The Monarch Who Levels Up by Devouring - Episode 382: The Fog of R'lyeh
The fog that had appeared centered on the coordinates where R'lyeh was buried.
The evidence was clear.
Even in my previous life, when the cultists who worshipped the Outer Gods had risen to power, the exact same phenomenon had occurred.
Though the timing was a bit different this time.
When I asked Ellen, who had been involved during the first round, she said with a look of pure disgust,
The country that suffered the most damage from the cultists' activities was the United States.
California, Oregon, and Washington State.
Especially Washington State, where the public sentiment was already unstable due to the aftermath of the 'Land of Fire,' one of the Seven Great Demon Realms.
It was the perfect environment for followers of the Outer Gods to infiltrate.
America's strongest player, Ellen, had slaughtered every last one of the corrupted individuals who had accepted the power of the Void.
With the help of the Vatican, she had even used Revelation to determine that R'lyeh was the mastermind behind it all.
—Then you must know quite a bit about the related information.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
Ellen hadn't explained exactly how R'lyeh influenced people.
Nor had she told me how she had prevented the followers of the Outer Gods from appearing.
Apparently the memory of going to R'lyeh had been too horrific.
At the time, all the members of the Golden Circle team had been stuck around the 70th floor.
So even at Master rank, it should be considered a clearable challenge.
—With your and your subordinates' strength, it should be manageable.
"Hmm. About that..."
I scratched my cheek with my index finger.
Ellen Taylor and the Golden Circle team had been the undisputed strongest in the first round.
Even they had struggled quite a bit when attempting it at Master rank.
Even if I brought along the subordinates created through Void Projection, it might still be a little difficult.
—This has become rather troublesome.
"There's a saying in my country."
Shared pain is half the pain.
Shared joy is double the joy.
How wonderful is it to have people who will help carry the heavy burden on my shoulders?
With that in mind,
I gathered the founding members of the Yeokcheon Guild in one place.
"Let's go clear a gate together."
An unknown world untouched by human hands.
A gate that had appeared above the ocean!
Being the first to set foot in an unexplored realm was such a monumental achievement that it would be remembered as an eternal honor for one's family...
"Even if you spout all that nonsense, I'm not going to the sea."
It didn't work.
I thought it would.
The heart-pounding R'lyeh raid team assembly!
I pretended not to see Jiyoung, who had rejected me outright, and turned my gaze to Ping Lei.
"Are you scared too?"
"This one is a warrior of the Middle Kingdom who knows no fear."
"Ooooh. So you'll come with me."
"One must distinguish between recklessness and courage."
Aish, damn it.
"So you were that much of a coward?"
"A long tongue breeds lies. Do you know who said that?"
"Beats me."
"It was a piece of golden advice given by Master."
Good grief.
This guy had actually learned something!
I thought if I just scratched his pride a little, he'd jump out like a spring!
Is this what it feels like to have no one you can trust?
When I looked at Hyung-nim with desperate eyes, he subtly turned his head away.
"Enrique."
"Ahem. Hm. I'm busy. Uncle."
"Carla?"
"Seafood. Hate it."
Wow.
Not a single one of the five agreed!
I really raised tiger cubs!
"Aren't you going to ask Mugeuk or Yellow Storm?"
"Because I trust the founding guild members the most."
Jiyoung made a face like she was about to explode.
Maybe this would work.
"Don't fall for it. He's just saying sweet things to make us work."
"Yeah. That makes sense. Since the road ahead is full of suffering, he probably picked only the easy-to-exploit guild members."
Half of that was true.
Mugeuk and Yellow Storm had been recruited as fully formed teams.
Teams already optimized for a five-man system.
Moreover, the skills of the members excluding Shin Junseok and Hong Yunsu were noticeably behind those of the founding members, who were basically a dream team.
That's why I'd gathered the founding members, but...
—Haha. It doesn't seem to be going as planned.
I know, right.
What should I do?
"Pfft. It's my first time seeing Master look flustered."
"We finally got one over on him."
"......?"
What did I get?
"I thought Master was calling because he needed our strength."
"We coordinated our stories. Said we'd go on strike."
"Uncle really is human. I didn't think you'd make such a serious face."
Huh.
When I looked at Hyung-nim, he smiled awkwardly.
"Sorry. They all begged me so earnestly that I couldn't refuse."
Hyung-nim, even you!
The four of them I could understand.
But Carla, you don't have a hobby of tormenting people, do you?
"Seafood. Really hate it."
Yes. Yes.
***
During guild dinners, I'll avoid seafood as much as possible.
"So everyone agrees to form the team, right?"
"Our poor Master has no one else to help him, so what can we do?"
"Haha. A warrior of the Middle Kingdom does not forget a favor."
"If Uncle asks so earnestly, there's no helping it."
"I'll help as much as I can."
"After we come back, dinner. Meat."
After many twists and turns(?), the R'lyeh raid team was formed.
I wasn't sure if I was leading guild members or serving superiors, but at least the first step toward resolving the abnormal phenomenon had been taken.
"But how are we going to land on the sea?"
"What landing?"
The only time a plane lands in the middle of the ocean is an emergency landing.
And even that was being generous.
If we came down in the middle of the Pacific, retrieval would be impossible.
Going by the ship William lent us would take too long.
"Then how are we going?"
"There's a way."
Hehehehehe.
The journey there would be quite comfortable.
* * *
"Kyaaaaaaaaaah!"
A woman's scream echoed.
The source was right behind us, yet it sounded as if it were coming from far away.
"Ughhhhhh."
Next to me, Ping Lei let out a low groan.
His hair whipped wildly in the strong wind, half-obscuring his vision, but he was desperately trying to keep his eyes open.
