Raided The God’S Warehouse [EN]: Chapter 127

131. I Robbed the Warlock’s Warehouse

-You have completed the hidden quest, ‘The Exiled Warlock.’

-Additional points are awarded for the trial ‘Approaching Sandstorm.’

The heat of Flanberk was intense.

Not only did the warlock turn to ashes and disappear into the sand, but the statue that had granted him such immense power was also melting away.

It seemed that the desert’s heat, combined with the Yang energy built up through the Violet Mist Divine Art [a technique focusing on harnessing positive, active energy], created a synergistic effect.

As the raging flames subsided, Yasha emerged, covered in sand from her hasty retreat.

“That was an incredible attack. I knew you were strong, but not to this extent.”

“I’m glad you dodged it. I wanted to take him out before the statue could recover its power.”

“I understand. Even if I had been caught in the attack, I wouldn’t have blamed you.”

“I would never allow that to happen.”

The warlock’s corpse had scattered with the sand, leaving nothing behind. So, their gazes naturally turned to where the statue had been.

The metal that formed the statue was still bubbling and boiling from the intense heat.

‘Just in case……’

Se-un reached out and used the Authority of Gluttony.

First, towards the spot where the warlock had been.

Even though the heat had obliterated any trace of him, it was still worth a try.

-You have devoured ‘Zebis Seru.’

-Absorbing nutrients increases your Intelligence by 3.

Rustling sounds came from all around.

Though invisible, countless teeth seemed to be seeking out and consuming the scattered ashes of the warlock.

More importantly, Intelligence +3?

This was hardly the stat absorption one would expect from a boss-level monster.

It was more like the level of a monster you’d encounter on the street.

If that’s the case.

‘It must be that.’

Se-un turned his gaze to the melted statue.

Even in its molten state, it didn’t seep into the sand below.

The way it seethed with heat made it seem as if it were writhing to remain above ground.

It wasn’t certain, but you never knew until you tried.

Se-un raised his arm and used the Authority of Gluttony on the statue.

-Devouring ‘Swallowed Statue’…….

Crackle, crackle!

In the middle of the message, the text glitched and stopped, as if an error had occurred.

Along with it, the Gluttonous Fangs failed to swallow the liquid and were repelled.

-The Constellation, ‘Hungry Prince,’ is disgusted by the foul smell.

-The Constellation, ‘Hungry Prince,’ gags, feeling like he’s about to throw up from just a brief taste.

-The Constellation, ‘Hungry Prince,’ still unwilling to give up, closes his eyes, plugs his nose, and opens his mouth wide.

Despite being repelled once, the Gluttonous Fangs didn’t give up.

Larger, sharper teeth emerged, biting into the statue once more.

When that failed, a mouth as large as a house appeared, gulping down the statue along with the sand.

However…….

Ugh-

-The Constellation, ‘Hungry Prince,’ despairs, unable to swallow this no matter what.

The Gluttonous Fangs ultimately failed to swallow the statue.

A black liquid resembling saliva dripped from the mouth as it spat out the statue, smacking its lips in disappointment before disappearing.

‘Beelzebub can’t eat that statue?’

Was it because the opponent wasn’t a monster?

Beelzebub, who had devoured even the scorpion demon in the Crystal Cave, should have been able to handle it.

Even if the opponent possessed great power, wasn’t Beelzebub the one who had devoured even Pan, the Olympian god?

The more he thought about it, the more suspicious the statue seemed.

‘It looks like an Outer God, no matter how you look at it.’

The shape of the flowing statue, the warlock’s incantation invoking the absolute being of the universe, and more.

It shouldn’t be possible, but all the information pointed towards an Outer God.

Did Se-un’s regression change the future? Or was it an element that had always existed within the trial, but Se-un hadn’t discovered it in his previous life?

The reason was unknown.

Se-un, feeling regretful, approached the statue that had already lost its form.

-The Constellation, ‘Hungry Prince,’ is deeply frustrated, never realizing his palate was so weak.

-The Constellation, ‘Crow Who Bows His Head,’ remains wary of the statue.

Even after some time, the melted statue continued to bubble.

At this point, it didn’t seem to be boiling from the heat.

To gather even a little more information, Se-un reached out his hand.

-The Constellation, ‘Serpent Enclosing Jealousy,’ warns that it’s dangerous and urges you to step away immediately!

Squelch!

The melted liquid writhed as if alive, grabbing Se-un’s wrist.

Leviathan’s warning came too late to heed.

He tried to quickly distance himself, but his wrist was already completely ensnared by the liquid.

“I’ll help you!”

Clang!

“Wh-what!”

Yasha, who had been watching from the side, swung her sword.

The sword was surrounded by sharp energy, and her swordsmanship seemed clean, but the sound it produced was as pathetic as striking a rock with chopsticks.

The writhing liquid had momentarily hardened, deflecting her sword.

-According to the mysteries of the Black Tower, the power of ‘Dark Flare’ is enhanced.

If a sword didn’t work, then magic would.

Se-un tightly rotated the circle, creating black flames.

He had melted the statue with flames when it was still solid, so he thought flames might still work now.

The liquid reacted as if startled when the flames flickered, but only for a moment. The statue, which had begun to solidify again, no longer reacted to the heat of the flames.

It was as if it had adapted to an attack it had already experienced.

Slither.

An unknown force flowed through the wrist held by the liquid. No, it was a force he had felt before.

The unknown power he had felt through the Authority of Jealousy.

It was the same power the warlock had used.

When using the Authority of Jealousy, he had initially felt awkward, but soon felt the power surging within him. However, even the best medicine could become poison if taken in excess.

