Chapter 258 – The Rule of the West 4 (1/2)
Woohyuk tortured them one after another and imprisoned the last one into the royal dungeon.
The punishment given to everyone was, of course, the death penalty.
The execution of the punishment was publicly carried out. Since the public executions, the number of royals and lords targeted for assassination in the Rhine Kingdom had significantly decreased.
‘This should be enough for the time being.’
Currently, the hottest areas on the Eeth Continent were the places where the epic dungeons were located.
The Rhine Kingdom was far from those places and was located in a remote corner of the western continent, so there was less conflict.
When Woohyuk left the palace with Leifina, the Black Dragon King, Drakia appeared in front of him.
“I heard that you once again saved Joanna’s life,” he murmured.
“I was lucky. In many ways,” Woohyuk replied solemnly. He had no intention of voicing his own merits.
As if he appreciated this appearance, Drakia gave Woohyuk a gift.
“This is something I stumbled upon in the past. I hope it is useful for you.”
[Abyss Dark Crystal].
It was an item that was dropped with extremely low probability when a time-space fissure occurred.
Additionally, there was no explanation about the item in the system because it was impossible for the system to analyze something that originated outside of it.
Woohyuk expressed his gratitude after receiving the black crystal from Drakia.
“Thanks for taking care of me,” Woohyuk responded.
“No worries. If you have anything to ask, you can come to me anytime.”
Drakia was showing a very favorable attitude toward Woohyuk, who twice protected Queen Iona’s descendants.
After parting ways with Drakia, Woohyuk returned to Inotia with Leifina.
“You can’t even rest, even for a moment, because of the new quest. Everyone sees each other as competitors and tries to get ahead, even by a little,” Leifina pouted.
“In the first place, that’s what the system was made to do. However, the chaos and unrest has been further stoked recently by the Creator,” he replied.
Still, he wasn’t too worried because each region had reliable allies and trustworthy personnel.
All of the talents he was currently raising were also excellent.
“You said you recently got your sixth ability?” Woohyuk asked Song Anna, as she was passing by.
“Yes, it’s a wide area buff this time.”
Song Anna explained the abilities she had gained since she became the Child Blessed by the Seven Stars.
The first ability was to give corporeal reality to the spirit.
The second ability was to directly possess control over natural objects, such as animals and plants.
The fourth ability was the ability to create a new spirit.
The fifth ability was to transform oneself and other targets into animals and plants.
The sixth ability, gained this time around, was to give a wide area Blessing from Mother Nature by playing an instrument or singing.
‘It’s a direct Blessing from Mother Nature.’
The wide area buff itself could be cast by a bard or a musician, but the key was what effect it had.
Woohyuk made Song Anna play her flute.
Eventually, the sound of a flute reverberated indoors like a babbling brook, and a system message appeared in his mind.
[The Blessing Buff from Mother Nature has been granted.]
[Resistance to abnormal magic. The power of natural magic increases by 80%.]
[Health and vitality are restored 1% every second during the playing period.]
[The duration of various beneficial effects increases by 50% and skill cooldown decreases by 50%.]
[All stats start to rise gradually during the playing period. They may increase up to 20%.]
Truly, a tremendous buff effect.
Indeed, it was overpowered enough to be considered a hidden class skill.
Woohyuk encouraged and complimented Song Anna, who had always worked hard and then spoke with Irene.
“Do you have any new abilities?”
“Since I ate the Dragon Heart the other day, I’ve obtained similar powers to a dragon.”
Since Irene was the highest-level chimera, she could absorb the abilities of other monsters and creatures by consuming their heart or core.
Irene was like Roan, a Gluttony Homunculus, who stole the opponent’s abilities with his Ragnar weapon.
‘I also have the Immortal Armor.’
Although limited as an artifact, the Immortal Armor had the ability to evolve itself.
The possibilities were endless.
Therefore, like his artifact, Irene could also become stronger as long as she was given suitable conditions.
‘I wish I had something to compensate for Irene’s instability…’
She was a chimera based on a dead Saint, so she possessed unique characteristics, but her fundamental foundation was poor.
As Aris warned, if she overdid herself, her body would melt from the inside.
After considering her predicament, Woohyuk decided to go to Irene and feed her Alice the Queen of Thorn’s heart.
“I think it’s best if you take this too. Alice’s abilities don’t fit humans.”
“I’ll eat it well,” Irene responded.
She bowed her head in an expression of gratitude and then bit into Alice’s beating heart.
Blood splattered all over the place, making it a pretty grotesque sight.
However, perhaps because of her beautiful appearance, the scene had its own charm.
“Do you feel any changes?” Woohyuk asked.
“I can feel the power rising from within. But it feels a little different from when I ate the Dragon Heart.”
It felt like a giant snake was slithering inside her.
At Irene’s explanation, Woohyuk brought out Verserios.
“Let’s see how strong you’ve become.”
Since he had invested the heart of the Queen of Thorns, it was natural that he was curious about the outcome.
When Woohyuk wielded Verserios, Irene summoned a pitch-black scythe to block the attack.
Ka-Rang!
Ka-Rang!
Sparks flew out, and Irene was pushed back a little.
‘To be able to endure this much against me… she’s definitively developed.’
Her potential and power level were proof as to why she was given as the hidden reward on the Twilight Tower’s last floor.