Chapter 94 - Rebellion – 3 (2/2)

[You received 28 gold.]

It suddenly occurred to me that my alter ego was using magic according to my will as if it were perfectly natural. It had used physical power before, but this was new. I didn’t know when it started, but I wondered if it was because I was getting used to the skill. Or maybe because I evolved? This was the first time I had used my full power since I evolved, so it was hard to say. Regardless of why, the end result was that it would make my tactics more diverse and effective. The battle became effortless with the use of my alter ego casting magic as well.

[Just a little bit…let me eat…!]

The last monster was a huge humanoid monster with goblin-like horns. My sword cut through where its heart should be, its body slumping to the floor as my energy swallowed it whole.

[You received 29 gold.]

[You received 31 gold.]

A simple notification window popped up, informing me that I couldn’t get experience from monsters of this level. I needed to fight an entity from the higher system, after all. Their level was high, though, so the mana I recovered from devouring them was significant.

‘This money though…just gold? No silver or bronze…’ I wondered if it had anything to do with Rain’s words. He said gold was permanent, after all. Maybe it had some magical value? I groaned at the fact that I didn’t know as I moved forward. I didn’t sense any more monsters nearby, which was a good thing. It would be annoying to keep fighting those monsters that couldn’t give me the joy of growth.

Deciding I should find water, I started to walk through the distorted world. It took me four days in the end, to find a monster strong enough to gain experience from. Even in the underground, higher-level entities weren’t so easy to come by.

I walked and walked, sometimes using Ubiquitous to break the monotony, through this world without beginnings or endings. Eventually, I came across an oddly massive temple built in the middle of a mountain range. It was there where, for the first time, I encountered another higher-leveled entity.

[How did you find your way here to this closed place?]

It was a monster in the form of a giant spider.

“Closed place?”

[The underground here is distorted. The space beyond this room is connected to the unknown chaos. And every time I tried to leave, I would be blocked by a wall. This space has been closed off until now when you arrived.]

“…” I felt like Rain’s words made a bit more sense now. The environment itself was distorted, and space would get jumbled up. Places would be connected or disconnected from each other, like what had just happened. Perhaps I wouldn’t be able to return to the castle by going back the way I came. It was a good thing, with that in mind, that I had the ability to open the door to the castle from any place. Rain knew that, so he let me go without worrying about it.

Pulling myself out from my thoughts, I felt briefly awkward as I noticed the spider had been staring at me the entire time.

“Why aren’t you attacking me?”

[Why should I?]

It was the first time I heard such a response from a monster, and I felt somewhat embarrassed to even ask. However, as I examined him closer, this monster wasn’t quite like the other ones I had encountered. It was a giant spider, for sure, but it didn’t look as grotesque or distorted as the other ones had.

[I can feel the energy of Jinma in you, deep and pure. There are too many other things for me to hate to be bothered with you.]

“Other things to hate?”

[Those bastards, the Elves.]

Lightning flashed through my head as it occurred to me. Of course, it was natural that it was this way. The inhabitants of the underworld would undoubtedly be hostile toward the elves and the Elakatra. And among them, there would no doubt be many monsters and demons that had never been connected to a human as a partner. I wondered what exactly that would mean.

“You… do you want to get out of here?”

[…You have my attention, Jinma.]

Maybe this was a great place to find some colleagues and subordinates.