Chapter 144

Chapter 144
## Chapter: 144
Chapter Title: The Unbreakable Lord Solbaren

The leaderboard positions among the various teams were shifting rapidly, rising and falling in a constant tug-of-war.

Despite the movement, there remained a massive interval between the general group and the summit of the rankings.

The top spot held 480 points.

This lead was only maintained because the frontrunners’ scoring pace had slowed down significantly at some point, granting us the chance to narrow the distance this much.

‘Master. This individual is completely dead weight.’

Had Master contributed effectively, we would have likely pulled even with them or perhaps even seized the lead ourselves.

Master’s performance had dragged the collective average down to a pathetic degree.

It reached a stage where I genuinely questioned if his presence offered any benefit at all.

However, more captivating than Master’s inadequacy was the mystery surrounding the top-ranked party.

‘Who exactly are these people in first place?’

Their initial burst of speed was beyond all reason.

They had sprinted ahead with a score more than double anyone else’s, tearing through the trial like possessed beings.

Then, quite suddenly, after reaching a certain milestone, their momentum stalled.

Still, the fact that we were unable to overtake them even now was truly startling.

‘Could it be the White King? Or perhaps the Empire?’

To make sense of the situation, it could only be one of those two entities.

Either the White King or the Empire had to be making a concerted, all-out effort.

Yet, even for such powerhouses, that opening velocity was hard to fathom.

‘The White King’s subordinates aren’t capable of matching our strength.’

Raktusha was certain of this.

White King. That ancient terror, the sovereign of the north, was no longer the threat he once was.

His old celestial majesty had withered, leaving behind a timid shadow hiding in the shadows of his palace.

Furthermore, his primary captains were no match for her personal capabilities.

‘By the benevolence of the Black King, I have mastered the use of sword aura.’

She wasn’t the only one.

All her inner circle had been bestowed with formidable blessings, elevating their prowess by several tiers.

If the other primary combatants were merely at the level of the Four Kings… the conclusion was obvious before the fight even started.

It would be an overwhelming triumph for her side.

Four Kings.

She had already tested their mettle through one of the White King’s subordinate leaders.

That pathetic spirit who had the audacity to cross into the southern territories.

‘If the rest of their main force is only at the Four Kings’ standard, there’s nothing left to worry about.’

Consequently, it couldn’t be the White King’s faction.

‘Is it the Empire then?’

That left only the Empire as a possibility.

A realm constructed by mortals, yet its true depths remained shrouded in mystery.

They were already aware that it harbored an immense wealth of artifacts and cloaked transcendent beings.

Moreover, there was the unsettling reality that entities who appeared human, but were fundamentally not, walked among them.

Particularly concerning the ‘Emperor,’ even the Black King had issued a direct command for her to remain vigilant.

‘No matter who they are…’

Tsk tsk.

Raktusha let out a soft click of her tongue and gave a slight shake of her head.

She سپس gripped her Black Heaven Sword.

‘The moment we cross paths, they will find only their end.’

Kwarrr rumble!

She unleashed another devastating arc of energy toward the oncoming, massive blood demon.

The ‘Tower of Rifts’ that had manifested without warning had become the primary focus of conversation for every Pangenian and player alike.

The digital community boards were currently engulfed in the same heated debates.

* Does any high-ranker actually know who is inside right now?
* Maybe it’s Gracia or Master?
* We had constant updates during the Abyssal Labyrinth, but we’re getting nothing here. It’s so annoying.

Unlike the ‘Abyssal Labyrinth,’ however, the rule stating that once you entered, you were trapped until the floor was finished made many people hesitate to step inside.

Because of this, in a vacuum of information.

Nobody had any idea who was currently in the thick of it or what obstacles they were facing.

* ‘Level limit release’—does that mean breaking past level 10?
* That’s the most logical theory right now.
* Isn’t level 11 reserved for non-human entities? Like the Saintess, who is definitely not a person.
* Does that mean only the specific team that clears the floor gets the cap lifted?
* Most likely.
* So this only helps the humans, right? Monsters don’t have level caps anyway.
* No, I think I read somewhere that every race has its own specific level ceiling.

Every race was subject to level restrictions.

