straining my budget. Maybe I should demand some spiritual medicine sponsorship from the constellations.

"That's part of my charm."

Nyx's expression flooded with shock. The goddess's gaze, now mixed with clear disgust... Hmm. How long was she going to keep looking at me like that?

"My mistake. I'll apologize. I'm sorry."

Come on.

Who was the one who brought up spiritual medicine in the first place!

It felt unfair, but I didn't press the issue any further. Since when had Nyx become so good at arguing? I clicked my tongue in irritation.

"What is it?"

"A typical Platinum-rank player would have a total stat sum of just under two thousand."

"That's thanks to the Primordial Dragon's factor."

After perfecting the Primordial Dragon's factor through Dragon Blood, my stats had exploded. On top of that, I had continued using Devour.

The essence of the Dragon Soldiers I obtained during the tutorial stage. Thanks to the Key to the Underworld, I had absorbed the essences of the monsters from the Tower's underground, causing my other stats to shoot up as well.

"It's meaningless to even talk about it."

I wasn't just saying that. Before my regression—when I had received the Tower's invitation and less than a year had passed—I had been struggling at the Bronze rank. The only time Devour could increase my stats was when I absorbed fresh essences. Essences that were already at 100% would only restore my stamina even if I devoured them.

And that wasn't all.

"Thank you so much for reminding me."

Comparing it to the same period before my regression was pointless... It would be better to measure it against my prime.

Nyx's eyes sparkled at my words.

"In my prime, my average stat was around seven thousand."

"But I didn't have the power of Polar Night before my regression. So you could say it's actually more than that."

Another advantage over my pre-regression self was that I no longer suffered from a lack of magic power. Having obtained the Dragon Soldier essences early this time around, I didn't have to worry about running out of mana. During my first run, chronic mana deficiency had caused me no end of trouble. The lower floors of the Tower didn't offer many essences that boosted magic power. What was the point of having all those abilities if you didn't have the mana to activate them? Just thinking about those days brought tears to my eyes.

"I was lucky."

I had used my pre-regression knowledge as a stepping stone to monopolize all the hidden elements within the Tower of Babel. I had referenced the experiences of explorers like Laurent and other rankers. There had been unexpected variables, such as the constellations' interference, but in the end they had only served to make me even stronger.

The Primordial Dragon's factor. Martial arts. The power of Polar Night. Demonic Power. Fusion Qigong (incomplete). Ars Goetia. Seon Magic. Hand-to-hand combat techniques.

Wow. When I listed out all the powers I handled, there were quite a lot.

Thanks to Sergey, the Monarch of Destruction, and his Demonic Power, I could unleash devastating firepower from range. With Fusion Qigong I could create powerful composite skills. And that wasn't all—unlike magic, Seon techniques could be deployed even in the middle of fierce combat. I hadn't learned many yet, so I couldn't use them in every situation, but they were excellent tools for creating variables in battle.

"At this level, I can probably start practicing the latter half of the Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts forms."

This was big. Really big.

Besides the abilities I had gained through Devour, I had acquired numerous other fortuitous encounters and learned all sorts of arts. Each one was too valuable to neglect. While absorbing essences, I would also have to steadily hone these other skills. The more techniques I could use, the better.

"I am satisfied."

Compared to before my regression, I had plenty of time. I had eliminated Zhang Wufei of the Nine Dragons Syndicate, and I had even recruited Ping Lei—who had been destined to dominate China's underworld—as an ally. What about Enrique, the traitor to humanity who had become infamous as the Machine Monarch? The research speed at Leyden Corporation, which had developed spatial leap technology, was also far faster than in my previous life.

I was steadily changing the future, step by step, over the course of this single year. Not all the changes were positive, but the benefits outweighed the losses.

"I'm not tired. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠This is incredibly rewarding."

"Then I'll lean on you anytime."

Words I wouldn't have said under normal circumstances. Maybe it was because I had been thinking about my previous life, but I was feeling unusually sentimental.