The immense power, on a completely different level from what was absorbed through the Authority, made his arm feel like it was burning from the wrist up.

Extreme pain struck, momentarily clouding his mind.

-The Constellation, ‘Hungry Prince,’ is at a loss.

-The Constellation, ‘Crow Who Bows His Head,’ takes out the ‘Grim Reaper’s Scythe’ and tries to cut down the statue.

Clang!

Mamon opened his vault through Se-un.

A jet-black scythe floated in the air, rotating in a circle to cut through the liquid.

As a weapon used by the Grim Reaper, its cutting power was known to transcend the physical realm, severing even the soul.

That scythe struck the liquid with the sound of clashing metal and bounced off to the other side.

-The Constellation, ‘Serpent Enclosing Jealousy,’ manifests its Authority.

-The Gaze of Jealousy begins to stare at the ‘Swallowed Statue.’

-The ‘Swallowed Statue’ rejects the Gaze of Jealousy!

Leviathan tried to use his power, but even that was futile.

A statue that was immune to the power of the Constellations.

There was no need to hesitate any longer.

He didn’t know why, but this was definitely a statue related to an Outer God.

However, even knowing that didn’t change anything.

The extreme pain had already overwhelmed his mind, making rational judgment impossible.

The inner energy of his dantian [energy center] and the mana of his circle tried to block the external force, but they collapsed pathetically in a matter of seconds.

In the midst of the extreme pain, only one solution came to mind.

‘I have to cut off my arm!’

The wrist held by the statue. No, he had to cut off his entire right arm, which had already been invaded by the unknown force.

Otherwise, the unknown force would consume Se-un’s entire body.

Just like the creatures he had seen possessed by Outer Gods before his regression.

Se-un bit his lip hard to forget the pain in his right arm.

Blood flowed as his blood vessels burst, momentarily clearing his mind.

Clang.

He grabbed Durandal, which he had dropped on the ground due to the pain, with his left hand.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes tightly, and was about to swing the sword to completely sever his arm when.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a red light erupted from the back of his right hand.

It didn’t stop at being a light; it flickered like a flame, beginning to burn away the unknown force that was consuming his right arm.

The Stigmata of Satyrus. The stigmata, now transformed into Se-un’s unique form, was driving out the unknown force.

No, it was a bit ambiguous to say it was driving it out.

Rather than burning the unknown force, the flames were brutally tearing at it and devouring it.

Gurgle!

Sensing the crisis, the liquid gripping his wrist poured in even more power.

However, the more it did, the stronger the flames emanating from the stigmata became.

It was like pouring oil into a raging fire.

-The stigmata is strengthened as it devours an unknown force of unidentifiable origin.

-The epithet of Blood Wolf is strengthened as it devours an unknown force.

A black aura mixed into the blood-red light of the stigmata.

Only then did the liquid realize that its power was ineffective, and it desperately released Se-un’s wrist. However, even so, the flames of the stigmata did not diminish in size.

Rather, a single spark that had detached from his wrist began to burn the entire statue.

-The stigmata reacts to the tale of the Blood Wolf Legend.

-The third ability of the stigmata, ‘@#!%,’ awakens.

-Due to the immense power that the owner cannot handle, the stigmata autonomously seals the third ability.

What on earth was happening?

Assuming that it was an Outer God, it had clearly tried to absorb Se-un.

Among the creatures who had suffered such a fate before his regression, not a single player had succeeded in resisting the encroachment.

Even the proud Constellations were helpless against the Outer Gods and were easily consumed.

Yet, he had not only resisted that power but had also absorbed it.

Was it the influence of his regression? Or was it thanks to the power of the stigmata that Se-un possessed?

The exact reason was unknown.

What was clear was that he had survived thanks to the stigmata.

Coo-goo-goo-

As the statue writhed in agony, the barrier that had surrounded it lost its power and disappeared.

As the statue burned away without leaving a trace, the sandstorm that had been kept out by the barrier raged once more.

The panther, who had been hiding in the corner, approached Se-un and licked its tongue.

“Are you alright? What on earth happened?”

“……I don’t know.”

He really didn’t know.

It didn’t seem like thinking about it would provide an answer.

As he stared at the crimson stigmata with a dazed expression, he sensed an enormous number of presences beyond the sandstorm.

“……Let’s go.”

“Yes?”

“Monsters are coming. We need to escape to the fortress quickly.”

“That can’t be……. Monsters always appear with the sandstorm on the darkest nights.”

“Then what is that?”

“Kiyaaaa!”

At Se-un’s question, Yasha finally sensed the monsters and turned around.

Through the thick sand dust, hundreds, thousands of shadows were cast. The shadows were rapidly approaching with a terrifying roar.

Se-un’s mana and inner energy were completely depleted from resisting the encroachment. Even Se-un couldn’t face them now.

No, even if his mana and inner energy were full, it would be impossible to face that many monsters alone in such a wide space.

The wisest course of action now was to reach the fortress as quickly as possible and seek help from the Diablo Clan and the soldiers.

“Kwang!”

The two sand panthers understood Se-un’s intentions and offered their backs.

As soon as Se-un and Yasha climbed on, the panthers immediately kicked off the sand and raced towards the fortress.

-Due to the completion of the hidden quest, ‘The Exiled Warlock,’ the trial of the 10th floor, the approaching sandstorm, will begin immediately.

-The difficulty of the trial is further increased due to the success of the hidden quest.

-The monsters’ ferocity and numbers are increased.

-A new boss monster is added.

-The rewards for the trial are greatly increased for defeating the exiled warlock and protecting the sandstorm barrier.

Sooner than expected, the trial of the 10th floor had begun.