The Mage Who Devours Disasters - Chapter 6

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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 6.
I slowly dissected the twisted faces of those creatures.
‘Earth was their playground.’
They unleashed calamities.
They toyed with humanity.
They cackled, savoring screams and despair as their appetizer.
That was the nature of their amusement.
And at the very end.
The ‘Inexorable Force’ known as the Absolute Deity descended.
The reason was simple.
To taste even the final despair.
And surely, they were certain.
‘That I would fail.’
Humans are weak.
They could never destroy their own foundation, their own Earth, with their own hands.
That shallow, pathetic conviction.
If it were Kim Jung-seok, who had lived by the book, he could never commit such madness.
But they were wrong.
I tore out my own heart without hesitation.
I burned the corpses of my comrades.
I turned Earth into a bomb and hurled it at that creature’s face.
I laughed bitterly.
‘Now the tables have turned.’
The positions have reversed.
I have come to their world.
This place is my ‘playground’ now.
I will toy with you creatures.
I will crush you thoroughly, mock you mercilessly, and ultimately lead you to annihilation.
Kim Jung-seok.
A name my parents gave me.
I lived my entire life by the book.
In studies, in magic, even in saving the world.
I chased only textbook answers.
‘I discard the book.’
The book, the rules.
Even the suffocating morality that bound me burned away with Earth.
So let me show you.
When someone who lived by the book loses their mind.
When that person becomes corrupted, how terrifying they truly are.
“….”
“….”
Hostile gazes.
Unkind eyes.
I could even sense killing intent.
‘For a welcome reception, this is rather bloodthirsty.’
I let out a soft chuckle.
Clap!
A crisp sound of applause echoed through the Underground.
“Now, now.”
A cute voice.
Yet the power contained within it was far from light.
The entire space froze forcibly.
Everyone’s bodies stiffened.
“My, my, such spirited vigor! But fighting is not permitted. Combat is only allowed in designated locations.”
The owner of the voice appeared.
Waddling.
A creature in a tuxedo walking forward on short legs.
“…A penguin?”
Someone muttered in a dazed voice.
True to the observation—an emperor penguin.
Barely over a meter in height.
Round eyes and lustrous fur.
To anyone’s eye, it resembled an adorable doll.
The creature thumped its wings—or rather, its front flippers—against its chest.
“Welcome, Prospective Deities! I am GuGu, the proctor and Administrator of this First Floor advancement examination!”
Administrator.
I sifted through memories of my past life climbing the Tower.
‘I have never seen one.’
Though I had reached the very summit of the Tower, not a trace of any Administrator had ever appeared.
‘They must be the ones who maintain the Tower’s systems.’
If so, they would be beings even the gods could not treat carelessly.
GuGu spread its wings and grinned widely.
Of course, with a beak, it merely appeared to be smiling.
“Well then, enough idle chatter. A slot has opened on the First Floor, so we must hurry, yes?”
Clap!
GuGu clapped once more.
In that instant.
Whoooosh!
A sense of wrongness engulfed my entire body.
My vision inverted, and gravity twisted.
I cracked my eyes open.
‘Forced spatial translocation.’
And on a massive scale.
Thousands of people displaced in a single clap—no incantation required.
‘This far exceeds the level of an Archmage.’
The pinnacle of spatial magic.
Absolute authority that rendered coordinate calculations obsolete.
These Administrators—they might be far more troublesome than I anticipated.
Whoosh!
The light faded.
The scenery had transformed.
Gone was the dreary Underground Prison.
An endless white temple stretched before me.
Thousands of stone altars lined the space in perfect rows and columns.
“Where are we?”
The Seeds murmured among themselves.
Their bewilderment was unmistakable.
GuGu bounded onto the platform with a leap.
“Fear not. This is the ‘Selection Chamber.'”
GuGu gestured across the crowd with a wing.
“The total number of Seeds gathered here is 5,501. That includes Rag, our final arrival.”
