The Monarch Who Levels Up by Devouring - M.L.U.B.D Chapter 25 (Part 1):

At the pinnacle of the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons, the loftiest throne stood.

Baal, seated upon the black throne, gazed down at the grand hall with a listless expression.

A figure cloaked entirely in a black robe.

The Administrator of the Tower of Babel raised their head, adopting a deferential posture.

“O Master of the Corrupted Throne…”

“What brings you all the way here, Administrator?”

“You already know the reason, do you not, Great Constellation?”

*Heh heh*—Baal erupted into raucous laughter.

The grand hall, [Palace of Ten Thousand Demons], trembled as if struck by an earthquake.

“Administrator, are you here to hold me accountable?”

“How could that be?”

“Of course not. You lot couldn’t even build the Tower without my help.”

Baal flicked his hand.

A fierce gust swept through the hall, rustling the Administrator’s robe this way and that.

“That’s why you hide your face beneath that robe.”

Baal chuckled again.

Those who erected the Tower.

The Ancient Gods.

Pushed aside by the tides of time, they concealed their identities and approached the gods of the present era.

They proposed creating a trial space spanning multiple dimensions, to observe mortals as they ascended.

Only now did the Constellations learn the Administrator’s true identity, but they overlooked it for the amusement the Tower provided.

“Protests have come from Olympus, Angelos, and various other societies.”

“*Kik kik,* fine. I’ll pay the spirituality for it.”

Spirituality.

The currency unit through which Constellations could exert influence over the Tower.

*Shwaaa!*

A dark crimson aura coalesced in Baal’s hand, absorbed by the Administrator.

[Baal has paid spirituality to the system.]

[As a penalty for this intrusion, access to the Tower system is restricted for 90 days.]

[Any attempt to interfere with Tower operations during the penalty period will incur additional penalties.]

“Thank you for your understanding.”

The Administrator bowed, then spun on their heel and departed.

Baal erased his bored expression, watching the Administrator leave.

‘A purple-haired Administrator… could it be *that* one?’

Lurien, the Goddess of Magic.

A key figure involved in erecting the Tower.

For her to step in meant this incident was gravely serious.

Yet Baal wore a broad grin.

‘I did well to listen to that little one.’

Hermes.

The Olympian messenger god had visited mere hours ago.

—’There’s a player in the Korean tutorial channel drawing attention from Ares and the Evil of the Sky.’

Hermes’ words.

Ares was notorious as Olympus’ thug, but the ‘Evil of the Sky’ Constellation was different.

A mighty Constellation, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Baal, Master of the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons, or Zeus, King of the Gods.

Baal’s interest was piqued.

A player who caught the ‘Evil of the Sky’s’ attention!

He had paid an exorbitant amount of *Spirituality * to interfere in the Tutorial purely for his own amusement.

Despite the immense cost, Baal felt no regret.

Thanks to it, he discovered an amusing mortal.

‘Yu Jin-Ho.’

Baal savored the name.

*Shwaaa!*

The dark crimson aura flickered in his hand once more.

“Since you showed me something entertaining, I suppose I should offer a gift.”

[The Master of the Corrupted Throne has paid additional Spirituality to enhance the rewards granted to Player Yu Jin-Ho.]

[The Tower system evaluates the legitimacy of this action.]

[Considering the increased quest difficulty, the enhanced reward is deemed appropriate.]

[The proposal from the Master of the Corrupted Throne is accepted.]

The dark crimson aura was sucked into the void.

“This’ll be quite fun, *kil kil.*”

A strange glint shimmered in Baal’s bright yellow eyes.

* * *

How long had I lain in the swamp, panting for breath?

[The Tower system has completed reward calculations.]

[Enhanced rewards are being granted.]

▶ Hidden Quest – Survived the Threat of the Swamp.

▶ Reward: Maw of Gluttony

[Maw of Gluttony]

– Rank: Legendary
– Type: Ring

A ring imbued with the power of Baal, the demon overseeing Gluttony among the Seven Deadly Sins.
It devours anything with ferocity.

– Endurance +30
– Mana +20
– Growth-type Artifact
– Includes [Mana Absorb] skill.

[Mana Absorb]

– Rank: ★★★★
– Type: Active

Absorbs projectile attacks made of mana.
Attacks exceeding the user’s mana capacity can only be partially absorbed.

“Wow.”

The second Legendary-rank item after the Shadow Orb.

Also a growth-type!

It wasn’t a Divine Relic, but this was still an incredible reward.

I carefully reviewed the details of [Maw of Gluttony].

‘Mana Absorb. A useful built-in skill.’

If angled correctly, it could absorb projectile attacks.

It wouldn’t work on physical projectiles like arrows or bullets, but magic could be nullified with proper positioning.

Absorbing projectiles with [Mana Absorb] would also restore mana.

For now, [Dragon’s Heart] kept my mana overflowing, but as I acquired higher-grade essences, consumption would increase.

For the future, this was an immensely valuable skill.

Was it worth risking my life against Baal?

A growth-type starting at Legendary—need I say more?

I smiled contentedly.

— ‘Why are you grinning like that?’

“The reward’s better than I expected.”

Legendary, a tier above Unique.

If conditions were met, it could grow into Epic or even Transcendent-grade artifacts.

Transcendent items were rare even before my regression, when the world was crumbling.

I didn’t know how far [Maw of Gluttony] could grow, but it was undeniably an artifact far too grand for the tutorial.

I slid the glowing yellow ring onto my right ring finger.

The stat bonuses applied immediately.

I’d need to test [Mana Absorb] in combat to understand its mechanics.

‘What reward did I get for defeating the Swamp King?’

Like with [Forgotten Temple], it probably gave a Unique item.

Since I didn’t have this knowledge from my first run, I could only guess.

— ‘You seem satisfied.’

“Yeah. Thanks to this, I’ll keep my promise to the goddess even faster.”

— ‘Forget about the promise.’

“What do you mean?”

— ‘I’m saying don’t take risks because of your contract with me.’

Oh dear. Seems she misunderstood.

She thought my rush to grow stronger was due to our contract.

“That’s not it—”

Just as I was about to reply to Nyx.

A chilling aura surged from the ring on my hand.

[The Constellation’s power within Maw of Gluttony reacts to the wearer.]

[The Master of the Corrupted Throne bestows a blessing upon you.]

Huh?

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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