The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 64: Mystery of Nothingness (1) (Part 2)

However, whether it was a barrier made from some unknown elixir, even with Predatory Instincts [S], I couldn’t grasp any information about it.

It was worse than an elixir.
The informational text was completely scrambled—utterly unreadable.

And with that, the uncertainty turned into conviction.

‘A power held by the Monarch of the Abyss, perhaps.’

That unknowable terror beyond explanation—the Monarch of the Abyss.
As the name suggested, he was a fear that could neither be explained by nor responded to with anything from this world.

Avarus was a worshipper of such a being—a corrupted soul devoted to the Monarch of the Abyss.

—O Great One, I offer you my soul!!

The “Great One” Avarus had cried out to at the end.
It was likely this barrier was one of the powers held by the Monarch of the Abyss.

That would explain why not even Predatory Instincts [S] could glean a single detail.

That unknowable terror, the Monarch of the Abyss.
Because he was not of this world.

Still, a barrier was a barrier.

‘There has to be a way to break it.’

And I didn’t only have Predatory Instincts [S].
I had my memories from my previous life—knowledge passed down to me by the great Archmage, the hero of the Allied Forces.

—Barriers are categorized by their intended purpose.

Defensive barriers, sealing barriers, blocking barriers, confinement barriers, control barriers.
As well as curses, rituals, soul-based magic, and more.

The one earlier, Infinite Silence, could be considered a blocking-type barrier.

But here, all abilities—including Predation [S+]—were still usable.
Even Kai’s Aura wasn’t being restricted.

That meant it wasn’t a blocking-type.

And more importantly—

‘The activation of the barrier didn’t actually cause any harm.’

Up to now, there hadn’t been any threat or attack.
Especially considering that Avarus himself hadn’t even shown his nose—

‘A sealing or confinement barrier, then?’

This barrier seemed designed to isolate or imprison me and Kai.

In that sense, the name of the barrier—‘Mu? of Mi?’—though partially broken, felt symbolic.
As if to say that whatever we did here would be “meaningless.”

◆ You use the derived skill, Find Weakness [U]! ◆

The moment I activated Find Weakness—

Something glowing red in one corner of the space entered my vision.
And it seemed Kai had spotted it as well; he spoke to me.

“There’s something over here.”

Kai pointed his sword, wreathed in blue Aura, at the ground.

And then it came into view—a pale, yellowish square shape.
It looked like paper, but it seemed to be made of leather.

But judging by the faint traces of veins and pores on the surface—

‘Human skin?’

It appeared to be parchment made from human skin—the whole skin peeled off and dried over a long period.
One of the many grotesque hobbies of those freaks in the Dark Merchant Guild.

As I picked it up—

The first thing that hit me was a nauseating stench that stabbed at my nostrils.

The texture at my fingertips was smooth as silk.
But the presence of faint wrinkles made it all the more repulsive.

When Kai shone his blue Aura over the parchment—

The fine veins embedded in the skin writhed like worms.
And then, letters began to appear on the paper.

[Rulebook]

‘Rulebook?’

As I murmured the word, the leather parchment squirmed once again and etched new letters onto its surface.

This [Rulebook] serves as a guide to help you survive in this place.
Should you fail to follow the rules, all hope will be lost.

Before long, the parchment changed once again.
A web of countless veins surfaced and formed a much longer sentence.

1. Secure light before exploring this place.

First, you must realize that you are trapped somewhere.
This place has neither beginning nor end.
All walls and paths are interconnected, rendering any sense of direction meaningless.
Leaving marks might help, but be warned:
This place may erase or distort your traces.

“What is this?”

Kai muttered with confusion after reading the content.
I, too, had no idea what this was.

Even after using Predatory Instincts [S], the informational text remained broken and distorted.

But given that Find Weakness [U] had revealed the barrier’s weak point to be this Rulebook—

“It probably means we can escape this barrier’s space by following the rules written in it.”

That seemed to be the implication.

And just then—

Rumble—!

The fleshy walls of the space suddenly began to lurch and ripple violently.

As Kai hurriedly shone his blue Aura, faces with eyes and mouths protruded from the walls, ceiling, and floor, staring straight at us.

Soon, grotesque legs and tendrils stretched out from the walls, gradually engulfing the space.
And on the Rulebook, a new rule emerged.

2. If the structure of this place begins to shift, never stop moving.

Occasionally, the walls and paths will move in an attempt to trap you.
If you stop in that moment, your time will stop with it, and you’ll be unable to move again.
Whatever route you choose, move quickly.
The moment you stay still, this place will consume you.

Eventually, the flesh walls split open in all directions, revealing a new path.

Almost as if inviting us to follow it.

“Guess we’re going that way.”

“I’ll take the lead.”

Kai lit the path ahead with his blue Aura and strode forward with confidence.
I followed close behind.

Each step I took—

I forced myself to ignore the grotesque, skin-ripping sound beneath my feet.

Translatin_Otaku

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