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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 26
Baekya, who was an all-rounder capable of both close combat and long-range firepower before the regression, didn't often engage in direct melee with enemies due to his usual role as the raid leader and the efficiency of his cheat skill, Law of Light.
'I can't remember the last time I did this.'
Ryu Haneul clenched his fists, excited to witness the rare spectacle of his senior in fierce combat.
"Hiss!"
Ants the size of cars poured out of the ant nest.
Thump!
Baekya lunged forward, the 'White Lotus Refined Steel Sword' blazing in his hand, and swung it towards the ant's head.
Slice!
Even the steel-like carapace couldn't withstand the Master grade weapon enhanced by the 'Radiant Sword' skill.
The ant's head melted and was sliced off like butter cut by a hot knife.
Even Ryu Haneul, a 'Heavenly Demon,' the highest class in the martial arts category, couldn't find any fault in his swordsmanship.
"...Keeek!"
The giant ant twitched its front legs and then went limp.
From Ryu Haneul's perspective, Baekya never swung his sword more than twice to kill a single ant.
'Is this a warm-up?'
He sliced off a front leg, momentarily throwing the ant off balance, then diagonally sliced upwards at its head.
Slash!
He leaped into the air, bringing his sword down to separate the head from the body.
Whoosh!
He landed on the ant's head, stomped on its hard shell, crushing its head, then spun around in place, cutting down countless other heads.
Slice! Slice! Slice!
"Keeek!"
At that moment, an ant with particularly thick jaws seized the opportunity while its comrades were being cut down and lunged forward.
Whoosh!
Baekya swung his sword as if to push away the massive jaws.
Due to the absolute difference in mass, Baekya was pushed back, but Ryu Haneul realized this was Baekya's intention.
The ant charged with its stag beetle-like powerful jaws wide open.
Whirl!
Baekya switched his sword to a reverse grip, spun half a turn, and showed his back to the ant.
The ant, thinking it was a chance, missed the blade that suddenly emerged from Baekya's side.
Stab!
The orange blade pierced through the eyes and shattered its brain.
Ryu Haneul marveled at the clean movement.
'As expected of Senior.'
Baekya was indeed the pinnacle of Espers, encompassing everything from close combat to magic.
The ants in the nest frantically released pheromones at the annihilation of their vanguard.
"Hiss!"
"Hiss!"
With tremors that made them wonder if the nest was collapsing, soldier ants, so massive they dwarfed the surrounding ants, emerged.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
If the giant ants they had defeated so far were the size of cars, these were the size of dump trucks.
【Soldier Ant (B)】
"Keeeeeek!"
The soldier ant screeched towards the sky.
Acidic liquid sprayed in all directions, transforming into a cloud of noxious, burning smoke.
Ryu Haneul unconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword.
'Senior!'
Soldier ants rarely appeared in this power-leveling zone.
This ant, with its massive, incredibly tough carapace and acidic liquid capable of melting even armored Hunters along with their armor...
'Wasn't this floor supposed to be cleared?'
It was a monster among monsters, having devoured countless Hunters who had let their guard down, thinking a cleared floor would be safe.
He didn't dare doubt Baekya's skills, but even with the best control, a level 1 couldn't beat a level 99.
Swish.
But Baekya, as if saying "trust me," stretched out his hand and blocked Ryu Haneul's approach.
'Senior?'
He even let his only weapon, his sword, hang loosely at his side.
Thump! Thump!
The soldier ant, as large as a dump truck, marched forward, its six massive legs moving in unison.
The moment its body fully emerged from the ant nest...
Whoosh!
Flames erupted from beneath it.
The 'Wall of Fire' Baekya had created engulfed the soldier ant's entire body and blazed.
"Keeeeeekh!"
The soldier ant charged forward in anger.
Even after escaping the burning ground, the flames clinging to its body didn't die out.
It tried to crush Baekya with its hydraulic press-like jaws.
Thump!
But by then, Baekya in his flame form was already soaring into the sky.
It was the perfect combination of 'Flame Arrow' and 'Descent from the Crimson Flames.'
Twisting his body in mid-air, Baekya descended headfirst.
In his outstretched palm, a skill that even Ryu Haneul knew well was gathering.
Resonance Wave.
Wooooooong!
A wave that shook the entire space shot out in a fan shape.
Crack!
* * *
The soldier ant writhed in agony, its abdomen torn open, before finally dying.
The formic acid that flowed from its body sizzled and melted its own flesh.
I looked at the endless stream of ants pouring out of the nest and thought.
