Tower Mountain Rufus, one of Latnaâs Four Prohibited Areas.
It was a mountain range, yet also not a mountain range at the same time.
There were countless towers hundreds of meters high where the mountains should be.
There were pyramidal, ziggurat-shaped, cylindrical, and cone-shaped, as well as towers with thin shafts and huge tops like mushrooms.
With towers forming mountains, it became known as the Tower Mountain.
A man was slowly pulling a sword outside the Astarios Dungeon, the worst of Rufusâs innermost and forbidden Dungeons.
âI did it once, but itâs still boring.â
Grumbling, Garhan raised his drawn sword and pointed it in the air.
Dozens of monsters surrounding him growled, instinctively wary of them.
âGrrâŚâ
They were beasts about two meters tall that seemed to be a mixture of Dragons and humans.
However, the energy from their bodies proved that they shouldnât be judged based on their height.
Garhanâs Guideline revealed their identity.
[Race: Elder Drakal. Lv. 126]
They were Alien Dragons, not Latnaâs native ones.
Dozens of giant monsters over level 120 showed their murderous intent.
âHumanâŚ!â
âHuman to be cursedâŚâ
âDeath will cleanse you!â
Garhan was never nervous, though.
âTheyâre still talking nonsense. Regardless, theyâre still monsters of the Dungeon.â
Blue blitzing wings rose from behind his back.
-Magic Swordsmanship: Power of the Thunder God!
Lightning danced. The entire Dungeon smoked as electricity coursed through them, causing the earth to quake.
Rumbling!
Elder Drakals gritted their teeth and flew away.
âGrowl!â
Blade Aura flooded from all directions.
A level 120 tremendous stream of destruction poured on Garhan.
At that moment, he summoned a thunderstorm, causing everything to blow up.
Boom!
âJust based on their power, theyâre definitely over 120âŚâ
A swirl of dark clouds rose around Garhan, continuing to expand its area.
Lightning soon penetrated through the whirlpool, turning into dozens of spears.
His conjured weapons and the Blade Aura clashed against each other seemingly endlessly.
Paaa!
âYou need to know when to use power or not.â
There was no huge gap between their destructive power, but only the Elder Drakals fell every time they collided.
âWonât it be over for you if I hit you from the side while youâre swinging with all your might?â
Every time lightning crossed through the skies, their scales cracked, and they coughed up blood as they screamed.
âArgh!â
âArgh!â
Garhan continued to wave a long sword in the air to coordinate the storm.
A small movement of his wrist was enough to conjure a typhoon.
Lightning repeatedly struck in a vast range of about a hundred meters. Every time he did, the Elder Drakals were burned and fell.
Boom!
He was walking and fooling around with his opponents nonchalantly.
Garhan suddenly tilted his head.
âCome to think of it, that girl, Effir, also specializes in lightning attacks, right?â
It was no coincidence that he and Effir had acquired similar titles, the Thunder King and Swordswoman of Thunderstorms.
Originally, the most efficient, powerful, and fastest techniques of Magic Swordsmanship were lightning-based attacks.
However, such attacksâ level of difficulty was unusually high, so only geniuses from the heavens could use them as their main specialty.
âThinking about it, sheâs a little weird, too.â
He didnât feel it because of the Sword King, but the Mage of Incineration and Effir of Thunderstorms were also too young compared to their level.
âMaybe thereâs something behind it.â
While thinking about something else for a while, the screams subsided.
Garhan looked up.
Before he knew it, the Elder Drakals were already all over the place.
On the surface, they seemed to be burned to death, but their lives still lingered.
âIâm almost done hereâŚâ
Looking back, he spoke to himself.
âIs Genovia still there?â
* * *
Inside the vast tower, a woman walked slowly through the hallâs center, where countless stone pillars stood.
She beautiful, having waist-length wavy blonde hair and chocolate skin.
A ruby robe, which had the symbolic meaning of being the Head of the Sinkers, tried to cover her body, but even the voluptuous hems of her clothing couldnât hide her slender waist and ample bosom.
The fire and ice monsters surrounded Genovia and howled.
They didnât roar negatively like normal monsters. Instead, they emitted terrible heat and cold.
Boom!
The severe temperatures created a storm.
Genovia, caught in it, swept her hair lightly.
She wasnât fazed even by the formidable wind pressure.
Rather, she was staring at the dozens of monsters quite nonchalantly.
[Race: Mana Magmasid lv. 121]
[Race: Mana Freezeralm lv. 124]
âTheir level is appropriate.â
Mumbling, Genovia raised her right hand, stretching lightly sideways.
Her movement was simple, but the flow of Mana in it was complicated.
She revised the principles of the world through her Mana and hit the beasts before her.
âLeft to right.â
Along with the roar, the gelid beasts were deprived of their âcoldness.â
âRight to left.â
Along with the explosion, the fiery creatures were deprived of their âheat.â
Boom!
Coldness enveloped the fire monsters, and heat burned the ice monsters.
The frost burned, and the flames froze.
Her opponents struggled in pain, their screams resonating in the wind.
Boom!
Soon enough, all that was left was the slowly melting ice, the images of preserved fires.
âIâve got them under control.â
Genovia kept moving.
Once again, more Dungeon monsters stood in her way.
There were dozens of giant five-meter-long beasts, with a lionâs head, tigerâs body, Eagleâs wings, and buffalo horns.
