NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 1022
<1022 – Eastern Region Experience Record (21)>
Guardian Deity.
A person or group whose profession is to protect a specific individual or region, receiving compensation in the form of faithful demeanor or diligent living.
The wizards who summoned Gegeobdo-in paid a hefty price to make him their guardian deity.
“Do you wish to make me your guardian deity… I see minimal qualifications in you. Yet, since we have not conducted a formal summoning contract, the required price is even harsher.”
“Well, that’s negotiable!”
Typical of a nasty player, Oknodie had no intention of paying the full price!
Gegeobdo-in’s mood immediately soured.
“The wizards contracted with me, ensuring their survival and safe escape. In return, they promised unlimited slaughter and feasting…”
“Do you really think you can enjoy that for years with such a rampage?”
“Humans breed well. If they can simply control their appetite, they can enjoy slaughter and feasting for a millennium.”
A millennium of slaughter and feasting.
Offer a greater price than that.
Such were Gegeobdo-in’s terms of trade.
Of course, it was absurd.
Oknodie swiftly launched a counterattack.
“Isn’t the Middle Realm destined to perish in a decade?”
“…”
“Doesn’t bargaining for such a distant future seem pointless?”
Gegeobdo-in’s eyes flickered fiercely.
He had already manifested his powers, discerning the authenticity of Oknodie’s claims.
And he realized.
The truth.
She was indeed telling the truth.
However, the turmoil that rose in Gegeobdo-in’s eyes quickly subsided, depending on his own mindset.
“A fraud speaks falsehoods as truth to gain advantage. A politician speaks truth as falsehood for gain. An unfinished small puzzle is merely a piece of a larger puzzle. A blind man cannot discern the shape of an elephant. Does your demise truly mean the end?”
Oknodie’s trick had no effect on the clever wizard!
“Tch. Is it because I ate so many high-INT wizards?”
Feeding on a bunch of dumb beings would certainly nerf intelligence.
Oknodie felt a twinge of regret.
Of course, a light jab missing the mark wouldn’t ruin anything.
“The end in ten years. If you know how it will unfold, you can prepare, right? Let’s make a deal, and I’ll share that future with you!”
In Oknodie’s small hands were volumes 1, 2, and 3 of <The Collected Ends>, fanned out like a deck of cards.
The energy emanating from the fluttering books was unmistakably that of a forbidden book.
And it was a forbidden book containing the most horrendous calamities the likes of which Gegeobdo-in had never seen!
“There are other methods too.”
“What methods?”
“A method to subdue you and take the forbidden book.”
Gegeobdo-in’s massive body began to meld into a thick, dark hue.
He wrapped himself in overwhelming darkness, so immense even Oknodie’s unique Dark Mana control seemed ineffective!
Instead, Oknodie found herself instinctively offering the book as she followed Gegeobdo-in’s will, startling herself and pulling her hands back into her robes.
“Stealing is quite unethical! I’m trying to offer a good deal here, and this is how you respond?”
“How long will you keep postponing the crisis with words? Princess of Darkness, showcase the skills that are worthy of your bloodline.”
An unavoidable fight!
Oknodie reluctantly began pulling out swords, one by one.
“Tch. Didn’t I say I’d start first?”
“Sure.”
“You definitely said you’d fight first, right?”
“I did say that.”
“No sulking allowed?”
“I won’t sulk.”
Gegeobdo-in watched in disbelief as Oknodie continued pulling out swords.
“Why are you pulling out so many swords when you only have two arms?”
“Um, these all have their uses, you know.”
After planting each sword firmly into the ground with a flourish, she tested her preparations before the full-blown battle.
<Divine Empowerment>
<Chain Lightning>
The swords absorbed lightning like a lightning rod, allowing the divinity bestowed upon them earlier to permeate evenly.
“Ready!”
“Then go ahead and die halfway.”
Gegeobdo-in stomped the ground with force.
