Waves of blood descended towards me as if to overwrite my existence itself. Metallic mirrors spun rapidly, petrifying the waves, as I kicked the waves down to break them.
Still, it didn't really matter how we clashed. When I reached out with my spear and reflected my Evil Eyes' power with Dortu's mirrors, Crimson h.e.l.l turned to stone and broke. He also knew that he couldn't beat me in a direct confrontation, so from the moment we met, he's been endlessly using the one ability I've been on guard the most against.
It was the ability to steal mana from me. Even now, as I was constantly moving my body, Crimson h.e.l.l was doing its best to try to steal my mana.
[Let's see… how long you'll last. I'm curious!]
[That's what I want to say!]
This was the first time I've put so much focus into Absolute Soul. If I let my guard down even for a second, Crimson h.e.l.l would take control over the initiative. Once my mana started being stolen, it would be too late. When I fought the SSS+ rank Mana Eater in Panan continent, I didn't have Absolute Soul so I had no choice but to let it steal my mana. Now, however, I had a way to prevent my mana from being stolen, and I was gaining more insight into it as time went on.
[How persistent…!]
[Try harder, so I can get used to it more.]
[You're saying… you're still growing? You… You dare to try to scare me!?]
Did he think I was bluffing? Crimson h.e.l.l shouted in contempt and pushed towards me more vigorously. When I looked down from above, the colony of Crimson h.e.l.l was shooting up towards me like a tsunami and was extending invisible arms of depredation. With my eyes opened wide, I stabbed my spear into it.
"Dortu!"
[I am Dortu. Spreading Master's power.]
A grey ripple ran down the wave. Beyond the wave that turned to stone and shattered a beat late, Crimson h.e.l.l's invisible hands tenaciously reached towards me. I set up a hard wall in my mind. I released the power of my soul, which not only protected me but also naturally dominated external mana.
After I first obtained Absolute Soul, I believed I was doing my best to hone it, but that was naïve thinking. In this dire situation where the only thing keeping me alive was Absolute Soul, I was breaking through all sorts of limits.
Deep within me, there was something other than Peruta Circuit and Hero's power that radiated a powerful light. It was the essence of my soul which not even the dungeon nor Sherafina could touch. I felt like this was the first time I was coming into contact with it.
With an overflowing joy, the way to take the next step, the way to make Absolute Soul my own power flowed through me. Absolute Soul was a process to form the perfect soul. There was something that light lacked. Since I was staring right at it, it would be wrong if I couldn't figure out what it was.
I was certain.
Perhaps because I was staring at that eye-catching light for too long, Crimson h.e.l.l was taking a huge chunk of my mana. One hundred thousand, one hundred fifty thousand, two hundred thousand… Now, I only had 200,000 mana left.
[Did you… give up?]
[No way.]
I finished observing the light. I already obtained what I needed.
I opened my eyes widely and struck my spear down strongly. A whirlpool of black flames cut through the wave of blood until it touched the ground hundreds of meters below. I had put all of my remaining mana in that attack.
[Kuaaaaaaaa!]
The huge blood tsunami split in half as the whirlpool of flames drove by, and a smile bloomed on my face. Blood poured down to the sides like a waterfall, and a blade-like pillar of blood shot up from the severed part once again.
[Foolish… Such useless move…! Now, you're mine…!]
[I don't think so.]
I announced with a slight smile. Immediately, Crimson h.e.l.l's flying stream of greed was revealed clearly. What was previous invisible could now be seen. There was only one reason for it, that it was now under my control. Using the countless straws he placed in me to suck out my mana, I began to suck in his mana.
[What…!?]
[My mana, I'll be taking it back.]
[You mastered Absolute Soul!]
'No, Sherafina, I haven't mastered it yet
' I murmured in a voice she couldn't hear. 'You must not know. Otherwise…'
I could clearly see it. Absolute Soul was just the foundation. It was the same for Overlord. These two skills born from the Collector's Pocket Watch was nothing but a compa.s.s pointing me in the right direction. Today, I finally realized it.