A black wave that seemed to have no end, no matter how many I burned.
It had been a long time.
The 23rd floor was the third instance where I had given up on solo clearing and attempted a group raid.
At that time, I had a perfect understanding of what the 'Epilogue Story' of this Tower was, so the time I spent on each floor didn't exceed a year.
'Hero, please help us.'
There was a medieval-style kingdom on this floor.
They, tormented by monsters, summoned a hero to help them, and that was us.
The kingdom was on the verge of collapse due to giant ant monsters endlessly emerging from the underground.
'Each individual ant could be defeated by the kingdom's knights, but even they couldn't stop the farmland from being destroyed and the citizens from being abducted. This is the last land we've managed to protect.'
The temporary capital, built on a bedrock layer, was the last city of the kingdom.
'But the soldier ants are trying to break through the bedrock. The fate of the kingdom rests in the hands of the heroes. Please help us.'
We started exterminating the ants from that point on.
'We burned down breeding ground number 4.'
'We reopened passage number 8.'
'We succeeded in developing an antidote for the pheromones. We found the Queen Ant's location.'
We appeased the collapsing public sentiment.
'A group of soldiers is causing a commotion, saying they can't stand our tyranny any longer.'
'Ignore them. It's most likely an internal power struggle within the kingdom.'
'We'll prioritize distributing the food harvested from the recovered farmland. We'll also teach magic to talented children.'
'Jeongwon, why do you learn everything just to give it away?'
We even eliminated the uncle who coveted the princess's throne.
'You beast!'
'Cough!'
And so, at the end of the year-long epilogue story, we descended into the ants' underground nest and fought the Queen Ant.
'Hyung! Law of Light! Please use Law of Light!'
'Just how many of them are there?'
'Elite humanoid units are approaching!'
The battle ended successfully.
I had an overwhelming power back then, incomparable to now.
I burned hundreds of thousands, even millions of ants, and erased the Queen Ant, the Princess Ant, and all the drone ants.
And with the kingdom saved, the scenario ended.
I thought it was a happy ending.
The night before we rang the bell signaling the clear…
That was the case until the princess called me to her chambers in the middle of the night to tell me one thing.
'Princess.'
'You've come. I have one last request.'
'Tell me.'
'There are still ants alive and moving in this world.'
'What do you mean?'
'Do you remember the high-ranking humanoid ants?'
The princess took off her gloves in front of me and showed me her hands, gleaming and encased in black carapace.
'I've already been assimilated. Who do you think is the most well-fed and prosperous person in this world? I must have eaten the most contaminated crops grown in this tainted land. You heroes, beings of a different origin, may be safe... but...'
'Princess.'
'The duty of the royal family and nobles is to protect the nation. I will fulfill my duty.'
'The conditions for the ending have already been met. I will ring the bell as soon as the sun rises tomorrow and leave this land... and then you, and this land, will all disappear.'
'You're still speaking words I can't understand. But with your light, you can surely cleanse all the remaining contamination in this land, right?'
That's how the conversation ended.
After ringing the bell, everything disappeared.
Only a few ant nests remained in the form of dungeons.
The royal palace and the people vanished as if they had never existed.
I walked through the 'cleared' 23rd floor, reminiscing about the year-long adventure, and a month later, I challenged the 24th floor.
"Hiss!"
Seeing the ants in front of me brought back memories of that time.
As always, reminiscing about my time in the Tower left a bitter taste in my mouth.
It was like waking up from a beautiful dream, only to realize it was gone forever, and the ache of its absence was a constant reminder.
"Keeek!"
A high-ranking ant, similar in size to a human, stood on two legs and swung its four long arms at me.
Green acidic liquid dripped and shimmered from the long blades formed of carapace at the end of its four arms.
【Praetorian Guard (B)】
Through Appraisal, I saw its name was Praetorian.
I remembered the missing knights, nobles, and royalty being transformed into these creatures.
The thought filled me with disgust, and I irritably swung my hand.
【Law of Light】
Fwaaaaaah—!
A white light flashed.
The Praetorian Guard's head disintegrated, its essence scattering like a swarm of glowing butterflies.
I kicked its body, sending it tumbling to the ground.
Green and red mana sparks flew from its fingers.
Such sparks usually appeared when artifacts were dropped.
It seemed the drop rate was high because I killed it in one hit.
【Praetorian Guard's Articulated Ring (Master)】
【An articulated ring worn by a Praetorian Guard. It is a testament to one who held a wish they were willing to fulfill, even at the cost of everything.】
As expected, an artifact dropped.