All eyes turned toward me.
I gave a casual shrug.
“Quite the crowd. Unfortunately, there’s only one vacant seat on the First Floor!”
GuGu raised the tips of both wings.
“Through fair competition, only the most worthy shall ascend to the Deity’s throne.”
Gulp.
Nervous swallowing echoed throughout the chamber.
Competition.
5,501 to 1.
The odds were less than 0.01%—a needle’s eye.
“There are three trials in total.”
Only after passing all three would the master of the First Floor be determined.
“The first trial is quite simple, I assure you.”
GuGu pointed toward the altars.
“A Deity requires attendants to serve as their hands and feet. This first trial is a ‘Familiar’ summoning ritual!”
A Familiar.
A type of servant or bound spirit.
The angels, demons, or divine beasts that gods command fall into this category.
“The method is quite straightforward. Simply place the most valuable item you possess upon the altar before you.”
A sacrifice.
The law of equivalent exchange.
“The grade of the Familiar summoned is determined by the value of the offered item. Naturally, the more powerful the Familiar you summon, the higher score you’ll receive, yes?”
GuGu grinned wickedly.
“Well then, begin!”
The moment the words left his lips, the Seeds sprang into action.
As if they’d been waiting, they all rummaged through their belongings.
“This should be more than sufficient!”
A horned goblin-like man produced a fist-sized jewel.
A blood jade suffused with crimson light.
It appeared to be a treasure his lineage had revered for generations.
Thud!
The moment the blood jade was placed upon the Altar, the magic circle blazed.
A tremendous roar erupted!
A colossal wolf burst forth amid scarlet smoke.
Flames danced across its back—a demonic beast wreathed in inferno.
“Hellfire Wolf! 65 points!”
GuGu immediately announced the score.
“What a spectacular start!”
Gasps of amazement rippled through the crowd.
Emboldened by this success, the other Seeds eagerly produced their treasures.
“I offer my clan’s greatest legendary blade!”
“This is a branch from the World Tree brought from the Elven Forest!”
“A pearl from the deepest abyss should suffice!”
A cascade of precious gems and metals spilled forth.
Treasures representing each of their respective races.
Capital they had spared no effort in gathering to become deities.
Flash! Flash!
The Altars blazed without respite.
“Vampire Lord! 77 points!”
“Griffin! 79 points!”
Creatures of staggering power materialized in succession.
“Did you see? My Familiar is Medusa!”
“Damn it! How did a Slime King of all things—!”
“Cerberus!”
Fortunes rose and fell.
A maelstrom of cheers and laments intertwined.
Amidst it all, I stood motionless, arms crossed.
‘Something of value, then.’
I found myself deliberating.
It wasn’t a matter of lacking possessions.
Rather, the problem was that everything felt too ambiguous.
I opened my inventory.
[Spirit’s Wing]
[Fragment of the Shattered Golden Ratio]
[Dragon’s Egg]
The list was sparse.
Only items obtained from the tutorial and hidden rewards.
‘The Spirit’s Wing is useful.’
I couldn’t bear to give up the ability to fly.
‘The Fragment of the Golden Ratio is essential.’
Without it, I cannot utilize my full power.
It’s an item directly tied to my survival.
That left only one option.
‘The Dragon’s Egg.’
A premium reward obtained from the fortune die.
Yet to me, it was nothing more than a useless burden.
‘I have no idea how long it will take to hatch.’
Dragons hatch slowly.
Proper utilization would require an enormous amount of time.
‘I can’t use it now anyway.’
I reached a conclusion.
Then it made sense to use it here.
Above all else.
‘A Dragon’s Egg should yield something worthwhile regardless.’
In terms of value, it was far from a poor offering.
I made my decision.
That was when it happened.
“Insane!”
“It’s an Abyss Dragon!”
The surroundings erupted into chaos.
It seemed someone had summoned a dragon.
GuGu shrieked with excitement.