[My mana… How…!?]
[My league overwhelmed your entire colony. Simple, right?]
I retorted bluntly. Was he unable to accept it? Or was he making a final struggle? Crimson h.e.l.l, which had used its ma.s.s to engulf me until now, changed its colony to hundreds of sharp tentacles which shot towards me.
However, Dortu's mirrors didn't let a single one of them through. With Dortu's meticulous control, the light of my Evil Eyes, reflected by thousands of metallic mirrors, penetrated the tentacles and destroyed them. Crimson h.e.l.l finally screamed.
[I, I refuse to die like this… I must take my revenge…!]
[… Now that you mention it.]
The Floor Masters until now used Sherafina's mana to regenerate after death. Regeneration was similar to revival, yet completely different. If revivals perfectly retained one's soul, then regeneration simply returned one to his previous condition using mana. Coming back to life with regeneration resulted in a completely different soul than before.
Could someone before and after regeneration be considered the same person? No. This was also why Licorice negotiated with Sherafina to obtain an Event Dungeon, and Sherafina must have accepted Licorice's request because Licorice wasn't enthusiastic about the war. In truth, I thought it was entirely possible that Licorice cooperated with the defending side. I just never planned to talk to her about it.
In any case, regeneration would still allow one to come back to life, but there had to be something that even Sherafina couldn't bring back to life. For example…
I asked Sherafina.
[Does the 85th Floor Master regenerate?]
[No. As a result, once cleared, you cannot challenge the 85th Floor Master again. From now on, it will always be like that.]
As I thought, it seemed not even Sherafina was capable of bringing a world's enemy back to life. A clone might be a different story, but it just wasn't possible for the true body. If a genius with the qualification to challenge Crimson h.e.l.l appeared in the future, Sherafina would have to prepare a different monster.
[Secret… I'll tell you a secret…! So please, let me…]
[No thanks.]
I closed my eyes and increased the radiance of my soul's light. When I increased Peruta Circuit's speed and amplified my mana absorption rate, Crimson h.e.l.l's meek resistance disappeared completely.
[Kuaaaaaa!]
That was his end. With a cry that could turn a good dream into a nightmare, Crimson h.e.l.l crumbled down completely. The remaining waves of blood turned into grey stones and fell down to the ground like a landslide. I smacked my lips. Contrary to my expectations, there wasn't much mana to steal from him. With my original amount being 700,000, adding the amount I gained from him probably only brought it up to 800,000.
"Well, I guess that's good too."
I finally deactivated Breath of Death. As I used a huge amount of it while fighting Crimson h.e.l.l, I didn't have much of it left. Thinking that I should go around Earth cleaning up monsters, I opened my eyes. In the huge Floor Master room, I was the only one, hovering solitarily in the sky.
Then, a fanfare I hadn't heard in a while tickled my ears.
[You became level 86. You obtained 5 bonus stats.]
[You obtained the qualification to challenge Beyond's 35th floor.]
[You became Platinum rank 6. You obtained the right to appoint a new explorer.]
[You succeeded in defeating Crimson h.e.l.l. No dungeon explorer would be capable of believing such feat. Having defeated a world's enemy fair and square in a direct confrontation, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call you the dungeon's strongest. You obtained 5 skill points as a reward. Current skill points: 29]
[You obtained the t.i.tle, 'Crimson h.e.l.l Killer.' All stats increase by 5. The effect of the t.i.tle will apply without having it equipped.]
[You defeated Crimson h.e.l.l alone. You obtained Crimson h.e.l.l's Tattoo as a special reward.]
[You obtained 1,000,000 gold.]
[You received the unique reward left hidden for the First explorer. Congratulations! Your luck stat increases by 10.]
[Secret. Ultimate Avarice Magic Book]
I simply smiled. I didn't think it mattered all that much anymore. Crimson h.e.l.l had fought me with all its power, and it was killed by me thoroughly. I planned to take all of its power, but Sherafina interfered and refined it to a more easy-to-learn form. That was the main reason the amount of mana I obtained was so small. That was how dungeon's rewards worked.
