The Monarch Who Levels Up by Devouring – Chapter 3

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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Athens.

The home of Greek culture, and the place where Olympian mythology lives and breathes.

‘Why else would they call it a city that lives off of tourism?’

Looking around the airport, various races were mixed together.

Most of the crowd were tourists who had come to Athens for sightseeing.

But not all people had come to Athens just for tourism.

Some were wearing owl-shaped statues or necklace ornaments while muttered something.

“I pray, I pray. O, goddess of victory, Athena.”

A middle-aged woman clutching an owl statue offered up a prayer in an earnest voice.

Athena was the patron deity of Greece’s capital, Athens, and the goddess of victory and war.

Tsk-

I clicked my tongue and nodded my head.

‘It’s useless to pray to those damn gods.’

After the Tower of Babel appeared, it was revealed that the gods, who had only been considered beings of myth up until then, actually existed.

The Aesir gods, the Olympian gods, the Vedic gods.

Besides them, it was confirmed that various gods and demons resided on the upper floors of the Tower.

The world was turned upside down.

The indigenous beliefs of each region, which had only been considered for their literary value up to this point, were revived, and the faith of religious people was also solidified.

‘It’s not like those bastards will give you even a single rice cake for believing in them.’

A cynical smile coldly colored my lips.

The gods do not look after humanity.

They only extend a hand to humans who have ‘value’ to them.

‘Those guys interfered with humanity uniting its strength.’

Those who caught the eyes of the gods.

The so-called Chosen Ones didn’t fight the Old Gods when the Tower began to erode Earth. They joined the world of the gods instead.

The world of the gods was a paradise permitted only to them.

Those who escaped the dying Earth were a little over 10,000 people.

It was a small number, not even reaching 0.1% of humanity’s 7 billion population.

‘If those guys had been more determined… we wouldn’t have been defeated so futilely.’

Grit.

My teeth grinded together, making an eerie sound.

Two of the players who rose to the position of Monarch had betrayed humanity.

They only cared for their own well-being!

Hoo-

I let out a short breath and calmed my mind.

‘It won’t be like that this time.’

After cooling my anger, I moved to find my destination.

The most famous ruin in Athens was the Parthenon.

A grand temple honoring the patron goddess Athena.

However, it wasn’t my destination.

At my current level, I couldn’t accept more than two God-grade essences.

Since that was the case, it would be better to predate the essence of the highest-grade god, right?

So what I chose was the Temple of Olympian God, Zeus.

Because it had collapsed after being swept away by an earthquake, only 16 of its pillars remained.

Compared to the Parthenon, which had maintained its appearance even into the 21st century, it felt empty.

‘Well, its essence should still be here.’

I leisurely walked through the site of the Temple of Zeus, which was covered in grass.

Sniff, sniff sniff.

A scent different from the primeval species stimulated my nose.

A long time ago, this was a place where the faith of countless people converged.

As it was a space dedicated to Zeus, the lingering scent had seeped into every corner of the ruins.

I bent my waist and touched the floor.

When I dug a little into the dirt mound that was covered with grass, a marble floor was revealed.

A faint energy could be felt from it.

It was an essence in which the ‘status’ of a god was concentrated.

I immediately deployed Predation.

An immense power rose up through my palm.

Indeed…

An essence with such strong status… There were only a few of them even including all my experiences from before my regression.

It seemed like the title of ‘King of the Gods’ wasn’t just for show.

Wait, what did you say?

I was so surprised that I almost took my hand off the ground.

The earth goddess Gaia.

She was the goddess who was the mother of various god races, including the Olympian gods.

A being that symbolizes the divinity of the earth, or the earth itself.

‘Right. It’s literally a symbol.’

Even the ancient Greeks who worshiped the Olympian gods didn’t worship Gaia.

Gaia was a being closer to the ‘concept’ of the earth rather than a divine being.

Um, so……. you don’t express gratitude every time you walk on the ground, do you?

‘I hardly heard any stories related to Gaia in the Tower of Babel either.’

I never thought I would end up absorbing Gaia’s essence in a temple that worshiped Zeus.

An unexpected variable.

A smile spread across my lips.

‘This is actually better.’

Gaia’s status is classified as top-tier.

Even Zeus’s status was lower compared to the Earth Mother Goddess who gave birth to numerous gods.

A higher mystery and hierarchy.

An unexpected fortuitous encounter had found me.

Swaaaaah!

An immense energy came in through my palm.

The moment I faced the essence of the Earth Mother Goddess, it felt as if a giant tsunami was trying to swallow me whole.

This… is dangerous?

‘If I mess up, I’ll be devoured by the energy instead.’

The essence of Gaia.

