The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - Chapter 65

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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 65. Barrier of Meaninglessness (2)
Screech—! Crackle—!
Amid the eerie, unsettling sounds of flesh tearing apart, I continued forward.
Kai and I followed the path guided by the mass of flesh.
After walking for some distance,
the flesh mass to our side—not ahead—suddenly groaned open.
And beyond it, a faint shimmer of light seeped through.
It resembled an exit.
Just as Kai and I instinctively began to slow our pace,
Grooooan—.
The Codex’s veins writhed once more, and another new rule materialized.
====
3. No exit exists in this place.
: Should you perceive what appears to be an exit,

do not
stop and ignore all such illusions.
====
No exit exists? That made no sense.
“What are your orders?”
Kai asked after reading the Codex’s contents.
He was deferring to my judgment, but I found myself genuinely conflicted.
Ultimately, I had two choices.
Trust the [Codex] and continue forward.
Or disregard the [Codex] and leap into that shimmer of light.
“If you command it, I shall venture into the light first.”
Kai’s expression hardened with resolve, awaiting only my order.
He seemed ready to throw himself into danger the moment I spoke.
His favorability was at [Favorable], so he clearly trusted me deeply.
More precisely, he trusted his own ability—his Dependent Immortality [E].
As long as Seraphia lived, Kai would scarcely fall to death.
That very fact made my hesitation all the more acute.
Above all, the claim that no exit existed seemed absurd.
I examined the Codex once more.
“For now, we follow the Codex’s rules.”
“Understood.”
Kai obeyed without question.
* * *
Ignoring the shimmer that resembled an exit, I pressed onward.
How long did we walk, relying only on Kai’s azure aura?
Even my senses were distorted, making it impossible to properly gauge the passage of time.
“Wait.”
I halted my steps for a moment.
Soon Kai stopped as well, and as his blue aura illuminated the surroundings, I looked around once more.
It might have been my imagination.
“But I have the feeling we’ve been repeating the same location since earlier.”
It felt as though we were merely circling the same spot endlessly.
As if my sense of direction had been completely lost.
Kai seemed to sense it as well, glancing around before speaking.
“I will attempt to leave a mark in this place.”
And there was Kai, searching for a location to carve the mark.
It was one of the conventional methods used when lost.
“No, it will be useless.”
It would be a futile method in this place.
According to [Rule 1], this space can erase or distort traces, after all.
“Then what do you intend to do?”
In response to Kai’s question, I extended the dragon’s claws[A].
And as I tore away a chunk of the fleshy wall—
Kiiiieeeeek—!!
A chilling scream echoed as the fleshy mass split wide open.
“What are you attempting to do?”
“There’s something I need to verify.”
I extended the dragon’s claws[A] once more and tore away another section of the fleshy wall.
Kiiiieeeeek—!!
And there it was again—that scream.
It was deeply unpleasant to hear.
Yet the screaming didn’t inflict any particular psychological damage.
Still, it was extraordinarily grating.
Strangely, though, Kai didn’t even furrow his brow.
“Does this sound not bother you at all?”
“It is quite unpleasant to hear.”
“Then how—”
“That is why I am protecting my ears with aura.”
…How remarkably convenient an ability aura was.
A power that manifests anything born from individual imagination—what more could one ask for.
I cursed why I couldn’t use aura.
Kiiiieeeeek—!!
It was just as I was tearing away another section of the fleshy wall.
Gurgle, gurgle!
The torn fleshy wall sealed itself, and strange patterns began etching themselves across the surface.
A pattern whose meaning I could neither understand nor interpret.
‘That is….’
Yet I knew.
Knowing the pattern’s meaning was not what I meant.
I had simply seen this pattern before.
Focus more intently on the pattern—.
【Ng’gha fhtagn, I’ ahorn wgah’nagl.】
A voice whose meaning I could not fathom whispered into my ears.
Yet I knew this as well.
I did not understand the meaning of this voice either.
I had simply heard it before.
If my memory served me correctly….
Six lords who serve The Emperor.
‘The Abyss Lord?’
An inexplicable terror from the unknown—The Abyss Lord.
What I had just heard was the whisper of The Abyss Lord.
【Tharanak li’hee fhtagn’nun.】
This is… dangerous.
No matter what, I must not face The Abyss Lord.
I had to escape this place immediately.
Though I was aware of this—.
My entire body’s senses were paralyzed, and I could not move.
A sensation that could not be explained by mere speechlessness or trembling limbs.
Somehow, the air around me became saturated with oppressive despair and whispers—.
The whispers led to an inexplicable terror I could not articulate—.
Which transformed into waves I could not interpret—.
And shattered my mind.
My cognitive ability could not comprehend the situation before me. Merely attempting to understand it caused my consciousness to collapse.
And so, when the nightmares of my past life and the present reality intertwined—.
Only then.
Could I finally understand Ian’s words.
What now appeared before my eyes was.
—The ultimate evil that surges from the heart of eternity, spewing whispers of chaos.
What now ravaged my mind was.
—The final profane existence born from the depths of the abyss, thrashing ceaselessly through endless time.
What now consumed my very being was.
—A formless evil born of chaos in the infinite abyss of perpetuity, undulating endlessly from the heart of eternity, the final negation created from the depths of hell.
When I came to realize this—.
Hope plummeted beneath despair.
My vision warped, and space began to distort.
* * *
When strange markings began to etch themselves across the walls of flesh.
Kai could see a new rule materializing above the rulebook.
====
4. Should strange markings

