Chapter 179

Chapter 179
## Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: Void Grade

Auril remained motionless, her eyes fixed on Randolph’s retreating form as he silently departed the spire.

‘What… what was that I just beheld?’

The stone monument had abruptly reshaped itself into a colossal avian, the structure had reconstructed its own foundations, and Karas had transitioned into a state of divinity.

That was merely the beginning.

The spire itself had physically grown.

Following that, Randolph had ascended to the 30th level without a single pause for breath, engaging in a violent struggle with the newly ascended Karas.

…The sequence was enough to cause a chill to run down the spine of someone as experienced as Auril.

It wasn’t simply the fact that Karas and Randolph were locked in combat.

‘How can a mere human even endure the sight of a god?’

A deity was a being that existed on the same plane as the creators themselves—or perhaps a god given flesh.

An ultimate power that no mortal soul should ever hope to overcome.

An entity that one could not even look upon without being granted the right.

The sheer notion of crossing blades with such a presence was beyond the limits of imagination.

It was an ingrained reaction for those of the mortal world.

A biological necessity when faced with true supremacy.

Yet, Randolph stood before the god without the slightest tremor of doubt.

More than that…

‘He initiated the violence.’

…He struck first.

He swung his blade without a shred of terror against Karas.

It shattered every rule of the natural world.

A human challenging a god in a direct confrontation!

‘Deities serve as the arbiters of cosmic order, erasing only the corruption that threatens existence. Even the most profound evils cannot lift their gaze to the sky so long as a true deity walks.’

When those shadows looked toward the heavens, the gods found them instantly.

And delivered judgment.

To think a mortal could stand toe-to-toe with a deity—it was fundamentally impossible.

‘I had always been told that a god’s eyes are so deep that no mortal can meet their stare…’

To lock eyes was to have the very essence of one’s spirit drained away.

This was not a campfire tale or mere hearsay.

Every scroll from the dawn of time described it exactly that way.

Chronicles of genuine gods. Even those concerning the War God Karas.

Nevertheless, Randolph gazed unflinchingly into the eyes of Karas.

There was only a single path that made such a feat feasible.

‘…Is it possible that Randolph is a god in his own right…?’

A divine being.

Something only a peer could achieve.

However, Randolph did not radiate the same ‘sanctity’ that poured from the War God Karas.

Certainly, as a high druid, he was a figure of great respect, one who lived in harmony with the vast natural world.

Yet, he was a far cry from a true deity.

Could he be a hidden divinity?

A god walking the earth under a veil of a different name?

‘I have never heard of a god like that existing in our history.’

Once more, it was outside the bounds of logic.

The duel that followed with Karas was no different.

No one could claim victory over the War God Karas within the walls of his own sanctuary.

It was a contest without a winning move.

And as expected, he fell—a conclusion that made sense.

‘…A predictable conclusion? Was it?’

…The final result ended that way.

But the journey to get there? Totally baffling.

How could anyone describe that as ‘logical’?

Karas accepted Randolph’s strikes with his bare chest, showing the casual grace expected of a god of battle.

The issue was that as the minutes ticked by, the nature of the fight turned bizarre.

‘Horrifying evolution.’

Randolph was learning Karas’s methods.

Moving faster than thought.

With every clash of metal, Randolph’s style moved closer and closer to replicating Karas.

When he finally managed to carve a long wound across the chest of Karas, Auril trembled with a mix of fear and admiration.

Ultimately, Karas was forced to bring the encounter to a halt.

He realized that if the dance continued, the only end would be the death of one of them.

‘What on earth is he…’

Randolph.

Who was this person?

The way Auril viewed him had shifted entirely from the moment before he stepped into the tower.

The Omen Clan.

The statistics for this crow were all locked at 120, making it the peer of a 2-star transcendent.

Furthermore, when combined with the traits of the War God, its true prowess in battle was undoubtedly far higher.

‘The strength of the Omen Clan shifts based on the specific spire they inhabit.’

Both their physical power and their unique traits vary.

In simpler terms, liberating an Omen Clan member from a tower of a higher tier would provide a much more formidable partner.

Even this one was clearly a massive advantage.

‘I wonder what the War God’s specific trait provides.’

I couldn’t witness it directly.

But my time sparring with Karas gave me a decent theory.

The staggering display of him utilizing his own plumage as lethal tools left me momentarily at a loss for words.

‘At any rate.’

I turned my attention to the screen displaying the quest rewards.

I had accumulated 1,990 points—the highest tally I had ever received from a primary mission I had completed. But that was logical.

I had stepped into a realm that no other had dared to test.

Wiping out a high demon, fixing the tower, and bringing a god back to life—these are achievements that won’t be repeated easily.

But something else caught my eye, more so than the points.

‘…Equipment Fusion?’

A term I had never encountered throughout my history of finishing main quests.

Now, it was prompting me to pick three mythic-level items from the list of previous rewards and fuse them together.

‘Excluding the ones I’ve already claimed, I assume.’

The interface only displayed the prizes I hadn’t yet taken.