Secret rewards, special rewards, and event rewards were good because they were unique or few in number. The Orc Lord I faced on the 5th floor must have fought a countless number of explorers and regenerate a countless number of times. So how much power could it have left? Sherafina must have used a huge portion of her power to copy the Orc Lord's power and st.i.tch it together. The result must have been the Orc Lord Set and Orc Lord's Warcry.
To limit their number, she provided those who defeated the Orc Lord alone with a part that contained more of the Orc Lord's power and gifted them Orc Lord's Warcry. By doing so, she had increased the value and league of the skill. This didn't change on higher floors. As the Floor Masters were copied less, the league increased, and when it came to secret rewards, they possessed power close to the original as they were unique. I only figure out something this simple after having broken through the 85th floor.
And now, with Sherafina refining the reward using all of Crimson h.e.l.l's power, both the special reward and the secret reward were unique, and I ended up getting all of Crimson h.e.l.l's power with the help of Sherafina's power. Originally, rewards from the dungeon needed a long time to get used to the user. Even then, it wasn't guaranteed that the user could perfectly wield that power.
"But I'm different now. Not to mention, I have Crimson h.e.l.l's mana…"
I grinned and received Crimson h.e.l.l's Tattoo. I somewhat expected it, but Crimson h.e.l.l's Tattoo went on my fingers. When I was leisurely watching complex symbols being engraved on my ten fingers, a message rang in my ear.
[You obtained Crimson h.e.l.l's Tattoo! Your magic power increases by 20%! When attacking an enemy with a weapon in hand, you will be able to steal a portion of the enemy's mana.]
[You have Crimson h.e.l.l's mana and can wield it freely. The Tattoo becomes invigorated to its peak!]
Now, Sherafina, tell me what I can do with a fully invigorated tattoo.
Though, I already knew the answer.
.
Chapter 302. Lilith (2)
Waves of blood descended towards me as if to overwrite my existence itself. Metallic mirrors spun rapidly, petrifying the waves, as I kicked the waves down to break them.
Still, it didn't really matter how we clashed. When I reached out with my spear and reflected my Evil Eyes' power with Dortu's mirrors, Crimson h.e.l.l turned to stone and broke. He also knew that he couldn't beat me in a direct confrontation, so from the moment we met, he's been endlessly using the one ability I've been on guard the most against.
It was the ability to steal mana from me. Even now, as I was constantly moving my body, Crimson h.e.l.l was doing its best to try to steal my mana.
[Let's see… how long you'll last. I'm curious!]
[That's what I want to say!]
This was the first time I've put so much focus into Absolute Soul. If I let my guard down even for a second, Crimson h.e.l.l would take control over the initiative. Once my mana started being stolen, it would be too late. When I fought the SSS+ rank Mana Eater in Panan continent, I didn't have Absolute Soul so I had no choice but to let it steal my mana. Now, however, I had a way to prevent my mana from being stolen, and I was gaining more insight into it as time went on.
[How persistent…!]
[Try harder, so I can get used to it more.]
[You're saying… you're still growing? You… You dare to try to scare me!?]
Did he think I was bluffing? Crimson h.e.l.l shouted in contempt and pushed towards me more vigorously. When I looked down from above, the colony of Crimson h.e.l.l was shooting up towards me like a tsunami and was extending invisible arms of depredation. With my eyes opened wide, I stabbed my spear into it.
"Dortu!"
[I am Dortu. Spreading Master's power.]
A grey ripple ran down the wave. Beyond the wave that turned to stone and shattered a beat late, Crimson h.e.l.l's invisible hands tenaciously reached towards me. I set up a hard wall in my mind. I released the power of my soul, which not only protected me but also naturally dominated external mana.
After I first obtained Absolute Soul, I believed I was doing my best to hone it, but that was naïve thinking. In this dire situation where the only thing keeping me alive was Absolute Soul, I was breaking through all sorts of limits.
