Chapter 162: Return
[Apology]
I apologize, I accidentally uploaded this chapter on the same day as the previous one.
I’m sorry to those who saw it then, but please wait about four more days for the next chapter.
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The hole led back to the great cavern directly beneath the Etha Kingdom. It was the place where I fought the Earth Serpent.
It had only been a few days since that battle, but the place had changed considerably.
“Alright, keep carrying them out!”
“Wait, the stairs are full!”
“A new collection point has been set up in the second section that’s been mined, let’s put them there for now.”
Many people were bustling about in the great cavern.
Near the entrance, Mana Crystals created by the Koushou were being mined, and there were many strongmen and those operating Pseudo-Golem Machines for transport.
However, we were heading deeper than that.
The ones there were the sages and other scholars of the Etha Kingdom.
“You have successfully defeated the King Beast, Kouya. I’m glad it wasn’t a malfunction or misreading of the observation device,”
The sage spoke to me, representing the scholars who were diligently engaged in various experiments and artifact creation.
Or rather, everyone except the sage wasn’t even looking at us. They seemed to be concentrating, which was a good thing.
『I see. So, the death of the King Beast could be observed here as well?』
“Yes, there was a clear reaction.”
The reason Paula appeared at the right time was because she learned of the “Polar King’s” death through a certain artifact.
That artifact was the same communication device we used to communicate with the gods.
The Star God was focused on recovery, so we couldn’t communicate like before, but it could be used for its original purpose of obtaining information from the flow of the star’s Mana.
In particular, the King Beast, which wielded a vast and powerful Zone Control, had a significant impact on the world, and its disappearance could be reliably observed.
『So, what day is it now?』
“It is just past noon on the fourth day. It can be said to be an exceptionally excellent result.”
『I see…』
We challenged the Great Demon Realm in the early hours of the second day. Since we conquered it in about two and a half days, our time for conquering the Great Demon Realm would probably be a world record…
『We won’t make it.』
The X-day for the Chaos landing is the seventh day.
Even if we can shorten the time by ignoring the Calamity Beasts from now on, the travel distance is still quite long.
No matter how I look at it, it’s difficult to defeat four more King Beasts and reach max Level in the remaining three days.
“There’s no point in thinking about the impossible. Let’s focus on what’s in front of us first. Is Evolution possible?”
『Ah, yeah. There was only one candidate for King Beast though.』
~Evolution Path~
White Hair Manifesting, Amber Sun, Exquisite (?), Beast Rank: King Beast
※This species is unclassified. Currently, the analysis results of similar species are displayed.
・A single species that has reached the end. A king of the entire sky who has lived for countless ages and watched over the rise and fall of all civilizations.
・It contains boundless knowledge and Mana, and its body is always filled with a radiance like the sun.
・Within its Zone Control, all forms are equally burned to ashes by demonic flames.
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“…Since there are no other options, we have no choice but to choose it, but it’s hard to grasp the essence of it.”
『Yeah…』
When I told him the explanation of the Evolution Path as it was, the sage replied like that.
“Were the descriptions of the species Kouya-kun has evolved into so far like that?”
『Yeah. I think they were a bit more specific at the beginning, but as the Beast Rank went up, they gradually became more vague.』
“I see… That may be linked to the Star God’s analysis accuracy.”
The sage said, putting his hand on his chin.
“You said that the descriptions of Skills and Evolution Paths are analyzed by the power of the Star God.”
『That’s right.』
“And analysis becomes more difficult as the target’s rank increases. If the Star God was willing, even the sixth tier could be analyzed immediately, but there are countless lives in this world. It cannot devote its full capacity to just one. Therefore, the descriptions may have become more vague as the Beast Rank increased.”
“All of this is speculation, though,” the sage concluded.
While we were talking, the scholars gathered around.
The reason we were chatting like this was to wait for their experiments to be suspended.
『Alright, then I’m going.』
Since the deepest part of the great cavern was completely empty, I could finally evolve.
It would be dangerous if there were people around.
I moved to the deepest part and immediately began to evolve.
The heat of Evolution overflowing from inside my body was the highest I had ever experienced. While being assaulted by a sensation that felt like every cell was burning, I suddenly realized something.
It was probably because my understanding of my Unique Skill had progressed. I realized that the source of this heat was my Arche.
Thunderous Cycle of Rise and Fall… A huge Soul Shard (Experience) that had swelled up like a mountain range, located next to my original Arche.
It was probably the Arche of the Jewel Slime that the God had given me.
“(Hee, so that’s how it’s structured.)”
It seemed that the heat generated by compressing it was being transmitted to my body.
The compressed Arche increased in density and gained a power that was on a different level than before.
It seemed that Evolution was such a mechanism.
