Chapter 2633 – 2633. Dark Moon

Kukuru spoke before the stairs leading to the altar.

“Go up. What you seek is up there.”

“…I haven’t killed the dungeon boss, though. Is it okay?”

“Dungeon boss? Ah, if you’re talking about the Lizardman Shaman, it doesn’t matter. The trial of the ritual is all about the five mages you killed. The Lizardman Shaman? That’s the malice of a Transcendent to hinder you. And he’s not here. I’ll stay down here with the undead to protect you from any unforeseen variables.”

*That unforeseen variable isn’t you, is it?* I swallowed the reply. There are too many backstabbers in this world. Maybe it’s because the maid and butler I hired last time backstabbed me, but I couldn’t trust anyone. I didn’t let my guard down as I stepped onto the stairs.

The moment I stepped on the first stair, my body trembled without me realizing it. The mana within me surged.

Mana surging due to external interference. I felt displeased yet expectant at the same time.

The moment I stepped on the second stair, I realized this was a kind of large-scale magic. Of course, I knew it, but realizing it was completely different.

‘The light fragments that came from killing the mages in this dungeon and were absorbed into me. It’s not just knowledge about magic. It was magic for this moment.’

I stepped onto the next stair without hesitation. My astral expanded. All my senses were being forcibly expanded.

The higher I climbed, the more my body was being modified, and my senses were heightened.

A large-scale ritual magic, legitimately activated, was forcibly pulling me to a higher place.

‘The path to reaching Level 7 through a ritual. This is also possible because I, as a Level 6 mage, met the conditions.’

It was a ritual limited only to mages.

The higher I climbed, the harder it became. The upheaval that started within me was affecting the outside. The mana around the altar surged.

Mana that shone blue, sparkling. It meant the mana density had become so incredibly high that mana was visible to the naked eye.

‘Probably, everyone in this dungeon has noticed the anomaly.’

My body grew heavy.

It felt like the whole world was trying to stop me, trying to halt my legs as I climbed higher.

Just because I was a mage didn’t mean I was holed up in a room reading books. I was a battle mage. I had been consistently training my body for combat. I forced my feet to move and climbed higher.

My astral reacted. The mage’s spirit, which had been expanding, finally began to affect the outside.

Level 7.

The realm of projecting one’s will onto the outside.

As long as one’s will reaches, even the laws can be temporarily changed according to one’s will. Because they accomplish things impossible for humans, those at Level 7 and above are called beings of transcendence.

‘It’s still weak. With this much power, I can’t project my will onto the outside.’

Fortunately, there were still stairs left.

I stepped towards the remaining stairs.

Three stairs remained to the top, where the altar was placed.

My foot went down to step on one of them.

Time slowed down. My foot, going down to step on the stair, was sluggish. This feeling was similar to when I used a fleeting moment. The difference from a fleeting moment was that even though my thoughts were accelerating, my body was still moving.

It felt like one second had been extended hundreds of times. But eventually, my foot stepped on the stair.

I could see my astral.

My spirit, my inner self, was visible.

In a dark space, countless stars were twinkling. There were some noticeable stars, but their shapes were somewhat strange. They were shaped like male genitalia or female genitalia. I doubted myself for a moment. The constellations disappeared.

No, they didn’t disappear.

The stars that had been maintaining the constellations had scattered.

All the stars here were moving.

I stepped on the second stair.

The universe grew closer.

Thanks to that, I could look deeply into my astral.

At the center of the universe was a single star.

The star was just shining in its place. The star didn’t move. In the expanding universe, among the constantly moving stars, it just shone in one place.

I knew what this star was.

The Absolute Star.

The eternal and immutable, unaffected by anything, was there.

I opened my eyes.

My legs had already stepped on the last stair and I was standing in front of the altar. Starlight was sparkling and orbiting around my body. It was mana. The mana density was so high only around me that the mana was visible to the naked eye.

I moved my hand slightly. The starlight followed. When I released my will, the starlight gathered and formed a magic circle. Magic that manifested with just will, skipping the intermediate process.

‘Unique Skill: Absolute Star. A unique skill obtained by those at Level 7 or higher.’

The players in my past life called it an ultimate move. Some called it an awakening skill.

‘It’s a unique skill that didn’t exist in the original work. Well, it’s natural since unique skills are different for everyone.’

In the original work, players could choose one of five unique skills for each job when they reached Level 7. But the game and reality were different.

I looked at the altar. There was a wand placed on it.

The fact that I received a dungeon reward even though I hadn’t defeated the dungeon boss meant the dungeon had been cleared. Soon, this dungeon would collapse. The signs were visible in the air.

I grasped the wand in my hand.

‘I’ve obtained Spell Predator.’

It was an artifact with the ability to absorb or seize control of an opponent’s magic. When magic was absorbed, it provided the user with that mana.

Of course, there were conditions. It had to be magic below Level 7. Even if I absorbed a useless Level 1 magic, the cooldown was fifteen days.

‘It can be used during combat, but it’s more focused on dismantling magic. Methods like instantly dispelling tricky sealing magic or barriers. Above all, the range of magic recognition is wide. Sorcery and Taoism are also included in magic.’

Bang! Boom!

Explosions rang out in the city.