Deep within me, there was something other than Peruta Circuit and Hero's power that radiated a powerful light. It was the essence of my soul which not even the dungeon nor Sherafina could touch. I felt like this was the first time I was coming into contact with it.
With an overflowing joy, the way to take the next step, the way to make Absolute Soul my own power flowed through me. Absolute Soul was a process to form the perfect soul. There was something that light lacked. Since I was staring right at it, it would be wrong if I couldn't figure out what it was.
I was certain.
Perhaps because I was staring at that eye-catching light for too long, Crimson h.e.l.l was taking a huge chunk of my mana. One hundred thousand, one hundred fifty thousand, two hundred thousand… Now, I only had 200,000 mana left.
[Did you… give up?]
[No way.]
I finished observing the light. I already obtained what I needed.
I opened my eyes widely and struck my spear down strongly. A whirlpool of black flames cut through the wave of blood until it touched the ground hundreds of meters below. I had put all of my remaining mana in that attack.
[Kuaaaaaaaa!]
The huge blood tsunami split in half as the whirlpool of flames drove by, and a smile bloomed on my face. Blood poured down to the sides like a waterfall, and a blade-like pillar of blood shot up from the severed part once again.
[Foolish… Such useless move…! Now, you're mine…!]
[I don't think so.]
I announced with a slight smile. Immediately, Crimson h.e.l.l's flying stream of greed was revealed clearly. What was previous invisible could now be seen. There was only one reason for it, that it was now under my control. Using the countless straws he placed in me to suck out my mana, I began to suck in his mana.
[What…!?]
[My mana, I'll be taking it back.]
[You mastered Absolute Soul!]
'No, Sherafina, I haven't mastered it yet
' I murmured in a voice she couldn't hear. 'You must not know. Otherwise…'
I could clearly see it. Absolute Soul was just the foundation. It was the same for Overlord. These two skills born from the Collector's Pocket Watch was nothing but a compa.s.s pointing me in the right direction. Today, I finally realized it.
[My mana… How…!?]
[My league overwhelmed your entire colony. Simple, right?]
I retorted bluntly. Was he unable to accept it? Or was he making a final struggle? Crimson h.e.l.l, which had used its ma.s.s to engulf me until now, changed its colony to hundreds of sharp tentacles which shot towards me.
However, Dortu's mirrors didn't let a single one of them through. With Dortu's meticulous control, the light of my Evil Eyes, reflected by thousands of metallic mirrors, penetrated the tentacles and destroyed them. Crimson h.e.l.l finally screamed.
[I, I refuse to die like this… I must take my revenge…!]
[… Now that you mention it.]
The Floor Masters until now used Sherafina's mana to regenerate after death. Regeneration was similar to revival, yet completely different. If revivals perfectly retained one's soul, then regeneration simply returned one to his previous condition using mana. Coming back to life with regeneration resulted in a completely different soul than before.
Could someone before and after regeneration be considered the same person? No. This was also why Licorice negotiated with Sherafina to obtain an Event Dungeon, and Sherafina must have accepted Licorice's request because Licorice wasn't enthusiastic about the war. In truth, I thought it was entirely possible that Licorice cooperated with the defending side. I just never planned to talk to her about it.
In any case, regeneration would still allow one to come back to life, but there had to be something that even Sherafina couldn't bring back to life. For example…
I asked Sherafina.
[Does the 85th Floor Master regenerate?]
[No. As a result, once cleared, you cannot challenge the 85th Floor Master again. From now on, it will always be like that.]
As I thought, it seemed not even Sherafina was capable of bringing a world's enemy back to life. A clone might be a different story, but it just wasn't possible for the true body. If a genius with the qualification to challenge Crimson h.e.l.l appeared in the future, Sherafina would have to prepare a different monster.
[Secret… I'll tell you a secret…! So please, let me…]
[No thanks.]
