Chapter 161: State of Divinity (5) ————-«

Boundless Necromancer

「Will you select the divinity < Transcendence >?」

the moment a never seen before divinity appeared as a choice.

“…….”

I prevented my mind going blank and concentrated as best as I could.

Seeing the golden light glow in waves, I muttered out.

“What on earth is this……?”

I didn’t know.

This was not something that the tower gave me.

At least I knew the reason why those three options appeared before me.

After all…….

‘They were all divinity related to me.’

I’ve encountered all of those options while climbing through the tower.

But the fourth option of Transcendence was not like that.

It was never an option when I was at the state of discipleship, and I’ve never encountered it while climbing the tower.

Its existence was out of logic.

But for some reason, my instincts told me that it existed.

While I stood there, glaring at the golden light, I thought long and hard for an answer.

Why was this option made available to me?

‘Is there a requirement that needs to be met?’

Up until now, I thought that the divinity was something that the ‘tower handed out’.

But in other words, divinity is a type of potential manifested through faith.

One ascending beyond humanity, harvesting faith from the mass, and imbuing divinity within one’s heart.

That was the typical method of accumulating divinity as far as I knew.

However, I acquired divinity through necromancy instead of the typical method.

And I believed that the divinity affinity was something that the tower bestowed upon me.

Thus, since I walked the path of the wrong, the affinity of the divinity was also decided.

But…….

‘A new divinity appeared outside of those laws.’

With the never seen before divinity called Transcendence emerging, I couldn’t help but be shaken by it.

To think of stability in the long terms, < Death > and < Immortality > would be the best options…….

But my heart was leaning towards this < Transcendence >.

However, without the proper knowledge of what < Transcendence > did, choosing it would be a gamble.

“…….”

I organized my thoughts while staring at the option.

In the end, since I had no knowledge of how good the divinity was, it was difficult to make a choice…….

But it wasn’t like I had no hints at all.

‘The names of divinity.’

Each divinity had an ability befitting its name.

< Death > could get rid of life, < Immortality > made it so death would be difficult to reach.

Then < Transcendence > would have an ability similar to its name as well.

“Being able to surpass predetermined limits….. Is it?”

At the very least, it was divinity perfect for growth.

I assumed that < Transcendence > was a divinity that was greatly influenced by me.

I’ve been relying on the divinity given by the tower so it wasn’t like I wasn’t accumulating divinity through the normal means…….

So at this point, I’m sure that I had developed some special potentials as well.

And that was what < Transcendence > was.

‘Then my decision is set.’

On the path of choices, I chose the path closest to the answer.

「You’ve selected the divinity < Transcendence >.」

A path created by me instead of what the tower prepared.

And

That meant that it would give me the appropriate power for me for the appropriate goal.

So there was no room for regrets.

It’s just that…….

「Divinity selection complete.」

「An appropriate state of divinity is created for your divinity.」

I was curious about which divine power I’d be given.

The ceiling of the cave was what I saw once I opened my eyes.

“…….”

Considering how I’ve gotten multiple notifications of divinity this divinity that, nothing felt different.

I thought that something would change as soon as I opened my eyes, but nothing occurred.

But that sentiment lasted briefly.

「Divinity < Transcendence > is affecting the divine powers within your heart.」

With the emerged message, a change occurred immediately.

Whoosh!

A vibration from my heart rang out as if my soul was being agitated.

And then the divine powers accumulated in my heart changed to be a golden hue.

While I was marveling at the sight, I did feel slight disappointment.

‘I guess I can’t use death related divine powers now.’

With the < Transcendence > taking root in my heart, I don’t believe that I could envelop my eyes with divinity anymore to see a different sight.

It was one of the better abilities that I was losing.

And it was the very ability that brought forth victory from the battle with the Heavenly Demon.

But having such an ability disappear was disheartening to say the least.

But…….

「Divinity < Transcendence > is reacting with the potential of grim reaper to convert < Death > and < Immortality > into a potential. 」

A new change occurred while the golden divine powers were pushing out the dark colored divinity.

‘Oh…….’

The divinity with the potential of grim reaper got absorbed by the golden light and hid within.

Once I closed my eyes to concentrate on my heart, I found out the reason behind it.

“So this is what it means to convert it into potential……”

Some parts must remain as I could still feel the divinity of death after concentrating.

「Divinity is established. You got the Special power ‘Eyes of Death God’.」

Unlike before where seeing the black lines or dots were difficult to do, it got converted into a power.

‘Almost as if the negatives were excluded and only the positives were left…….’

