NOVPUBTaesan ventured further into the darkness.
The deeper he went, the more shadows appeared, and they were locked in brutal combat with each other.
Boom!
The shadows clashed, each trying to overpower the other. The stronger shadow would consume the weaker one, growing even more powerful.
Then, another shadow would ambush it, taking advantage of its exhaustion to swiftly overpower and absorb it.
The victorious shadow, now even stronger, moved forward, while the remnants of defeated shadows slithered away, fading into the darkness.
“It’s like a savage ecosystem.”
Taesan observed the process, watching as each shadow consumed the other, taking their strength.
As he analyzed this feeding frenzy, Taesan couldn’t help but notice a resemblance.
“It’s almost the same.”
It reminded him of the life-craving beast who had formed a pact with a dragon and absorbed the strength of other players.
“Could it be the same species?”
The life-craving beast had likely once been mortal—a being that consumed everything it encountered until it gained the power of an immortal.
[Who knows? Almost no one knows where that immortal creature came from,] muttered the ghost thoughtfully. [That beast devoured even its own homeland, its origin.]
Nothing was left, as it consumed everything around it, gaining enough power to transcend mortality.
[But... yeah, these shadows do look similar. Maybe there really was once an entire species of creatures like the life-craving beast. If that’s the case, maybe the beast once had a kind?]
The ghost murmured with curiosity as Taesan continued moving through the darkness.
Swoosh!
Suddenly, a shadow lunged at him.
Taesan swung his sword, and the two forces collided with a rough clashing sound.
Crack!
The shadow wrapped itself around Taesan, trying to consume him whole. It was far more powerful and larger than the other shadows he’d encountered so far.
Taesan gripped his sword tighter, took a step forward, and fought until he finally brought the shadow down.
[Your Spiritual Enhancement has activated.]
[The proficiency of Life’s Seed has increased by 1%.]
[Did you disable your Concealment skill?]
“No.”
Taesan was still under the effect of the Command, shrouded in stealth. He stepped on the fallen shadow, pressing it into the ground.
“It seems that stronger ones aren’t affected by Concealment.”
The shadow that had attacked him was far stronger than the others. A typical adventurer on the 71st floor would struggle to survive an encounter with it.
The goal of the 71st floor wasn’t to eliminate the shadows.
Instead, the task was to avoid them and find the way out.
The strength of the shadows made that clear. Each one was almost as powerful as the Broken Man, and there were thousands of them. Fighting through them wasn’t the intended strategy.
But Taesan had no intention of following the standard approach.
‘Defeating weaklings has its limits.’
Experience points and Spiritual Enhancements were capped when dealing with lower-tier enemies. If he defeated a few dozen more shadows, he’d hit that ceiling.
Contemplating his options, Taesan spoke.
“The shadows vary in strength.”
Some were easily dispatched, while others required more effort. The shadows grew stronger by consuming each other’s strength.
“In that case, there must be one that’s the strongest.”
A shadow that had devoured countless others, a powerful entity that ruled this domain.
The ghost acknowledged this quietly.
[Most likely. But how are you planning to find it?]
In this domain, sight and senses were heavily restricted.
Even when using Leraje’s Domain Detection, the shadows consumed any signals they detected and would rush toward him.
Though Taesan could deal with them using Forced Duel, handling thousands would still take time.
And he wasn’t even certain how vast this area was—it could be the size of an entire planet.
“No matter.”
Would his Domain Detection be consumed?
Then he’d simply unleash more power than they could devour.
[You have activated Apostle Transformation: Darkness and Chaos.]
[You have activated the Vessel of the King.]
[You have activated Nature’s Avatar.]
Divine powers surged through Taesan, merging with the strength of the Spirit King and the forces of nature.
The Concealment shattered as his powerful energy rippled outward, and shadows started creeping toward him.
Taesan gathered his demonic energy.
[You have activated Leraje’s Domain Detection.]
[You have activated Forced Amplification.]
Mana drained rapidly as the amplified Domain Detection spread outwards with crushing intensity.
Shadows tried to consume the energy, but it was futile. Bolstered by three layers of enhanced skills and Forced Amplification, the aura blasted outward, repelling the shadows as it extended.
Information flooded into Taesan’s mind.
The number of shadows, the size and layout of the area—every detail of the surrounding space registered clearly in his consciousness.
Just as the detection started to fade, something massive came into view—a presence of overwhelming power, not to be taken lightly.
He’d found it.
Taesan deactivated Domain Detection and looked in that direction.
Thousands of shadows were converging upon him.
Taesan braced himself and moved forward.
---
The colossal shadow lay dormant in the abyss.
It was hungry.
