Chapter 211   – Philosopher’s Stone (4)

“Ohyohyohyo! Ohyo! Wow. You’re probably the second person to play with the 98th floor like this, ohyohyo!”

Yvlke burst out laughing like this was hilarious.

As he did, messages of the dissatisfaction of the gods and demons continued to pop up, but he didn’t care at all.

[A god of ‘Asgard,’ Heimdall, suggests the power, ‘Tone of the End,’ and the godly item, ‘Gjallarhorn.’]

[A demon of ‘Jeolgyo,’ Galaganta, suggests the power ‘Great Hail,’ and the godly item, ‘Flood Sword.’]

…..

Because it ended up like this, Yvlke’s laughter became even louder.

It was hilarious how they were acting so desperate giving him mere presents. It wasn’t even for a contract.

It would’ve been fine if they just said presenting their powers was to show the generosity of the gods, but it was clear that they were now fighting to show who had the best power.

The gods and demons were the same in the end.

In the end, Yeon-woo carefully contemplated the suggestions that he had received.

Although he had pushed the gods and demons, he didn’t plan on accepting all of them. They might be blind fighting for their pride right now, but when they came to their senses later, they might be filled with detestation for Yeon-woo later.

Even if they were bound to the 98th floor, it would be a pain in the side for Yeon-woo if they decided to get revenge. Like Agares, they could grab the chance to show themselves.

No, even with all that aside, he wasn’t confident in being able to use all the powers.

Yeon-woo carefully examined the powers, and picked only what he needed at the moment.

There were 4 that he chose.

Goddess’s Stigmata, The 3rd Spirit, Hyoongshin Acksal, and the Faceless Law.

[Goddess’s Stigmata]

Rank: Power

Proficiency: 0.0%

Summary: The power that a goddess of ‘Olympus,’ Athena, presented.

Athena was touched by you who fought so passionately for your niece, and so gave forth a power to replace Aegis.

*Goddess’s Spear Sword

The goddess’s grace will be given. Your body will be protected from arrows and spear swords, and the spirit of your opponent will be broken.

In addition, those who are recognized as your allies will be graced as well, and all defenses will increase.

*Goddess’s Shield

The resistance and defenses of the range of influence increases dramatically. Also, a temporary barrier can be set up.

[The 3rd Spirit]

Rank: Power

Proficiency: 0.0%

Summary: The power that a god of ‘Malak,’ Azrael, presented.

As the god of death and souls, Azrael has been interested in the Despair of the Black King for a long time. However, he felt a frustration for you who was still lacking in controlling souls, so he presented a new power that he felt you needed.

*Demons and Monsters

You can plant thoughts into the souls you own to use them how you want. Sometimes, you can steal their bodies to move them like your marionettes.

*Hyakki Yagyo [TN: Japanese idiom for uncontrolled horde of monsters]

The souls move as a horde. Souls have the natural instinct to regain their lives, so they absorb life as they see it. The area that a horde of souls moves by will be left lifeless.

It can be used in many ways.

[Hyoongshin Acksal]

Rank: Power

Proficiency: 0.0%

Summary: The power that a demon of ‘Le Infernal,’ Agares, presented.

Although badly injured, Agares wasn’t able to throw away his severe obsession for you and presented a strong power to appeal his strength. However, you may be driven crazy the more this is activated, so there is a need for special care.

*Hyoongshin

The anger and resentment building up in your body will be turned into lunacy. Then, your attack power increases as much as your lunacy, but your defenses will decrease by that much.

*Acksal

The lunacy affects your opponents and attacks their rationality. Their rationality turns into your stamina and magic power.

[Faceless Law]

Rank: Power

Proficiency: 0.0%

Summary: A demon of ‘Jeolgyo,’ Confusion, pretensed this power to you.

Confusion has eyes but cannot see objects, has ears but cannot hear sound, and doesn’t have internal organs, so it cannot eat. But still, his senses are outstanding, his thinking ability is amazing.

His magic was so deep that it surpassed a grimoire and became a power.

The Goddess’s Stigmata was the perfect replacement that Athena gave in Aegis’s stead.

The Goddess’s Spear Sword was stronger than before, and the Goddess’s Shield could even make a barrier.

Just maybe, it might have the same level of buff effects as Aegis.

‘Athena gave me something too special. And so did Azrael.’

The 3rd Spirit allowed him to properly use souls in his collection.

