Chapter 209: The Great Evil - Aftermath
[You have eliminated the Illusionary Evil Daji, member of the Great Evil!]
[Processing the results.]
[You achieved the highest contribution in the subjugation of Daji.]
[You are awarded 100,000,000p!]
[You completely annihilated a higher-ranking entity two levels above you. An unbelievable achievement! Your reward increases.]
[Your Conceptual Stat of Alchemy increases by 20.]
[Your Conceptual Stat of Form increases by 20.]
[Your Special Stat increases by 20 each.]
[You gain an additional 30,000,000p.]
[Your rank deepens. The will of the world takes note of your narrative.][The narrative you have written forcibly elevates your rank. Your rank deepens further.]
[The effect of your title, Savior, is enhanced.]
…these notifications flashed across my retina.
‘…It was worth all the hardship.’
The reward wasn’t something that could be obtained by summoning dragons through a spell. I could have received a separate reward for the achievement of leading the dragons to unite, but…
‘This is probably the best reward.’
The reward for defeating the Great Evil.
Even as a high ranker, I contributed the most to defeating the Great Evil. Next time, I’d face the Great Evil with the highest rank, so apart from the 100 million points, there wouldn’t be much else except the rank increase.
‘A tremendous reward.’
The problem was, it didn’t end here.
[Narrative is your achievement, and achievement represents your rank.]
[You can choose one of the three rewards.]
[「Black Flame Meteor God(?)」-「?????(Ex)」]
[Absolute Stat ??]
[Conceptual Statification of Special Stat]
‘…It was worth all the hardship.’
It really was worth all the hardship.
The reward wasn’t something that could be obtained by summoning dragons through a spell. I could have received a separate reward for the achievement of leading the dragons to unite, but…
Anyway, I looked at the rewards.
None of the three rewards were bad.
“The question is, what will the question marks evolve into?”
I could roughly guess. The Black Flame Meteor God would evolve into something, and the Absolute Stat probably signified that my power would evolve into something above the Heaven Defying level.
‘Or it evolves into another power.’
If someone already possessed the concept that matched the Conceptual Stat, it could not evolve. The Special Stat, Shadow (影), couldn’t evolve into the Conceptual Stat, Shadow (影), or a shadow itself, and instead evolved into Form. That was an example.
I opened the Multi-Dimensional Shop.
[「Absolute Dominion (Ex)」-100,000,000p]
[「Sword God (Ex)」-100,000,000p - Not available for purchase]
[「Eternity (Ex)」-100,000,000p]
[「Crimson Lotus (Ex)」-100,000,000p]
...
Many Ex-grade abilities were displayed.
Familiar things appeared. Abilities like Absolute Dominion, which was a rumored talent among students, and Sword God, currently possessed by the Sword Saint, were there. I also saw Eternity, the top ice talent, and Crimson Lotus, the top fire talent.
I scrolled down in the Multi-Dimensional Shop.
[「Ex-grade Upgrade Ticket (Ex)」-200,000,000p]
“Fortunately, it’s here.”
I checked the points I had accumulated so far. A little over 200 million points. Cursing internally about the exorbitant price, I purchased the upgrade ticket.
“Most Ex-grades cost 100 million points, but the upgrade ticket costs 200 million.”
Of course, the reason was understandable.
Even among Ex-grades, not all Ex-grades were the same. The abilities I had cultivated so far suited me the best. If a standard Ex-grade ability exerted 100 units of power, an Ex-grade that suited me well could exert 400 to 500 units of power.
Holding back tears, I purchased the upgrade ticket.
[The talents and techniques available for purchase with the 「Ex-grade Upgrade Ticket (Ex)」 are listed below.]
[「Black Flame Meteor God(?)」->「?????(Ex)」]
[「Eternal (S+)」->「Spirit God (Ex)」]
[「Sword Demon (S+)」->「Sword God (Ex)」 Not available.]
[「Yin-Yang Divine Skill (S)」->「Color God (Ex)」]
…What’s with the one at the bottom? Why was Color God (Ex) listed above Dragon God (Ex), which was the evolution of Black Heaven Dragon Blood (S+)?
Though baffled, I selected one ability.
It was 「Black Flame Meteor God(?)」.
[「Black Flame Meteor God(?)」 is evolving. 「Black Flame Meteor God(?)」 evolves into 「Infinite Black Flame Star (Ex)」.]
Immediately after.
The vessel expanded. The giant vessel that dragons had mistaken for a Dragon Heart when they saw my heart began to expand. Not just confined to my heart, it started to expand throughout my entire body.