Rather than having malice towards me, it literally possessed the concept of ‘land’.

The earth that embraces all things.

The essence of Gaia, according to its inherent nature, was trying to absorb even the ego called ‘me’ into the earth.

‘If I don’t get a grip, I’m going to be devoured by the essence!’

I bit my lip hard.

As the metallic taste of blood lingered on my lips, my mind became sharp.

Who said that I’d be devoured by the mere lingering essence of a goddess?

I tenaciously tore off and ate the essence rising up through the surface of the marble floor with [Predation].

At times, my mind became peaceful and I wanted to let go of everything.

But I didn’t stop predating as I steeled my mind with my experiences from before my regression.

How much time had passed since I started swallowing Gaia’s essence?

In my consciousness, which had become so hazy that I had even lost my sense of time, I saw a light.

Divine Power… you say?!

I was so surprised that I almost let out a scream.

I covered my mouth and observed the inside of my body.

‘Divine Power really has settled in.’

Divine Power.

Literally, it was a power permitted only to gods.

It’s the fuel that can perform all sorts of miracles, and it’s an essential power to use ‘authority’ according to a god’s origin.

‘Though this much doesn’t have great meaning.’

The Divine Power that had settled at the crown of my head…

When I estimated its size, it was about the size of a millet seed.

Furthermore, the power called Divine Power cannot be used at will.

One must build up a deed worthy of being recorded in a ‘myth’ to be able to manifest it as Divine Power.

I didn’t know about my life before my regression, but it wasn’t like the current me had lived a dynamic enough life to be considered ‘mythical’.

That wasn’t to say that Divine Power was completely useless.

Because I was someone who had knowledge from before my regression, I knew of one way to use Divine Power.

‘Increase mana sensitivity with Divine Power.’

Mana sensitivity.

It was the time it took for a player to ‘perceive’ mana.

Mana was consumed in various ways such as when using skills or equipment, or when strengthening the body.

For example, to deploy a skill called [Power Strike], the user must accurately perceive their ‘mana’.

In a way, it was a concept similar to the body’s reaction speed.

Mana detection → Manifestation of will → Skill activation.

This was the mechanism by which players utilized mana.

‘Was the mana sensitivity of a typical player around 0.9 seconds?’

I gently closed my eyes.

I strengthened my mental power with the Divine Power that had settled at the crown of my head.

Mana sensitivity was closely related to the mind.

Since the Divine Power had settled at the crown of my head, it was possible to strengthen the power of the soul.

I stimulated the mana in my body with an expectant heart.

The mana residing in my body stirred in response to my will.

‘About… 0.1 seconds.’

I clenched my hand into a tight fist.

Wow.

It was a figure several times that of an ordinary player.

Before my regression, it took me years to achieve that figure!

‘I can save time.’

Mana reaction speed enhanced by Gaia’s Divine Power!

Mana sensitivity wasn’t very helpful on the lower floors of the Tower.

But the foundation I have built now would create a huge difference as I ascended to the higher floors of the Tower.

It was an investment for the future.

‘It will also be helpful when learning martial arts in the Tower of Babel.’

Unlike magic power, internal energy was much trickier to obtain and handle.

If I obtained a secret manual in the process of climbing the Tower, I’d be able to settle my internal energy much faster than before my regression.

‘But what does Gaia’s blessing do?’

I activated my status window and checked the added blessing.

“This is insane.”

I let out a word of admiration.

An increase in stamina and life force recovery that was always active just by having both feet on the ground.

On top of that, it even increased the efficiency of earth-related essences without question.

To have such an effect even though it was just a Rank 1 blessing right now was incredible.

‘As expected, the Earth Mother Goddess is different.’

Blessings are divided into a total of 3 ranks.

Rank 1 was, of course, the lowest level.

To strengthen a blessing, one must achieve a great deed that could win the approval of the corresponding god.

In my case, it was close to having stolen it with [Predation].

Even the essence of Zeus, which I had originally planned to absorb, wouldn’t have granted me such a blessing.

‘This blessing will help me out a lot in the tutorial stage.’

I revised the plan I had set in my head.

With the blessing of the Earth Mother Goddess, it seemed that I could move a bit more aggressively.

The 0th floor of the Tower of Babel opened in half a month.

I was already looking forward to that day.

The moment I took my hand off the temple floor.

Kururung!

“An, an earthquake!”

“The gods must be angry!”

The temple site began to collapse due to the penalty of Predation.

People moved away from the temple.

I also mixed into that crowd and concealed my appearance.

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I returned to Korea right away.

My steps were light because I had obtained something better than I had planned.

‘If I stayed there any longer, wouldn’t I just spend more money?’