There were also dozens of moving tree creatures shaped like titans.
[Race: Elder Manticore lv. 128]
[Race: Altion Triad lv. 123]
They were some of the strongest monsters near the top of Tower Mountain Rufus.
Even a single one was a nightmare that could cause thousands of casualties if they escaped the Dungeon.
âGrowl!â
The Elder Manticores flew up in unison.
The sound of wings flapping rang loudly inside the tower.
âGoooooooo!â
The Altion Triads also charged in.
Every step they took, they rooted in the ground, and tentacle-like tree roots pierced through like spears.
âIt reminds me of the old days. I used to catch them on purpose.â
With a grin, Genovia moved her left hand, her magic already at the level of reaching the principle only by will and intent.
Manaâs miracle, which transcended even the power set by the world, had descended to that place.
âUp to down.â
The flying Elder Manticores all fell to the ground.
Their wings were crushed and broken. Their bones protruded, and their blood spilled.
âBottom to up.â
The rooted tree monsters were pulled out of the floor next.
They rose in the air, got caught in invisible air currents that peeled their skins, and broke their branches, causing saps to drip.
Genovia, who handled dozens of monsters in an instant, smirked.
âAs expected, even at a high level, itâs easy to deal with monsters.â
If she knew how to respond, she could overpower them just by targeting their weaknesses.
It was a lot simpler than humans with wisdom.
Of course, it was only possible when the level gap was that big.
âAnyway, Iâve cleared them allâŚâ
Looking back, she raised her voice.
âCome, Manakiras!â
* * *
Outside the tower, a naked black-haired beauty appeared.
âMy great QueenâŚâ
Though she was naked, she wasnât ashamed. Her arms were even fully unfolded.
âI accept your grace!â
A dazzling light rose from the beauty. Soon enough, in her stead, a giant Black Dragon over 30 meters long appeared.
She opened her mouth and executed her Breath.
Boom!
Black air currents simultaneously hit a pack of stuck Elder Manticores and Altion Triads in the air.
Their captives, which had barely been breathing, succumbed to death simultaneously, dedicating a vast amount of energy to Manakiras.
âOh! My strength! This is increasing my strength!â
Struggling with pleasure, the Black Dragon trembled.
Genovia pointed her finger at her as if it was insignificant.
âNot yet. Follow me. Iâm sure Garhan has a stack of them.â
âAs you wish, My Queen.â
Manakiras moved hurriedly.
Arriving on the other side of the tower, Garhan once again shot a group of Elder Drakals.
Again, their energy was absorbed into the Black Dragon.
Watching the scene, Garhan frowned.
âIs that still her level?â
[Race: Black Dragon Lv. 133.]
Genovia shrugged her shoulders.
âHer level before our boost was lower than that of Nakterion. Thatâs why we need to feed her a lot.â
Manakiras was an Ancient Black Dragon.
She was chosen not because of her strength.
Manakiras was a mid-level Ancient Dragon in the Upper Draconium.
However, her current strength didnât mean much once they raised her level through energy-feeding.
She was chosen because she had a strange âspecialtyâ that no other Ancient Dragons had.
She had been appointed by Garhan, who raised that point high.
Of course, it was just a curse on Manakiras herself.
A group of people on alert outside the hall looked at the Black Dragon and clicked their tongues.
âHow could Manakiras change like thatâŚ?â
âI have no idea. Wasnât even Nakterion not supposed to be like that?â
âIâm glad we didnât end up like her.â
Manakiras was initially strongly opposed to the Top Three. Although she was forced to obey because of the ban, she secretly built up her strength to escape somehow.
But at that moment, her will was ruled by the Draco Imperium staff.
She became a faithful puppet who offered blind loyalty of her own volition.
The funny thing was, she had been chosen because of her âspecialtyâ that she secretly built up and developed.
âIâve grown my strength to get out of the banâŚâ
âThe world is full of mystery.â
Garhan shouted at the Ancient Dragons, who were whispering among themselves.
âWhat are you doing? Come on, bring the monsters!â
âWe shall!â
They soon returned to their main form and flew up.
No matter how nasty and cheap it was, they had no choice but to obey faithfully because their lives were in pledge.
* * *
The task was over after feeding her energy several more times.
The binge left Manakiras half-pastured. Meanwhile, the other Ancient Dragons collapsed from exhaustion.
Allowing them to rest, Garhan asked Genovia a question.
âHow long will it take?â
He had been wondering how long Manakiras would reach the target level of 140.
Both of them were in their 150s. Hence, they couldnât feed her lots of energy over level 140.
In the case of Nakterion, he learned new magic and jumped to level 145 when he reached level 140, but they couldnât expect such good luck for Manakiras.
Genovia answered lowly.
âItâll be over in three days, but she still wonât be able to handle that Valtara warrior by then.â
The Thunder King and the Archmage had to step up to deal with Felard Bean, the successor to Baotolt and the new Sword King.
And it had already been decided who would step up to the battlefield.
Genovia suddenly looked back at Garhan with a frown.
âAre you going to be okay, Garhan? I donât think heâs stronger than you, butâŚâ
The opponent was a disciple of Baotolt and mastered one of his two excellent skills, the Valtaraâs Fighting Spirit.
âPerhaps⌠He might have mastered that damn Heavenly Sword?â
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