Chapter 326

Taesan stepped into the darkness.

The further he advanced, the more shadows appeared, engaged in fierce battles.

Rumble!

They clashed with raw force, locked in combat. The stronger shadows devoured the weaker ones, growing in power.

And then, another shadow would strike from behind.

A shadow that had exhausted its strength in battle was unable to defend against a sudden ambush, crushed and erased in an instant.

The victorious shadow, having seized an opportunity, moved forward, now even stronger.

Meanwhile, the shadows that had lost all their strength slowly faded into the darkness.

“This is survival of the fittest.”

They devoured one another, stealing power.

Taesan observed the process of shadows consuming each other.

The act of taking power, the process behind it—by watching, Taesan understood.

“It’s similar.”

It was just like Jinryong, the beast that craved life, who had gained power by killing other players.

“Are they the same kind?”

The beast that craved life must have once been a mortal.

By consuming and devouring everything, it ascended to immortality through sheer power.

[I wouldn’t know. Hardly anyone knows where that immortal came from. The beast that craved life even devoured its own home and dwelling.]

It left nothing behind. Everything it touched was swallowed whole. That was how it amassed enough power to become immortal.

[But… it does seem similar. Maybe you’re right—they could be the same species. If that’s the case, does that mean there used to be an entire race of beings like the beast that craved life?]

The ghost murmured with interest as Taesan continued into the darkness.

Swoosh!

At that moment, a shadow lunged at him.

Taesan swung his sword, and with a harsh sound, the forces collided.

Clang!

The shadow thrust its entire form at Taesan, trying to consume him. The power within it was far greater than that of the other shadows.

Taesan tightened his grip on his sword and stepped forward.

It took some time, but eventually, he defeated the shadow.

[Your Soul Rank Ascension has been activated.]

[The proficiency of Seed of Life has increased by 1%.]

[Did you release Declaration of Concealment?]

“No.”

Taesan was still hidden by the power of his incantation. He stepped on the fallen shadow.

“It doesn’t work against strong ones.”

The shadow that attacked him was far stronger than the others. An average Deep Layer adventurer would struggle to defeat it even at full strength.

But the goal of the Deep Layer was not to defeat the shadows.

The key was to find a way to evade them and navigate through the darkness.

This much was clear from their sheer strength. Each shadow was just slightly weaker than a Broken Man, yet there were over a thousand of them. Fighting through them was not the correct strategy.

But Taesan wasn’t following the correct strategy.

‘There’s a limit to defeating small fry.’

He wouldn’t gain experience points from enemies below a certain threshold, and Soul Rank Ascension wouldn’t activate either. If he kept fighting weaker shadows, both gains would soon reach their limit.

After organizing his thoughts, Taesan spoke.

“The strength of the shadows varies.”

Some were easy to defeat, while others put up a tough fight. That was because they grew stronger by consuming one another.

“If that’s the case, there must be one that’s the strongest.”

A shadow that had devoured countless others, possessing overwhelming power, ruling this place.

The ghost quietly agreed.

[That makes sense. But how do you find it?]

The darkness here blocked sight and senses.

Even activating Leraje’s Domain Detection was useless—the shadows would consume the power of detection. Worse, they would then charge at him.

That wouldn’t be a major issue for Taesan, given his Forced Duel ability, but with thousands of enemies, it would take too much time.

On top of that, he had no idea how vast this place was. It could be as large as a planet.

“It doesn’t matter.”

The power of detection was being devoured?

Then he would just release enough power that it couldn’t be devoured.

[You have activated Apostle Transformation [Darkness and Chaos].]

[You have activated King’s Vessel.]

[You have activated Avatar of Nature.]

Divine power descended upon Taesan. The Spirit King’s Vessel manifested, merging him with nature.

The Declaration of Concealment shattered, sending massive waves of energy rippling in all directions.

Shadows began creeping toward him, and Taesan gathered his Magi.

[You have activated Leraje’s Domain Detection.]

[You have activated Forced Amplification.]

Magi was consumed in an instant. The amplified detection force surged outward, threatening to crush everything in its path.

The shadows tried to consume the detection power, but it was futile. With three reinforced skills stacked together and further amplified through Forced Amplification, they couldn’t keep up. He pushed through their grasp, extending his reach in all directions.

An immense amount of information flooded into Taesan’s mind.

The number of remaining shadows, the vastness and shape of this domain—everything settled in his mind as though he had walked and touched every corner himself.

And just as his detection range began to wane, something appeared at the edge of it.

A massive presence—one even Taesan could not afford to underestimate.

Found it.

Taesan withdrew his detection.

As he turned his gaze, thousands of shadows charged toward him.

Taesan stomped his foot.

[Grrk.]

Deep within the abyss, the massive shadow lay still.

It was hungry.

It was unbearably starved.