Humans simply had a very low ceiling at level 10, which was why only those who earned stars could continue to grow.

But the number of stars one could obtain was predetermined.

Even among those with potential, a vast number of humans remained stuck at level 10 forever.

Unless they abandoned their humanity to transform into a different species, level 10 was their final stop.

If this tower could shatter those ‘limitations.’

* That’s a massive deal…
* It’s essentially the same as being granted a 1-star transcendence, isn’t it?
* It might not be about levels at all. We won’t know until someone actually finishes it.
* God, this is killing me. How does the system work?
* If you’re that desperate to know, go in yourself lol.
* Oh, look! Someone just initiated a raid.
* This feels exactly like the Abyssal Labyrinth.
* Is it the Black King and Master party?
* No way, the Black King from the south?
* That’s insane. Are you serious?
* But wait, what is Master?
* It’s not the Master we’re thinking of, is it?
* ???

《The Raid of ‘Lord Solbaren’ has commenced.》

《Challengers: ‘Black King, Master,’ party score: 500 points.》

《The combat effectiveness of ‘Lord Solbaren’ remains at full strength.》

《The combat power of ‘Lord Solbaren’ is 999,999.》

As I was clearing through the level 6 territory, the glowing notifications in the air made me pause in confusion.

‘The standings have flipped all of a sudden.’

There had been a respectable gap between us.

In a flash, the second-place group had skyrocketed past me by collecting a massive windfall of points.

‘Did they take down a territory boss?’

It appeared they had hunted the boss and hit the 500-point mark exactly before launching their challenge.

Had I been climbing too slowly?

‘Commanding all the blood demons is a time-consuming process.’

Hidden trait: King of Blood Demons.

The consequence was the total subjugation of the blood demons.

This was a fascinating development for me as well.

It was a power that permitted the leadership of an entire army.

Furthermore, the more subjects I brought under my rule, the more my influence expanded.

As the pack grew in number, their individual strength increased, and certain specialized blood demon variants became even more formidable.

By the time I reached the level 6 territory, the variety of blood demons I had subjugated reached 500.

* My sovereign!
* Our undying master!
* Blood!
* We crave more blood!

The complication was that as their numbers multiplied, so did their thirst for blood.

‘I’m starting to feel lightheaded from the loss.’

Even a single drop from each amounted to 500 drops.

I was lucky my inherent recovery rate was so high; otherwise, I might have passed out from blood loss long ago.

But the struggle had been worth the reward.

《‘Blood Demon Horde (1)’ has been successfully formed.》

《The commander of ‘Blood Demon Horde (1)’ possesses the ‘Star’ attribute.》

《Offer ‘Blood Demon Horde (1)’ as a tribute to activate ‘Meteor Shower.’》

By gathering a massive pack, I had finally established a proper horde.

On top of that, I discovered blood demons with unique ‘attributes.’

‘Aside from standard traits, there are blood demons that carry special ones.’

Blood demons with these unique traits allowed for the use of specialized abilities.

I wasn’t entirely sure what Meteor Shower entailed, but it was likely comparable to the Meteor spell.

Meteor was a pinnacle spell that only a fire-specialized grand mage could cast upon reaching transcendence.

‘Even without the tribute abilities, this group is an army on its own.’

500 blood demons, with the weakest being at least level 7.

That was a force capable of leveling a small town.

Then, it happened.

《The boss of ‘Level 6 Territory’ has surfaced!》

《You have successfully eliminated the boss of ‘Level 6 Territory’!》

Kiaaaak!

The guardian of the level 6 zone.

A titanic mammoth emerged and was torn apart almost instantly.

The blood demons swarmed it, gorging themselves on its lifeblood and marrow.

…It was a gruesome sight.

All blood demons were truly creatures of insatiable hunger.

《The party’s cumulative score has surpassed 500 points.》

《Do you wish to challenge ‘Lord Solbaren’?》

《The raid will start in the following round if all members consent.》

《‘Black King, Master’ is currently in the middle of a challenge.》

Black King and Master.

It seemed certain that Master had allied himself with the Black King’s faction.

The real mystery was whether they had any hope of toppling Lord Solbaren.

‘It won’t be simple.’

