The Monarch Who Levels Up by Devouring - M.L.U.B.D Chapter 1 (Part 1):

The Pantheon.

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

I came to a halt before a massive temple built on the outskirts of the Pantheon.

[Twilight Altar]

A tightly sealed door barred my path.

“So, I’ve finally reached it.”

Gurgle—

Blood surged up my throat and spilled past my lips.

Wounds covered my entire body.

Poison, burns, lacerations, frostbite… and countless other scars etched into my flesh.

These were the injuries I’d sustained while forcing open the path to the Pantheon alone.

Yet, I couldn’t stop now.

Because I still had something left to do.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed against the door leading into the altar with all my strength.

Grooooooan—!

As the doors slid open, the interior of the Twilight Altar came into view.

[Unmelting Ice – Symbol of Ymir]
[Ancient Obelisk – Symbol of Ra]
[Scales of Judgment – Symbol of Themis]
……

Powerful relics imbued with the divinity of ancient gods.

The highest-grade artifacts—divine relics.

Among them, I reached for a golden grain of wheat.

Compared to the dazzling brilliance of the other relics, its appearance seemed unremarkable.

But I knew its true value better than anyone.

[You devour the first offering dedicated to Ishtar.]
[Essence Rank – Myth]
[Devoured Essence: 7%]
[Devoured Essence: 12%]
[…….]

The divinity dwelling within the relic seeped into my body.

“Ugh.”

My stomach churned violently.

On my journey to the Pantheon, I had absorbed the essences of numerous gods into my body.

The essences writhed as if ready to burst out at any moment.

Under normal circumstances, I would have taken my time to properly assimilate them—but I didn’t have that luxury.

Just a little more… If I could absorb the essence of Ishtar, the core cog in this machine—!

“This is as far as you go, mortal.”

“There’s nowhere left to run.”

“To think you’d scurry into the Twilight Altar like a rat.”

Long shadows stretched across the Pantheon, one after another.

Hyperion, the Sun God.

Nodens, the God of the Sea.

Lurien, the God of Magic.

Humbaba, the Demon of the Three-Peaked Mountain.

And dozens more—former gods who had lost their [Names].

The Ancient Gods.

The very instigators of this calamity.

“Quite the welcoming party.”

I curled my lip, taunting them.

My stomach twisted, but I clenched my teeth.

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

Showing weakness now would be the end.

“How stubborn. You Earthlings… vermin like you just won’t stop squirming, will you?”

Hyperion.

The former Sun God stepped forward, his face twisted with displeasure.

His eyes brimmed with arrogance.

If only my body were intact, I’d have shattered his limbs right here. What a shame.

“A lowly creature who shows no reverence for the gods.”

“And you lot—aren’t you just relics clinging to faded glory?”

The Ancient Gods—those who had been cast aside by the tides of time.

Like the Titans, overthrown by the Olympians.

Like Bergelmir, driven into the cold and desolate Jotunheim by the great flood Odin unleashed.

They were the gods of a bygone era, stripped of their [Names] and [Authority] by the gods of the present.

The Twilight Altar was where their symbols—their divine relics—were gathered.

“To think you’d resort to divide-and-conquer tactics out of fear of mortals. And yet, you talk big.”

Even in the face of crisis, humanity failed to unite.

Players who sided with the gods in pursuit of their own glory.

Those who weren’t chosen fell one by one to the Ancient Gods’ invasion.

Hyperion was one of the masterminds behind that scheme.

“Such insolence from a mere mortal!”

Hyperion raised his hand.

Blistering flames swirled, ready to rain down at any moment.

I clenched my left fist.

“Enough, Sun God. He is not worth your wrath.”

“One of only six Monarch-class Players on Earth. For a mortal to reach our domain is no small feat.”

“More importantly, we must first uncover what the Devouring Monarch is scheming.”

Devouring Monarch—that was what they called me.

Nodens, Lurien, and Humbaba restrained Hyperion.

I shrugged nonchalantly.

“Scheming? What Scheming.”

Lurien, the God of Magic, stepped forward.

“You are one of only six Monarch-class Players in all of humanity, are you not?”

“I was, yeah.”

“When humanity’s last stand made their final gamble, why did you not join them?”

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

I shot the question back at Lurien.

“I’m afraid that’s a request I cannot grant.”

Lurien shook his head without hesitation.

“How cruel.”

“Your death is necessary for the Tower of Babel to complete the absorption of this world.”

The Ancient Gods had one goal.

The absorption of multiple worlds.

By assimilating them into the Tower, they would reclaim the power, names, and authority they had lost.

For the Tower of Babel to consume a world, every last member of its native race must perish.

In other words, those despicable Ancient Gods were saying…

“So, I’m the last human.”

“Correct. You are the final remnant of humanity on this Earth.”

I closed my eyes briefly.

—The future—no, changing the past depends on you.
—Good luck, Devouring Monarch.
—May our desperate struggle prove worthwhile.

The last of humanity, the so-called “suicide squad,” had challenged the Ancient Gods head-on.

A war with less than a 1% chance of victory.

The reason the last survivors, who had avoided all-out conflict until then, had switched to an offensive stance…

‘…was to buy time for me to reach the Twilight Altar.’

They all threw away their lives to create this opportunity.

Because this was the only way to overturn this hopeless situation.

Thanks, but I won’t say it out loud.

I recalled the two other “Monarchs” who had fought by my side until the very end.

If this succeeds, you’ll get a second chance thanks to me.

If anything, you should be thanking me.

Not that anyone but me will remember, anyway!

[Devoured Essence – 100%]
[Skill – ‘Harvest Time’ has been added.]
[The essence of a time-wielding god resonates with Ishtar’s essence.]

Good.

The final piece was in place.

Cutting short my thoughts, I took a deep breath.

Vrrrrrrr—!

Dangun

I'm currently Translating the following novels: "Labyrinth Exploration 101" & "The Monarch Who Levels Up by Devouring " If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!

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