Chapter 34

Chapter 34
## Chapter 34: The Bastion of Kramdel

The title of Fortress City was not given to Kramdel lightly; the entire metropolitan expanse had been transformed into a singular, unified defensive work.

It was a citadel of such staggering proportions that it felt alien to the human realm. The sheer scale of the architecture was overwhelming, appearing more like an endless backdrop from a high-budget film or a serial comic than a real-world location—that was the reality of Kramdel.

At the literal heart of this stronghold was a monument dedicated to the White Tiger.

‘The White King.’

He was the divine sentinel of the northern territories, the White King himself.

Kramdel existed under the sovereign shadow of this deity’s grace.

As long as the White King extended his protection, the borders were inviolable; the demonic legions, the terrors of the void, and the ambitions of humanity were all held at bay.

‘I gave my word, but circumstances have shifted.’

There was a past vow never to tread upon northern soil again, yet that oath belonged to Wilhelm—and currently, this form was Randolph.

Furthermore, my objective was the “ultimate mystery.”

The plan was simply to retrieve Andasalm, the daughter of the high priest Andrew, during the journey.

I had no intention of ever crossing paths with the White King directly.

“Good grief, this is quite a sight.”

“Correct, caw. No other fortification in existence can rival these dimensions.”

“I wasn’t talking about the walls… look at the line of monsters waiting to get inside.”

Isabella spoke in a hushed tone.

The gateway to the city was as congested as a bustling bazaar.

A massive throng of creatures pressed toward the entrance, creating a chaotic bottleneck.

The power levels among them were wildly inconsistent.

Under normal circumstances, the idea of monsters “queuing up” to enter a civilized structure defied all logic.

‘Intelligent monsters.’

These were distinct from the mindless beasts found wandering the wilderness.

These were the ascended.

Much like how the corpse crow had reached a higher state by consuming players, these entities had evolved through various paths, granting them the ability to perceive the “hidden trail.”

The crowd ranged from standard specimens to elite floor bosses.

I even spotted a few mythical variations scattered within the mass.

‘What is the magnetic pull that brings them all to Kramdel?’

Despite my deep familiarity with the world of Pangeniar, the specific reason for this congregation remained a mystery to me.

I had only heard rumors that it served as a terrestrial sanctuary for their kind.

*Grrrr…*

‘…The Glutton is reacting. The rumors must be accurate.’

Even while I was masked as the Sovereign of Corpse Crows, the Gluttonous hunger stirred.

It clearly viewed the essences of these evolved beings as its primary prey.

However, I couldn’t allow a single instinctual trait to dictate my actions.

Igniting a conflict in a place like this would likely result in being trapped forever.

[Teleportation is prohibited within this zone due to the White King’s Divine Aegis.]

Even the Enchanted Atlas was useless here.

There were no spatial warps allowed within the city walls.

This meant I had to conduct my business with total discretion and exit just as quietly.

‘Three separate queues.’

The logistical problem was the division of the lines.

One path was for the common ranks, a second for high-tier entities, and a priority lane for ancient, mythical, or phantasmal lineages.

In the monster world, social standing was even more rigid than in human society.

After evaluating the situation, I stepped into the line for the commoners.

The queue was stagnant. At this pace, it looked like a twenty-four-hour wait, but I had no alternative.

“Dragon-bloods and ‘Sovereigns’ are required to use the secondary lane.”

A ‘Petal Cactus’ standing ahead of me turned to speak.

Normally, a Petal Cactus was a low-tier, level 3 creature found in arid zones.

【Lv.5】

But this individual surpassed the norm.

Standard specimens of its kind possessed zero intellect.

This one was clearly an evolved variant.

“I appreciate the guidance, caw.”

I offered a curt word of thanks and migrated to the second queue.

This line was significantly shorter.

It looked like we could pass through the gates within half a day.

“A pathetic carrion bird thinks it can stand in front of me? Out of my way.”

As I adjusted my position, a figure draped in a dark, conical hooded garment confronted me.

It was a denizen of the void known as a ‘Chaos Cone.’

【Lv. 8】

The whispers that abyssal creatures were migrating to Kramdel were evidently true.

Since the depths of the abyss remained a mystery to most, seeing such a strange specimen wasn’t entirely shocking.

‘Better to look away.’

There had to be a significant reason why all these monsters were behaving so civilly in this environment.

“You have the gall to ignore my presence?”

