Chapter 289: 50th Floor (3)

Chapter 289: 50th Floor (3)

Present your neck! You evil cult leader!Geett the latest novels at novelhall.com

The hunters swung their swords.

Upper left. Upper right. From behind. In an instant, blades targeted my life from three directions. Clang! I hastily raised my shield to parry the most urgent strike.

Im telling you, Im not the bad guy!

The wicked cultist spews lies.

The apparent leader among them snorted disdainfully.

Dont listen to him. Mahos said that this mans tongue is more dangerous than any sword. Once he starts his rhetoric, the heavens overturn, and the earth is mocked. His tongue truly births devils! Without realizing it, we could be enchanted, so be very cautious.

But who is he, really!?

The hunters I confronted swallowed their saliva.

Their eyes were filled with fear as they looked at me.

Terrifying!

His appearance seems so innocently naive. To think such pure evil lurks behind that simple face Its truly frightening!

Are you all blind or what? Huh?

Even amidst this, the battle continued.

The skills of Mahos followers were, well, not particularly terrifying. In the past, they might have given me trouble, but frankly, their level of aura control was far inferior to mine.

[The Lone Seeker of Truth is interested in your realm of skill.]

[The Eye Living in the Labyrinth doubts you are truly a beginner.]

Three, six, twelve of them formed formations and attacked together, but it wasnt overwhelming.

Unlike ordinary martial arts, aura is a martial art of the plane.

With enough aura to dominate space, no matter how numerous the enemies, it only became a slight annoyance. I was just dumbfounded by the ridiculous quest content, not really in a predicament.

What! Is this really the prowess of someone who just arrived on the 50th floor!

The followers of Mahos seemed shocked by me. They continuously changed formations, employing various techniques, but I remained immovable. As their synchronized attacks piled up, the followers of Mahos became more anxious.

Its impossible. He must have made a pact with a devil!

Not a devil, but I did adopt a ghost.

How could he have reached such a level by normal means! He must have treaded the path of heretical magic!

Well, I did build my skills with some abnormal abilities.

Quickly call for reinforcements! This cult leader commands the dead. Its said he summons soldiers from hell, the ones hes killed. Were all dead if we dont subdue him before he gets a chance to cast his summoning spell!

Wow!

I knew it when they said he was the Death King! A truly evil being!

Hmm.

Its different but not entirely incorrect.

Hurry up. We are fighting him now, so he cant cast spells, but if he gets a chance, hell perform a summoning! Were all dead if we dont subdue him first!

.

Really?

Sword Emperor~nim.

-What?

I just realized something.

I effortlessly countered and twisted the aura of the twenty followers. Responding to each of the twenty strands of aura, I bent them back onto the followers.

This cant be!

The followers were in disbelief.

I listened to their screams in a daze.

Maybe, just maybe, I dont think so, but just in case, I have to ask.

-Yeah?

Do I appear like a really bad guy to others?

-Is that even a question to ask now?

Bae Hu-ryeong replied as if it was obvious.

-You totally give off the vibe of an evil boss.

Why!?

-Hey, zombie. Think deeper about why I call you a zombie.

Uh, because Im a psychopath with a broken moral compass?

-There are many reasons why I call you a zombie, but one of them is to mock your Lich-like qualities.

A Lich?

-Yes, a Lich. An undead sorcerer. They gain power by sacrificing their own life and use the corpses of those theyve killed as their minions. To those who dont know any better, you just look like a minion of evil.

I was dumbstruck.

Thats ridiculous! Im a hero! Ive been recognized as one since the 11th floor. Isnt that right, Shiny?

[.]

[Shiny acknowledges you as the true and genuine Hero.]

Huh.

It seemed like Shiny hesitated before answering. Or was it just my imagination?

[The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains acknowledges your extraordinary skills.]

[The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains expands the scope of your quest.]

[Warning! The range of your associated quests has expanded to encompass the entire city!]

Id find endless faults if I started nitpicking, but for now, I understand that Im increasingly resembling a villain straight out of legends.

Oh my, what in the world is all this?

I tore one part of my pants. Rrrrip! I rolled up the torn fabric and wrapped it around my neck like a scarf. Adjusting it to cover my mouth, I was sufficiently disguised.

Why are they harassing innocent people? Are all the Constellations like this?

