What on earth is the person who just smashed everything – walls and scorpions alike – saying?
The chat window went wild with contradictory statements, but I just squatted down and tapped the floor.
Only then did the chat window suddenly change.
[Really?]
[?]
[Why isn’t the floor breaking?]
[Not even a scratch?]
[Oh?]
[???]
[ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ]
[The floor is fine.]
[It’s a bit concerning that even the big guy can’t break it.]
[Isn’t it blocked by the system?]
Of course, the floor, along with the ceiling, which is about 3 meters high, is intact except for some old marks.
I didn’t exert too much force, but I swung with the intention of smashing everything, and this is the outcome.
Of course, I feel like I could break it if I used my strength properly…
‘So this is still the second floor.’
If I go to the underground, I might not be able to break through even with my current strength.
Thud thud thud!
When I turned to the side, Pharaoh was hitting the floor with all his might.
It got a little scratched, but it was just that—a scratch, not enough to damage the floor.
“Both this guy and that guy are cocky.”
“What are they made of?”
“The material is just sand. It’s mixed with something else.”
As Pharaoh said that, he immediately turned into sand and disappeared.
It was as if the fact that he had been walking around was a joke; the place he appeared was the entrance to the third underground floor.
The entrance, just like the floor and ceiling, was also undamaged.
Above the door, the General Scorpion, adorned with three golden bands, was glaring at me.
[General Scorpion is on guard against you.]
[LV.110]
He looks stronger than the captain of the guards.
[That guy is also fine.]
[110?]
[What’s with that guy uncle’s teleportation?]
[Why was he walking around? ㅡㅡ]
[At 110, he’s nothing special.]
[One-shot cut?]
[But seriously, why isn’t it breaking?]
There’s one band around his neck and one on each claw.
As I approached, the General Scorpion was soon bathed in golden light.
While it isn’t shown as a point value, there’s quite a significant energy rising from below, empowering the general.
I transform the White Guardian into a spear.
Seeing the spear, the General Scorpion raised his claws, but it was pointless.
‘Roar of the spear.’
The storm unleashed from the spear pierced through the tough shell, obliterating the area.
The storm completely ground the general to dust, leaving only three bands rolling on the floor.
The bands remained intact and retained their form.
[You have received the grace of Scorpio.]
[When you find a token merchant within the ruins, you can exchange one token of Scorpio.]
Grace?
[Oh]
[Three tokens gained, score!]
[It was a hidden monster.]
[It’s like clearing three floors.]
[Where do I find the merchant?]
“Wait a minute.”
“What?”
“Hold on for a second.”
The Pharaoh took one of my blessings.
After fiddling with it for a bit, he wore it on his wrist before returning it to me.
“Do you know what this is?”
“It’s something you’re already well aware of.”
“Pardon?”
At my question, the Pharaoh gazed at the blessing.
Then, just like before, the blessing turned golden.
[Ohhhh?]
[What’s this?]
[?]
I couldn’t help but furrow my brow.
It’s a heritage.
A heritage imbued with the Pharaoh’s power.
After being defeated by the demon race thousands of years ago, the Pharaoh lost his original body and transferred his essence into a statue.
Later, even that statue broke apart in my presence, but not all of the legacy he left behind was gone.
The attack by the demon race on the Pharaoh’s empire was for the trivial reason of building their own villa, and while 90% of the empire was lost, 10% still remained.
Even though it was during a war, I didn’t have the luxury to check each and every monster.
‘If nothing major had happened, there should’ve still been some heritage left.’
With Karabus’s hammer still around, it wouldn’t be all that strange to find something here.
But.
‘Why didn’t I know?’
The Pharaoh’s power isn’t something you find just lying around.
His authority is unparalleled and ranks among the strongest of the countless monsters I’ve encountered.
Before entering the ruins, I might not have known, but after stepping inside, I should’ve caught on.
“Why is that?”
Even the Pharaoh, the master of power, didn’t realize it until he touched it.
─ It’s not just my power.
The Pharaoh’s voice echoes in my head.
Words conveyed through the soul connected to him.
─ I sense an unpleasant power. It’s mixed with a great authority.
─ I know that. But I didn’t think you wouldn’t have known.
─ …I apologize for that.
The Pharaoh cleared his throat awkwardly while heading towards the entrance.
He boasts about his great power, yet he couldn’t even distinguish his own strength.
As a great emperor and master of power, it’s quite an embarrassing situation.
Now I understand why the Pharaoh took it more sensitively than before.
Seeing his power manifest in a completely different form and unable to control it would surely bring discomfort and displeasure.
I nodded and opened the door to the third basement.
“I need to check the boss.”