When I gave no reaction, the Chaos Cone’s tone became lethal.

“Conflict… is forbidden. If you strike… you become like the others.”

A ‘Cinder Skeleton’ standing ahead of me, whose gaze was fixed on the upper ramparts, croaked out a warning.

The central section of the fortress wall was lined with various figures.

“The sentinel… Medusa… she turns the defiant… to stone.”

Those were actual monsters petrified by Medusa’s gaze.

They were exhibited like macabre architectural flourishes—a truly morbid aesthetic choice.

‘Medusa is a top-tier, high-difficulty raid entity.’

She was a level 11 apex predator.

It usually required a dozen one-star ascended beings or a trio of two-star ascended to even attempt an encounter—she was a titan among titans.

She functioned as an absolute power beyond the standard level 11 bracket.

In this world, monster power was categorized by titles rather than just numerical values, unlike the player system.

‘The more complex the prefix, the more dangerous the beast.’

To put it in perspective: a standard level 11 monster could be taken down by one level 11 player.

A ‘Boss’ variant required two such players. A ‘Raid Boss’ needed four.

An ‘Elite Raid Boss’ demanded eight players of equal level, and a ‘Super Elite Raid Boss’ required a coordinated dozen just to survive the opening move.

The only things above that tier were entities like the White King or the Lord of Demons.

‘And she is undeniably one of the White King’s primary lieutenants.’

Medusa was one of the four legendary generals serving the White King.

She was a figure of universal dread.

The Cinder Skeleton shifted its gaze toward the Chaos Cone.

“Cone. There is a sigil… on your face.”

“What?”

A glowing mark of Medusa had manifested on the Chaos Cone’s hood.

It was both a silent reprimand and a lingering hex from the sentinel.

“Eeeeeek!”

The Chaos Cone began to spiral in a state of pure panic.

It was as I suspected.

Indifference was the safest policy.

There was a clear reason why even the most arrogant monsters were staying in line without causing a scene.

With Medusa guarding the threshold—a being who never retracted a curse—the crowd had no choice but to be subservient.

Had I engaged with the Chaos Cone, that same mark would likely be burning on my own face right now.

…What a bizarre environment.

“‘Star Sentinels’!”

“And there are two of them!”

Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted.

The surrounding area erupted in a wave of whispers.

‘Star Sentinels?’

Hearing that familiar designation, I looked toward the source of the noise. Two beings of phantasmal and mythical status were approaching the gates.

One was a Phantasmal Phoenix, wreathed in intense azure flames.

The other was a Mythical Wyrm, so immense its tail disappeared into the distance.

“That great serpent…?”

Isabella’s eyes went wide with shock.

I felt the same jolt of disbelief.

…What on earth was Dramat doing here?

The fact that he was being addressed as a Star Sentinel meant he had gained entry through that specific status.

But weren’t Star Sentinels tethered to the immediate vicinity of their celestial bodies?

The confusion lasted only a moment.

The phoenix and Dramat vanished into the interior of the fortress.

The Cinder Skeleton muttered,

“The gossip… about a fresh star… manifesting… must be true.”

“What is this news about a new star, caw?”

“A thirty-third… star… has risen in Kramdel… that is the word.”

What could that possibly imply?

There were exactly thirty-two stars across the entire continent.

That fact had remained static for half a decade.

The entire recorded history of Pangeniar supported that number.

A thirty-third star?

‘The deity was rent into thirty-two fragments at the time of her passing, forming the stars.’

Could there be a hidden piece that had gone unnoticed?

I rubbed my chin in deep thought.

Dramat, a creature that never abandoned its sanctuary, was here in Kramdel.

And the local monsters were buzzing about a “thirty-third star.”

It defied logic.

And yet, my curiosity was piqued to the extreme.

‘If this is factual, I have to investigate.’

I needed to dig deeper.

Perhaps a clandestine meeting with Dramat was possible.

—

Inside the walls of Kramdel.

To my surprise, the interior was remarkably similar to a standard human metropolis.

However, one specific industry dominated the scenery.

“Visit ‘Sanctified Waters’ to cleanse your spirit and form! Special rates for today!”

“Stabilize your volatile essence! We offer premier service at ‘Benevolence Springs’!”

Plumes of vapor rose from every corner of the city.

The source was clearly geothermal activity.

But this was the frozen north. The land outside was buried in snow—and yet here were hot springs?

