The Monarch Who Levels Up by Devouring - M.L.U.B.D Chapter 20 (Part 1):

[Sanctuary – Olympus]

The celestial realm where the constellations of Olympus reside.

Above the verdant plains stood buildings crafted from pristine white marble.

Structures built in the Doric style (ancient Greek architecture).

All of them were temples honoring the constellations of Olympus.

An owl.
An earthenware Jar.
A trident.
A swan, and more.

Before each temple, statues tied to the divine names of Olympus’s constellations asserted their presence.

Among them, a deafening explosion erupted from the temple where the statue of Gladius stood.

“No way! This guy is mine!”

The source of the commotion was a man donning a golden helmet.

Golden locks flowed down from beneath the helm.

Bronzed skin gleamed between strands of golden hair.

The legitimate heir of the Divine King Zeus, and the God of War of Olympus, Ares.

Ares’s ruby-red eyes, as if molten, glared at the crystal orb in his hand.

Reflected within the orb was a player.

Yu Jin-Ho.

『The God of War of Olympus proposes a Patron Constellation contract to Player Yu Jin-Ho.』

『Patron Constellation contracts cannot be offered to players undergoing the tutorial.』

『The Tower System has detected a rule violation. The God of War of Olympus’s message has been blocked.』

Ares shook the crystal orb side to side.

“Argh, why isn’t it working?!”

Frustration gnawed at him as he repeatedly sent sponsorship messages.

But the Tower System ruthlessly blocked Ares’s messages one after another.

‘If I could claim that guy…!’

The Patron Constellation contract.

Constellations could form contracts with players.

The more a contracted player excelled, the greater the constellation’s power and authority grew.

Thus.

Many constellations scouted for exceptional players.

Ares was no exception.

『The Evil of the Heavens shows interest in Player Yu Jin-Ho.』

『The Evil of the Heavens insists that a player with innate martial talent should rightly contract with them.』

The Evil of the Heavens (天魔).

A being second only to the Divine King Zeus himself had now set his sights on Jin-Ho.

Ares suppressed his rage.

While Ares fretted over not letting the Evil of the Heavens snatch Jin-Ho away.

“Big brother, what’s all the racket about?”

A youthful voice piped up from behind.

Recognizing the voice, Ares instinctively hid the crystal orb behind his back.

“Little one, didn’t I tell you not to pop up out of nowhere like that?”

“I came because I heard a loud noise from your temple, big brother.”

Appearing behind Ares was a young man with the faintest hint of boyishness.

A helmet adorned with feathers.

White feathers also graced the sandals on his feet.

The Messenger God of Olympus, Hermes.

He gazed at Ares with a curious glint in his eyes.

“It’s nothing. Really, nothing’s going on.”

Ares emphasized twice, feigning nonchalance.

If any other god had been here, it wouldn’t have mattered—but Hermes was different.

Once he caught wind of Jin-Ho, the news would spread like wildfire.

Why was he called the Messenger God, after all?

The saying ‘words travel a thousand miles without legs’ fit Hermes perfectly.

“Hmm. I thought something interesting was happening.”

Surprisingly, Hermes didn’t pry into the earlier commotion.

Ares breathed a sigh of relief.

Unbeknownst to him, Hermes had caught a glimpse of Jin-Ho’s image in the orb.

‘Well, well, big brother’s found something fun again.’

Swallowing a laugh, Hermes slipped out of Ares’s temple.

* * *

I’d taken everything I could from the Blood Mountain Lord.

My business in the forest was done…

‘No, wait, there’s still one thing left.’

I recalled knowledge from before my regression.

High Ranker Antonio.

A player from Brazil who manipulated shadows.

A High Ranker—just below the Monarch-class.

He had a lot of personality problems, but his skill was the real deal.

To be precise, it wasn’t his skill but the unpredictable movements of his shadows that were cheat-like.

‘The ability to imbue shadows with Mana, controlling them freely.’

He could infuse Mana into his own shadow or others’, giving them tangible form.

A technique blending offense and defense.

And that wasn’t all.

By manipulating another’s shadow, he could possess and control them like a puppet.

-My shadow ability? It’s not actually my unique ability.
-See this Shadow Orb embedded in my forehead? That’s what lets me control shadows.
-Rainbow Island’s forest. Go to the biggest tree there, and you’ll find a pitch-black darkness beneath it.
-I went inside and got the orb.
-Why am I telling you my secret? I already tested it—nobody else can enter. Seems you need a shadow-related unique ability.
-Some of my subordinates with similar abilities tried, but the place is riddled with traps, and most of them bit the dust.
-One guy made it to the end, but the orb was already gone.
-Heh heh, don’t believe me? Go try it yourselves.
-Shadows, you see, are said to be the power of a nameless god.

That bastard.

I cursed under my breath, recalling Antonio, the master of shadow abilities.

Antonio was a High Ranker and, at the same time, the head of a Brazilian gang.

As the Tower’s synchronization rate increased, so did the power players could wield in reality.

With his shadow powers, he dominated most of South America’s underworld.

What happened to him after the world was swallowed by the Tower?

‘He followed his Patron Constellation, Loki, to the realm of the gods.’

The only reason he revealed the Shadow Orb’s location was that he’d already secured it.

Don’t worry, that won’t happen this time.

‘Antonio awakens a year from now. Lucky me.’

Eliminate a future piece of trash and gain a useful special ability.

Wasn’t this what they called “draining the ditch and catching the crayfish”?

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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