Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Chaos on the 100th Floor
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“Tsk.”
Terry Prisoners, who had charged at the herd of magic beasts to boost his contribution points only to end up as a chew toy bone.
Hae-jin clicked his tongue as he watched the guy.
Hae-jin gave orders to Q and Kiyo.
“Q, Kiyo.”
[Kyung!]
[Kiyyo!]
Q and Kiyo responded to Hae-jin's call.
Hae-jin cast buffs on the two of them.
“Combat Orders, Hyperbody, Sharp Eyes, Meditation, Wind Booster, Combo Barrier, Magic Shield, Magic Resistance, Full Aura, Haste, Strength, Holy Symbol, Striking, Bless, Holy Enchant, Divine Enchant, Fire Enchant, Flame Enchant, Clearsense….”
And so on.
After layering various buff sets on Q and Kiyo, Hae-jin said,
“Kids, go save that guy.”
[Kyung!]
[Kiyo!]
Following Hae-jin's instructions, Q and Kiyo moved to rescue Terry Prisoners, who had become a bone chew toy for the magic beasts.
Perhaps because they had grown and received full buffs from Hae-jin, the two handled the magic beasts vigorously, unlike the pathetic Terry Prisoners.
Seeing this, Terry Prisoners said,
[Me... I’m weaker than those mere worms and sparrows...?]
It seemed his own weakness was a huge shock.
So shocked that even after Q and Kiyo rescued him, Terry Prisoners lay there with his bones scattered everywhere, his skull alone on the ground as he muttered,
[I’m weaker than those worm and sparrow brats!!!]
Who was he, after all?
Though he had been obliterated once by Hae-jin, he was a being who had survived the hellish slaughter among monsters, becoming the Lich King and resurrecting.
Yet now, he was inferior even to monsters the size of his own skull, Q and Kiyo.
A profound sense of defeat washed over Terry Prisoners.
But there was nothing to be done.
He hadn’t grown alongside Hae-jin like Q and Kiyo had.
To such a Terry Prisoners, Hae-jin said,
“For now, since we’ve saved you, restore your body to normal, Terry.”
Though he had named it ‘Dung,’ Hae-jin had promised to restore its original name once it reached Chaos Soldier rank, so he called Terry Prisoners by his real name.
As he issued the command while using his real name, Terry Prisoners, who had been dazedly watching Q and Kiyo fight the magic beasts, let out a groan and restored his body.
[Urgh.]
The bones that had escaped the magic beasts’ jaws gathered around Terry Prisoners’ neck.
Soon, having returned to his original form, Terry Prisoners said,
“Me too... please buff me as well, Master.”
He figured that even if he couldn’t fight like Q and Kiyo, who had grown somewhat, receiving buffs from Hae-jin might allow him some combat ability.
However, at Terry Prisoners’ words, Hae-jin shook his head and cast the full buff set he had used on Q and Kiyo.
“Combat Orders, Hyperbody, Sharp Eyes, Meditation, Wind Booster, Combo Barrier, Magic Shield, Magic Resistance, Full Aura, Haste, Strength, Holy Symbol, Striking, Bless, Holy Enchant, Divine Enchant, Fire Enchant, Flame Enchant, Clearsense….”
And so on.
As Hae-jin’s full buffs poured in, Terry Prisoners freaked out.
“U... Uwaaaak!”
He had begged for buffs, and now that they were applied, Terry Prisoners was screaming in terror.
Hae-jin frowned at the cry.
“What’s wrong?”
“No, Master! Is there anyone in the world who buffs undead with holy power?! It actually makes us weaker!”
“It doesn’t weaken you.”
“Yes?”
“You’re no longer undead but a Chaos Soldier, so holy power won’t weaken you.”
“Hmm?”
Terry Prisoners tilted his head at Hae-jin’s words.
He scanned his own energy.
And after checking, he realized.
“Th... this is...?!”
Just as Hae-jin said, he, who had once been the Lich King, felt not weakened by the holy power buffs but stronger.
To the astonished Terry Prisoners, Hae-jin said,
“I told you, didn’t I? As a Chaos Soldier, holy power won’t weaken you. Now go hunt magic beasts with Q and Kiyo.”
“Understood! Haha! Prepare to die, you beasts!”
Empowered by Hae-jin’s buffs, Terry Prisoners excitedly charged toward the magic beasts Q and Kiyo were facing.
Joining Q and Kiyo, Terry Prisoners gleefully unleashed spells.
“I’ll kill you all, you damn mutts! Dark Spear!”
Shushushushwing-!
Terry Prisoners spam-cast Dark Spear, a blade-like spell made of dark magic power.
And Terry Prisoners could see.
[Ooh?!]
He was shocked by his own Dark Spears.
It was inevitable.
He had originally been a lich, then Lich King, and now a Chaos Soldier with no penalty from holy power buffs.
So even though it was dark magic, holy power now enveloped all his spells.
Dark magic power and holy power were inherently opposing forces, so combining them would normally interfere with each other.
But the buffs based on the holy power Hae-jin had cast actually amplified the power of his dark magic, Dark Spear.
Hae-jin smirked at Terry Prisoners’ shocked reaction.