The salary I saved from my military duty.

I had poured most of the tuition I received in advance into this trip.

My balance wasn’t zero, but a strange sense of crisis made my spine feel cold.

‘I have to think of it as an investment.’

I shook my head with a bitter smile.

It was money that could be earned quickly just by climbing the Tower of Babel.

Let’s think of it as a more certain investment than putting money into things like stocks or coins.

Even after returning to Korea, there was no time for me to rest.

‘The tutorial starts on the 1st of every month. There’s still time.’

The remaining time was 6 days.

I traveled around the country to places famous for their myths, legends, or folk tales.

It would be convenient if I could purchase a relic with [Divinity] dwelling in it.

But there wasn’t much money left in my bank account.

As they say, the thirsty one digs the well.

What else could I do? I had to at least do the legwork.

“Found it.”

I muttered while wiping the sweat dripping down my forehead.

The trouble I went through for the past few days was worth it.

A house-sized rock located on the mountainside of Jirisan.

As if honey were hidden inside the black rock, a sweet scent stimulated my nose.

It was the ‘essence’ I had been desperately searching for.

‘I was lucky.’

I placed my hand on the rock and used [Predation].

Baby General Uturi*.

It was the ‘Baby General’ folktale passed down in various parts of the Korean peninsula.

A 3-star skill.

Climbing Jirisan was worth it, huh?

I clenched my hand into a tight fist.

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Finally, the morning of the first day of November dawned.

The day of the decisive battle!

Since I was in a much better state than before my regression, I wasn’t worried about something like the tutorial.

The tutorial admission was from 10 o’clock, so I left a little early and headed to Jamsil.

The Tower of Babel that appeared in Korea was located about 3 kilometers south of the Jamsil Bridge.

The vicinity of the Tower of Babel was full of people.

“A barrier approved by the Player Association for the low price of 3 million won!”

“A must-have item for the tutorial. You can get a dagger with built-in cooking and heating skills for 5 million won!”

“Cheap, cheap! If you leave this behind, you’ll regret it in the tutorial!”

Merchants were touting their wares, determined to fleece the wallets of the beginners.

“Oppa, you have to come back alive from the Tower of Babel!”

“Pungnam Middle School’s 45th class, Kim Nam-joon, fighting!”

There were also families and friends who came to see off the players entering the Tower of Babel.

An atmosphere where not a single gram of solemnity could be felt.

It was truly a festive atmosphere.

Before the synchronization of the Tower and the world exceeded 50%, one wouldn’t receive any penalty even if they died during a mission.

Since there was no burden or fear of death…

At this time, receiving an invitation to the Tower of Babel was considered the same as buying a lottery ticket.

A chance for a windfall.

Anyone would be lost in a sweet dream.

“That person… Isn’t that Park Jun-seok, the Platinum-grade player from the Hwarang Guild?”

“There are less than 50 of them in Korea.”

Platinum.

They would have gotten that grade when they entered the 51st – 60th floor section.

[Unranked: 1st – 10th floor]

[Iron: 11th – 20th floor]

[Bronze: 21st – 30th floor]

…….

A player’s grade changed every 10 floors.

In sections like the 10th / 20th / 30th floors, one had to fight a promotion battle.

Since it had been 10 years since the Tower of Babel had appeared on Earth, a Platinum grade meant that he was an incredibly skilled person.

But I couldn’t remember that name.

It must mean that he didn’t play a big role in the distant future.

The ones who remained in my memory were all strong people.

No, to be precise, it was an environment where you couldn’t survive if you weren’t a ‘strong person’.

If they couldn’t block the invasion of the Old Gods, everyone was fated to die a futile death.

‘The only one I can trust is myself.’

I withdrew my attention from the people around me and organized my thoughts.

The Tower of Babel tutorial.

I roused my fighting spirit while mulling over the fortuitous encounters and essences that could only be obtained here.

Gugugung!

A marble door was thrown open with a loud noise.

We saw a darkness where one couldn’t see an inch ahead.

Its appearance, like that of an abyss, stimulated a person’s fundamental fear.

Through the frozen crowd…

I passed by those people and stepped into the gate first.

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T/N – MC is about to enter the Tower. Let the games begin!

For the essence the MC got, I’m actually happy he got Gaia’s. MCs of other novels always seem to choose either Fire or Lightning, so this MC getting an Earth element blessing is a nice change of pace. Too bad about Thunder Daddy’s essence though. 😏 (For those who don’t get it, Epic the Musical parodies, my friend 😉)

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

*Baby General/Hero Uturi is one of the most famous and tragic heroic folktales in Korea. Do search it up, it’s quite interesting.