The Monarch Who Levels Up by Devouring – Chapter 1

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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The Pantheon.

The 100th floor of the Tower, the place where the society of various gods resides.

I stopped in front of a large temple built on the outskirts of the Pantheon.

[Altar of Twilight]

A firmly shut door blocked the way.

“I finally reached it.”

Gush.

I vomited blood out of my mouth.

Wounds covered my entire body.

Poison, burns, stab wounds, frostbite… All sorts of marks were engraved on my body.

They were wounds I sustained in the process of opening a path to the Pantheon alone.

Even so, I couldn’t stop walking.

Because I still had something I needed to do.

I took one deep breath and pushed the door leading to the altar hard.

Gu-gu-gu-gung-!

Between the doors that pushed open to the left and right, the interior of the Altar of Twilight came into view.

[Unmelting Ice – Symbol of Ymir]

[Ancient Obelisk – Symbol of Ra]

[Scales of Judgment – Symbol of Themis]

…….

Powerful relics that contained the divinity of the old gods.

They were top-grade artifacts, holy relics.

Among them, I picked up the grain, the wheat, that shone gold.

It looked insignificant compared to the brilliantly shining holy relics.

But I knew the true value of this holy relic better than anyone.

The divinity dwelling within the holy relic seeped into my body.

“Ugh.”

My stomach churned.

As I climbed to the Pantheon, I had kept the essences of various gods in my body.

Essences that felt like they would burst out at any moment.

Normally, I would have had to spend a long time absorbing it, but I didn’t have that kind of time.

If I can just absorb a little more of the essence of Ishtar, the core axis of the cogwheel…!

“This is as far as you go, mortal.”

“There is nowhere to run.”

“To think you would hide in the Altar of Twilight like a rat.”

One by one, long shadows cast down over the Pantheon.

The sun god, Hyperion.

The sea god, Nodens.

The god of magic, Lurein.

The demon of the Cedar Forest, Humbaba.

Besides them, dozens of old gods who had been deprived of their [Names] appeared.

The Old God race.

They were the culprits who caused this state of affairs.

“You’ve come in a group, have you?”

I provoked the old gods as I pursed my lips.

My stomach rumbled, but I held it in.

I needed time to [Predate] Ishtar’s divinity.

If I showed them my weak side, it would be the end.

“Truly persistent. The humans of Earth…Mere insects, yet you struggle to the very end.”

Hyperion.

The old sun god stepped forward, his face full of displeasure.

A gaze full of arrogance.

If only my body were fine, I would have broken his limbs. It was truly a shame.

“You lowly thing that do not show reverence for the gods.”

“And you’re nothing more than has-beens who can’t forget your old glory.”

Old Gods referred to those who were pushed out by the flow of time.

Like the Titan gods who were pushed out by the Olympian gods.

Like Bergelmir, who was swept away by the great flood Odin had caused and was chased out to the cold and desolate Jötunheimr.

They were the gods of the old generation who were pushed out by the gods of the current generation and lost their [Names] and [Status].

And the Altar of Twilight was the place where the objects that symbolize them, the ‘holy relics,’ were gathered.

“For ones who were so afraid of a mortal that you resorted to sowing discord, you talk big.”

Humanity couldn’t come together even in a moment of crisis.

The players who sided with the gods in search of their own glory.

Those who weren’t chosen and lost their lives one by one to the invasion of the Old God race.

One of the culprits who orchestrated that scheme was Hyperion.

“You blasphemous mortal!”

Hyperion raising his hand upward.

It seemed as if blazing flames would pour down on me at any moment.

I clenched my left hand into a tight fist.

“Stop, Sun God. That one is a being who has the right.”

“A Monarch-grade player, one of only six from Earth. It is a great feat for a mortal to have entered our domain.”

“More importantly, finding out what scheme the Predation Monarch is up to comes first.”

Predation Monarch was the title that referred to me.

The sea god Nodens, the god of magic Lurein, and Humbaba restrained Hyperion.

I nonchalantly shrugged my shoulders.

“What scheme?”

The god of magic Lurein stepped forward.

“You are a Monarch-grade player, one of only six in all of humanity, are you not?”

“I was.”

“When humanity’s death squad waged their final battle, why did you not join them?”

“If I tell you, will you at least spare my life?”

I asked Lurein back.

“I am sorry, but that is a request I cannot grant.”

Lurein shook his head without hesitation.

“How heartless.”

