The Monarch Who Levels Up by Devouring – Chapter 6

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

The Deep Slime was located in the northern part of the wasteland.

I walked straight while using the sun in the sky as a compass.

It should be about time for the Deep Slime to appear by now…….

“What’s this?”

I furrowed my brow.

I found several footprints on the wasteland ground.

Judging by the length of the marks and the stride, they were definitely made by people.

‘The number is five. Three men and two women.’

It couldn’t be a coincidence.

I wasn’t the only one aiming for the Deep Slime.

Once a boss monster was hunted down, it only respawned after 10 days.

That was the rule of the tutorial stage.

I had a lot of things to do, so it would be a bit much for me to come back to the wasteland just for one Deep Slime.

Peooong-!

An explosion echoed in my ear.

Have they already found the Deep Slime?

I put strength into my legs and ran in the direction where the footprints were going.

“Chyureup!”

“Chyureureup!”

A few slimes charged at me, but I ignored them.

Not long after, the battle scene came into view.

Five players were surrounded by a group of slimes.

“It’s those guys.”

Tch-

I clicked my tongue.

I hadn’t thought that I would have competitors in the wasteland.

However, the state of these players wasn’t very good.

“There are too many slimes.”

“At this rate, we’ll be defeated before we can hunt the Deep Slime!”

The two players who had taken on the role of tankers screamed.

Smoke was rising from their entire bodies.

The slime mucus was smeared all over their armor.

Seeing that it didn’t melt even in the dissolving fluid, it seemed like they were wearing decent equipment.

Though their defeat was only a matter of time.

If they couldn’t reduce the number of the slime mob, the result was obvious.

“Fire Bolt!”

“Fire…….”

“Lightning!”

A bolt of lightning and two flaming arrows struck the slimes.

Peong-

The slimes’ bodies swelled up and then exploded with a loud noise.

Two tankers and three ranged damage dealers.

‘They should be able to handle the slime mob.’

Though it would be impossible for them to hunt the Deep Slime that was hanging back in the rear.

Then I’ll have to hunt the Deep Slime myself, as if I was saving some pitiful friends.

As I approached the place where the battle was in full swing, the player team glanced at my direction.

“Hey! A slime is difficult for a day 1 player to handle, so don’t come closer!”

One of the tankers shouted.

It seemed like he had looked at my appearance and misunderstood that I was a hapless newbie player.

“You don’t have to worry about me.”

I stepped towards the slime mob without hesitation.

I moved to where the Deep Slime was.

“Chyureup!”

One slime spread its body wide.

“Fi…….”

One of the ranged damage dealers hurriedly prepared fire magic.

I mean…

“I said you don’t have to worry about me.”

Making me say the same thing again.

I swung my arm lightly.

Peong!

The slime that had spread its body wide burst with a sound like a drum being beaten.

“Uh……?”

One of the players let out a dazed voice.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Oh Jiwon was a player who was a former weightlifter.

His awakening ability was [Iron Man].

It was a rare ability that gave him additional bonus stats every time he leveled up and had additional effects to his defense skills.

Thanks to that, he was scouted by ‘Phoenix,’ one of the top 10 guilds in the country, and had even received special training before throwing down the gauntlet at the Tower.

However…

‘What is that person?’

Oh Jiwon’s pupils trembled.

The person who had astonished him, Jinho, overwhelmed the Deep Slime from start to finish.

Oh Jiwon shifted his gaze to his [Phoenix] guildmate, Kim Mijin.

“A Deep Slime only takes damage from fire or lightning attacks, right?”

“That’s right. Generally speaking.”

“Could it be that his hand is enchanted or something?”

The Deep Slime’s physical defense was much higher than the slimes of the wasteland.

In theory, it was difficult for even a level 50 melee-type hunter to inflict a wound on that slime.

Kim Mijin, a fire-type awakener, shook her head.

“I don’t feel any magical energy at all. That is pure physical force.”

