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[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 161
7.
How much time had passed since Seonghyun began his hunt in the labyrinth?
From yesterday, when he met Beki, the cat merchant, until today.
He had been hunting non-stop around the clock for a full day.
He made no distinction between bosses and regular monsters.
As a result.
[Level Up!] x6
[You have reached Level 135.]
[Having reached Level 130, a new skill for 『Overlord』 will be unlocked.]
[You have acquired the Legendary Rank Skill, 『Creation of Death』.]
[Having reached a 10-level milestone, the Almighty Rank Item, 『Tome of Overlord』, has been activated.]
He had managed to raise his level by 6.
On top of that, he got a new skill and even activated the Tome of Overlord.
He examined the new skill.
『Creation of Death』
→《Legendary》
→[Lv 1][Growth-type]
[Instant Effect][Active]
Another death shall be born from the Overlord's grasp.
The newly born death will rejoice.
→Overlord-exclusive skill.
→Allows you to combine two corpses that can be raised into the Death Legion, or two existing undead from the legion, into one.
→Combining corpses or undead of vastly different materials will result in a penalty.
→Combining compatible materials will result in a more powerful creation.
‘With this…’
It was just the skill he needed.
At a glance, the effect was reminiscent of chimera synthesis.
Seonghyun did have Melisia's Homunculus Alchemy, but he didn't have a skill for chimera synthesis.
Having one would definitely be helpful.
If he hadn't gotten it now, he had been planning to draw it with the Tome of Overlord.
This worked out well.
This meant he could save the Tome of Overlord for later.
Things were going according to plan—no, even better than planned.
‘It seems the new skills I get are influenced by my recent gameplay.’
It certainly seemed that way.
Otherwise, there was no way he would have so coincidentally received the exact skill he needed.
Pleased, Seonghyun examined the various materials he had.
The materials he had gathered so far.
These were sufficient, but if Beki, the cat merchant, brought more materials, he felt he could create a body even more magnificent than he had anticipated.
And most importantly, his level.
He had gained 6 whole levels.
That was settled.
However.
It was a frightening pace, but to think he had only gained 6 levels after going at it like that for a full day.
It was a bit of a shock.
If it was this hard for him, he figured it must be incredibly difficult for other players to level up.
‘Anyway, I think everything is ready.’
After all, he had raised his level and killed a lot of monsters.
He had even taken Beki's advice and killed a good number of bosses.
The time had come.
‘Time to summon him again.’
Once he called the cat merchant and bought more materials, his work would finally be complete.
Just in case, he sent all his undead back to the Netherworld.
There could be a situation where he ran short on mana, or some other problem could arise.
After sending back his familiars and the entire legion, Seonghyun blew the whistle.
Just like last time, the wall of the labyrinth rippled.
“Nya-nyan, I-I'll go, nyan! Ugh, so suspicious, nyan!”
Beki, the cat merchant, appeared with those strange words.
Seonghyun didn't know the cat merchant's name yet, but seeing the one with the same fur pattern as before, he greeted him warmly.
“Hello.”
“Nya-nyaong, th-thank you for summoning me, nyan!”
“I should be the one thanking you for coming.”
He was more thankful that he was here to sell him things.
As Seonghyun replied with that thought, the cat merchant gave a bashful smile and spoke as if he had almost forgotten something.
“Nya-nyaong! Ahh! W-Well, my introduction is late, nyan! My name is Beki, nyaong!”
“I see. My name is Seonghyun.”
He had wondered why he was introducing himself now.
“N-Now that we've been introduced, nyan, if you think of my name while blowing the whistle, I'll be the one assigned to you, nyaong!”
“Ah, I see.”
There was a reason.
Seonghyun nodded in understanding.
Then, the presence behind him suddenly vanished, and he tilted his head in confusion.
“It's gone?”
“Nyan? Wh-What is, nyaong?”
“Ah. It's nothing.”
The presence of Branch Manager Belmore, who had been constantly watching him, had disappeared.
He didn't know the reason, but if it was gone, that was a good thing.
Thinking this, Seonghyun said to Beki,
“Shall we take a look at your wares, then?”
8.
It was the moment Seonghyun sent his entire legion and all his familiars back to the Netherworld for the trade.
The mysterious group that had been tracking Seonghyun's location in the labyrinth with skills and waiting from a distance.
They noticed the disappearance of the familiars and the legion from all over the labyrinth and began to talk amongst themselves.
“The legion and the familiars are gone.”
“Has the time finally come?”
“Our chance is here.”
“Let's stay calm. His mana might not be completely depleted.”
Everyone agreed with the words of the man leading them.
A group of twenty players.
Every single one of them was a skilled player, and their sole target was Seonghyun.
That was why they tried to approach him more cautiously than ever before.
Using Group Stealth, a special skill for Rogue-type classes, they began to move forward quietly.
Although the distance to Seonghyun was still quite far, it was a distance they could cover in just five minutes of running.
Their mana wouldn't run out, nor would their stealth break.
At least, that's how it should have been.
“Where are you all going in such a hurry?”
“!!!!!!”
At the sudden voice, the man at the front stopped in his tracks.
Everyone froze in place.
Only then did they see a middle-aged man.
Seeing the man wearing the emblem of Over Palace, someone muttered.
“P-Pentagrid's Branch Manager Belmore?”
“You know me? Hmm, so this is a premeditated crime.”
At those words, everyone broke into a cold sweat.
They all knew that no matter what they did, they were powerless against Branch Manager Belmore.
Even if they hadn't known, they certainly did now.