The influx of monsters seemed to be heading directly for these baths; it appeared to be the primary attraction.

‘The place has transformed since my time as Wilhelm.’

I had once snuck into Kramdel under my Wilhelm identity to hunt the White King.

That was only a year ago.

Back then, the monster population wasn’t this dense.

And there certainly weren’t any public bathhouses.

In a mere twelve months, the city had undergone a seismic cultural shift.

“Are you a dragon-blood by any chance? We actually have another of your kind visiting our waters right now—perhaps you’d like to share a bath?”

A goblin wearing a polished white headpiece approached Isabella.

All the goblins acting as barkers for the spas wore these white helmets.

The mutant scout who had helped us earlier wore a black one. It seemed the colors indicated a hierarchy or profession.

“A dragon-blood is present here, caw?”

“Indeed. A member of the lineage thought to be lost. Isn’t this the ideal moment for kin to reconnect?”

The ‘Heavenly Dragonkin’ status was currently active because Isabella was wearing the Michella gear.

However, that only provided the aesthetic wings of the race.

She wasn’t a true Heavenly Dragonkin, which is why she was labeled a ‘dragon-blood.’

Essentially, she was a hybrid in appearance. The pure-blooded Heavenly Dragonkin had been wiped out an age ago.

‘…A human.’

In other words, it was a person.

Just like Isabella, someone had bypassed the gates of Kramdel by donning the Michella set.

Most likely a player.

‘I have to verify this.’

I was currently in the guise of the Sovereign of Corpse Crows.

Isabella could easily pass for a legitimate dragon-blood in this crowd.

“What is the entry fee, caw?”

“Oh, a newcomer to Kramdel? We accept ten units of ‘evolution shards’.”

“Evolution shards, caw?”

“Like this.”

A soft, amber radiance flickered over the goblin’s skin.

As it concentrated that light, small grains of gold dust materialized in its palm.

‘…A shard of the Fractured Golden Law?’

The broken pieces of the Golden Law were functioning as the local currency.

This was bizarre. Weren’t those shards meant for players only?

In this place, they were referred to as “evolution shards.”

‘It seems the fragments of the Golden Law are what trigger the evolutionary process.’

The ascended monsters.

Gaining sapience and enhanced capabilities.

I never would have guessed that the Fractured Golden Law was the catalyst.

That meant, like my own corpse crow form, every monster in this city carried a piece of the Golden Law.

‘And they can be exchanged…’

The shards were tradable.

I recalled the Golden Law Exchange.

It was likely the same principle.

Focusing on the sensation I used when spending shards in the real world, an amber glow began to emanate from me.

“Oh?”

“Quite impressive for a simple carrion bird.”

Immediately, the eyes of the nearby monsters shifted to me.

I had roughly 19 hours of Golden Law time remaining.

By local standards, that was apparently a significant amount of wealth.

Following the goblin’s lead, I manipulated the light and separated a shard.

“Is this sufficient, caw?”

“A warm welcome to you both!”

—

Sincerity Springs.

This was a moderately sized establishment located a short distance from the city’s central plaza.

The naming conventions were baffling, but the facility was large enough to perhaps reveal the secrets of the water.

After settling the bill at the front desk and following a servant into the interior, the main bath came into view.

A multitude of monsters were already lounging in the water.

“…Hm? Another dragon-blood?”

A man possessing the wings of a Heavenly Dragonkin was reclining in the center of the pool, flanked by frost maidens.

The man shot a glance at the arriving Isabella and scowled.

Unsurprisingly, I found my own expression mirroring his annoyance.

‘He’s human.’

Just as I suspected, he was a player.

【Lv.10】

And a level 10 powerhouse at that!

He had a distinct, bolt-shaped scar on his brow.

His golden hair was spiked as if he’d been struck by a storm.

Even the high-tier mystery crackling around him in the form of static was a dead giveaway.

There was no mistaking him—I knew exactly who this was.

The shock of seeing his face was even greater than the shock of seeing Dramat.

‘…Why on earth is he here?’

There was zero room for error.

That face was unforgettable.

Just like Isabella… he was a character I had personally developed.

‘The Bolt Chaser.’

Isaac of the Severing Thunder!

A max-level avatar equipped with top-tier relics, but he had been rendered unplayable because of his chaotic reputation—he couldn’t even log in.

Any attempt to enter the game would result in immediate execution by high-ranking NPCs—and yet here was that cursed character, staring right back at me.