The surprise didn’t last long.

「Divinity is established. State of Divinity is acquired.」

After the message, my body was engulfed by bright golden light.

Fwoosh……!

「Basic Divine Power ‘State of Divinity(SS+)’ is engraved in challenger Han Sungyeun’s soul.」

「When using State of Divinity, the divinity will increase temporarily and use of divine powers become possible.」

「Innate Divine Power ‘Transcendence(SSS+)’is engraved in challenger Han Sungyeun’s soul.」

「the abilities within the system can be added into divinity to have transcendence.」

Once the golden light dimmed down, I could finally calm down.

“…….”

The divinity mentioned in the system window was related to the state of divinity…….

According to my instincts, this state of divinity is pretty similar to the state of discipleship.

Furthermore, this state of divinity could not be maintained for long.

‘I knew that this was greed, but I guess this is all I can gain from this.’

Of course, it was already big enough to gain a power that could replace the state of discipleship.

Furthermore…….

‘With transcendence, I’m not losing much.’

Receiving the SSS+ ranked transcendence, considered to be one of the highest ranks within the system, I had no complaints at all.

‘A SSS+ rank…….’

Despite being calm, I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the rank.

Considering the power of divinity, SSS+ rank would not be strange……..

But actually acquiring divine power after establishing divinity made me feel butterflies in my stomach. I felt as if I was really becoming a god.

After relishing in those sensations, I attempted to stand up from my place to be interrupted by a voice.

―you must’ve finished making your choice.

It was Dam Cheonwoo.

His tone of voice suggested that he knew that this would happen.

“……Did you know that this would happen?”

―If you’re asking whether I knew that you’d get to choose your divinity, then yes.

“…….”

―of course, I didn’t know when you’d get to choose it, but…….

“So you’ve selected your divinity before too.”

―Indeed. This great one was also one of the candidates that the tower has selected. This one too has made a choice.

“So that’s why the Light Swordmaster asked me to be their heir.”

―…….

I did assume it before.

No matter how fast I’ve grown, I’ve been nearing the state of divinity only after reaching the 17th floor…….

Among the administrators that surpassed the 40th floor, there must be few that have been accumulating divinity to reach the state of divinity.

Only that their information was restricted from telling me.

Dam Cheonwoo must’ve been in the same situation.

But there was a difference.

‘Dam Cheonwoo most likely…….’

had…….

‘Destroyed the accumulated divinity himself.’

He destroyed the divinity and threw away the state of divinity.

It was not a baseless assumption.

He said it himself that he did not wish to live as a dog of the tower, and even Light Swordmaster said that he threw away the right bestowed by the tower.

Which meant that Dam Cheonwoo threw away the divinity by himself.

“Why did you throw away your divinity?”

―……I didn’t wish to accept what someone else decided for me. That’s the reason. This great one…….. Destroyed the divinity and hoped for freedom to come.

“…….”

―of course, my current situation is not what I was aiming for, but…….. This in itself isn’t too bad. You’re pretty special after all.

“Special? Weren’t you also a candidate as well?”

―Correct. We are both candidates chosen by the tower. But we are different. What we ended up choosing is too different.

I understood what he meant by the different choice.

“Essential nature…….”

―This great one threw away the divinity that I’ve accumulated myself and instead accepted the divinity given by the tower. You did not choose the path provided by the tower and instead accepted the divinity inherent within you.

“So that’s the decisive factor.”

―Don’t misunderstand. Choosing the divinity offered by the tower has no issues.

“Then why did you throw away your divinity?”

―the limit was too clear.

“……?”

Dam Cheonwoo let out a low chuckle and continued.

And…….

―those who receive the divinity of the tower becomes a powerful divine entity. However, they become bound eternally to the tower and lose their opportunity to grow.

The moment the goal of the tower gets partly revealed.

―The tower repeated this process until they found a divine entity that they liked.

A chill went throughout my entire body.

―Until the result satisfied the standards set by the tower.

Choosing the < Transcendence > divinity was the best choice I could’ve made.

»————- ★ ————-«

I had a hunch that the tower did not help the challengers without a cost.

But to think that it was attempting to foster divine entities bound to the tower……

It was surprising on multiple levels.

But there were still a few areas that were questionable.

‘Then why did Dam Cheonwoo say that the tower would not harm me?’

From his words, Dam Cheonwoo did not desire to be bound to the tower and threw away his divinity himself to be free.

That meant that I would be on a similar track. Why did he tell me to not doubt the tower?

―While devastating it is to be bound to the tower, it won’t harm the challenger.