It was the sound of the Fire Mushrooms I had set up beforehand exploding. I watched the smoke billowing into the sky and deactivated Absolute Star. The starlight that had been swirling around my body disappeared. Or rather, it just became invisible as the mana density decreased.

I looked down. Kukuru was staring at me with a blank look. Then he smiled.

“I don’t know exactly what you got, but congratulations on reaching Level 7! Hahaha!”

“Yeah. You’ll be free now too. When does the portal to exit the dungeon open?”

“The Transcendent is blocking it. Now that the ritual is complete, the dungeon’s collapse is confirmed. The Transcendent doesn’t want to let you go easily after ruining his scheme. As you know, they’ll be here soon.”

“I know. I’m not afraid. No one here can stop me.”

“And lastly… I lied to you about one thing.”

I looked at him, slightly tense.

“Tell me.”

“My goal isn’t actually freedom. But it’s true that I was aiming for this moment. The moment when the dungeon collapses and the backlash goes directly to the Transcendent, this moment when the Transcendent, who was in a near-death state, is now completely a living corpse…!”

“…You’re going to dominate the Transcendent’s soul with necromancy? You’re insane.”

“The possibility is quite high.”

“Even if I give you the highest estimate, it’s less than 10%.”

“That’s high enough. When I entered this dungeon, it was less than 1%.”

“Was that your goal from the beginning when you entered this dungeon?”

“Are you going to stop me?”

“It’s your decision. I’m curious about the result too. Will I witness a new legend… or will it be nothing?”

“Hahahaha! I’ll let you witness a legend! I’ll leave the undead here!!”

Black flames rose and burned Kukuru’s body. Ashes scattered everywhere. The ashes spread and permeated throughout the world. The ashes were Kukuru’s soul.

Kuaaaaaaaaah!

The world began to shake along with the Transcendent’s scream.

Had Kukuru succeeded? It was too early to tell.

And the enemies arrived.

The enemies were divided into three groups. They had been fighting each other, but they sensed the anomaly and stopped fighting to rush here.

“Shassssss! You scoundrel! How dare you!! He is enraged!! You will never leave here alive!!”

A Lizardman with minor injuries all over his body shouted at the top of his lungs. Lizardman warriors around him were exuding murderous intent. Judging by the soot on the warriors’ bodies, they had been severely affected by the Fire Mushrooms.

“Damn it. Was that a promotion ritual just now? A new transcendent has been born. We didn’t even get any treasure, what a waste of effort!”

“He’s just become a transcendent. We can kill him now. The wand he’s holding looks suspicious. If we get that, it’ll be enough of a reward. A transcendent’s corpse or belongings will also sell for a high price. In a way, this could be a blessing in disguise.”

The guys with red swords. They were the Red Falcon forces, an opposing faction to the Raven Knights.

And the other group was a group using a raven emblem. I recognized the face of the one in the center. It was the man I had met this morning. The old butler who managed the hotel in the Raven district. He was in shock as he looked at me.

“Count Eugene Meyer…! Why are you here…?! Could it be that the identity of that guest was you…!!”

The Absolute Polymorph of Illusion was already deactivated. They were murmuring after hearing my name. Even if they didn’t recognize my face right away, they couldn’t have failed to recognize my name.

“Eugene Meyer of the Superconductor?”

“That mage is that man?”

“To meet in a dungeon. This is a jackpot.”

“The bounty alone is worth billions. Even if he’s reached Level 7, he just got promoted. If it’s now….”

“Damn it! If we get the superconductor recipe, we can turn our lives around!! Companies and countries will pay us a fortune!!”

Those who said those words included the Raven Knights, who were sponsored by Neo London. I didn’t get angry at each of their words.

“Good. I wanted to test my condition as a Level 7 mage. Perfect opponents have appeared.”

The old butler groaned.

“Count. Please stop here. We apologize for our mistake. I will discipline the subordinates. Let’s kill the Red Falcon and Lizardman groups together and return to the Raven Fortress. We will definitely compensate for this mistake.”

“There’s no need to apologize. I will do my work, and you do yours.”

“Count! Please think calmly!”

“I am calm. Killing those who try to kill me. It’s a justifiable act of self-defense.”

Astral Release.

My will spread in all directions. Some of the lower-level ones trembled and were terrified just by that.

My body was reconstructed, and mana flowed through 255 mana rods that had increased more than threefold. The quality and quantity had increased unbelievably.

The magic completed within me soared into the sky. The enemies gritted their teeth.

“It’s a large-scale attack magic!”

“Kill him before the magic is completed!!”

Bullets, magic, sorcery, and javelins flew towards me. But they were all blocked by a single barrier. The barrier cracked slightly as they continued to hit it.

The enemies were preparing a large technique to break the barrier. But they were slow. I was much faster.

[Thunder Break]

A huge lightning strike dyed the world with a flash of light. When the lightning disappeared, 70% of the enemies’ forces had evaporated, and half of the city had collapsed.

Crack, crackle!

Currents remained in the sky, flashing as if it wasn’t enough.

‘I can actually use Thunder Break continuously and turn the city itself into ashes. But then I can’t test myself.’

None of the 255 mana rods had any problems.

‘Now, what’s the next magic….’

I leisurely pondered, looking at the enemies who were electrocuted by the aftermath of Thunder Break.