Chapter 349
“A land where immortals fought and perished?”
[That’s right.]
Kang Taesan frowned.
“Doesn’t sound like you’re telling me to clear it.”
Immortals. Beings who had transcended mortality.
Though Taesan was considered to be on the threshold of transcendence, he was still far from reaching their level.
[Calm yourself. That was merely in the past. Now, it’s nothing more than a land where the dead remain.]
Balbamaba spoke slowly.
[A long time ago, several immortals gathered and waged war. They chose a world called Valhalluni as their battlefield, slaughtering each other.]
“Even immortals go to war with one another?”
[Transcendence doesn’t mean peace. If anything, it makes them even more unstable. Their desires and emotions are no different from those of mortals.]
Balbamaba continued.
[The war began over something trivial. But as it dragged on, emotions flared. More immortals were drawn into the conflict, and eventually, it turned into a full-scale battle to the death. Dozens of immortals fought against each other. I’m sure you can guess how that ended.]
“They all died.”
[Correct. Every last one of them fell. That land became a wasteland of death, one no one dared to approach.]
“So what am I supposed to do there?”
[Your task is simple. The immortals are dead, but their remains still exist. That is the objective of the 74th-floor quest.]
Taesan shook his head at Balbamaba’s words.
“That sounds impossible.”
Even if they had perished long ago, the remains of an immortal would still contain immense power.
Taesan, still bound by mortality, doubted he could interfere with such remnants.
[You don’t need to retrieve them.]
Balbamaba handed Taesan several black banners.
[Simply locate the remains and plant these banners in the ground. That’s all you need to do.]
The task sounded deceptively simple—enter Valhalluni, locate the remains of the fallen immortals, and mark them with the banners.
But Taesan already understood.
This was why the Guides had struggled on this floor.
[The fools before you worked together and still took forever. It was beyond frustrating to watch.]
Balbamaba’s irritated tone confirmed Taesan’s suspicion. He glanced at the ghost, who had been silent.
[Compared to those imbeciles, you’re tolerable. At least you’re better than them.]
[It’d be insulting if I weren’t.]
The ghost responded. Balbamaba continued.
[One more thing—you should know this quest has no fixed reward. The more remains you find, the greater your reward. No one has ever found more than two, but you might be able to.]
Taesan remained silent as he held the banners.
Balbamaba studied him before speaking again.
[I suppose you can be trusted with this knowledge. This quest was commissioned directly by the gods.]
“As I suspected.”
The task—to locate and record the remains.
Almost as if the goal was to protect them.
[The gods originally had no intention of interfering with Valhalluni. They planned to leave it untouched. But then… certain entities beyond the veil began to take an interest in the abandoned power there.]
Entities beyond the veil—there was only one group that fit that description.
The Old Gods. The beings banished from this world.
[The battlefield is in an extremely unstable state due to the immense power left behind. If a transcendent being interferes recklessly, the entire space could collapse—creating an opening for the Old Gods.]
That explained everything.
Rather than risk the interference of gods or powerful beings, they were sending mortal-level adventurers capable of withstanding Valhalluni’s energy to locate and monitor the remains.
That was the true purpose of the 74th-floor design.
[You’ll see more quests like this from now on. Consider this the starting point. Do you have any other questions?]
“How many remains still exist?”
[If none have been destroyed over time… there should be five left.]
Five. Taesan nodded.
“Give me a moment.”
During his spar with Eriel, he had used Apostle Transformation and similar skills.
He needed to wait for his cooldowns.
A full day passed before Taesan finally turned to Balbamaba.
Balbamaba activated his power, distorting space—initiating the transfer.
[For reference, you can leave this quest at any time. Even the previous challengers attempted it repeatedly before succeeding. Feel free to proceed at your own pace.]
Taesan nodded.
His body vanished into Valhalluni.
—
Taesan looked around.
All he could see was an endless expanse of ash-gray energy.
There was no sign of life.
Only a pressure of overwhelming power filled the air.
A barrier of blue light, presumably created by Balbamaba, surrounded him.
[Step beyond the barrier. I’ll be waiting for your return.]
With those words, Balbamaba’s presence disappeared.
Taesan stepped forward—crossing the threshold.
Instantly.
The world crushed down upon him.
“…Gh!”
His body trembled.
The twisted space threatened to break his form apart.
The lingering fragments of the immortals in the air assaulted his mind.
Simply standing here felt like he would crumble.
He couldn’t endure this with just his body alone.
He quickly focused his energy.
[You have activated Apostle Transformation: Darkness and Chaos.]
Power surged around him.
The overwhelming pressure relented slightly.
‘This is nothing like Haphran’s world.’
Haphran’s world had been actively trying to kill him, as if the very will of the realm sought his destruction.
But Valhalluni wasn’t like that.
The power here wasn’t attacking him.
It was simply there.
Yet even that mere presence was enough to weigh down his mortal body and mind.
He gathered his energy and resolve—
And endured.
Slowly, he took his first step forward.