When I asked that question, Dam Cheonwoo replied.

―Even after becoming a divine entity and becoming bound to the tower, for a certain time, you can still continue to challenge the trials, and they won’t ask too much of the challengers who become a divine entity.

Although a limit is placed on growth, no terrible things will happen.

―It’s just that, after the 40th floor, you lose your rights to continue climbing the tower, and you descend into a similar form like the administrators.

So there is no need to doubt the tower that much, is what he said.

Furthermore…….

―This great one knows that you’re more carefully selected compared to other candidates.

Dam Cheonwoo mentioned that the tower was paying closer attention to me for a different reason.

―And that’s why I told you that you won’t lose anything from trusting the tower.

He wasn’t wrong.

As he said, I’ve never lost anything and even got to establish my own divinity.

But I still couldn’t understand what it meant by ‘a special being different from a candidate’.

But…….

“I understand the situation briefly.”

Like before, poring myself to find the answer won’t result in an actual answer.

“I have lots of things I want to ask and learn, but I can’t know them yet, correct?”

Why was the tower fostering divine entities? What did it mean by the tower paying attention to me other than being a candidate? Why were the divine entities outside of the tower so wary of it? And more……..

There were countless unanswered questions.

But there was someone else that I should be asking these questions to.

“I’ll return to the waiting room first. And I’ll have to talk with the administrators. It’s been a while.”

I calmed myself down and used Truth-seeker of Blood to have the Blood Demon Sword to absorb blood”

「Activating True Blood Demon Sword(A-)’s exclusive skill ‘Blood Eat’.」

「Item’s rank raises to A+(6,801/9,200) from absorbing the Heavenly Demon ‘Cheon Yoosul’s blood.」

And after completing blood eat on the heavenly demon, I took her items.

Once I’ve used the fire dragon’s eyes to analyze the items, there were about two that could be useful.

「Black Dragon Blade」

「Rank : B+」

「Attack speed +10%」

「Destruction Resistance +40%」

「A long sword that the Iron Blooded Dragon Artisan offered to the 11th Heavenly Demon Cheon Sinhyuk.」

「It has been forged with a chunk of millennium metal to resist breaking.」

「However, other than its destruction resistance, the rest of its abilities are not up to par.」

Well, weapons are supposed to be superior as a basis, so it was naturally of a higher rank…….

「Blood Morals Bracelet 」

「Rank : A+」

「Divinity Manipulation +10%」

「Mana Manipulation +10%」

「The bracelet that the 17th heavenly demon ascended into a higher state after killing her father.」

「A faint presence of nameless divine myth is imbued within it, but it’s not enough to be considered a relic.」

「However, when the Heavenly Demon Cheon Yoosul uses it, abilities related to specific myths will be reinforced and all stats increase by 1.」

「However, those who have a different divinity than the Heavenly Demon Cheon Yoosul will receive the opposite of Divinity Manipulation +10%, and instead receive -10% on Divinity Manipulation.」

The red bracelet on her wrist was basically her personal equipment.

‘So basically I got nothing great.’

But to be honest, it was expected.

Not just the Heavenly Demon, but most that come from Murim possessed no good equipment nor items.

So this was expected..

‘At least the other dimensions relied on items…….’

Putting aside the feeling of disappointment, I threw the obsidian longsword into the air.

「activating skill ‘Sky Break’.」

Then swung my Sky Breaking Sword on my left hand.

Crack……!

「The Sky Breaking Sword managed to break what’s difficult to break to rank up to S-(1,714/25,000).」

With that, the obsidian longsword broke in half and the sky breaking sword ranked up.

I thought about breaking the other bracelet, but decided not to.

‘The sky breaking sword only ranks up when breaking things that are difficult to break, so there’d be no point in destroying this bracelet.’

Instead, I chose to throw the bracelet into my mouth to chew and swallow.

「You’ve the item ‘Blood Morals Bracelet’.」

「< 00:00:59 > Until complete consumption.」

But something occurred.

「Requirements met.」

「Activating the special power ‘Lineage of the Heavenly Demon’.」

Lineage of the Heavenly Demon.

One of the powers that I’ve acquired after the battle with the Heavenly Demon suddenly got activated.

「Once consuming the Blood Morals Bracelet, the hidden ability of special power Lineage of the Heavenly Demon is opened.」

And I was flabbergasted by the message that followed.

「When the hidden ability of special power ‘Lineage of the Heavenly Demon’ is made available, the divinity < transgression > is converted into a potential.」

A reward beyond my expectations appeared.