“Magnificent! An Abyss Dragon, ninety-five points!”
The Abyss Dragon was among the mightiest demonic beasts found only in the Highest Layer.
It was worthy of being called a divine beast.
If it matured to its full form, there would be no hope whatsoever.
Even the Final Party would struggle considerably against such a creature.
As a being capable of assisting a deity, few monsters could rival the Abyss Dragon.
“Hey, parachute.”
A mocking voice.
I turned my head to see the Dark Elf Summoner who had summoned the Abyssal Dragon sneering at me.
“Do you have nothing, so you’re just watching? Are you broke?”
The gazes of those around me converged on me.
Eyes mixed with wariness, curiosity, and ridicule.
They looked as though Heimdall’s parachute wasn’t worth much after all.
“Well.”
I chuckled softly and pulled an item from my inventory.
“I’m not completely broke.”
As I retrieved an egg the size of an ostrich egg, the Dark Elf snickered.
“Looks like you picked up a dead dragon’s egg from somewhere.”
The Abyssal Dragon standing behind him exhaled a ragged breath.
Dark blue scales, vicious fangs.
Even summoned in a freshly-born state, it possessed an undeniably oppressive presence.
“It doesn’t matter anyway. Even if that egg hatches, it won’t be able to defeat my ‘Abyssal Dragon.'”
The Seeds around him nodded in agreement.
His words were correct.
Not all dragons are the same.
Just as lizards come in infinite varieties.
Within the race called dragons, the gap between them is as vast as heaven and earth.
And so.
‘I agree with him too.’
I conceded to his words.
The probability of a legendary monster like the Abyssal Dragon emerging from this egg was slim.
At best, a wyvern, or if I was lucky, a lesser dragon.
I shrugged my shoulders and walked toward the Altar.
The Dark Elf’s mockery pierced my back.
“Struggle all you want, parachute!”
I ignored him.
I placed the dragon egg gently atop the Altar.
That was the moment.
Uuuuuuung!
The Altar trembled faintly.
The tremor soon transformed into violent vibration.
The stone of the Altar cried out.
Ding!
A System Message materialized before my eyes.
[The ‘Primordial Altar’ can summon a Familiar by offering a sacrifice only once.]
[Offering the sacrifice ‘Unknown Dragon Egg’.]
[Beginning the summoning ritual.]
[Rolling the dice (1~100).]
A dice roll?
I didn’t know the System had this feature.
Well, summoning is always a game of probability.
And if they’ve designed the trial like a game, then even more so.
I gazed indifferently at the dice suspended in the air.
Tumble, tumble.
The dice came to a stop.
The number revealed itself.
[100!]
[The maximum value!]
[A ‘jackpot’ has occurred!]
100.
The highest number possible.
At the same moment.
[Measuring the summoner’s talent.]
[Necromancy (MAX), Spirit Command (MAX), Summoning (MAX)…]
[You have touched upon the realm of Creation.]
[All attributes (light, darkness, fire, water, earth, wind) have reached their ultimate pinnacle.]
[The measured talent forcibly opens the limitations of the sacrifice!]
Kwaaaaaaaah!
A pillar of black light erupted from the Altar.
With enough force to pierce through the ceiling itself.
“…W-what is this?!”
“Is it an earthquake? Another earthquake?!”
The Seeds screamed and tumbled across the floor.
Even GuGu, the Administrator, fluttered her wings in bewilderment.
“I-I’ve never seen a reaction like this before?!”
Crack! Crackle!
Fissures began spreading across the Altar.
It could not withstand the strain.
A mere stone Altar was incapable of containing the grade of the entity being summoned.
I took a step backward.
My instincts were screaming a warning.
Danger.
Yet at the same time, a thrill ran through me.
Kwaaaaang!
The Altar shattered into countless fragments with a deafening explosion.
Debris scattered in all directions.
And from within that wreckage.
[The Dragon of Great Calamity, ‘Angargon’, has been summoned!]

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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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