I rubbed my jaw as I looked through the dozens—probably fifty—different names.

‘Fuse them to create a completely original piece of gear.’

Equipment in a form never before seen within the world of Pangeniar.

Nothing like this had ever occurred in the past.

It was, for all intents and purposes, a bonus payout.

‘The peak tier for main quest rewards is mythic.’

But with such a staggering score, even multiple mythics wouldn’t feel like enough.

What was the goal here?

‘…Is it implying a Unique tier?’

If the result was meant to be something entirely singular and unique, the Unique tier was the only thing that fit.

Since the system couldn’t hand me a Unique item directly, was it forcing me to forge one?

The final product would change drastically depending on what I chose to mix.

‘In the end, it’s my call.’

There was a lot to think about.

Did it just pile the stats on top of each other? Was there a hidden bonus for similar items? Did the titles matter? The system provided no manual for these mechanics.

This frustrating game was famously tight-lipped when it came to giving instructions.

‘At the very least, I recognize the traits of most of these items.’

I studied the list with precision.

As uncommon as they were, I was familiar with the majority.

I had even equipped many of them in the past.

No one understood their potential better than I did.

‘I need to focus on items that fix each other’s flaws.’

This isn’t a set.

Sets require specific pieces to unlock a bonus.

Merging them into a single item might destroy that synergy.

It was smarter to select items whose weaknesses were cancelled out by the others during use.

‘Shining Mantle of Honor. Its primary trait grows stronger as my honor rises.’

The higher the honor, the better it works.

The catch: it’s garbage if your honor is in the gutter.

Since Hell was draining my honor every single day, it was a risky choice.

However…

‘Dorian’s Aura. If an item possesses honor-based traits, it forces them to function at maximum capacity.’

These two were the perfect match to fix each other’s problems.

Both were anchored by honor mechanics.

A legendary ‘perfect pair’—something I had only ever theorized about, because getting both at once was nearly impossible.

‘With the core traits decided, for the final slot…’

I locked those two in.

Now for the closing piece.

I sat in thought for a long time before my mind landed on one specific entry.

‘…Pureblood Schematic.’

A sudden, wild impulse.

A schematic of the Unique tier.

Why was I tempted by something that needed items that didn’t even exist to build?

The prompt didn’t say I could only use weapons or armor.

It said ‘any three’ from the catalog.

The Unique-tier accessory ‘Pureblood’ was so legendary that everyone knew its story.

‘No one actually owns it, but the name Pureblood is etched in history.’

It was one of the ‘absolute bands’ rumored to have been worn by the sovereign when the world still lived on the surface, eons ago.

He established the empire of redemption and took the throne while wearing five such rings.

The legends of those five bands were woven into countless stories and tasks.

It was impossible not to know them after seeing them mentioned so many times.

‘It was a potential reward for finishing the Abyss Labyrinth. I ignored the schematic back then because finding the components was a pipe dream.’

Was it because Riley was one of the six champions of the redemption empire?

After I took down Riley in the Abyss Labyrinth and checked the rewards for making it through, Pureblood was listed.

But since the materials couldn’t be found in a hundred lifetimes, I let it go.

‘Fusion means taking the primary functions and blending them. A schematic’s primary function is clearly to produce an item with that name.’

What would happen if I threw this schematic into the ‘fusion’?

I had no idea. It was a total gamble.

I couldn’t just assume my theories were always right.

Still, if someone asked me what item on this list was the closest thing to ‘Unique,’ I would point to the ‘Pureblood Schematic’ every single time.

《You have picked ‘Shining Mantle of Honor’.》

《You have picked ‘Dorian’s Aura’.》

The final one.

Should I go with something safer?

A brief moment of doubt.

《You have picked ‘Pureblood Schematic’.》

I didn’t let the hesitation last.

Instantly…

《The chosen items are now ‘fusing’ into a new relic.》

《’Shining Mantle of Honor’, ‘Dorian’s Aura’, and ‘Pureblood Schematic’ are being merged.》

《The ‘Tower of the War God’ provides its sanctification.》

《The War God Karas contributes his divine essence.》

Sanctity and divinity were poured into the mix.

Both the spire and Karas were helping the process along.

Another event without precedent.

But thinking back on the ‘Mysterious Tower,’ it made enough sense.

After doing things that had never been done before, hadn’t the tower itself gifted me the rule-breaking mystic ‘Eternal Randolph’?

In the same vein, the Tower of the War God and Karas were essentially one, so their contribution would definitely change the final result.

Before long…

《Fusion is complete!》

Hoo!

Darkstar exhaled a long, heavy breath.

The chaos had finally settled.

Now, it was his turn to take the lead once more.

“…What truly matters right now are the demons currently attacking us. The situation we are in. If we want to survive their cruel, demonic raids, our togetherness is more important than anything else!”

Band together.

Become a single force and strike back!

Randolph in the world of Pangeniar right now was a person who didn’t care about the real world.

A coward who refused to join them and ran away!

That was the subtext of Darkstar’s speech.

Phantom, exploring the Tower of the War God by himself in the game, was totally irrelevant to their survival.

