The Monarch's Blue Flame
The 64th floor reward is the Blue Flame Ring.
◈ A sacred flame that burns away all that is corrupt.
◈ Interferes with any spell or ritual targeting the wearer. Can also release blue flames to incinerate malevolent energy.
◈ Status Ailment Resistance Lv 73
◈ Contains Blue Flame skill
Blue Flame
★★★★ Active
Clears all status ailments on a designated target.
Cooldown: 60 minutes.
Krr.
How long has it been since I last saw a Legend-grade artifact?
Have you already forgotten the Forbidden Fruit?
“That was a holy relic.”
A rather shabby excuse.
She really knows how to hit where it hurts.
Still, the artifact’s performance was outstanding.
It boosted resistance against every kind of status ailment and even let me unleash blue flames that could purge debuffs once per hour.
A ring containing the legendary cheat skill Mana Absorb—it was an artifact that could rival even the Mouth of Gluttony.
You rate it quite highly.
“Why do you think it’s overrated?”
Because you have rarely suffered from status ailments, partner.
Sharp as always.
I mostly resisted mental debuffs with Iron Blood, and poison spells could be handled to some extent by the Primordial Dragon Heart.
For external effects like burns or frostbite, I used to rely on the Metal Reflection Gauntlets. Now I had the ultimate defensive essence, True Dragon Armor.
“I can use it on others too.”
Indeed. There are no usage restrictions.
Once every sixty minutes. The cooldown wasn’t even that bad.
With no limitations on who could use it, this truly deserved its Legend rating.
To think they’d give me something on par with the 60th floor’s top reward right here in the tutorial.
Lord Baal, my eternal loyalty.
The Lord of the Polluted Throne scoffs.
The God of War from Olympus watches you with nervous eyes.
The heavenly gods are displeased.
The One Seated on the Throne observes you.
…….
***
Even Metatron has become one of my subscribers now?
Living a popular life sure is exhausting.
I slipped the Blue Flame Ring onto my finger and challenged the next floor.
* * *
The 65th floor trial was spirit herding.
I had to gather as many scattered spirits across the field as possible and send them to a designated location.
Red and blue.
Seeing the symmetrical colors of the spirits, didn’t it immediately click?
Another team battle, it seems.
“The 60s are full of competitive trials.”
Why is that?
“Competition and elimination.”
The higher your RP, the better the rewards. And better rewards let you grow even stronger—a virtuous cycle.
“Dimensions like Earth, with low average RP, only end up at a disadvantage.”
Once the erosion rate hit forty percent, inter-dimensional competition would begin.
The so-called Second Great Erosion.
Dimensions would compete periodically. Losers would suffer erosion across their worlds.
As the monsters’ territory expanded, the Tower would eventually launch a direct invasion—the Third Great Erosion.
So the winner takes all.
“It’s vicious.”
The Tower hid all of this and lured players in by emphasizing only the rewards.
Even players with under a thousand RP received far better rewards for completing missions than Platinum rankers.
“Anyway, enough chatter.”
Time to focus on the trial before us.
This was another five-versus-five team match.
Five steps away stood the opposing team.
A mixed group of elf, troll, orc, dwarf, and naga.
Matching against me meant they had to be quite skilled.
Aren’t you a little too confident?
“I’m just stating facts?”
Wariness flickered in the opponents’ eyes.
“So that’s the human from Earth everyone’s talking about.”
“His RP is in the two thousands?”
“I heard he beat a dragonkin in the promotion match.”
“Damn it. Pointy-ears, let’s cooperate this once.”
“I hate joining forces with a shortstack, but I suppose there’s no choice this time.”
A rare sight—an elf and dwarf sincerely cooperating.
All it took was sacrificing me to achieve racial harmony.
From now on, call me the incarnation of humanitarian love.
I believe you should receive a mental examination.
“You really know how to hurt someone’s feelings.”
Just like the 64th floor, this trial didn’t allow us to touch the opposing players.
However—
Allied and enemy spirits may be attacked.
So interference is allowed.
“Exactly.”
Sorry to the friends who had torn down the walls between species to achieve grand unity, but my side was a multi-racial alliance too.
Void Projection
Lexy, the primordial species, burst out from the shadows.
Ark and Nidhogg were also summoned past the dimensional wall into the Tower.
“Kill only the red spirits.”
“KAAAOOOH!”
As Master wishes.
It’s annoying, but I suppose it can’t be helped.
The three subordinates expressed their motivation in their own ways.
“Don’t touch the blue ones.”
What a bothersome order. Can’t I just sweep them all away?
“Our Nidhogg simply lacks the ability. Nothing to be done. Do as you please.”
Nidhogg’s blue eyes blazed furiously.
Kraaah! Even if it is Master, I cannot tolerate doubt toward the power of the great dragon race!
“Hey, it’s fine. Everyone has things they can’t do.”
Just watch. I shall show you the power of dragonkind!
Filled with burning motivation, Nidhogg charged toward the spirits with an expression of pure joy.
Nyx shook her head from side to side.
Truly, what a pitiful subordinate.
Without me even giving separate orders, my team members gathered in front of me.
“What should we do?”
“Go get some popcorn.”
Ever since I reached Diamond, it felt like I was running a bus service more often than not.
The rewards were determined by RP, so I didn’t feel guilty about it.
Crunch. Crack.
I activated Dragon Form and transformed into a dragonian.
Standing in the middle of the plain where the spirits were mixed together, I took a deep breath.
“KRRRRAAAAAHHH!”
Dragon Fear
Releasing killing intent wasn’t a skill.
It was a basic technique of mixing mana with one’s will and emitting it.
However—
The killing intent released by dragonkind was different.
It was an intense technique that constricted the soul and froze the body with overwhelming malevolence.