‘This is the power of “Chaos.”’
Chaos.
It meant disorder without rules, impossible to grasp, or that state itself.
To some, it might seem like a chaotic mess without substance.
But fundamentally, Chaos was the origin of power that could merge even energies that should cancel each other out.
Terry Prisoners, buffed with holy power, fired all the Dark Spears he had just cast at the magic beasts.
Shushushushuuung-!
The Dark Spears, cloaked in holy power, sliced through the air toward the magic beasts.
The magic beasts Q and Kiyo were hunting were pierced and dropped dead one by one.
[Chaos Legion! 'Dung''s level has risen!]
[Chaos Legion! 'Dung''s level has risen!]
[Chaos Legion! 'Dung''s level has risen!]
[Chaos Legion! 'Dung''s level has risen!]
….
“Hmm.”
Hae-jin let out a groan as he watched the system windows popping up nonstop before his eyes.
He had named it ‘Dung’ because its actions were so shitty, but seeing the system spam ‘Dung’ nonstop soured his mood.
‘I need to grow it quickly and change the name.’
With that, Hae-jin continued climbing the Trials’ Tower with Q, Kiyo, and finally Terry Prisoners, who had joined them.
*
“99th floor... So the last floor now?”
After clearing up to the 99th floor with the kids, only the final 100th floor remained.
The 100th floor of the Trials’ Tower, which no one had ever entered.
Even Leader Joo-hyuk had no experience there.
But upon entering the 100th floor...
“What, why are you here?”
Hae-jin reacted as if he’d run into a familiar someone.
The reason for his reaction was simple.
Unlike all the previous floors, the 100th floor of the Trials’ Tower was a rooftop.
A rooftop where one could see the black sky stretching out.
A black sphere floated there, backed by that sky.
The black sphere opened golden eyes with cat-like pupils.
It was none other than ‘Chaos,’ whom he had faced at the top of the Tower of Job Change.
However, Chaos was the one startled by Hae-jin.
[What, you climbed all the way here?]
“That’s why I’m facing you now.”
Hae-jin stated the obvious.
Chaos responded,
[Hah, but I have nothing more to give you?]
Given Chaos’s presence, this was likely the final floor of the Trials’ Tower.
If so, there should be some reward, but Chaos said there was none for Hae-jin.
Hae-jin had thought of a reward the moment he saw Chaos.
“Why not? Just double my stats again.”
Last time at the Tower of Job Change, upon meeting Chaos, since Hae-jin was already classed as Lord of Chaos, it had doubled his stats.
So he suggested the same now.
But Chaos said it was impossible.
[I already did that once, so no more.]
“Yeah?”
[Yeah.]
Chaos acted as if there was truly no reward for Hae-jin.
Hae-jin shrugged at the response.
“Then I climbed here for nothing?”
It wasn’t for nothing, really.
He had gained Q, Kiyo, and Terry Prisoners.
Moreover, monsters on each floor had dropped plenty of items.
He hadn’t sorted them yet, but by climbing to the 100th floor of the Trials’ Tower, he had already obtained rewards on par with the late stages of the Trials’ Arena.
It was only natural, having reached a height even Regressor Joo-hyuk couldn’t ascend.
Still, facing Chaos with no reward left him feeling a bit disappointed.
Seeing Hae-jin’s disappointment, Chaos said,
[Still, you’re to become my ‘Lord,’ so I must give some reward.]
“Lord?”
Hae-jin tilted his head at Chaos suddenly calling him ‘Lord.’
Chaos put on airs.
[No need to know the details yet, so just take the reward, my Lord.]
“You call me Lord but won’t tell me?”
[Because you’re not fully my Lord yet.]
“Yeah?”
[Yeah.]
“Whatever. So what’s the reward?”
Joo-hyuk had said Chaos had a quirky personality.
Recalling that, Hae-jin knew pressing about the Lord business wouldn’t yield answers now.
‘Talking more would just waste time.’
Thinking that, Hae-jin decided to take whatever was available.
“So what’s the reward?”
[I can’t give a reward to the Lord himself, but those kids are different.]
It was clear he meant giving rewards to the kids, not Hae-jin.
So Hae-jin pointed his thumb at Terry Prisoners.
Q and Kiyo had originally sat on Hae-jin’s shoulders, but now both were perched on Terry Prisoners’ shoulders.
“Those guys?”
[Exactly.]
“How can you reward them?”
[I see the skeleton is already a Chaos Soldier, and the other two are pets. I can turn all three into Chaos Soldiers and upgrade them from regular soldiers to elite soldiers.]
“Yeah?”
[Yeah.]
Chaos said he could make all three Chaos Soldiers and raise their rank from regular to elite.
One might wonder if it was okay to turn divine beasts Q and Kiyo into Chaos Soldiers.
Since it would change their attributes.
But Hae-jin knew better.
He had seen monsters turned into Chaos Soldiers through Joo-hyuk before.
‘They get even stronger.’
A prime example was Terry Prisoners, just acquired.
As undead, he couldn’t have grown stronger from holy power, but now he could.
That was the essence of a Chaos Soldier.
Hearing Chaos’s reward, Hae-jin said,
“Fine, I’ll take that reward.”