Raided The God’S Warehouse [EN]: Chapter 76

Stole the Demon God’s Armory – Episode 80

After Se-un grasped Durandal, the battle’s momentum shifted dramatically.

Clang, clang!

“That sword is tough!”

“Incredibly sturdy!”

Her rocks were no longer a significant threat to Se-un.

Unlike before, when he barely managed to parry, risking damage to his blade, he was now cutting through the rocks without hesitation.

Not just cutting, but completely severing them.

The sword that splits rocks, Durandal.

Its very name implied splitting rocks, so the blade wouldn’t be damaged in the slightest by this level of impact.

Liel tried to wield her staff, taking advantage of the brief opening while Se-un blocked the rocks, but…

Clang!

“Kuh!”

“It hurts!”

“Dangerous! Dangerous!”

After just a single exchange with Durandal, she sensed imminent danger and retreated hastily.

‘That sword is dangerous.’

A branch of Yggdrasil [a mythical tree connecting the nine worlds in Norse cosmology].

Though different from the World Tree in her world, Yggdrasil was also a great World Tree that stood tall in another dimension.

Such a tree’s branch trembled greatly and tried to escape from a single blow.

If the spirits hadn’t protected it, the branch might have suffered a significant scratch.

“Did you get that sword as a reward from the tutorial?”

“No way. I was really looking forward to what the first-place reward would be.”

“Then, did you receive it from a Constellation [a powerful, often god-like being that supports players]? There’s no way you could get such a sword in the tutorial!”

“I did?”

It was unbelievable.

Not a reward from the tutorial, not a weapon bestowed by a Constellation, but a weapon obtainable during the tutorial that was so powerful!

She had diligently roamed around to gather contribution points and even found several hidden dungeons, making it even harder to believe.

But, what could she do if she couldn’t believe it? Se-un’s sword was blocking her attacks right before her eyes.

Now was the time to adapt to reality rather than deny it.

‘Still, I have the advantage!’

The initial attempt to subdue him in one strike had failed, but that was just the opening move.

She had plenty of backup plans in case of failure.

While waiting for Se-un at the entrance, Liel had devised various strategies, recalling her sparring sessions with him.

Thanks to that, she relentlessly suppressed Se-un.

Bang!

Rustle – Crack!

Whoosh!

The spirits began to exert their power in earnest.

Storms raged, and flames erupted from the cracks in the shattered earth.

It was truly a cataclysm.

Within it, Se-un wielded Durandal, performing a precarious dance.

A typical player would have collapsed from mana exhaustion in less than a minute if they had to endure such relentless attacks, but she was different.

-The Blessing of Abundance envelops you!

The authority bestowed by Freya, the goddess of beauty and love, and the goddess of abundance, on the fifth day.

It was as if all the surrounding nature, like plants and wind, gathered to infuse her with power.

Thanks to that, mana constantly surged from her body, allowing her to maintain such powerful attacks without faltering.

The blessing was one thing, but her mental strength, which allowed her to utilize four spirits simultaneously without wavering, was truly remarkable.

The sense of responsibility, carrying the wind of her kin on her back, held her mental strength together.

But why?

‘Why isn’t he falling?’

Even in the midst of the violent cataclysm, Se-un didn’t waver in the slightest.

Moreover, an unknown sense of unease had been pricking at her heart for a while now.

Was it just a delusion?

While enduring the unease, it was her four spirits that turned her suspicion into certainty.

“Ugh…”

“I can’t put any strength into it.”

“Liel, I’m so tired.”

“Sleepy!”

There was no way that spirits without physical bodies could possess stamina.

They were nature itself. As long as mana was supplied, they were beings that could exert power all night without tiring.

In fact, this was the first time Liel had heard the word ‘tired’ from her four spirits during their long time together.

The anomaly didn’t end with the spirits’ complaints.

‘The power has weakened!’

The relentless cataclysm.

The vibrations of the splitting earth subsided, and the flames died down. The sharply swirling wind lightly fluttered like a breeze, and even the rain that poured like a shower thinned into a drizzle.

It was now at a level too pathetic to even call an ‘attack.’

Naturally, Se-un, who had been blocking the attacks, was also lowering his sword.

“Now it’s my turn, right?”

On Se-un’s legs, as he said that…

“No way!”

The power that only a spirit caster could use, Sylph’s wind, was fluttering.

* * *

-The eyes of envy begin to gaze at ‘Liel Refrain.’

When he first used the Authority of Jealousy, he couldn’t fully understand its power. Unlike the Authority of Gluttony, no fangs appeared, and unlike the Authority of Greed, no treasure vault opened.

He only felt a ‘gaze’ that sent shivers down his spine, and nothing else was visible.

‘There must be something.’

He could immediately escape Liel’s attacks and swing his sword at her, but that would thwart his goal of confirming the Authority of Jealousy.

Therefore, Se-un silently endured her attacks within the cataclysm.

Fortunately, thanks to wielding Durandal, enduring the attacks wasn’t too difficult.