They couldn't so much as lift a finger, let alone move their bodies.
It wasn't because of a cutscene or an event scene.
[You have fallen into the Abnormal Status: Chaos.]
[The target possesses an overwhelming difference in power.]
[You cannot resist.]
The system was telling them so, right before their eyes.
You'd have to be an idiot not to understand.
‘Branch Manager Belmore… he shouldn't have left the Over Palace branch…!?’
The man who could be called the leader of this group had even checked Branch Manager Belmore's location at the Over Palace branch beforehand, just in case.
It had been useless.
With such a massive power gap, it was obvious he wouldn't have even detected him leaving.
But for an NPC to intervene like this?
It couldn't be.
It absolutely shouldn't be possible.
So what was this situation now?
‘How on earth…’
As the man stood there with a questioning look, Branch Manager Belmore looked at him and tilted his head.
“What are you so upset about?”
“……”
“I don't understand what a sinner like you has to be so upset about.”
But they hadn't even committed a crime yet.
They had intended to act, but they hadn't been able to, had they?
Could he have read his inner thoughts?
“Did you not emit killing intent? That alone is sufficient for your crime.”
What kind of twisted logic was this?
But no matter how they tried, they could not escape.
Branch Manager Belmore kindly explained it to the bewildered players.
“Just as you think, we cannot carelessly lay a hand on you outsiders. Unless, of course, you are villains.”
Then how could he use his power on them now?
They wanted to ask, but their mouths wouldn't even open.
“The very fact that I can use my power on you is the proof. You are villains.”
Seeing Branch Manager Belmore's sneering grin, the leader's mind went completely blank.
They came to hunt a tiger, only to run into a dragon.
Faced with a power they couldn't possibly resist.
“It's a good thing I was here. Now then, you'll all have to come with me. I'm a busy man, you see.”
With those words, Branch Manager Belmore snapped his fingers.
All twenty of them sank into the ground and vanished.
And every one of them was transported to the detention center of the Over Palace Pentagrid branch.
The previous one, Beretta, had only caused trouble, so he wasn't technically a villain.
But these ones are different.
‘To dare try and harm the heir.’
They had revealed their killing intent toward Seonghyun and were about to attack.
Because this was undeniable, Branch Manager Belmore was able to step in.
To use the players' term, there are NPCs who can pass judgment on those with accumulated 'Karma'.
Branch Manager Belmore was one such NPC with that authority.
That was why he could stop the incident before it happened.
Immortal had calculated that if Branch Manager Belmore hadn't been there, they would have undoubtedly attacked Seonghyun. That intent itself was converted into Karma.
After locking them up, Branch Manager Belmore felt a little disappointed.
Since they were outsiders, he couldn't subject them to horrific pain and torture.
“But a very slight illusion and a bit of pain are permitted.”
It was a trivial matter, but it was a law created by the Will of the World. This was enough.
In any case, this development slightly increased the things he could do.
“I must confiscate their belongings and offer them as tribute!”
Considering the principle of causality, even the Will of the World wouldn't stop something like this.
I'll offer them as tribute along with the compass.
“What a joyous occasion!”
He thought how fortunate it was that the sacrifices had come to him on their own.
It was a truly refreshing turn of events.
Now then.
‘I suppose I must go back to watching over the heir until the Will of the World permits otherwise.’
And with that, Branch Manager Belmore vanished into the darkness, heading back towards Seonghyun's location.
0.
Just as Beki was about to set up his stall, saying he would prepare his goods, Seonghyun could feel a somewhat gloomy presence return to his vicinity.
‘He's back.’
Without a doubt, it had to be Branch Manager Belmore.
But where had he gone?
He was curious, but he didn't bother to start a conversation. He just left him be, as he had until now.
It's not like he was causing any harm.
Although being watched was a bit unsettling, he had helped out at the auction house last time. So he didn't say anything.
While Seonghyun was sensing his surroundings, Beki spoke as if everything was ready.
“E-Everything is r-ready, nyaong! P-Please take a look, nyan!”
“Let's see... Oh!?”
He had thought they would be Unique rank items again, but when he looked, there were also Legendary rank material items.
『Source of Mana』
→《Legendary》
→Material Item.
『Fragment of the Red Moon』
→《Legendary》
→Material Item.
『Breath of the King』
→《Legendary》
→Material Item.
A whole three of them.
To think there were so many material items.
There were plenty of other Unique material items, but they couldn't compare to the Legendaries.
Seonghyun's eyes gleamed as he looked at the material items.
With these, he might really be able to create a magnificent body.
With that thought, Seonghyun first asked Beki,
“How much are the Legendaries?”
“Nyanyang! A Legendary costs 3 bosses and 500 regular monsters, nyaong!”
“Oho.”
Right now, Seonghyun's kill count was about 10 bosses and 1,700 regular monsters.
It was more than enough to afford them.
Seonghyun said to Beki,
“I'll buy all the Legendary rank materials.”
“Nya, nyaang!? Th-Thank you, nyaong! I-I'll sell them all, nyan!”
As Beki joyfully sold all the items, they were all transferred to Seonghyun.
Looking at the items, Beki thought.
‘I-I sold so much, nyaong!!! J-Just yesterday, this customer only had 200 kills, nyan! H-He's so rich, nyaong!!! Now my seniors can't look down on me anymore, nyan!’
He was incredibly happy that his seniors wouldn't be able to look down on him anymore.
As for Seonghyun,
‘Now I can create Helena's body. And in addition... that should be possible too.’
He was delighted that he could finally perform the Homunculus Alchemy.
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[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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