-Their tendencies are all different, but their personalities are somewhat similar.

What do you mean?

I entered the city.

[Your body begins to be eroded by the Void Poison.]

[Your current erosion progression is Lv.1.]

[Your aura neutralizes the Void Poison!]

[Erosion has stopped.]

At the citys entrance, there were slums and a bustling market.

Thanks to this, I easily blended into the crowd.

Surrounded by the noisy clamor of people talking and trading, I felt at ease and chatted with Bae Hu-ryeong.

-I told you earlier that the Constellations are like game masters. They are literally GMs. Each one has its own different tendency.

Master

-And the followers who serve a Constellation can be seen as players. When a Master opens a session and issues a quest, the followers of that Constellation decide whether to participate or not. Is this quest suitable for my level? Can I really achieve it?

Before long, I saw a familiar shop.

A roadside pub.

No building, no walls. Just tables and chairs, and a bar where the manager stood. It was the very open-air pub where I had sat and talked with constellation killer when I unofficially visited the 50th floor using a cheat.

-But as I said, each Constellation has its own unique tendency.

What kind of tendency does Mahos have?

I asked, casually taking a seat at the bar.

-Combat-oriented.

Bae Hu-ryeong answered immediately.

-His quests are pretty straightforward. An enemy appears that must be defeated. If the enemy isnt defeated, the world is in danger. So, beat them. Oh? They escaped? Chase them. Oh, you defeated them? Heres your reward. Simple, right?

Indeed.

Listening to Bae Hu-ryeong, I got a rough idea of what kind of Constellation The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains was.

-What about that blond guy you caught Gold Hair or something? Anyway, the quests get more complicated as they reach the level of an Apostle, like him. But such cases are rare. Most of the followers are just battle maniacs.

Hmm.

-But these seemingly simple quests are surprisingly popular. Actually, they might be the most popular. Mahos might not be good at other things, but he sure knows how to provide rewards. Battles that match the difficulty level and items worth their value. It seems easy to lure followers with these two.

I ordered an iced tea from the owner and sipped it.

I get what youre saying, but why do the Constellations do all this?

-Heh.

Bae Hu-ryeong smirked mischievously.

-Because its the easiest way to receive worship.

What?

-You see, Zombie, youve never served a Constellation, so you dont know yet. Put yourself in their shoes. Constellations create quests and rewards on purpose for you hunters. Just for you. To make your life more interesting.

I tilted my head, not quite grasping Bae Hu-ryeongs words.

Bae Hu-ryeong, knowing I wouldnt understand, explained further.

-Think about Hamustra. From your perspective, it seemed like Hamustra just threw you into a doomed world for his own amusement, watching you struggle and chuckle. But look at it from another angle. Hamustra collected worlds to give you quests.

.

-Do you think its easy, even for a Constellation? They have to scour through destroyed worlds, then select apocalypses that match your level. Its hard work, really.

Thats.

I was struck by a fresh shock.

I had never thought of it that way before.

-Zombie. Do you think the Constellations go through all that trouble because they find hunters pretty? Or because they enjoy watching you suffer and die? Normally, Constellations are much more powerful than ordinary hunters. If they wanted to kill you, a mere gesture would suffice.

Youre right. That makes sense.

-In some sense, Constellations are devoted to you. Sure, they have various reasons for issuing quests, but their primary goal is the same.

Bae Hu-ryeong continued.

-Worship.

Worship.

-If you serve a Constellation, youll understand. Completing their quests and receiving rewards, you start to feel like youre becoming a [Hero].

.

-Life becomes fun. You feel like youre not just yourself anymore, but someone else, someone meaningful in this world. Someone far superior to me, a Constellation, is creating events just for me and acknowledging my existence Heh. Its an addictive drug, the thrill of an RPG.

I see.

I had never blindly followed the path laid out by Constellations, so my perspective was fundamentally different from the hunters who had surrounded me in the wilderness.

-Thats why the bond between Constellations and their followers is immense. Followers naturally worship the Constellations that recognize and reward them. They adore and love them. This worship is the purest form of faith, and Constellations sustain their existence on this adoration.

Just then.

Kaboom!

My glass on the table shook, the ground trembled, and other tables around us toppled trays and plates.

I reflexively looked towards the direction of the explosion.