“Yeah. I’m curious about his face too.”
What kind of audacious person is using the Pharaoh’s power?
[Scorpio is watching you.]
[Great one. Both.]
The quest on the 3rd floor was to hunt down the Scorpio.
Unlike the 2nd floor, which was packed with a decent number of monsters, the 3rd floor had quite a bit of space between them, but the Pharaoh swiftly took care of all of them.
While it was possible to wreck everything in one go like before, I knew there might be a merchant around, and knowing that this place was special, I couldn’t just go smashing things.
Murals.
I scrutinized the murals on each floor, and it seemed the viewers in the chat window were also somewhat interested in the story, expressing various opinions.
The mural depicted the king of scorpions wearing a golden casket. ‘Scorpio.’
And it seemed to illustrate the saga of his followers.
This Scorpio, one day, gained great power and transcended from being a mere creature to becoming a mighty existence.
The Pharaoh expressed considerable dissatisfaction about this, but since gaining information took priority, he didn’t touch anything further and continued descending downstairs.
SDVIMVFoanVzY1YwSVhjamMzUkt1YkU5K2Zzb2pjcGdEU3o1ZEJZRy94YkpCV1JxaHpoS0R6UjlRQ010YW5NVA
[The Scorpio Priest has been defeated!]
[Level has increased.]
[LV.106]
“O.”
After descending for a while, I reached the underground 8th floor.
After defeating the level 130 Scorpio Priest, the level went up.
This was the first level increase since the ancient island.
[Wow]
[Level up, wild! ㅋㅋㅋ]
[Experience points are insane]
[Seriously, levels over 100 are brutal]
[ㄷㄷㄷㄷ]
[Wow]
[Great relief]
[The ruins are surprisingly sweet?]
[Hidden dungeon is too delicious]
[Why can’t I see the merchant?]
[The scenery is worth hundreds of billions, that’s really crossing the line]
I personally felt an absurd amount of experience points as I opened the door to the 9th floor.
“Finally, the underground 9th floor. Ans said the 10th floor is the end, so the next floor is likely the boss.”
“Who knows? There might be more.”
“The more, the better.”
That’s because it meant more chances to level up.
Ding.
[Dungeon – Scorpio’s Ruins (Underground 9th Floor)]
Objective – ???
Reward – Key to enter the Underground 10th Floor, 5 Scorpio tokens.
The quest on the 9th floor popped up.
The objective was indicated by a mysterious question mark, but that didn’t matter much.
So far, the quests had been about hunting, exploring, or destroying, and it was always just about doing all three.
Moreover, seeing that they were giving not just one token but five, the likelihood of this floor being before the boss increased even more.
“Alright. First, let’s check the murals…”
Murals.
The beginning might have been humble.
Everyone spoke of him as a creature of insignificance. That was Scorpio.
But after I obtained the ‘Great Sun,’ everything changed.
He is the ruler of this desert and a god-like existence to all desert creatures.
Though he has disappeared, his heritage still remains.
Someone must inherit the great will.
‘Yeah, like me.’
The heir to the power of a great existence, Scorpio, shall now become the ruler of the desert.
Shedding the shell of a mere creature, I will be reborn as a great being.
Shedding my skin, I shall ascend to the sky, imbued with the light of the great existence.
Yes, I will move forward.
Moving forward and onward…
I encountered someone with wings.
‘O great one, have you returned?’
■
[Wings?]
[Huh?]
[?]
[What the?]
[Who is that?]
[That Guy Uncle?]
[????]
[This Guy?]
“…….”
A man with golden wings approaches.
Unlike the scorpions seen before, he appears to be a humanoid wearing a black robe.
Notably… he’s wearing a mask.
‘A mask similar to Pharaoh’s.’
“You’re quite arrogant.”
The Pharaoh’s power envelops the man.
Though he kneels and trembles under the sudden pressure, he does not break.
Creak…
Rather, he resists the force and tries to stand up.
The Pharaoh laughs at him.
“Do you think you can endure?”
“…!”
Crack!!!
The surrounding walls turn to sand.
The black robe shatters, and cracks begin to form on the mask.
Golden eyes flicker from within the breaking mask.
“That Guy Uncle.”
“I must catch that guy. I can’t let you have him…”
“Get back.”
I pulled the Pharaoh back.
Though the Pharaoh fumed with rage, he soon realized what that meant and retracted the heat.
‘Wings.’
Golden feathers pierced through the spot where the Pharaoh had been.
Ding!
[Danger! A World Boss-level entity (Medium) has appeared.]
[If the ruins are not cleared, the World Boss, ‘Forgotten Emperor (Half),’ will emerge within the world!]
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