“Heh heh.”

“Team Leader Jiwon, there’s one more way to conquer a Deep Slime.”

“Aiming for the cores embedded in its body?”

There were 5 cores inside the Deep Slime’s body.

In theory, it was possible to defeat the Deep Slime by breaking all of its cores.

“Even the instructor said that it was impossible.”

Oh Jiwon shook his head, then continued his words.

“You can only kill a Deep Slime that way if you have both the accuracy to aim for a fleeting moment and strong power.”

“Don’t you think that person right over there is doing just that?”

Kim Mijin’s point was correct.

If it weren’t for the second method, known to be impossible, there was no way to explain the sight of Jinho defeating the Deep Slime.

“Just one person. The guild said that there was someone who hunted a Deep Slime on day 1.”

“Who?”

“Guild Master Yang Jeong-soo.”

The 2nd ranked in the country.

He was a skilled person who was among the top in the player rankings of the entire world.

“Hey, it’s a bit much to compare him to the Guild Master just because he caught one Deep Slime.”

Kim Mijin said with a reluctant look.

“You never know.”

Oh Jiwon muttered calmly.

Whether the prospective Phoenix guild members were surprised or not…

“This thing is as disgusting as ever.”

Jinho didn’t care and just furrowed his brow.

White smoke was rising from the back of his hand.

For a slime, its dissolving fluid disappeared when you broke its core.

But because the Deep Slime had many cores, he couldn’t avoid touching its dissolving fluid.

Each time a burn mark appeared on Jinho’s hand, one of its cores was destroyed.

“Now there’s only one left?”

“Chyureureureup!”

The Deep Slime cried pitifully.

The slime mob moved sluggishly to it.

Oh Jiwon raised his shield and blocked their path.

“You shall not pass!”

[Taunting Shout]

The slimes flinched.

Such a taunt skill made them feel threatened.

It was super effective on slimes that only moved by instinct.

“Jiwon, no, Team Leader Jiwon?”

Kim Mijin’s eyes widened.

Oh Jiwon replied with a firm expression.

“Our team will help that player defeat the Deep Slime.”

“The Phoenix Guild gave us the task of bringing back the corpse of a Deep Slime.”

“If it weren’t for that player, we would have been annihilated anyway. It’s better to aim for the next one.”

“That’s……. Haa, I don’t know.”

Kim Mijin bit her lip hard.

She instantly created a flaming arrow and then aimed for the back of a slime.

“Chyureup!”

“Chyureup!”

In the front was Oh Jiwon.

From behind, the ranged damage dealers’ offensive poured down.

“Chyureureureup!!!!”

“Come at me!”

The pitiful scream of the Deep Slime and Oh Jiwon’s shout mixed together.

When the slime mob could neither go forward nor back…

“Because you’re loud, now go to sleep.”

Jinho’s fist struck the Deep Slime’s last core.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Kwajik!

A clearly felt impact.

I smiled.

‘This bastard. Annoying.’

Even if I kept my hand dipped in the slime’s mucus…

I no longer felt the pain of being burned.

1 level.

And the tutorial reward was upgraded.

A message I had heard ad nauseam before my regression.

I didn’t have much of a reaction to it.

I glanced at the group of players with an indifferent expression.

“This guy’s corpse is my share.”

“Please take it.”

“You’re accepting it more readily than I thought…”

It was unexpected.

This group of players must be the rising stars of a prominent guild.

I could tell just by looking at the equipment they were given.

They were at least Rare grade. Basically, they were clad in weapons and armor worth hundreds of millions of won in cash.

They were either rich from the beginning.

Or they received support from a guild.

It was obvious which one they were after seeing them move as a team from the previous skirmish.

“If it weren’t for you, our team would have all died here.”

“That’s right.”

“To think that we almost got eliminated in such an absurd way in the tutorial… We are the ones who owe you a favor.”

The man spoke in a calm tone.