“Only when you die will the Tower of Babel completely finish its absorption of the world.”

The Old God race only had one goal.

To absorb various worlds.

To integrate them into the Tower of Babel and reclaim their stolen powers, names, and authority.

For the Tower of Babel to swallow the world, all of the existing human race had to die.

Which meant that, according to the words of these detestable Old Gods…….

“That means that I’m the last of humanity.”

“That is correct. You are the last remaining human from this Earth.”

I closed my eyes for a moment.

-Changing the future, no, the past, is up to you.

-We’re counting on you, Predation Monarch.

-Please, let our struggle be worth it.

The last of humanity, also known as the ‘death squad,’ had waged a direct confrontation against the Old Gods.

A war with not even a 1% chance of victory.

The reason the last survivors, who had avoided an all-out war with the Old Gods as much as possible, switched to an offensive stance was…….

‘To draw their attention until I reached the Altar of Twilight.’

Everyone had thrown away their lives to create this opportunity.

Because this was the only way to overturn our desperate situation.

‘I won’t say things like thank you.’

I recalled the two ‘Monarchs’ who were with me until the very end.

‘If I succeed, you too will gain a second chance thanks to me.

Rather, you should be thanking me.

Though I will be the only one who remembers!’

Good.

The last piece had been filled.

I stopped my brief thoughts and took a deep breath.

Drrrrr-!

A violent raging mana storm erupted.

At the same time, the wounds that had been covering my entire body healed rapidly.

A look of tension flickered around the eyes of the Old Gods.

If I were in perfect condition.

I had enough power to take about one of these Old Gods with me as my companion on the road to death.

Because I had obtained the station of [Monarch], and among them, I was the strongest, humanity’s strongest player.

Hyperion’s eyes opened wide.

“I will sever your lifeline with my own hands!”

A spear wreathed in heat left Hyperion’s hand and shot forth like a ray of light.

Divine power condensed to its limit.

It was a presence as if the sun itself had manifested in this world.

“Mortal, one second is enough to annihilate you.”

He wasn’t wrong.

The moment that spear touched me, my body would melt away in an instant.

Yes.

What I was aiming for was precisely that immense ‘divine power.’

Puk! Hyperion’s spear pierced through my heart.

A scream of ‘Keoheuk’ burst out of my mouth on its own.

Hyperion made a surprised expression.

“Why?”

“Are you asking why I just took it?”

I grinned.

It must have looked like my wounds had healed.

Only on the outside, that is.

All I needed was to make it look that way so that this great Old God would use his full power.

“Hyperion, retrieve that spear at once!”

“What is that bastard doing…!?”

The Old Gods shouting urgently.

That would be a bit difficult.

I stretched out both hands and tightly gripped Hyperion’s spear.

“I just happened to need some energy.”

The one second you spoke of.

That much was enough.

I hit the shaft of Hyperion’s spear with the red stone I was holding in my left hand.

An enormous amount of mana seeped through my blood vessels and into my entire body.

That Hyperion fellow, it seemed like he used his full power to take my life.

Thanks to that, I obtained enough mana to activate the ‘Myth’ I had built up until now.

After all, my mana had been bottoming out from me climbing to the very end of the tower.

Clank-! Clank-!

The essences of the gods I had shoved inside me through [Predation] up until now interlocked countless times using Hyperion’s divine power as a foundation.

The ‘time’ related relics that humanity’s death squad had scraped together by sacrificing even their lives…

I had accepted all the essences into my body, but activating them with my weakened body was impossible.

Hyperion’s divine power provided enough energy to operate the concept of [Time] built up in my body.

Time reversing.

Along with a floating sensation as my body rose up, the forms of the Old Gods, including Hyperion’s, grew faint.

“See you in the future, no, the past.”

I said my farewell while raising my middle finger.

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The floating sensation slowly subsided.

Beyond my flickering black vision, a single ray of light came in.

I blinked my eyelids several times.

A bright yellow ceiling came into view.

A contradictory feeling, both unfamiliar and familiar.

This was the studio apartment where I had spent my youth.

Was it a success?

I tried pulling my cheek.

The skin stretched out.

When I applied strength without holding back, it hurt enough to bring tears to my eyes.

“Ha, hahaha.”

Laughter burst out even though my face was tingling from the pain.

Time regression.

Our final gamble had succeeded.

A miracle that even the damn Old Gods couldn’t perform.

