Chapter 228 500 years (4)

Tens of thousands of troops. It was a large number, too many for one to handle alone, but that wasn’t all. There was Rick, who vanished somewhere, and according to Lee Su-yeon, there were still several who played the role of middle bosses. Therefore, it was dangerous to leave it be.

He had to eliminate the enemies before the destruction rate increased exponentially.

「Current destruction rate, 6.89%.」

「Current destruction rate, 6.97%.」

The first method he could think of was stably defending until the dimension switchgear was activated and Cheon-ma and their other reinforcements arrived. If two Lady’s Commandments were used, they could maintain and contain the current state. However..

‘I think there’s something better.’

The best defense was a good offense. If the link he had in mind worked, they would get to stop them and gain benefits on top.

‘Let’s check first.’

Yoon-seok first checked whether the theory in his head was possible.

Swaaaaaaaaaaaa-.

Seeing the tombstones remained intact despite Elle’s widespread magic, Yoon-seok could tell. Although they were brutally destroyed due to his power, the tombstones were objects with non-destructible characteristics. Then, what if they took advantage of that?

「Due to Lady’s Commandment, the unbreakable cannot be broken within the realm.」

It was impossible to spread it widely. The radius that could be maintained by Yoon-seok’s almost infinite magic was only 500m. However, the effect was clear.

Cl-clang! Clang!

The tombstones rebuffed the enemy’s blades. Smiling at the expected situation for a moment, a random variable quickly popped up in Yoon-seok’s mind.

‘Why can’t I apply it?’

Boom-!

When he swung his sword at a nearby tombstone as a test, the tombstone was destroyed instantly. With this, he thought the effect of b Divine Ultimatum} would also be blocked, but what happened? Yoon-seok thought of the C effect of b Divine Ultimatum}.

Rank C — It must exist.

‘Is it blocked because of this?’

There was no other reason he could point out. Well, there was nothing particularly problematic about what he was going to do in the first place.

“Lady’s Commandment..?”

When Yoon-seok used the power, Elle realized it and stopped in surprise.

“How did you get this power..?”

“I don’t have time to explain. Will you do as I say?”

“..I understand.”

Elle complied with Yoon-seok’s order and activated her power.

Swaaaaaaaaaaa-!

A translucent red shield of Elle’s mana covered Yoon-seok’s body. And that moment-

「Due to Lady’s Commandment, the radius of Lady’s Commandment within the area increases by 10x.」

Like a bowl placed on top of a bowl, the black shield covering them quickly grew in size.

‘Five-kilometer radius..’

500m was the limit for the magic that transcended the system, but it quickly increased ten times. In other words, Yoon-seok’s current magic capacity had to increase by ten times, but it was a possible miracle. He couldn’t even guess what it would be like to convert this into AP. Nevertheless, Elle seemed relaxed.

It was expected. First of all, she was a duel ranker with magic as her main stat. But normally, there was no reason to consume that much magic in extending the scope of Lady’s Commandment with Lady’s Commandment.

‘Well, things are different if there are two of the same power.’

Yoon-seok hadn’t even begun yet.

「Due to Lady’s Commandment, the radius of Lady’s Commandment within the area increases by 20x.」

「Due to Lady’s Commandment, the radius of Lady’s Commandment within the area increases by 30x.」

「Due to Lady’s Commandment, the radius of Lady’s Commandment within the area increases by 35x.」

Elle slowly increased the magnification as Yoon-seok instructed, and they found the maximum limit that could be maintained. The final maximum range derived was a 17.5 km radius. Of course, it wasn’t enough to cover the vast cemetery, but if the battlefield were limited, it was a different story.

With this, it was enough to cover everything.

Cl-clang! Clang!

「Current destruction rate, 7.18%.」

「Current destruction rate, 7.18%.」

As soon as the black shield covered the entire battlefield, the destruction rate stopped at 7%.

‘We put out the fire for now..’

If they could maintain their current state, it would be a piece of cake to hold out until reinforcements arrived. No, even if he cut them down slowly by the dozen, Yoon-seok might be able to slaughter them all by himself before they arrived. However, he felt discouraged that this two in one Lady’s Commandment combo could only happen in this mission.

「Due to Lady’s Commandment, the Rank E effect of Unique Skill {Voracity} targets everyone who is not a challenger in the area.」

Power and scope. Applying these things didn’t require much more magic than he imagined. Still, there wasn’t a significant difference in the amount of magic consumed from messing with the system.

‘Are the preparations over?’

The non-destructible characteristics of the tombstone disappeared again, but.. his theory was proven to work, so he didn’t have to worry too much.

Rank E – Absorb challenger’s magic-based skill and power during an attack. Absorb up to 10% per attack of the maximum magic capacity.

He could block all the attacks within the radius, and the absorbed magic power was turned into bonus AP.

Whooooooosh-!

As soon as Yoon-seok opened his mouth, magic raged in from all sides. Apart from turning the attack into nothing, the magic absorption rate was 10% of the consumed magic. However, this part could be modified.