“…He’s correct.”

“We got our hopes up for no reason.”

“I really thought Phantom would be somewhere in the combined military…”

Many people in the crowd nodded.

The demons were at their doorstep. Earth—their home—was being overrun.

Everyone who had come here believed Phantom was working with the military somewhere.

But that recent global announcement proved he was elsewhere.

‘Perfect. The energy has changed.’

Darkstar felt his confidence return.

His moment had arrived, he was sure of it.

He was the one standing at the front.

If he managed to push back this invasion, he would become a figure far more significant than the Master or Gracia ever were.

A giant that even Lucifer, pulling strings from the dark, wouldn’t be able to boss around.

“Tomorrow, everything is going to change. Our enemies will learn to fear our unity, and the world will…”

“Wait, what?”

“Something was finished?”

“‘Shining Pureblood Aura’?”

“…Wow, that’s insane.”

“Pureblood? Like the Pureblood from the legends?”

“But look at that rank…”

Darkstar’s face twisted into a scowl.

The irritation was written all over him.

He could no longer suppress the rage bubbling up inside.

‘Phantom… you piece of work!’

A band as crimson as blood, glowing with a holy light.

‘Pureblood.’

The way it looked was almost identical to the legendary Pureblood.

But not exactly.

‘Shining Pureblood Aura…!’

If I had to say… it was actually more striking.

It far outclassed even the original Pureblood, one of the five absolute bands worn by the ancient emperor.

I didn’t have all the details on those bands, but this seemed to be a perfect match.

And it wasn’t just a pretty sight.

【Shining Pureblood Aura (Void)】

-The legendary absolute band, finally realized by blending the spire’s sanctification, a god’s divinity, and countless tales of heroism. A radiant presence has been added.

-Pureblood (Natural Recovery 3,000%)

-Great Aura (Honor points are doubled.)

-Holy One (Divinity is added based on total honor.)

-Absolute Existence (‘Holy Word of Conviction’ can be burned into others.)

-Shining Identity (The user cannot be tracked or analyzed by any method.)

-Last Sovereign (Acquire all five absolute bands.)

…The traits were enough to make my head spin.

Only the recovery rate directly changed my stats, but that was exactly what I needed most right now.

Furthermore.

‘This is nuts. Honor is doubled!’

It was a pity I didn’t have this while I was scaling the spire, but it didn’t matter.

It meant I would get twice the points from here on out, forever.

The value of honor was obvious—I’d lose my voice if I had to explain it again.

It wasn’t just fuel for Hell; many top-tier tasks and items required a high honor score.

‘Divinity?’

I hadn’t expected divinity to grow based on honor.

Divinity was the literal power of the gods.

Did this mean I had a path to becoming a real deity?

‘Holy Word of Conviction.’

Etching words of loyalty.

For those who have faith in me.

I slid the ring onto my finger and turned to look at Auril.

“Auril. Sit down.”

“Y-Yes…?”

Thud!

Despite her confused tone, Auril dropped to a sitting position instantly.

“Th-this…!”

Auril was as shocked as I was.

‘Oh, wow.’

This was even more immediate than the Winter Contract.

What about the range?

“Hudson. Teleport to the 7th point of the Tower of the War God.”

“Wh-what are you trying to do?”

“Hmm.”

I walked over to the 7th teleportation hub.

It was the one with the least foot traffic—if Hudson arrived, I’d see him immediately.

How much time had ticked by?

Ziiing!

The portal glowed, and a man stepped through.

“Y-you summoned me?”

…It was Hudson, who had just teleported over.

I tested it on a few random people walking by just to be sure—nothing happened.

Even knowing their names didn’t make a difference.

‘It etches words into those who already trust and follow me. There is no limit on distance.’

So that’s what it can do.

If I started a religion and built up a massive following?

It would be a legion of true fanatics who would live and die on my whim.

But there was more.

‘Etches a god’s words. It might even work on other religions…’

The sovereign of old was like a supreme high priest for every church.

Perhaps this power could be projected onto other faiths.

I needed to test that further.

‘And I can’t be tracked.’

It makes me impossible to observe.

It’s limited to being watched or analyzed, but it seems more definitive than a standard stealth trait.

It was the first time I’d seen the phrase ‘by any method.’

Does that mean even the gods can’t see or understand me?

‘What happens if I find all the absolute bands?’

I have no clue.

But… one thing was certain.

This ring would perform at a Unique-tier or even higher, depending on how I used it.

Gain honor to gain divinity, then use that divinity to make the words stronger.

Then…

《You have finished Main Quest 9.》

《Main Quest 10 is starting automatically.》

《The Shining Dragon Ainhassar is calling for you.》

《Summoning failed!》

《…?》

《The Shining Dragon Ainhassar is confused.》

《The Shining Dragon Ainhassar is calling for you.》

《Summoning failed!》

《…??》

《The Shining Dragon Ainhassar is trying to observe you.》

《Observation failed!》

《…???》

《The Shining Dragon Ainhassar is losing its composure.》