I Got an Ex-Class Omnipotent System - Chapter 69

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 69
69: A Dungeon Within the Labyrinth? (4)
It was absurd that there were NPCs as if this were some game, but now wasn’t the time to be bewildered by such things.
Monsters were swarming from behind, and that thief was fleeing with the stolen fire.
After successfully analyzing the situation, Dohyun quickly read the message.
[You have successfully analyzed the 『Priest of Fire』.]
『Priest of Fire』
▶「A priest who guards the Altar of Fire.」
▶「If the fire is taken, the dungeon’s rewards are strengthened.」
▶「Chase the Priest of Fire who steals the fire.」
‘So if we follow, the rewards get stronger?’
Dohyun, having quickly grasped the point, looked at Hanalin and Jiyuchan and spoke.
“Let’s chase after them!”
“Wait, if that’s the case, why didn’t you catch them earlier!”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying!”
As they suddenly found themselves in an unexpected chase, Dohyun looked at the two of them, wondering how to explain, when a good excuse came to mind.
“That’s a person.”
“Pardon? A person?”
“A person in the dungeon…?”
“Yeah, it’s a person. The mana pattern is different from monsters.”
As Hanalin and Jiyuchan examined it while chasing, they could definitely feel it. Even Jiyuchan, whose mana detection was somewhat lacking, could sense it immediately.
The mana patterns of beasts were mostly concentrated in their hearts.
However, humans possessed a structure where mana flowed faintly throughout their entire bodies like blood, even if they hadn’t awakened. The Priest of Fire fleeing with the fire now clearly had mana flowing like blood rather than being embedded in the heart like a monster.
Upon confirming it was truly a person, Hanalin and Jiyuchan’s eyes widened like lanterns.
Another person existed in the dungeon? Dungeon invasion was impossible.
Only one party could enter at a time.
There was a line from some detective novel.
When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however unbelievable, must be the truth.
Only one party could enter the dungeon, and invasion was impossible. Which meant…
“People live in the dungeon?”
“This can’t be.”
Hanalin and Jiyuchan weren’t foolish, so they quickly grasped the implication and were astonished.
Then they suddenly thought that since the Black Gate was connected to another dimension, perhaps this was possible.
Dohyun then explained the general facts to the two of them based on his analysis.
“Since the dungeon itself is a distorted space or a space created by the Black Gate, wouldn’t it feel like a different stage? If I were to compare it to a game, that is.”
“…That could be possible.”
“…Or if we’re talking web novels, it might be a simulation space. Like a recreation of past events as they actually happened.”
“…You know quite a lot about this?”
“…Right?”
“Ahem. Let’s hurry and follow them.”
Jiyuchan apparently read web novels quite frequently.
In any case, the Dohyun Party—for whom this wasn’t the main concern—chased after the fleeing Priest of Fire, gradually moving away from the vast Plain where the Altar had originally stood, until a solitary Mountain that had been quite distant came into view.
Even accounting for the distance, it made no sense that such a Mountain hadn’t been visible from the Altar earlier.
It was precisely because of this that Dohyun and Hanalin sensed a distortion in space at that moment.
“It feels like we just passed through some kind of barrier?”
“I felt it too.”
“I’m not entirely sure, but the barrier is still there….”
“It’s not really a barrier so much as a veil of some kind that we crossed through. And that’s when the Mountain started appearing.”
Jiyuchan shook his head at Dohyun’s explanation.
His expression screamed confusion about what was happening. But since their immediate objective was to catch the Priest of Fire who had stolen the sacred flame, they maintained their distance while pursuing.
The speed itself was considerable, but if Dohyun and Jiyuchan pushed themselves, they could catch up, and Hanalin, combining flight magic with her will, could maintain high-speed pursuit without falling behind, so they were able to keep pace while maintaining distance.
All three of them chasing the Priest of Fire used the subtlety of concealment to hide themselves nearly invisibly, and upon reaching the Mountainside, they discovered a peculiar Building.
“…That is.”
“Hmm.”
“An Altar?”
Just as Hanalin said at the end, it was an Altar that looked identical to the one they had been guarding earlier.
The only difference was that the Altar was housed inside a Building with no ceiling or roof, with only pillars standing bare without walls.
Compared to the Altar the Dohyun Party had been guarding, which had nothing around it, this Altar with its ornate Columns and Floor was distinctly out of place.
Such elaborate Columns and Floor on a Mountainside would look suspicious to anyone.
As they watched the Priest of Fire while hidden, they felt the vibrations of countless Monsters rushing up the Mountain, as if they had been chasing them all the way from below.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud.
As the ground trembled softly, the Priest of Fire hastily placed the sacred flame upon the Altar and began shouting something.
-##$^%#^!$^&$%#~!^*$^$#~#!)#!(*!
Hanalin was bewildered by the utterly incomprehensible language.
Inside the Black Gate, there was a power that translated any language, so she had expected to understand those words as well, but she didn’t, which left her startled.
Jiyuchan was equally taken aback, but only Dohyun, through Analysis, could clearly hear what the Priest of Fire was saying.
-Please accept this sacred flame as our offering!! Lead us to transcendence and transform us into the Superior Race!!!