After exposing Klyphoth's true nature in the DMZ, I focused more on closing Gates than climbing the Tower.

"Lord Jinho, you don't need to push yourself so hard."

My schedule was so tight that even Han Suchang, the leader of the Special Task Force, was worried.

"This is the best way to get used to my newly gained power."

"Pardon?"

"I obtained a few fortuitous encounters."

Fortuitous encounter. It was a term that originally appeared often in martial arts novels, but after the Tower appeared it had become widely used even among ordinary people.

"C-congratulations!"

Han Suchang shouted in a startled voice. Fortuitous encounters weren't common, after all. Moreover, he was one of the few people who had a rough idea of my combat strength. The fact that the word "fortuitous encounter" had come from my mouth must have told him it was no ordinary opportunity.

"So you don't need to worry about me."

"If even you, Lord Jinho, call it a fortuitous encounter, I cannot even begin to imagine how much stronger you've become."

I smiled faintly.

Gate raids were the best way to adapt to my strengthened body. The only downside was that every monster that appeared in the Gates was a species whose essence I had already devoured to 100%.

I also didn't forget to continue receiving instruction in Seon Magic from Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong grumbled but still passed on the next Seon technique.

Sun Wukong, provoked by my comparison, filled an entire blank page with curses.

"I'll pretend to believe you."

The book The Fundamentals of Seon Magic That Even a Monkey Can Learn slammed shut on its own. The amount of information it could convey at once was limited. If it were a smartphone, it would be like burning through all your data and losing service.

......

The only constellation who could observe me from outside the Tower. Sun Wukong sent a barrage of sponsor messages filled with frustration. This guy was noisy. I wanted to block him, but I endured it because of our Clairvoyance contract.

"Now that I think about it, he isn't my only constellation."

"No, this guy."

I lightly shook ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the back of my hand. Embedded in it was a purple mineral—the Shining Trapezohedron, a holy relic of the Outer God Yog-Sothoth. It was the large lump I had brought back from Dream Land, one of the Ten Great Demonic Realms that had appeared in Russian territory. As expected of a holy relic, the jewel contained Yog-Sothoth's essence.

I didn't even dare to devour the Shining Trapezohedron.

Nyx approved of my judgment. The power contained within that jewel surpassed imagination. It was on a completely different level from the essences of Grand Duke Neshan or the Crawling One. Yog-Sothoth was an existence equal to those called "God-Kings" in the Pantheon. No, perhaps even greater.

It was similar in concept to the Lightning Stone Zeus had given me as a mission reward, but the power it held was far greater.

"I'll have to deal with this someday too."

Beyond the veil of mist, I could feel a vast presence. The Outer God watched me silently, revealing no particular intent. I found the Outer Gods somewhat unsettling compared to the others. Their specialty was "corruption"—polluting the mind and eventually assimilating the victim.

"I know."

For the time being, I planned to completely forget about anything related to the Shining Trapezohedron. For about a month, I focused on closing the Gates that had opened across Korea and the rest of East Asia. I had grown somewhat accustomed to my body, which had transformed into that of an ancient dragon, and my coordination with Seon techniques had become more natural. I also made sure to spar regularly with my guild members.

"Thanks to Master's guidance, the training results have improved dramatically."

Thomas smiled brightly. In contrast, the other guild members lay sprawled on the floor with deathly pale faces.

"Y-you demon..."

"Huff... huff..."

Even Karla, who was obsessed with sparring, had reached her limit with this schedule.

"Mr. Yu, can I sit this one out?"

"Weren't you the one begging me to train you?"

Nope. No escaping it. I pushed the Golden Circle team until they were on the verge of death too. If they couldn't endure just one more set when it would make them that much stronger, then they didn't deserve it.

While I spent my days steadily building my foundation like this, an invitation arrived from the Black Network.

So they were the ones to reach out first. It smelled fishy.