It was insatiably hungry.
It wanted to satisfy its endless hunger.
It stirred slightly, sending tendrils of its shadowy form sprawling outward.
These shadowy tendrils stretched across the dark space, smothering other shadows as they moved.
The shadows attempted to resist and even tried to devour it, but they were mercilessly trampled.
In an instant, dozens of shadows had become part of it. 𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑝𝘶𝘣.𝑐𝘰𝘮
But it still wasn’t enough.
Despite absorbing countless shadows, it was nowhere near full.
It had grown too powerful.
Born at the bottom, this shadow had devoured countless others, reaching the limits of what its kind could attain.
But now, no matter how much it consumed, it couldn’t grow any stronger. Instinctively, it understood this.
It was still starving.
It couldn’t even remember the last time it had managed to fill its hunger.
The being that had brought it here had promised it would be able to feed, but nothing had changed.
It had considered devouring that creature itself—perhaps that would satisfy its hunger.
But it realized it could never consume such a being. It was simply beyond its reach.
So, instead, it had resigned itself to sleep, knowing from experience that resting was the best way to forget hunger.
As its consciousness began to fade, something disturbed it.
Hummm.
A powerful wave washed over it, passing through the shadow.
Something had entered its domain.
That in itself wasn’t surprising. Weak, insignificant beings frequently trespassed here.
They were far too weak to satisfy its hunger, so it ignored them.
But this power felt different.
With this power...
The shadow stirred, breaking through its surroundings as it surged toward the source of this energy.
---
Swoosh!
Taesan blocked an oncoming shadow attack, stabbing his sword into it. With a powerful surge, he sliced it to pieces.
[You have activated Forced Duel.]
After taking down one shadow, he immediately activated Forced Duel again.
Ignoring the thousands of shadows charging at him, he advanced.
Once he activated skills like Apostle Transformation, the shadows couldn’t keep up. He crushed them one by one as he pushed forward.
He continued until he finally reached his destination.
He stopped.
“It’s here.”
[Hold on.]
The ghost’s voice wavered, astonished.
[What... is that?]
Crrrack!
A thunderous sound reverberated as a colossal shadow charged forward from the other side.
It devoured every shadow in its path.
The shadows tried to resist, but they were consumed like helpless animals swept away by a natural disaster.
The shadows that had swarmed toward Taesan scattered instantly, as if terrified of the massive shadow.
[A Shadow Devourer has appeared.]
A torrent of shadow rushed toward Taesan.
He tightened his grip on his sword and charged.
Boom!
A shockwave rippled through the space as they collided, shaking the entire domain.
Both Taesan and the Shadow Devourer were thrown back. Taesan steadied himself.
“It’s strong.”
In terms of raw power, it was even above the high-ranking bosses he’d faced.
[This is the 71st floor, right? What’s something like that doing here?]
The ghost muttered, clearly stunned. This creature was far beyond the usual strength of 71st-floor entities.
[Karrrrk.]
The Shadow Devourer let out a low, eerie laugh.
Shadowy tendrils spread out from its form, enveloping the space.
Taesan grinned. This was an opponent worth his while.
[You have summoned Minerva, the Spirit King of Wind.]
[You have summoned Barkaja, the Shield of Many Colors.]
“Master, what is it this time...?”
Minerva’s greeting stopped short as she took in the colossal shadow before them.
“...What on earth is that?”
[Facing off against unusual foes again, I see. Shall we defeat this one, then?]
“That’s the plan, though it won’t be easy.”
Barkaja clapped his hands, and a cascade of rainbow-colored light descended upon the Shadow Devourer.
Boom!
The massive entity shuddered, and Barkaja murmured in confusion.
[Why isn’t it defending itself?]
It was a simple probing attack. For a creature of its strength, dodging or blocking it would have been trivial. But the Shadow Devourer did neither.
They soon realized why.
Crunch.
The sound of gnashing and devouring echoed.
The shadow was absorbing Barkaja’s energy
.
“...Wait, what?”
[Karrrrk.]
With a twisted chuckle, the shadow advanced again. Barkaja hastily unleashed more rainbow light, while Minerva summoned powerful winds.
“Go.”
At her command, wind blades sliced toward the shadow.
Having devoured the essence of nature, Minerva was now significantly stronger. With Barkaja’s support, she could even face a foe like Vishnu again.
Crash!
The shadow staggered slightly under the onslaught of the wind blades.
But Minerva’s expression darkened.
“...It’s consuming my power?”
Crunch, crunch.
The wind blades were slowly absorbed into the shadow’s form.
[Karrrk.]
The shadow gleefully expanded, filling the space as it surged toward Taesan.