Into the battlefield where countless immortals had clashed, seeking to destroy one another.
The very nature of this place had transformed into something akin to an immortal’s domain.
Kang Taesan gathered Magi, opening a conduit to the abyss and activating black magic.
[You have activated Leraje’s Domain Detection.]
Kiiiiing.
The Magi surged outward from Taesan’s body, racing to scan the surrounding area.
But it never reached its destination.
The moment it left his body, the immense force permeating the space annihilated it instantly.
“So even black magic doesn’t work properly.”
The entire space was already brimming with a power far greater than black magic.
There was no way something as minor as Magi could spread through it.
Magic would likely be the same.
Clicking his tongue, Taesan gathered his aura and willpower.
This domain was filled with immortal energy—
But there was no owner.
Which meant…
“Step aside.”
[You have activated Declaration of Dispelling.]
With those words, the overwhelming energy pushed back slightly.
Taesan immediately seized the opportunity and gathered Magi once more.
[You have activated Leraje’s Domain Detection.]
[You have activated Forced Amplification.]
Only with additional amplification could the Magi finally extend outward.
But even then—
It barely reached beyond the area he had pushed back.
Any further, and it was immediately crushed into nothingness.
‘This isn’t going to work.’
He had encountered similar issues in the Lower Abyss, where shadow creatures devoured any attempts at detection.
Back then, he had found a workaround by gathering the shadows and unleashing a detection burst so vast they couldn’t consume it all at once.
This time, it was different.
Unless he removed the power saturating this entire space, he would never be able to scan anything properly.
Even Declaration of Dispelling, which worked against power without an owner, had limited effectiveness due to the sheer difference in magnitude.
Simply walking forward meant risking his life.
Detection was useless. Finding gaps in the energy, like before, was impossible.
‘No wonder this floor has blocked so many challengers.’
The Guides of Sin had remained here for decades, even centuries, struggling to clear it.
For a floor like this, it made sense.
They likely cleared it bit by bit, collecting information through countless attempts over the years.
Taesan turned to the ghost.
“How long did it take you?”
[Me? About… three years, give or take? Pretty fast, actually.]
Considering the ghost had no assistance, that was an exceptionally quick time.
“I need a different approach.”
Taesan thought.
An ownerless power.
A domain infused with immortal energy.
And the remains of fallen immortals, still brimming with strength.
Could he trace that power instead?
It was worth trying.
[You have activated Avatar of Nature.]
[You have activated King’s Vessel.]
His aura and power surged.
Even the stored energy within his ring was drawn forth and wrapped around him.
This time—
He didn’t attempt to extend his power outward.
Instead, he focused entirely on reading the oppressive force weighing down on him—
Searching for the source of the power being actively emitted.
A mere mortal wouldn’t be able to do this.
But Taesan was no longer just a mortal.
He stood at the boundary between mortality and immortality.
It was possible.
Closing his eyes, he silently analyzed the oppressive force surrounding him.
Then—
He found it.
To his left, there was a clear difference.
Unlike the rest of the domain, where energy merely drifted aimlessly, in that direction, something was actively radiating power.
There.
Taesan opened his eyes and moved forward.
With every step, the pressure intensified.
At times, the space itself twisted, attempting to swallow everything in its path.
But he withstood it, using his willpower and strength to push forward.
Finally—
He reached the first immortal’s remains.
It was a rotted, decayed corpse, still humanoid in shape.
Even without getting too close, the toxic aura seeping from it attempted to invade his body.
And the distorted immortal energy around it raged wildly, barely contained.
Approaching any further was dangerous.
Taesan pulled out a black banner.
The moment it struck the ground—
A barrier of light erupted around it, sealing off the area.
[Quest Complete.]
The ghost let out a disbelieving chuckle.
[Not even an hour, huh?]
It had taken the ghost three years.
The Guides of Sin had spent centuries working on this quest.
Taesan?
He cleared it in less than an hour.
But he understood why.
The Guides of Sin had spent decades on this floor—
And in the process, they had grown immensely stronger.
Vishnu had awakened his King’s Realm.
Shayan had mastered his Five Arrows, albeit with limitations.
Through those struggles, they had finally cleared the 74th floor.
But Taesan had already surpassed them.
He had reached the boundary of transcendence—
Clearing this floor was inevitable.
“Hmm.”
The quest was complete.
But he didn’t return to the labyrinth.
Balbamaba had said there were five remains.
Taesan had only found one.
And he was confident he could find them all.
But there was a problem.
‘My time limit is too short.’
Apostle Transformation lasted two hours.
Avatar of Nature lasted one hour.
King’s Vessel wasn’t much longer.
Without these three skills, he wouldn’t be able to withstand the immortal energy suffocating this place.
If he wanted to find the remaining remains—
He needed another method.
After a brief moment of thought—
A certain skill came to mind.
A transcendent skill.
Black.
A force that devoured all things—
A power beyond laws and reason—
The very power of the Old Gods.
‘Let’s give it a try.’
Taesan began summoning the Black.