It wanted to fill this endless hunger.

Slowly, it stirred. Its body, formed of countless shadows, split into thousands of tendrils, stretching outward in all directions.

The tendrils of darkness shot forth, consuming the scattered shadows.

The weaker shadows tried to resist, attempting to devour it in return. But they were mercilessly trampled.

In an instant, dozens of shadows were absorbed into it.

[Grrk.]

But it was not enough.

Its hunger remained unchanged.

It had become far too strong.

A shadow born from the depths, it had devoured and devoured until it had reached the absolute limit of its kind.

Beyond this point, no amount of consumption would change anything. The shadow understood this instinctively.

Yet, it was still starving.

It had long forgotten the last time it had truly satiated its hunger.

It had come here because a strange entity had told it that this place would finally fulfill its hunger, but nothing had changed.

Yes. The being that had lured it here looked incredibly appetizing. If it could devour it, maybe it could finally be satisfied.

And yet, at the same time, it knew.

That was an existence it could not consume.

It had surpassed the limits of what it could devour.

That was why it had not attacked.

But now, as it continued to starve, it regretted not trying.

It tried to fall asleep again, knowing from experience that slumber was the only way to forget hunger.

Just as its consciousness was about to fade, it suddenly jolted awake.

Buzzzzzzzz.

A massive wave of power swept through the shadows.

Something had entered its domain.

That alone was nothing unusual. Weak and insignificant beings often trespassed into its territory.

They were so fragile that devouring them would not even begin to quell its hunger, so it never paid them any mind.

But this power was different.

That strength—

The shadow rose.

Destroying everything around it, it consumed the darkness and surged toward the source of the power.

Swoosh!

Taesan blocked the attacking shadow, driving his sword into it. Pouring his strength into it, he cut the shadow apart.

[You have activated Forced Duel.]

After slaying one shadow, he activated Forced Duel once more.

Ignoring the thousands of shadows rushing at him, he charged forward.

The moment he activated Apostle Transformation, the shadows could no longer stand against him. He trampled over them, cutting them down as he advanced.

How far had he come?

Taesan stopped.

“You’re here.”

[Wait.]

The ghost let out a low groan.

[…What is that?]

Clang!

A thunderous noise echoed.

From the distance, a massive shadow was charging toward them.

It devoured everything in its path.

The weaker shadows tried to resist, but before its overwhelming might, they were swallowed up like small animals swept away by a natural disaster.

The shadows that had been aggressively charging at Taesan scattered in an instant.

As if they were afraid of the colossal entity.

[The Shadow Maw has appeared.]

A torrent of shadows rushed toward Taesan.

Taesan gripped his sword and charged.

Boom!

A powerful shockwave erupted. The impact shook the space violently.

Both Taesan and the shadow were blasted backward.

Taesan steadied himself.

“It’s strong.”

In terms of sheer power, it surpassed even the top brass.

[Isn’t this supposed to be the Deep Layer? What is something like that doing here?]

The ghost muttered in disbelief.

This monster’s strength far exceeded the Deep Layer’s usual limits.

[Grrk.]

The Shadow Maw let out a quiet chuckle.

Shadows slithered outward, swallowing the surrounding space.

Taesan smiled.

A worthy opponent.

[You have summoned the Spirit King of Wind, Minerva.]

[You have summoned the Multicolored Shield, Varkaza.]

“Master, what is it this time—”

Minerva, who had been about to greet him, froze upon seeing the massive shadow.

“…What the hell is that?”

[You always pick the strangest enemies. So we just need to take that thing down?]

“That’s the idea, but it won’t be easy.”

Varkaza clapped his hands. A cascade of rainbow light poured down onto the shadow.

Rumble!

The Shadow Maw trembled violently.

Varkaza tilted his head in confusion.

[Why isn’t it defending itself?]

It was just a probing attack. A creature of such power should have been able to dodge or block it easily, yet the shadow didn’t even try.

The answer became clear soon enough.

Crunch.

A sickening sound echoed.

The power of Varkaza’s attack was being absorbed.

“…Wait, what?”

[Grrk.]

With a guttural laugh, the shadow surged forward.

Varkaza, momentarily dazed, hurriedly released another blast of rainbow light.

Minerva channeled that energy, conjuring a powerful gale.

“Go.”

Following its master’s command, the wind transformed into blades and raced toward the shadow.

Minerva had grown significantly stronger by consuming the essence of nature. With Varkaza’s support, she could even hold her own against Vishnu in battle.

Boom!

Indeed, the wind blades struck the shadow, forcing it back.

But Minerva’s expression hardened.

“…It’s absorbing my power?”

Creak. Creak.

The wind blades were slowly being devoured by the shadow’s form.

[Grrk.]

The shadow swelled with delight.

Darkness filled the space, and it lunged toward Taesan.