As if the heavens themselves answered that desperate, anguished cry, a single beam of light began to descend upon the Altar from the sky that had been like the night until moments before.
All three watching this were startled in that instant, and along with that light, an auspicious flame began to spread from the sacred flame throughout the surroundings.
Hanalin flinched and tried to defend with magic, but Dohyun stopped her, and the flames spread across the entire Mountain without affecting any of the three.
Then the Monsters climbing up the Mountain suddenly caught fire, and with agonized screams, they were completely purified and vanished where they stood.
“Huh.”
“Ha, all at once?”
“…This is no joke.”
The Dohyun Party turned their heads back toward the Altar in shock at the flame’s power, where they could see the Priest of Fire, arms spread wide triumphantly, bathed in light.
However, as Dohyun observed the Priest of Fire floating in the air, enveloped in that light, he sensed something peculiar.
And upon analyzing it, Dohyun could understand what was happening now.
[Analyzing 『Light of Corruption』.]
[『Sacred Flame』 can no longer protect 『Priest of Fire』.]
[『Priest of Fire』 begins to 『Corrupt』, enthralled by 『Light of Corruption』.]
Even through Analysis, it was a message I couldn’t comprehend, but Analysis soon provided me with detailed information.
『Light of Corruption』
▶「It is one of the Calamities of Ruin.」
▶「If the calamity is not overcome, the Celestial Dimension will perish.」
A Calamity of Ruin, no less.
I stared at the message with an absurd expression, and the Priest of Fire, who had ascended into the sky alongside the Light of Corruption, vanished from sight thereafter.
Hanalin and Jiyuchan, who had failed to notice the phenomenon at all, gasped in admiration as if they had witnessed a hidden ending in a game.
“It definitely felt special.”
“Hmm, it was a light with a sacred quality to it.”
Watching the two of them speak, I deliberated whether I should reveal the truth, but then shook my head.
Just as I had discovered while pursuing the Priest of Fire through Analysis, this was merely a recreation of past events—a simulated, virtual space.
There was no need to tell them the truth right now.
Besides.
‘I don’t fully understand it myself.’
Honestly, I didn’t know much either.
To summarize what I had pieced together: excluding Earth, there had been three other worlds containing humans, and all of them had perished. My conjecture was that their destruction resulted from calamities like the light I had just witnessed.
And if this place was a simulation showing worlds from the past.
Then the reason there were so many Monsters densely packed earlier was likely.
‘Monsters that had overrun the area due to a lack of control points?’
I could reason that far.
I had managed to deduce quite a lot, but it felt as though I still hadn’t gathered the crucial pieces of the puzzle.
I would need more material to make proper use of Analysis, but for now, this was all I had.
As I contemplated further, Hanalin and Jiyuchan became excited upon seeing a box descending from the Altar bathed in sacred light.
“It’s a reward!”
“The Subordinate is gone too!”
Jiyuchan in particular seemed delighted—and rightfully so, given that the annoying Subordinate had disappeared.
However, I found myself viewing the box that had fallen from that Light of Corruption with some unease.
It wasn’t as though the box had descended from the Calamity of Ruin itself, but since it had been in the same place as that light, it was only natural to feel a bit uneasy about it.
As I hesitated, Hanalin and Jiyuchan looked at me with confusion.
I was usually the first to rush toward rewards and spoils, so they couldn’t understand why I wore such a dissatisfied expression, and they tilted their heads in bewilderment.
Then.
“Is something wrong?”
“Is there something bothering you?”
As the two of them asked with concern, I shook my head.
To worry my Party Members over idle thoughts—I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at myself.
There was no rush to discuss it now; I could explain everything once I understood it properly later. I decided to set my concerns aside and spoke reassuringly.
“No, there was something bothering me, but I think I was just mistaken.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“Well, that’s a relief then.”
The two of them said so, and added more.
“Still, if there’s anything troubling you, please tell us.”
“That’s right. We’re comrades, aren’t we?”
Watching the two of them show such concern, I nodded in acknowledgment.
Yes, even if I tried to figure it out now, there’s no way I could understand it anyway. There was no point in worrying over something like this—it didn’t suit my nature.
For now, the best thing to do was simply rejoice in the reward I’d been given and see what had emerged from it.
With that thought, I stepped before the reward chest.
Thanks to Hanalin and Jiyuchan’s encouraging glances urging me to open it first, I found myself recalling the rewards I’d obtained last time as I stood before the chest.
Hanalin was still wearing the necklace that enhanced all senses except sight, and the other reward had been the secret art of Teleportation.
Though I didn’t use it frequently, it proved invaluable when needed, so I’d been recommending that Hanalin and Jiyuchan learn it as well. However, they’d postponed it due to their focus on intention magic and the Golden Sword, and hadn’t mastered it yet.
Since they said the difficulty itself wasn’t particularly high, I figured they’d pick it up quickly enough.
‘I hope this one is at least better than last time.’
This time the rewards were even being enhanced, so I opened the chest with that hope in mind and immediately used Analysis on the contents.
“Insane.”
I couldn’t help but curse aloud.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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