While feeling the grip of Durandal, which he hadn’t held in a long time, he endured the attacks.

‘The attacks… have weakened?’

He felt her violently raging attacks gradually weakening.

If he only saw this, he could simply think, ‘Is Liel tired?’ but there was another anomaly.

‘This is definitely the power of spirit possession.’

Se-un looked at the power dwelling in his body.

The Sylph’s wind, faintly fluttering on his legs, made his movements faster, and the power of the Gnome, revealed above his armor, was blocking the cataclysm.

In addition, hot flames flickered on Durandal, and transparent streams of water surged around his body, assisting Se-un’s movements.

Finally, looking at the message that appeared before his eyes, Se-un perfectly understood the Authority of Jealousy.

-The eyes of envy are jealous of ‘Liel Refrain’s’ spirit power.

-Steals the power of the Fire Spirit.

-Steals the power of the Water Spirit.

…

The Authority of Jealousy. Its ability was to ‘steal the enemy’s power.’

There was no clear explanation, and it was the first time he was using the ability, so he didn’t know the details.

‘Jealousy,’ a word that means envying others. It was an ability in the form most befitting its name.

‘As expected of a Demon God’s Authority.’

It wasn’t simply increasing his own power, but stealing the opponent’s power. It was a power that applied both buffs and debuffs simultaneously.

This kind of power would be especially strong when facing powerful enemies.

The only downside was that the Authority’s target was limited to one person.

‘Like the Authority of Gluttony, this might also evolve as I use it.’

The limits of the Demon God’s Authority couldn’t be this much.

Just as the Authority of Gluttony was initially limited to a single entity but later could designate the entire area.

The Authority of Jealousy might also be able to designate the entire area.

If that happened, even if the level of debuff inflicted on each enemy was insignificant, the amount of buff applied to Se-un as that power gathered would be enormous.

-The Constellation, ‘The Serpent Enclosing Envy,’ gives you a faint smile as it recognizes its Authority.

The moment he finished analyzing the Authority of Jealousy, the vibrations of the earth that had been rumbling like an earthquake subsided, and the storms that had been raging like a tempest calmed down.

As his vision cleared, he saw Liel, unable to hide her bewildered expression.

It seemed she had noticed that she had been affected by the Authority of Jealousy.

“Now it’s my turn, right?”

“No way!”

Whether it made sense or not, it didn’t matter. Now that he had grasped the Authority of Jealousy, there was no need to continue sparring with her.

Clang, clang!

Although she was using spirit possession, Se-un was superior in close combat from the start.

Moreover, her spirit magic was now greatly weakened by the Authority of Jealousy.

Conversely, spirit possession, similar to what flickered in her body, had permeated Se-un’s body.

She struggled to resist with the overflowing mana from the Blessing of Abundance, but…

“I think the match is already decided?”

At best, it was just the first few moves.

Durandal touched her neck, ending the short but fulfilling sparring session.

“…I lost.”

“Good thinking.”

From what he had seen so far, he didn’t think she would stab him in the back, so Se-un sheathed Durandal at his waist.

He thought she would react more vehemently since she hadn’t entered the tower to wait for him even after the tutorial ended, but she accepted reality faster than he expected.

“I admit it. You’re stronger than me. …You deserve to be number one.”

Her initially confident attitude was gone, and her shoulders were slumped.

He only fought because she asked him to, but seeing her like this made him feel unnecessarily sorry.

“But, I won’t lose next time.”

After saying what she wanted to say, she turned her back without hesitation.

It was as if there was no reason to stay here any longer.

However, Se-un’s thoughts were different. He hadn’t thought much of it at first, but through this sparring session, he had recognized some potential in her.

‘Liel’s goal was definitely to plant the World Tree, right?’

The World Tree. A giant tree that connects the sky, the earth, and the underground through its roots. A sacred tree called by various names such as Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life, and the Divine Tree.

It was a tree that even Se-un, who had explored almost every area of the tower, had not found.

‘What if the power of the World Tree were to emerge in the tower?’

The World Tree is not just a simple tree.

As it is also called the Tree of Life, it is a symbol of the origin of all universes and the source of life.

Such a tree growing in the tower was not a simple matter.

The power flowing from the World Tree would make the players stronger, and that power would also affect the Constellations.

Especially the Constellations based on the myths of the World Tree.

For Se-un, who had to prevent the Divine-Demonic War and defend against the attacks of the Outer Gods, it was a very desirable existence.

And…

“Wait.”

“…Why?”

“You came into the tower to find the ‘Eternal Garden,’ right?”

“H, how did you know that?”

The ‘Eternal Garden,’ which Liel Refrain had failed to find until the end of her regression, and which was recorded like a legend in numerous documents…

“I can guide you there.”

“…!”

During Se-un’s time as an adventurer and explorer traversing the tower, the Eternal Garden was one of the hidden areas he had found through the Journey’s Compass.

In other words, he was the only player who knew the location of the ‘Eternal Garden,’ both before and after the regression.