I had returned to the past by absorbing the essences of gods related to [Time].

“What point in time did I return to?”

I stretched out my hand and fumbled around the table.

My hand was able to grab a cell phone.

[October 9, 2025]

[AM 07:06]

Seeing the numbers on the cell phone, it was 30 years before the point I had regressed from.

23 years old.

It was when I had just been discharged from the military.

When I placed a hand on the back of my head, I felt that my hair was quite short.

Tsk.

I smacked my lips in relief while thinking how fortunate it was that I didn’t return to my military days.

“The regression seems to be a success.”

I looked over internet articles while muttering to myself.

Articles related to the Tower of Babel.

Among them, the names of familiar people could be seen.

Ellen, Sergey.

They were players who would rise to become 【Monarchs】 in the distant future.

They were also comrades-in-arms with whom I had fought shoulder-to-shoulder with in the dying world.

Although we had fought tooth and nail against each other up until the Old Gods stepped forward.

I chuckled to myself as I recalled the past, no, what would become the future.

By the way…

“That damn tower is still there.”

I looked at the building visible beyond the window.

One of the large structures that had shot up simultaneously in various places around the world.

It was the so-called Tower of Babel.

It was 10 years ago that the Tower of Babel appeared on Earth.

Without any warning, it had shot up simultaneously in the capitals of each country around the world.

‘At first, the Tower was called a blessing.’

All sorts of gold and silver treasures.

Elixirs that cured rare diseases.

Even Mana Stones, which came to be called the third energy source.

The vast wealth that came from the Tower was great enough to affect the entire world’s economy.

The popularity of players also soared through the sky.

Those who received the Tower’s invitation, the so-called [Players], were hailed as the new popular job group.

Without even knowing that the immense wealth was a prelude to ruin.

‘The more the Tower’s rewards are released, the faster the dimensional synchronization proceeds.’

The Tower of Babel had swallowed several dimensions up until now.

The rewards that came out of it each time a trial was overcome were, in a sense, bait to lure in prey.

But even so, could the world be protected by not climbing the Tower?

‘Since the synchronization has already begun, then it’s only a matter of time.’

In the end, I had to defeat the Old Gods.

If I had intended to avoid that fight, I wouldn’t have regressed.

It was just a matter of serving a suitable god as a constellation and leaving Earth.

I clenched my hand into a tight fist.

I won’t be defeated a second time.

At that moment, a voice devoid of any emotion echoed in my ear.

Ah, now that I think about it, today was that day.

October 9, 2025 was the day I received the Tower’s invitation and became a [Player].

At the time, I felt like I had gained the whole world.

A bitter smile lingered on my lips.

“Status Window.”

I muttered the command I had called out countless times.

Compared to my status window before my regression, it was humble.

All the abilities I had built up for over 30 years had been reset.

‘Though the most important thing is still here.’

I smiled.

Predation.

It was the ability that, in the distant future, made me stand tall as the strongest player.

At first, I couldn’t utilize this ability properly.

The concept of predation. I thought of it as simply taking a part of the power of the monster I defeated from its ‘corpse’.

It was a wrong thought.

I picked up the cup that was nearby.

The cup remained as it was.

But the smile lingering on my lips grew even deeper.

When I first gained this ability, I had thought that I could only extract essence from the corpses of defeated monsters.

It was a misconception.

The targets of the [Predation] ability didn’t distinguish between tangible and intangible forms.

‘Essence isn’t something only living creatures possess.’

Essence in a broader sense also included status, concepts, and even authority.

What if I predated the Olympic Torch, which had been dedicated as an offering to the King of Olympian Gods, Zeus?

It was possible to ‘predate’ a part of Zeus’ myth then.

‘There are quite a few essences in the world that I can predate.’

I licked my lips.

The entrance to the Tower of Babel opened on the 1st of every month.

There were about 20 days left until the Tower entry.

Since I have time…

Then I must prepare thoroughly.

I pressed the power button on my computer.

The essences that I could predate…

It was time to make a plan, step by step, on how to become stronger by absorbing those essences.

You Old Gods.

My revenge starts now.

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T/N – Hey, guys! JayM here with another banger of a novel. This time it’s one of those tower-climbing novels that I’m actually quite fond of along with a regressor MC as a bonus. Pretty intense 1st chapter, can’t wait for how this novel turns out!

On another note, it’s almost October 9, 2025. Are you guys ready for your Tower invitations? 😂

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