appear upon the walls,
you must vacate the area immediately.
: Incomprehensible markings may occasionally manifest on the walls. Do not attempt to observe or decipher them. Your consciousness will gradually become ensnared in this place.
Should the markings begin to spread across your hands or arms, take your own life.
====
Kai moved without hesitation, following the rulebook’s directive.
But then.
“Adrian?”
…Adrian remained motionless.
He stood rooted in place, as though entranced by something unseen.
In that very moment.
Grrrrrrrgh!
As if to compound the horror, the fleshy walls undulated violently once more.
Faces with eyes and mouths protruded from the walls, ceiling, and floor, their gaze fixed upon us.
Then grotesque limbs and tentacles extended forth, gradually consuming the space around us.
“We must move now!!”
Kai cried out urgently, but Adrian gave no response.
Drawing closer to examine Adrian’s condition, I noticed his eyes had lost all focus.
At that instant.
The rulebook writhed once more, revealing yet another new rule.
====
5. Continuously remind yourself

of who you are.
: This place gradually erases your memories and identity. You will lose your name, forget who you once were, and ultimately surrender your sense of self, becoming one with this place.

No
matter

In that instant,
remember your own existence.
====
“Snap out of it!!”
Even as I shouted directly into his ear, Adrian remained utterly motionless.
Soon, an ominous aura emanated from the Codex, and strange markings began inscribing themselves across Adrian’s hand.
I couldn’t comprehend what was happening or how.
But one thing was certain.
I had to separate the Codex from Adrian’s grasp immediately.
Kai seized the Codex from Adrian’s hand.
But then.
The Codex wouldn’t come free from Adrian’s palm.
It wasn’t that Adrian refused to let go.
The Codex refused to release Adrian.
The Codex clung to Adrian as though they had become one, showing no intention of separating.
Looking closer.
The Codex was fusing with his skin as though it had become part of Adrian’s very body, merging into a single entity.
“What in the world is this…?”
The Codex had to be destroyed.
Just as Kai was about to swing his blade,
Kyaaaaaaagh—!!
The Codex’s flesh rippled outward like waves, engulfing Kai. A grotesque form, as though a slick cephalopod had merged with stone.
As Kai recoiled sharply, a new rule was inscribed upon the Codex once more.
====
7. No matter what circumstances arise,

do not damage the Codex.
You must not harm it.
: This Codex is your only guide. The Codex is

if you damage it
, this place will notice that you’ve damaged the rulebook.
====
As a warning, the flesh of the rulebook swelled up grotesquely.
Then the veins of the rulebook writhed wildly, beginning to emphasize the corresponding rule.
Just by looking at it, one could tell it was something sinister.
But what truly disturbed Kai’s mind was something else entirely.
None other than the rule that had just surfaced.
“Rule 7…?”
It was Rule 7.
But before that, Rule 5 had surfaced.
In other words, Rule 6 had been skipped.
The moment Kai realized this fact—
Upon the grotesquely swollen flesh of the rulebook, the writhing veins carved a new rule.
====
8. This rulebook does not contain [

Rule 6
].
: Should you happen to discover Rule 6
====
No, could that even be called a ‘rule’?
====
9. Take your own life.
: You possess not the slightest

hope
.
====
The rulebook, tangled with Adrian’s hand, expanded as if breathing, its fibrous flesh tearing and creaking.
And then—
====
10. Let me say this once more: there is no exit in this place

does not
exist.
: Just die here. Die here-. Die here-. Die-? Di-!?.
====
Recalling the new tenth rule, the text of the rulebook suddenly severed and cut off.
At that same moment, Adrian’s hand, fused with the rulebook, suddenly lost control and began thrashing wildly.
Bending at angles no human joint could ever achieve-.
Crack, crunch!
A grotesque sound of bones splintering erupted.
That hand, now uncontrolled.
In an instant, it seized Adrian’s throat-.
====
Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die.
====
And began strangling Adrian with all its might.
Adrian’s complexion turned deathly pale in mere moments.
Kai immediately kicked off the ground and leaped forward.
He channeled every ounce of his aura into his blade-.
Grrrrrrgh-!
Tentacles of flesh erupting from the rulebook blocked Kai’s path. No matter how many he severed, they continued bursting forth, preventing any advance.
“Snap out of it, Adrian!!!”
All Kai could do was shout.
But shouting alone could accomplish nothing.
Squelch-!
At last, the sound of flesh being crushed reached his ears-.
Kai could see it.
A twisted smile.
Spreading across Adrian’s lips—a grotesque grin.
Adrian’s eyes, which had lost focus, suddenly gleamed with clarity.
And.
Within Adrian’s gleaming eyes, a tangle of complex emotions surfaced all at once.
From Adrian, fragments of emotion swirled and coalesced into a vortex.
“Found it.”
At those words-.
Kiiiiiiieeeeeek-!!!
A piercing shriek tore from the rulebook fused with Adrian’s hand.

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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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