While I was forgetting about the heat due to this unexpected discovery, the Evolution had ended.
Usually, I’m so full of energy right after an Evolution that I want to shout, but this time I was strangely calm. Clear Mirror Still Water might be doing its job.
“(–And, Mana Eclipse. Whew, I can rest easy now.)”
The temperature around me had started to rise rapidly due to my light, so I hurriedly used my new Skill to extinguish the light.
Now, let’s check my Status.
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Species: White Hair Manifesting, Amber Sun, Exquisite (?)
Beast Rank: King Beast
Soul Accumulation Value (Level): 761
Stats
Life: 5298/6657
Mana: 9603/341719
Power: 4933
Toughness: 28197
Resist: 5206
Speed: 5448
Skills
Cover Climbing Block Fleeing Instinct
Whip Compact Whip Slash Compact Slash Gesture
Weapon Body Flee Cross Counter
Challenge Stockpile Transport
Weapon Storage Replicant Form Thrust
Antibody Compact Thrust Shoot
Decomposition Fluid Charge Thrust Charge Slash Compact Shoot Stealth
Mollusk All-Out Throw Parry Bite
Wave Slash Wave Thrust
Heavy Slash Heavy Thrust Heavy Shot
Precision Shot Poison Hand High-Speed Regeneration
Arms Craftsman Escalating Warfare Multi-Weapon Style
Thousand Blades Burst Territory Parry
Swing Compact Swing Heavy Swing
Charge Swing Quake Swing Dance Fight
Assassination Storm Strike Raging Skill Diving Clairvoyance
Reverse Perforation Strangulation Super Leap Staff of the Gods
Blast Dash Terrain Awareness Mimicry
Telepathy Trajectory Prediction WWW (Waning and Waxing Wisdom)
S (Sparkle) U (Aproot) L (Lock-on) AIM U (Update)
COM (Perfect Body) Repair Moonlight Familiar
Curse Utsusemi Last Stand
Clear Mirror Still Water Single-Point Focus Cold Block
Courage Solar Lord (NEW) Innovation of the Day (NEW)
Mana Eclipse (NEW) Scorching Supreme Treasure (NEW) Blessing (NEW)
Colorless Royal Authority: Timeless Brilliance (NEW)
Unique Skill: Thunderous Cycle of Rise and Fall
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“(Hoo, it’s increased quite a bit.)”
Well, there’s no point in just looking at the words, so I’ll quickly check the Skill details.
~Skill Details~
Solar Lord: Consumes Mana to freely manipulate Mana Crystals and Artifacts. Rapidly consumes Mana while the effect is active, but provides a bonus to Skills related to Mana Crystals and Artifacts.
Innovation of the Day: Allows viewing of information related to Artifacts in the Akashic Records. Constantly provides a bonus to thinking power related to Mana Crystals and Artifacts.
Mana Eclipse: When attacking with Mana, can grant the attack a Leaking Magic effect. Can block the light, Mana, and heat emitted by oneself.
Scorching Supreme Treasure: Targets creatures that are within sight of a 〖Skill〗 holder, and can intensely draw out the desire to attack the 〖Skill〗 holder. When the 〖Skill〗 holder is killed, dramatically increases the 〖Soul Shard (Experience)〗 that the killer can plunder. Targets creatures that are within sight of the user, and can inflict heat damage based on distance.
Blessing: Once every thirty days, bestows a blessing set by the user upon a subordinate or an agreed-upon target.
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“How was it? The results of the 〖Evolution〗?”
“Yeah, well, about that…”
Since it was a good opportunity, I began explaining the details of my new 〖Skills〗 to the sages and scholars.
The artifacts they were experimenting with here were all things I needed.
They, too, were cooperating in the subjugation of Chaos to the best of their abilities.
Teaching them about my abilities would also lead to the optimization of future artifact development.
After I had finished explaining everything, the sage let out a tired sigh.
“I thought I understood, but they are all truly incredible, these 〖King Beast〗 〖Skills〗. It’s difficult to utilize them in the current situation, but the 〖Blessing〗 can also greatly increase the strength of our forces.”
“Well, yeah. But the 〖Innovation of the Day〗 seems hard to use unless artifacts spread throughout the world.”
“No, being able to obtain information on all artifacts that existed in the past is still useful even now. Besides, the thinking power correction, under these conditions, might be activated during combat using artifacts, wouldn’t it?”
“Ah, you’re right.”
While discussing such things, I cut to the main topic.
“Actually, there’s one more new 〖Skill〗.”
“Is that so? What kind is it?”
“Ah, it’s like this…”
And so, I began to talk about the exceptionally powerful and most unusual 〖Skill〗 I had obtained this time.