‘If I just use my head a bit, I can find more ways to use it.’

There were already 3 different ways that he had thought of so far.

One of them was possession. He could plant a soul into a nearby monster or player and drive them into the confused state.

The other was an outer wall. He would put the souls into physical objects and protect himself with them as a barrier.

And the Hyakki Yagyo could be used to reduce the devastation on the battlefield.

‘If the souls are all given Devil Poison…..’

Then, wouldn’t everyone around him immediately die? Everything would probably melt. Unless they had a trait of being immune to all poisons, they wouldn’t be able to escape.

‘Technically, this is the most effective power. Azrael. Is he really interested in the Despair of the Black King like the summary states?’

The Hyoongshin Acksal was also outstanding.

It was dangerous in that it made the user go insane, but it wasn’t a power to look down on. Also, the fact that it turned the opponent’s rationality into the user’s health and magic power was appealing.

‘Depending on the opponent, I can fight without becoming tired. This would be the best in an actual battle.’

He had contemplated rejecting it, since it was Agares’s power, but he didn’t have any reason to reject it. No, he didn’t want to run away. Just like how his brother hadn’t fallen for Agares’s temptation, he was confident that he could take just what he needed.

And the last one, Faceless Law, wasn’t something that Yeon-woo was planning on using.

‘It’ll be Boo’s wings. I can just engrave the sentences onto my bones.’

It was better to leave things like this for Boo to interpret. Also, Boo would be able to set up his own magic while he was at it.

So Yeon-woo linked the Faceless Law to Boo, and he connected the 3rd Soul to his collection and aimed to strengthen his souls and Monster Army.

[Your control of souls is dramatically increased. The understanding of the souls is becoming deeper.]

[The Monster Portent ‘Chan’ has been graced by Azrael, and it earned strong teeth.]

The Monster Portent ‘Ka’ has been graced by Azrael, and it earned a violent personality.]

…..

After Yeon-woo was somewhat finished organizing, the channel quickly became noisy.

[A god of ‘Olympus,’ Athena, looks at you proudly.]

[A demon of ‘Le Infernal,’ Agares, laughs at the other demons.]

…..

[A god of ‘Olympus,’ Ares, is furious at your choice.]

[A demon of ‘Jeolgyo,’ Galaganta, is looking at your choice with calm eyes.]

The gods and demons were split into two different sides, chosen and not chosen, and they showed completely different reactions. Some were happy, and others resented Yeon-woo. And there were some who were jumping up and down like Agares.

It was because Yeon-woo hadn’t ‘rejected’ Agares. It wasn’t like he ‘approved’ either, but he had left the message so he could take the power whenever he wanted.

‘If they think it’s unnecessary or feel unsatisfied, they’ll probably just take it back. And there will be those who just leave it.’

The gods and demons were prideful, so it was unlikely that they would take their presents back. Only through this would they be able to be connected to Yeon-woo, and they needed to observe him.

It wasn’t a bad choice for Yeon-woo either.

He might need other powers as he climbed the floors. If he left some there, he could use it well another time.

Yvlke saw Yeon-woo’s sly decision and couldn’t help but laugh ‘ohyohyohyo’ as he closed the channel. Yeon-woo really was amusing everytime.

After all channels were closed, Yvlke fixed his monocle and straightened his back.

“Also, there’s a message that Hermes left behind.”

“What is it?”

Yeon-woo’s eyes sparkled. Looking at it now, there wasn’t anything from Hermes. It was unexpected to him. If he had to pick the god he was closest to, it was probably Hermes. And Hermes was always watching him.

“Don’t be flung around, and continue trusting the path you take. And he said that he’ll always be watching you.”

Yeon-woo’s eyes took on a strange gaze.

-You probably have the path you have to walk on.

A long time ago. What Hermes said back then overlapping with now probably wasn’t a coincidence.

Thanks to that, Yeon-woo was able to have some confidence. Hermes didn’t offer him a power because he trusted him. That was also how much the god respected him.

“Then that’s all. I hope you do well on the other floors as well.”

Yvlke politely bowed, then clapped lightly.

Tak!

The air around Yeon-woo faded away, and he returned to where he was before he stepped into the portal.

And from that moment, Yeon-woo wasn’t able to erase the feeling that something was following him in the sky.

Maybe.

As much as he received, it seemed like he had received as much discomfort.