I closed my eyes and increased the radiance of my soul's light. When I increased Peruta Circuit's speed and amplified my mana absorption rate, Crimson h.e.l.l's meek resistance disappeared completely.
[Kuaaaaaa!]
That was his end. With a cry that could turn a good dream into a nightmare, Crimson h.e.l.l crumbled down completely. The remaining waves of blood turned into grey stones and fell down to the ground like a landslide. I smacked my lips. Contrary to my expectations, there wasn't much mana to steal from him. With my original amount being 700,000, adding the amount I gained from him probably only brought it up to 800,000.
"Well, I guess that's good too."
I finally deactivated Breath of Death. As I used a huge amount of it while fighting Crimson h.e.l.l, I didn't have much of it left. Thinking that I should go around Earth cleaning up monsters, I opened my eyes. In the huge Floor Master room, I was the only one, hovering solitarily in the sky.
Then, a fanfare I hadn't heard in a while tickled my ears.
[You became level 86. You obtained 5 bonus stats.]
[You obtained the qualification to challenge Beyond's 35th floor.]
[You became Platinum rank 6. You obtained the right to appoint a new explorer.]
[You succeeded in defeating Crimson h.e.l.l. No dungeon explorer would be capable of believing such feat. Having defeated a world's enemy fair and square in a direct confrontation, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call you the dungeon's strongest. You obtained 5 skill points as a reward. Current skill points: 29]
[You obtained the t.i.tle, 'Crimson h.e.l.l Killer.' All stats increase by 5. The effect of the t.i.tle will apply without having it equipped.]
[You defeated Crimson h.e.l.l alone. You obtained Crimson h.e.l.l's Tattoo as a special reward.]
[You obtained 1,000,000 gold.]
[You received the unique reward left hidden for the First explorer. Congratulations! Your luck stat increases by 10.]
[Secret. Ultimate Avarice Magic Book]
I simply smiled. I didn't think it mattered all that much anymore. Crimson h.e.l.l had fought me with all its power, and it was killed by me thoroughly. I planned to take all of its power, but Sherafina interfered and refined it to a more easy-to-learn form. That was the main reason the amount of mana I obtained was so small. That was how dungeon's rewards worked.
Secret rewards, special rewards, and event rewards were good because they were unique or few in number. The Orc Lord I faced on the 5th floor must have fought a countless number of explorers and regenerate a countless number of times. So how much power could it have left? Sherafina must have used a huge portion of her power to copy the Orc Lord's power and st.i.tch it together. The result must have been the Orc Lord Set and Orc Lord's Warcry.
To limit their number, she provided those who defeated the Orc Lord alone with a part that contained more of the Orc Lord's power and gifted them Orc Lord's Warcry. By doing so, she had increased the value and league of the skill. This didn't change on higher floors. As the Floor Masters were copied less, the league increased, and when it came to secret rewards, they possessed power close to the original as they were unique. I only figure out something this simple after having broken through the 85th floor.
And now, with Sherafina refining the reward using all of Crimson h.e.l.l's power, both the special reward and the secret reward were unique, and I ended up getting all of Crimson h.e.l.l's power with the help of Sherafina's power. Originally, rewards from the dungeon needed a long time to get used to the user. Even then, it wasn't guaranteed that the user could perfectly wield that power.
"But I'm different now. Not to mention, I have Crimson h.e.l.l's mana…"
I grinned and received Crimson h.e.l.l's Tattoo. I somewhat expected it, but Crimson h.e.l.l's Tattoo went on my fingers. When I was leisurely watching complex symbols being engraved on my ten fingers, a message rang in my ear.
[You obtained Crimson h.e.l.l's Tattoo! Your magic power increases by 20%! When attacking an enemy with a weapon in hand, you will be able to steal a portion of the enemy's mana.]
[You have Crimson h.e.l.l's mana and can wield it freely. The Tattoo becomes invigorated to its peak!]
Now, Sherafina, tell me what I can do with a fully invigorated tattoo.
Though, I already knew the answer.