The spirits trembled violently before the killing intent of the apex predator.
Wooooong—
Spirits fleeing in the opposite direction.
I finely adjusted the angle of the Dragon Fear emission to drive them toward the target location.
“A dragonian?!”
“You think we’re just going to sit here and suck our thumbs?”
“Kuhook. We can’t lose like this.”
The racial alliance(?) also began interfering with their own abilities.
***
Would it go as planned?
“KYAAAAAOOOH!”
Lexy roared loudly, blocking the path between the spirits and the enemy team.
While we couldn’t deal physical damage to each other, terrain was a different story.
When she stomped the ground with all her might, a shockwave on the level of Earthquake swept over the opposing team.
Even without damage, the shaking made it difficult for them to regain their balance.
Primitive destructive power. As expected of Master’s subordinate.
Multi Spell
Bone Wall x 15
Spirit Bomb x 73
Bones rising from the cracked earth entwined with one another, forming a solid wall.
The specters selectively targeted only the blue spirits, colliding with them and exploding on impact.
“Such powerful necromancy in a place without bones.”
Not bad at all.
He had grown even stronger after gaining an independent ego.
Beyond the noticeable increase in specs, his skill deployment timing and senses had advanced significantly.
Nidhogg also growled lowly.
I shall show you what true power is.
A massive magic circle formed in the sky.
Countless purple runes spun round and round.
A twisted miracle created from the concept of an inverted world manifested, spewing countless beams of light toward the ground.
Dark Magic
Death Satellite Beam
Precision and destructive power.
A powerful spell that lacked nothing in either category.
“So this is what he can do when given enough time.”
Nidhogg’s original form—the Eldritch Dragon—was incomplete, so he hadn’t been able to use proper spells before.
Not that I had given him the chance anyway.
But the Nidhogg manifested through the devoured essence was different from his previous life(?). He could now display his full power without restraint.
To think my three subordinates alone could handle both hunting the spirits and interfering with the enemy team.
“All I have to do is make sure our spirits get home safely.”
I continued emitting Dragon Fear, herding the group of blue spirits so they wouldn’t stray.
Easier said than done.
I had to mix mana with killing intent and radiate it—something invisible and intangible.
For all your grumbling, you’re doing quite well.
“It’s only possible because I’m in Dragon Form.”
Come to think of it.
I had one more ability that could harm others with pure malice.
The ultimate technique created through Fusion Qigong.
Mind Sword.
The skill itself had no issues, but I had been saving it as a trump card because of my own lacking proficiency as the user.
If I applied Mind Sword to Dragon Fear, what kind of result would it produce?
***
A sudden idea.
I wanted to test it immediately, but using an incomplete Mind Sword would definitely make me faint, so I had to hold back.
After the trial, I should secure a gate or something to test it.
It was definitely worth experimenting with.
You are in the middle of a trial right now.
“The gap in our levels is just too big.”
Even though the matching was supposedly based on RP.
My strength had already surpassed the Diamond rank.
After obtaining Black Wisdom, the subordinates I created with Void Projection had also taken a step forward.
It was unfortunate for the opponents, but what could I do?
All spirits have been moved to the designated location.
Your team has achieved victory.
Rewards will be determined according to each player’s RP.
◈ A sphere that amplifies the energy of nature.
◈ Can facilitate spirit contracts. Users who have already formed a bond with a spirit can amplify natural energy.
◈ Sympathy Lv 72
◈ 27% reduced mana consumption when summoning spirits.
◈ Contains Spirit Contract skill.
Spirit Contract
★★★★★ Active
Locates and facilitates a contract with a spirit that matches the user’s wavelength.
Using this skill will destroy the Spirit Orb.
The top reward for the 65th floor was the Spirit Orb.
Once again, I had obtained a good artifact.
You’re evaluating it favorably.
“An Epic-grade artifact? Of course I should be grateful.”
I fiddled with the translucent crystal orb as I replied.
I wonder which spirit would suit you best.
“I’m not going to make a contract.”
Crack.
My fingers shattered the surface of the Spirit Orb and dug inside.
Partner!
“I already tried it before. We don’t match.”
Spirits valued harmony above all else.
It meant they were incompatible with someone like me, who had piled up all sorts of abilities through Devour.
Even if I used the artifact, I wouldn’t get a high-ranking spirit.
“Who would want a low-grade spirit?”
Even so, was it necessary to destroy it?
“I have a use for it.”
The enormous natural energy contained within the orb was not treated as an ‘essence’.
***
If it had been judged as an essence, I would have simply devoured it instead of putting on this little show.
There was another place I wanted to use this energy.
Eternal Flame recognizes pure natural energy.
The primordial flame I obtained from the Land of Fire blazed up.
The natural energy absorbed into my body through my fingers touched the flames and was burned away.
The energy being refined in the combustion process.
I immediately sat down, planted my rear on the ground, and began operating the Asura Demon Spirit Heart Method.
I guided the pure energy toward my dantian.
Grasping it with the internal energy already settled there, I melted it down.
Pure energy assimilates with your internal energy.
Inner Power: 709 → 735 → 1,292
Huuuuh.
I let out a long breath.
The taste of the internal energy filling my dantian.
Satisfying.
Don’t you have the ability of the True Cintamani?
Nyx glanced at the shattered Spirit Orb with a somewhat regretful look.
“Increasing the total amount is also important.”
Even if the True Cintamani converted mana, spirit energy, and internal power,
both the conversion speed and the storage capacity of the Cintamani were affected by my inner power.
A stat that was difficult to obtain through Devour.
Even consuming an Epic-grade elixir probably wouldn’t raise it by five hundred.
“Uhehehehehe!”
A satisfied laugh echoed loudly across the 65th floor.