When I saw him earlier, his movements were quite good despite not having much practical experience.

“What’s your name?”

“It’s Oh Jiwon.”

I stroked my chin.

A name I didn’t remember.

A player with this level of magnanimity, character, and potential should have made quite a name for himself later on.

Or he could have been eliminated while trying to hunt the Deep Slime unreasonably.

Since if you die in the tutorial, your player privileges would be revoked.

“You guys…”

“Yes?”

“Don’t overdo it.”

I pointed at Oh Jiwon’s team with my index finger.

“Wh-what? This ahjussi… The more I look at him…!”

The woman who had used fire magic shouted with a red face.

“Ah, I’m not looking down on you.”

“If what you just said isn’t looking down, then what is… Eub eub.”

“I won’t forget the advice you just gave.”

Oh Jiwon stepped forward and covered the woman’s mouth.

Hoh, he knows how to swallow his pride too.

Since I have saved such a player by regressing, I became curious as to how this man would grow.

‘Am I being too sentimental?’

A bitter smile lingered on my lips.

The masterminds of the Tower, the Old Gods, were powerful.

Even the top-class players who were later called [Monarchs] found it difficult to handle a single Old God.

I just hope that these guys don’t die in some strange place.

I stopped thinking about Oh Jiwon.

The only one I should rely on is myself.

In that sense, I’ll just do what I have to do.

I plunged my hand deep into the Deep Slime’s body and used [Predation].

The Deep Slime’s body shriveled up.

At a glance, it was an ambiguous skill like [Dissolve].

But the significance of Acidic Blood lies in its ‘concept’ of changing the properties of blood.

‘I’ve taken the first step towards Divine Blood.’

To reach the realm of transcendence, one must satisfy several conditions.

One of them was Divine Blood.

Generally, you have to receive a god’s blessing or eat things like divine nectar or golden apples to obtain Divine Blood.

But you know…

I have no intention of becoming a god’s pet.

‘The Old Gods are bastards, but the other gods just watching from the side are just as bad.’

If you receive a god’s blessing, you cannot interfere when the Tower erodes Earth.

A promised salvation?

Tell them to go eat shit.

Therefore…

I must reach the realm of transcendence by making full use of [Predation].

It was something I had done before my regression.

It wasn’t difficult.

A path I had already walked once…

It was the same as how the process becomes visible when you solve a math problem while already knowing the answer.

“The Deep Slime’s corpse has shriveled up.”

“It would have been incredibly valuable since it’s the main ingredient for mana recovery potions.”

“It wasn’t ours to begin with though.”

I could clearly hear the prospective Phoenix guild members muttering.

I was reminded of my moniker from before my regression, ‘The Ability User Who Turns Gold into Trash’.

“No complaints, right?”

“Because you have the right to it.”

“Aim for it in 10 days. I don’t need this guy anymore either.”

For a rare species, I could absorb 100% of its essence by predating it just once.

When they attempted the raid again in 10 days, they should be much stronger.

It wouldn’t be like this time, where the River Styx loomed before their eyes.

“There is one thing I am curious about.”

“What is it?”

“Your name.”

Ah, now that I think about it, I only asked for this guy’s name and didn’t give my own.

“Yoo Jinho.”

“I’ll remember it.”

“You want to get back at me for this?”

“No. Because I want to become as strong as Player Yoo Jinho.”

Oh Jiwon burned with a firm will.

That gaze… It wasn’t bad.

Even so, he was a guy who died in the future without leaving a name behind.

“Just don’t die a miserable death.”

I spoke calmly, but with my own sincerity.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

T/N – Seems like this Oh Jiwon got eliminated in the tutorial in the original timeline before the MC regressed. I wonder how he’ll grow now that his future has changed?

Other than that, this chapter is just the MC building up his foundation. It’s probably going to be like this for the whole tutorial. Though I am curious about the effects of Divine Blood.

If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.