I had navigated countless instances of this nature before.

Just because you could enter the challenge at 500 points didn’t mean you should.

If you rushed in the moment you hit the minimum, you’d be facing a boss bolstered by every imaginable buff.

However, I couldn’t be entirely sure.

If the Black King’s entire group was on the same level as Raktusha, they might actually pull it off.

I waited to see how much time would pass.

《The Raid of ‘Lord Solbaren’ has ended in failure.》

《The combat power of ‘Lord Solbaren’ currently stands at 999,955.》

…A humiliating defeat.

‘They only managed to take off 44…?’

For a second, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.

The Black King’s squad, including Raktusha, only managed to drop his combat power by 44 points?

What kind of nightmare was this.

Unlike my situation, other teams were restricted in how many total points they could earn.

They could only clear territories that corresponded to their own levels.

Even the highest-level territories only gave about 200 points per person at best.

‘This… is a boss designed for multiple teams to tackle.’

I finally understood the mechanics.

Lord Solbaren wasn’t intended to be defeated by a single party in one go.

The creature was designed so that many different groups had to strike it repeatedly, slowly wearing it down until it could finally be killed.

Even if they could try again, reorganizing would take a significant amount of time.

‘…This actually works in my favor.’

I preferred it this way.

If Lord Solbaren was that powerful, I could simply focus on becoming just as strong before I stepped into the ring.

《Challenge for ‘Lord Solbaren’ raid has been declined.》

《Focusing on achieving a higher score.》

“What kind of freakish monster is that…!”

Master was visibly trembling as he shouted.

Master had been lucky enough to finish off the territory boss, pushing his score to 500 and taking the lead.

Up until that point, everything was going perfectly.

Perfectly, but then.

‘Did they actually design that thing to be beatable?’

Lord Solbaren.

They thought it would be a standard fight, but even the Black King’s group only managed to leave a tiny mark.

No, the truth was that their attacks barely even connected to begin with.

‘It relies on invincibility mechanics.’

Constant phases of being untouchable, leaving no windows for a counter-attack.

Managing to leave even a single scratch was actually a feat in itself.

Ultimately, the Black King’s party decided to call it quits.

Staying there was just a waste of their efforts.

They realized that pushing their score higher to reduce those invincibility windows was the only path forward.

‘But where have I been sent?’

Immediately following the failure of the raid.

Master was transported to a different location.

The place referred to as the Waiting Room.

In that moment.

《Once 100 challengers have assembled in the Waiting Room, the ‘Bonus Game’ will commence.》

《The victor of the Bonus Game will receive a chance to challenge an uncleared territory level.》

《There are currently 23 challengers present in the waiting room.》

Reading the text floating in front of him, Master broke into a wide grin.

‘Fortune is smiling on me.’

He thought his run was over, but a new path had opened.

This was a perfect chance to secure a higher score than even the Black King’s group.

As a 2-star transcendent, what would happen if he entered a lower-level zone?

There was just one weird thing.

This Waiting Room should be populated by people who had finished their respective zones.

‘It’s going to take a while for 100 people to get here.’

23 was still a long way off.

Beating territories and bosses was no small task.

And yet.

《There are currently 28 challengers gathered.》

《There are currently 39 challengers gathered.》

《There are currently 53 challengers gathered.》

《There are currently 71 challengers gathered.》

……

《100 challengers have now gathered!》

《The number of challengers in the waiting room has exceeded 100.》

Without warning, the room began to fill with people at an unbelievable rate.

Master knit his brows in confusion.

Dark silhouettes were manifesting all around him in a chaotic rush.

It was far beyond 100—there were easily more than 200 figures in sight.

‘What is going on?’

Master overheard the chatter.

“What? The zone just cleared out of nowhere?”

“We were just trying to run away…”

“The territory boss just blinked out of existence as soon as it showed up?”

“Where the hell are we?”

Those who were being pulled into the waiting area.

Most were people from low-level zones who had been dragged here by force.

But because their zones had ended so abruptly, many of them hadn’t even processed what was happening.

‘People in the Waiting Room are hidden from each other.’

Master rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

The headcount in the waiting room was skyrocketing.

It blew past 200, then 300, and it showed no signs of stopping.