The Monarch Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 374: Angel's Tear
The system message flashed before my eyes.
Enhanced reward acquired: Angel's Tear.
Oh?
Angel's Tear?
Wow. I never imagined I'd get my hands on this elixir all the way back on the 69th floor.
–What has you so startled?
“It's a potion that lets you wield holy power.”
Holy power.
It's the force used by a small number of support-class players. The very foundation of angels, standing in direct opposition to dark mana.
“It's mainly used for holy spells and blessings.”
Since I'd never encountered any angel-type monsters before, even if I gained holy power now, it wouldn't be all that useful right away.
But.
Once I reached the upper floors of the Tower, monsters with angelic properties would start appearing. To make proper use of their abilities, I'd need holy power.
–Now that I think about it, aside from those fallen angel creatures, I have never seen one.
“The angels of Angelus are way too arrogant for that.”
The monsters that appear in the Tower or the Gates fall into two categories.
Residents of destroyed worlds.
Or beings granted permission by the society of gods.
Well, there are irregulars like Outer Knights, but let's not count those.
–Hmm. Orcs and elves are active within the Tower, so why do they appear as monsters?
“It's like the World Tree Alliance—there are multiple dimensions involved.”
There are elf dimensions and orc dimensions that were destroyed after the Tower's invasion. The same goes for humanity.
Do you remember the “cyborg zombie” Gate we cleared during the early stages of the first Great Erosion?
The fusion of science and magic.
Among all the dimensions, Earth is the only one where engineering developed in such an unbalanced way.
Those horrific hybrid zombies were probably from a parallel Earth that had already been destroyed… or so I suspect.
But none of that really matters.
“The angels have always been a rather lofty bunch.”
They probably used their slight contribution to the construction of the Tower of Babel to pressure the others into giving angel-type monsters special treatment.
Both Angelus and Hell possess power that overwhelms the societies of ordinary gods.
A normal god society might have at most three God-King level constellations.
But in Angelus, all seven archangels are God-King class, and even among the next rank—the Cherubim—several angels possess power rivaling that of God-Kings.
And what about the dark realm, Gehenna, or what is called Hell?
The top-ranking demons among the 72 Demon Lords all possess God-King level combat strength.
Most importantly, the ones ruling at the very top of both worlds—Metatron and Baal—are said to be on par with conceptual gods above the God-King level.
The One Seated on the Throne says that a noble being cannot display such frivolous behavior.
The Lord of the Polluted Throne bursts into roaring laughter.
The One Seated on the Throne…
Agh.
***
I was trying to give a serious explanation. Why are you two interrupting me like this?
Don't fight in here, you two.
You're making my scalp burn!
If you keep fighting, I'll ban both of you from the channel.
–Is that even possible?
“There's nothing stopping me.”
By spending a bit of CP, I could block specific constellations or even all of them.
Of course, it's not something I'd normally do.
Being acknowledged by a constellation and gaining a sponsor is every player's dream, after all.
When I growled at them, the two constellations fell silent.
You two are my reward shuttles.
If you're going to fight, go have an all-out war somewhere else!
The One Seated on the Throne has withdrawn his anger and bids you to calm yourself.
The One Who Yawns Lazily adds that you need a trustworthy constellation.
The God of War from Olympus is furious.
The Evil of the Heavens clicks his tongue in disdain.
Belphegor, always looking for a gap in the market.
And Ares, not to be outdone, trying to make another sales pitch.
–Hmph! Stop drooling over my contractor!
Goddess, please stay out of this too.
Having too many fans can be exhausting.
* * *
After leaving the Tower, I checked the item I received as a reward.
◈ A jewel formed from the condensed energy of a high-ranking angel. Consuming it grants the ability to wield holy power.
“Hehehehehe!”
Lucky me!
In my previous life, I only obtained the Angel's Tear after reaching the 80th floor and becoming a Grand Master.
I've pulled that forward by several years.
Since I could now raise my holy power stat much faster, I'd be able to make active use of holy spells compared to my first round.
–You look quite pleased.
“Holy spells are excellent for buffs and removing debuffs.”
The abilities I'd gained through Devour were mostly geared toward offense.
I had regeneration, but it couldn't be applied to others.
Even now, aside from the basic spells Heal and Cure, I had no healing-related skills at all.
“Before my regression, I used it occasionally to remove debuffs.”
Especially when acting alone.
***
Even though the amount of holy power was tiny, it had been a great help.
But now that I'd obtained it so early, the range of ways I could use it would be much wider than in my previous life.
–But aren't you overreacting? You must have already known about it.
“The reward information isn't complete starting from the 60th floor.”
The final reward, enhanced by RP correction.
There had been almost no players on Earth who raised their RP that high.
Unless you were one of the six Monarchs, you couldn't even catch a whiff of the final reward.
The 60th floor section was especially lacking in information because it was the entry point for dimensional competition, making RP management extremely difficult.
“It's a floor where you have to learn by getting hit. There's no other way.”
Even the great Ellen had tasted bitter defeat in her promotion match.
After securing much higher-quality rewards on the 60th floor and finally completing the sponsor contract I'd been putting off, she was flying high again.
But it was still a section where data was bound to be scarce.
“Anyway, I'll consume it with gratitude.”
The moment I put the jewel, shaped like a teardrop, into my mouth, it melted smoothly and slid down my throat.
You have consumed Angel's Tear.
A new power awakens.
Stat – Holy Power has been added.
Heh. This is it. This is what I'm talking about.
As I smiled, feeling the warm energy settle in my heart—
The Giant Divine Dragon's Factor detects a fragment of divinity.
There is potential for conflict with existing power.
The Giant Divine Dragon's Factor wishes to merge with the fragment of divinity.