The jet-black articulated ring looked like the finger segments of a gauntlet, torn away and repurposed.
Swish!
With a swift motion, I scooped up the ring and retreated dozens of meters from the ant nest.
I immediately put the ring on my left middle finger.
Checking artifacts was always important.
I channeled a bit of mana into it.
As a Pyromancer, if I channeled pure mana without any special control, a faint flame should appear.
However, what emerged from the ring was a thin, sharp beam of heat.
Ziiiiing!
It left a long, burnt mark on the ground.
It was tremendously compressed.
"....!"
It might be Master grade because it lacked any additional abilities, but in terms of pure monster-slaying efficiency, it seemed to be on par with Heroic grade artifacts.
I looked up towards the ant nest.
In just a few seconds of distraction, countless ants were swarming again.
As expected of a power-leveling zone, the respawn rate was high.
At this point, it wasn't about numbers but area.
And I was a Pyromancer, the class most advantageous in one-versus-many battles.
I channeled mana into the Praetorian's Articulated Ring and swung my hand.
【Law of Light】
Ziiiiing—!
Unlike before, the pale light didn't spread out in a fan-shaped gas flame but shot out as a single, sharp beam of heat.
Swoosh!
The entire swathe of ants was cleaved in two, as if sliced by a giant blade.
The ants, sliced cleanly from head to abdomen, collapsed one after another.
"Ha!"
Even to me, a High Ranker among High Rankers, it was an absurdly powerful attack.
【"That's quite something."】
It was impressive not in terms of raw power, but in terms of efficiency.
If it normally took 100 mana to wipe out that many enemies with Law of Light, it felt like I had only used 30 or 40 this time.
And no matter how much mana I expended, the amount I recovered remained constant.
【Mana has increased by '1'.】
【Mana has increased by '1'.】
【Mana has...】
【Maximum mana has increased significantly due to a large amount of mana being recovered in a short period.】
Aitel System notifications filled one side of my vision.
I felt a refreshing, bone-stretching sensation throughout my body.
【"I'll throw in a little extra for good measure."】
【Your Constellation 'Sunny' sponsors 5 Mana stat points.】
I instinctively sensed significant growth.
'Hyung, yesterday I...'
I recalled my disciples telling me they felt this sensation whenever they overcame a certain wall.
As expected, a flurry of Aitel notifications appeared.
【Maximum mana has increased significantly. Your mana is no longer restricted to C-rank levels.】
【Class level up!】
【Pyromancer C+ → B-】
【Your Mana stat and other stats are unbalanced. It is recommended to balance them to maximize your class advantages.】
I couldn't help but turn to Ryu Haneul and shout—
"Success!"
Ryu Haneul, beaming as if he had leveled up himself, ran towards me.
"Congratulations!"
It was a genuinely happy smile that involuntarily eased my wariness.
It seems I raised at least one disciple well.
Unlike Cheong Siyeol or Lee Eunwoo, he didn't try to kill me.
* * *
Ryu Haneul led me out of the ants' attack range.
All monsters on cleared floors of the Tower turned passive, and even during combat, you could break their aggro by moving a certain distance away.
Ryu Haneul, brimming with excitement, gushed—
"As expected, Senior, you're the best."
His fair face was flushed with a deep blush.
"Law of Light and mana absorption... You're incredible, Senior! I'm so honored to be the only one by your side. You're my one and only Senior!"
Even I, who had heard all sorts of flattery, from Cheong Siyeol's "My idol, my hero, my sun" to countless others, felt my face heat up at his praise.
Then a sudden question popped into my mind.
"Haneul, why do you call me 'Senior'?"
"Huh?"
"The others mostly called me teacher, or hyung, or Chairman, or something like that. Some who were a bit more expressive even called me Sun."
"Yes."
"But why do you call me 'Senior'?"
Usually, "senior" wasn't used for someone who taught you, but for someone who learned the same thing before you, wasn't it?
"Uh..."
Ryu Haneul wore a troubled expression, which was unusual for him.
"Well... I suppose you have a point."
"Can't you tell me why?"
"If you don't like it, should I call you something else?"
I decided not to pry.
After all, he was the only ally who was actually being helpful right now.
"No, it's just that you're the only one who calls me that, so I was curious. Call me whatever you like."
"I'm the only one? That's exciting."
"No. Please don't."
"Hehe. Senior, you'll come tomorrow too, right?"
"Of course."
At Ryu Haneul's suggestion, I thought of the ring on my left hand.
It was quite an efficient artifact.
I was looking forward to seeing how much mana I could gather tomorrow.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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