‘…What is this?’
The black flame emerged. The energy of defying heaven that burst from the expanded vessel within my body formed into black flames, inscribing themselves on my body like a cluster of stars.
‘Black Flame Stars.’
A cluster of stars made of black flames.
And my body began to expand like the universe.
["Infinite Black Flame Star (Ex)" is transforming your constitution. "Heaven Defying Body (S-)" evolves into "Infinite Heaven Defying Body (S+)".]
I took a short, deep breath. The absolute amount of energy of defying heaven hadn’t changed. It had simply been divided among the seven clusters of stars floating within my body.
‘However…’
The efficiency was overwhelming. The effects of the Conceptual Stat Energy of Defying Heaven had more than doubled. When compared to “Black Flame Meteor God(?)”, the efficiency was at least three times greater. This was because the star clusters supported each other.
The absurd thing was…
‘I don’t even know how far this can go.’
The space that once housed my heart was now spreading throughout my entire body. Yet, the space occupied by the seven star clusters inside me wasn’t that large. This meant I could create more star clusters, which would lead to an exponential increase in efficiency.
“…No, it’s not all advantages.”
I frowned slightly. My body was under a bit of strain. It was a subtle sign, like smoking a single cigarette, but with my body honed by Black God Martial Arts, I could detect the anomaly.
‘I need to focus more on external martial arts.’
The problem was that there was no longer a way to further train external martial arts.
I had mastered Black God Martial Arts. It meant I had completely mastered it. Having mastered the best external martial art, I could either learn another comparable one or improve upon it to suit myself.
‘I’ll have to adapt to it.’
A sigh escaped me automatically.
Improving martial arts required a lot of effort and concentration. The efficiency wasn’t particularly great compared to the time invested.
Well, that’s a task for the future.
There’s something more important right now.
[Narrative is your achievement, and achievement represents your rank.]
[You can choose one of the three rewards.]
["Black Flame Meteor God(?)" - "Infinite Black Flame Star (Ex)" - Not available]
[Absolute Stat ??]
[Conceptual Statification of Special Stat]
I pressed on the Absolute Stat option.
I scratched my head as I looked around. A luxurious single-person hospital room. But outside, it was noisy.
‘Why is it so noisy?’
As I enhance my senses, I could hear bits and pieces of conversations.
“Did a student really kill one of the Great Evils?”
“No matter if it was just an avatar, the idea that a mere student killed one of the Great Evils… What are they saying…?”
“They say it wasn’t just an avatar but the main body that was killed? Daji’s name is already missing from the ‘Hall of Fame’.”
“…What?”
It seemed word about killing one of the Great Evils had gotten out.
I quickly turned on my phone and connected to YouTube.
[One of the Great Evils, the most dangerous evil, the Illusionary Evil, has died. Killed by a mere first-year university student.]
[A nuclear bomb-like shockwave in the middle of North Korea. The Great Evils and a dragon that appeared there.]
[This is the story of a man who fought knowing he would not be rewarded.]
[Shocking: One of the Great Evils, the most dangerous evil, the Illusionary Evil Daji, has died. Killed by a mere first-year university student!!]
I thought it was just some crazy nationalism, but why is it actually true?
ㄴ There were so many rumors that he was of a legendary caliber, but did he really take down a Great Evil? By himself?
ㄴ ㄴNot alone. But since the dragon said he made the greatest contribution, it must be true.
ㄴ What's with the dragon's eyes? Aren't dragons supposed to see humans as insects? Why does it look at him so lovingly?
ㄴ Dragons have eyes too; of course, they'd like handsome men.
ㄴ He’s going to become as popular as Masked Man or Truth.
[A nuclear bomb-like shockwave in the middle of North Korea. The Great Evils and a dragon that appeared there.]
LOL, wow. A 20-year-old, just turned 20, took down a Great Evil by himself? That's insane. What was I doing when I was 20?
ㄴ You were probably doing the same thing as now, watching YouTube and leaving comments, so nothing has changed.
ㄴ Where do you live?
…I wondered why this had spread so far, and it seems Han Sook-ja had said something.
Normally, this would have been something to panic about.
The moment this spread openly, the Great Evils might join forces to kill me, and Seo Ga-yeon’s life would be in greater danger. Even the Nazi Empire might move against me.
But now, how should I put it?
I lightly opened my hand.
The black energy surged powerfully.
‘I feel like telling them to just come at me.’
Still, I should be prepared.
I looked north.
A place where a mystery, comparable to the power of defying heaven, slept.
I should seize that power.
The power of the Boundary that governed all boundaries.