Depending on the user's will, this energy can either be excluded or absorbed.
Huh?
The sudden system message wiped the smile right off my face.
–If you choose to exclude it, you will lose the holy power.
“…I suppose so?”
Wait a second.
This didn't happen in my previous life.
Why is it suddenly throwing a hellish binary choice at me!
–Have the conditions not changed?
“I inherited the power of the Proto-Dragon in my previous life too, you know?”
–The divine factor composing your body is trying to reject the holy power.
“I don't have any divine factor or whatever.”
–Then what is that middle character in Giant Divine Dragon?
Ah.
Aaaaaagh!
–Recall the holy relic you devoured.
“You mean the Dragon God statue?”
–Demons are also part of the divine. Since it was added to the dragon factor, that power is calling out to divinity.
Nyx stared intently at my chest and muttered.
Could she see the flow of the Giant Divine Dragon's Factor?
As expected of a conceptual god, she was on a who— No. That's not what's important right now.
***
The Giant Divine Dragon's Factor and holy power are clashing.
If you postpone your choice, it will be automatically excluded.
Damn it. Fuck.
They call it a choice, but it's really just give up or eat it.
What the hell am I supposed to pick?
“Can't eat, but won't die.”
It's not like I'm going to kick the bucket over this.
The Primordial Dragon Heart accepts the new energy.
Thud!
My eyes shot wide open.
The tremendous shock made me think my heart had stopped.
The moment it tried to reject the holy power, the mana residing in my heart slammed into it like a siege weapon.
“Son of a bitch.”
System, you bastard.
If you're going to chatter on like that, shouldn't you at least handle the absorption properly?
It dragged the holy power in and then did nothing, causing it to clash with my existing mana.
If I left it alone, either my heart would explode or the holy power would vanish.
–Would you not die if you lost your heart?
“Probably?”
–You are remarkably calm while wagering your own life.
The Primordial Dragon Heart was a skill created from the fusion of countless essences.
It wasn't weak enough to burst from the energy contained in the Angel's Tear.
In that case, I might as well embrace the holy power.
I closed my eyes and turned my gaze inward.
A solid black barrier-like energy resided in my heart.
The white mass kept pounding against it, but the barrier didn't budge an inch.
On the contrary, the attacker was the one losing energy.
If left alone, it would clearly be extinguished.
Tsk.
An anomaly I had never experienced in my previous life.
I didn't like it, but I couldn't just throw away the precious elixir I'd finally obtained.
Let's give it a try.
The key wasn't to break the holy power, but to embrace it.
When I gained dark mana, I had assimilated the Dark Matter Core into my heart.
Holy power didn't have a core to serve as a focal point, but—
I recalled the sensation of devouring the essence of the Dark Matter Core.
There wasn't really a proper way to accept holy power anyway.
Somehow, I had a strong feeling that this would work.
I emptied a portion of the mana filling my heart.
Then guided the white light into that empty space.
The moment it slipped inside, I spread my mana wide to envelop it and held on so it couldn't escape.
Boom! Thud!
Hey, why are you throwing a tantrum in someone else's heart?
It was the first time I'd experienced anything like this in either life.
Don't worry.
I've been through ground battles, aerial battles, and even seafood pancakes.
***
Especially since I'd undergone bodily modifications as casually as eating meals, I had a “feel” for how to absorb it.
Every time the mana, spread thin and wide like a balloon, collided with the white sphere—
White ripples surged, shaking the black barrier.
Since I didn't want to lose the holy power gained from consuming the Angel's Tear, I matched the wavelength of the power at the moment of impact to minimize loss.
At the same time, I awakened the Giant Divine Dragon's Factor.
You were drooling over the holy power earlier, so go ahead and do as you please.
Thud. Thud.
Gradually, the white mass's movements slowed.
The Giant Divine Dragon's Factor residing in my magic circuits cautiously made contact with the pure white light.
Vrrrr—
A white sphere spinning fiercely, just like the Dark Matter Core.
The Primordial Dragon Heart accepts the holy power.
Primordial Dragon Heart has been strengthened into Origin Heart.
Holy Power stat has been integrated into Magic Power.
Magic Power + 341
You can now convert mana into holy power or dark mana.
Origin Heart?
What the hell is this now?
Primordial Dragon Heart = power of the beginning dragon.
By accepting holy power, had it advanced to the next realm?
When I finished my internal observation, the goddess was staring at me from right up close.
“Whoa! You scared me.”
–The fact that you’re swearing the moment you open your eyes suggests you’re fine.
Please make some noise next time.
What if I actually have a heart attack?
–A person with a dragon heart dying from cardiac arrest? What an amusing joke.
“It could happen, even if it’s unlikely.”
–Hmm. The energy seems to have stabilized quite well.
She was joking a second ago and suddenly switched to business talk.
“After accepting the holy power, it strengthened into the Origin Heart.”
–Origin, you say. It reminds me of the father who gave birth to me.
“If we’re talking about your father, then Chaos?”
–Correct.
That was what Nyx had said—she who had opened her eyes alongside the beginning of time.
The Giant Divine Dragon and a primordial being.
What kind of connection did they have?
The Giant Divine Dragon's Factor and the Origin Heart.
I mulled over the changed direction of my body’s evolution compared to my previous life.
Man.
I don’t have the slightest clue.
–Hehe. Do not think too deeply on it.
“I’m being serious here. Why are you cutting in?”
–The path you walk is not wrong.
Her tone was filled with certainty.
The worries that had been faintly shaking my heart vanished in an instant.
“Hmm, hm. If the goddess guarantees it, then I suppose I should believe you.”
–Of course. Who do you think I am?
***
“A slacker goddess.”
–Gah!
Why won’t you acknowledge it even when I speak the truth?