"How's the training going?"
"D-d-d-dying......"
"Don't worry. You won't die."
"Dying...... o...... u...... t......"
"I can't hear the rest."
Altitude: 40,000 feet.
In meters, that was 12,000.
We were flying above the clouds.
Thin air, low temperatures, and the fierce winds generated by flying at Mach 3.0.
The guild members had to endure this triple threat with their bodies.
"Hmph. It's nothing special."
Enrique had deployed defensive barriers with his magic armaments and was protecting himself without much difficulty.
"......"
Carla was also distorting a portion of space to shield herself from the wind.
"Master. I applied what you taught me."
When I looked at her with questioning eyes, she gave me the answer.
Among the group, the one with the lowest endurance was Carla.
I'd thought she'd have the hardest time, but I never imagined she'd show the results of her training like this.
The next one who would suffer the most was...
"Uwaaaaah!"
Jiyoung.
***
Vibration Barrier was an activation method that fixed itself to specific coordinates.
Even if you put up a barrier in front of you, it wouldn't follow if you moved.
You'd be lucky if you didn't smack your head into the barrier instead.
By applying Athena's blessing, she could layer multiple barriers on her arms and fix them in place.
But covering her entire body was impossible.
Every time the strong wind brushed against her clothes, she trembled.
The difference wasn't that big for Ping Lei either.
His physical abilities were overwhelmingly high, so he wasn't shaking violently.
Even so,
he was still struggling against the headwind.
"Huuuuh. Activating Seon Magic is......!"
"Use your defensive energy."
"Using Seon energy to do it is much harder!"
Ping Lei's internal energy had been converted into Seon energy under Sun Wukong's guidance.
Not like me, who used the Yeouiju as a medium to handle it irregularly.
He had formally learned it, tasted the higher realms, and his stats had changed accordingly.
Whether that was a good thing or not,
Seon energy was a higher concept than internal energy, so it was that much more difficult to control.
It was also why Ping Lei still couldn't manifest his energy as steel-like force.
Even though he could devour Diamond ranks just by releasing energy through Seon Magic and his staff,
in terms of pure martial prowess, it was a slight downgrade.
He couldn't protect his body with Seon Magic,
and manifesting defensive energy was still far off, so he had to face the wind head-on.
"If I hadn't received the new doll, I would've suffered badly."
Finally, Hyung-nim was flying relatively comfortably by putting a defensive-type doll in front.
—Couldn't you just wrap them in Polar Night?
"This is all training."
Concentrating one's mind and exerting power in extreme environments.
Because it's difficult, it holds greater value.
If they fought against their limits in a different sense from PT training,
their understanding of their abilities would rise whether they wanted it or not.
Absolutely.
This was not revenge for them conspiring to mess with me.
—It looks exactly like it, though?
Shh.
I can't let the sharp-eyed goddess catch on.
"Maaaaaaaasteeeeeeeeeeeeer!"
"Whoa. The sound is coming in surround sound."
"When are we getting theeeeeere!"
"We're almost there. Just hold on a little longer."
—Didn't you say we were only halfway to the destination......
"Shhhhhh."
When someone asks how much farther to the summit, it's common sense to say "just a little more."
If you tell them they still have a long way to go, their spirit breaks and they give up.
Let's follow the warm consideration of mountain climbers.
About five hours after we began flying on the Bone Drake,
I used Darkness Domination.
I wrapped the Bone Drake's back in Polar Night.
***
"Hek, hek. I thought I was going to die."
"But you didn't die, right?"
"Master. Could you please die for us?"
"If you raise your skills and try to assassinate me, I'll let you have one hit."
"As if you'd actually let me."
"I'll take one hit."
"You better keep that promise."
Grind.
At this rate, his jaw or teeth were going to break.
Ping Lei looked just as haggard.
"We'll arrive at the destination in one hour."
"That was quick."
"Everyone, manage your condition. I'll take care of your depleted stamina."
Heal
Wooooong!
The white light that bloomed from my palm seeped into Jiyoung.
"Huh? I received a heal, but why do I feel energized?"
"Mine's special, that's why."
The basic healing spell, Heal.
It had now become a skill infused with Holy Power.
Healing skills could be activated with mana, but their original origin was divine magic.
When I converted mana into Holy Power using the Heart of the Origin and cast the healing spell?
Ta-da!
It gained the additional effect of restoring vitality.
"There's almost nothing our Master can't do."
"What do you mean by 'almost'? That's a vague expression."
"Like dating?"
Aish, damn it.
"Jiyoung must be less tired."
"What are you talking about? The cold wind made my whole body ache!"
"Our guild master who can't do much is giving out healing now."
"Ah, come ooooon!"
If it weren't for the R'lyeh raid, there wouldn't have been any healing or anything else.
After raising the guild members' conditions to their peak with healing spells,
I mentioned a few simple precautions.
"The moment you see the fog, pull yourself together immediately."
The hazy smoke captured by the satellite.
The thick fog blocked vision and clouded the mind.
The reason fighting enemies from the Outer God faction was so difficult was precisely because of 'mental corruption.'
Just looking at them could steal a person's soul.
"Hyung-nim, please activate your command ability as well."
"Understood."
Legion Command came with a 'morale correction' effect.
Fighting spirit equals mental strength.
It granted a slight boost in resistance against mental corruption.
I checked the coordinates.
We weren't far from the destination now.
"Master! There's the fog over there!"
***
"Everyone, stay sharp."
The moment the Bone Drake charged straight into the fog,
[Madness Lv 15]
[Confusion Lv 7]
A message flickered in my ear.
It was just beginning.
I pressed my upper teeth firmly against my lip and sharpened my mind.