Rank C – You will feel hunger when magic capacity is below 15%; the absorption limit rises to 50% of the maximum magic capacity.

Yoon-seok used the ring Asnat left to adjust the magic consumption rate. After that, all the absorbed magic was converted into AP.

「Convert the absorbed magic into AP with Unique Skill b Voracity}.」

「Acquired 5,871AP.」

「Acquired 12,119AP.」

「Acquired 3,988AP.」

Yoon-seok smiled under the endless notifications.

Rank B – When absorbing magic, the opponent’s maximum magic decreases by the amount of magic absorbed.

The more he ate, the weaker the enemy forces became.

Rank A – Additional AP is obtained when all the opponent’s magic is absorbed.

But when he reached that peak, there would be an additional reward? Killing two birds with one stone wasn’t enough to describe this situation.

The enemies realized something had changed and stopped attacking. Well, even if that did, they wouldn’t face any loss because their purpose to protect the cemetery would be achieved. Of course, though he did fear such a situation because he couldn’t receive the benefits he was now..

Perhaps because they didn’t receive any orders, the enemies continued to hurl magic into the air to attack the tombstone.

「Acquired 4,871AP.」

「Acquired 9,119AP.」

「Acquired 8,788AP.」

「You have absorbed all the opponent’s magic. An additional 30,000 AP is obtained.」

Only when several collapsed from having their magic drained did they stop. However, Yoon-seok didn’t think it was a shame. Even Yoon-seok had that much conscience left. Maybe.

‘..It’s over 20 million points, right?’

He had nothing to do, so he counted the points rolling in by activating Yin and Yang, but the exact figure was still unknown. However, he knew that the amount was enough when Rick appeared in the sky, looking different from before. Honestly, the more he learned about Rick, the more he disliked him..

Of course, this was this, that was that.

“What did you do while I was gone?”

“Well, if you tell me where you’ve been, I’ll answer.”

Nothing was free in this world. Yoon-seok was very curious about why Rick left. But unlike Asnat, Rick wasn’t the type to entertain his inquiries.

「Group mission (10/15).」

「Before the arrival of the reinforcements, the dimensional barrier was broken down by the Destructive Monarch. Protect the cemetery from his companions who joined and prevent doom from arriving. If the number of souls destroyed by enemies exceeds 70%, the mission will fail.」

「Current destruction rate, 7.18%.」

Yoon-seok smiled.

“Did you come here to break down the dimension barrier?”

Of course, Yoon-seok didn’t know what this dimensional barrier was or its role. However, Rick’s eyes, revealed through the mask, sharpened.

“..There’s no way the Tower would tell a hound dog like you that. Who are you?”

“Who knows. Are you curious?”

Yoon-seok would at least give him his name if he answered, but.. sadly, Rick, suspicious of his generosity, scoffed.

“..Doesn’t matter. It’s all over anyway.”

Rick drew his sword and raised it high in the sky. The sky suddenly turned black, and an ominous roar rang through the air.

Growwwwwwwwl-!

Was that the mid-boss mentioned earlier? The dark clouds split, and Rick’s powerful aura radiated from within.

“It’ll be hard to deal with this on my own alone.’

Yoon-seok confirmed the remaining time before the dimension switchgear would turn back on.

‘About three minutes?’

Looks like he could let Cheon-ma and Lee Su-yeon take over later. Yoon-seok prepared for the battle. And then-

“Mister..? You’re mister! It’s you, right?”

Elle, listening to the conversation next to Yoon-seok, suddenly raised her head and shouted.

“..”

Rick didn’t answer. He focused only on aiming his sword at the sky and opening a rift. But Elle wouldn’t give up.

“Talk to me! Why? Why aren’t you answering me? Huh? Are you afraid of meeting me? Because you killed my colleagues?”

“..”

“T-then, you don’t have to do that? Even if you killed all the people in the world.. I-I’m fine, so..!” historical

“..”

“I don’t know what it is, but let’s just run away, just like before. Just.. let’s do that. Please..?”

She shouted earnestly, but no reply. Elle slid to the floor sobbing. It was then that Rick struggled to speak.

“..I did everything for you.”

Yoon-seok doubted his ears.

“For me? At least, please explain.”

“..I can’t do that.”

If he was going to say that, Yoon-seok thought it would’ve been better for him to keep his mouth shut. Wasn’t that just for his comfort? And he said it was all for her? But he wanted them to do nothing?

“..You’re making me laugh.”

Yoon-seok hadn’t felt so angry in a while. Elle could not reunite with Rick when she was alive. In the end, whatever Rick wanted, that meant he failed. Then, who paid for that failure?

It was none other than Elle.

“Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for you?”

500 years. She endured it alone, hoping that she could meet him in the next life. She’d endured the years by recreating the hut they lived in while hiding from the Trejan cult and holding onto those memories. But, she only wanted one thing.

For the man called Rick Gerssey to live freely without being bound by anything in his next life.

“How dare you say that?”

It looked like this guy needed to be beaten up.