━━━
<Tian Zun Art, Tai Yi Zhen Yuan>
<Manifestation, Quaking Earth>
━━━
A wall of earth surged forth, trembling as if alive.
Matching the heavy stomps of the giant, a wall of earth rising a massive 20 meters came crashing towards the swords.
<Auto>
<Mana Technique>
<Swordsmanship>
<Contract Mark>
<Tactic>
In response, Oknodie engraved her Mana Technique and Swordsmanship onto the blades, turning each one into a skilled swordsman with its own will.
If our team was entirely composed of my own selves, we could have done whatever we wanted with one accord, such a pity now that the team was only envisioned in dreams!
Boom!
Multiple swords interlinked their Mana Techniques, dispersing the overwhelming impact effectively.
With astonishing skill, Gegeobdo-in nodded, acknowledging that he now had the ability to withstand his own strike, launching a counterattack with over twenty times the force.
<Ogre Beast Technique, Chaos and Extinction>
<Manifestation, Reality Reversal>
Realizing the technique that would turn the world upside down by embedding swords into it, Oknodie pouted her lips in annoyance at the shrewdness of discerning her carefully laid trap in an instant.
<Nullification>
<Body Part Destruction>
<Buff Initialization>
The Chaos and Extinction technique flipped the coordinates of the swords inscribed into the world, breaking the sword blades, igniting papers attached to the handles, sweeping away all buffs, artificial bloodlines, and circuits.
Not only did it nullify Oknodie’s technique, but the essence of power pushed forward struck her directly, threatening what she had painstakingly built up—her levels, body, system assistance effects.
[Curse Resistance Activated]
[Successfully resisted Level Nullification.]
[Successfully resisted Equipment Destruction.]
[Successfully resisted Collection Record Initialization.]
The curse function displayed its brutal capabilities, proving itself to be a far cry from a simple utility function, an ability that could destroy a player in an instant!
If not for the sheer level of resistance capable of defying divine punishment, Oknodie would have lost all her stats, equipment, and collection, crying out in despair over her ruin.
But she endured.
And Oknodie would never let go of a technique she had ‘witnessed’ right in front of her eyes.
The technique displayed by Gegeobdo-in was instantly shot out from Oknodie’s fingertips.
“Normalization Beam!”
The name sounded comically weak for a technique.
But the effects were anything but trivial.
The beam normalized all properties of the target, material, or area to their primordial state without artificial interference!
Gegeobdo-in’s technique and area, along with a part of his body, couldn’t withstand the impact of that shot—leaving a gigantic hole in his form.
Both Oknodie and Gegeobdo-in simultaneously realized.
With that strike, Gegeobdo-in could no longer unleash any initial resetting attacks of Chaos and Extinction.
While sealing the opponent’s attack, the overwhelmingly advantageous engagement was now firmly in Oknodie’s hands!
<Tian Zun Art, Creation of Heaven>
<Manifestation, Song of Swords>
Gegeobdo-in, showing no signs of fatigue, exhibited yet another new technique.
He crafted a new spell that revived the technique of the enemy he had destroyed, launching it as his own attack.
Oknodie, who had enjoyed draining countless duplicates, wasn’t overly flustered even in the face of needing to contend with so many of herself.
‘Well, that giant has been there for every round.’
The sharing of swordsmanship was to prepare for any potential theft of skills.
By executing reverse-phase swordsmanship, Oknodie adeptly parried the consecutive sword strikes from Gegeobdo-in with pride.
“Hmpf. It’s over now.”
“Over? Just because you blocked one move… Ugh?!”
“You didn’t know that recklessly devouring other people’s techniques can backfire, did you?”
Oknodie infused her divine power into the sword.
Imitating the technique would inherently enforce the use of divine power.
Although pure divine power lacking any elemental attributes would aid in amplifying strength, Oknodie infused it with the divine power of the flying spaghetti monster!
An interdimensional clash,
The divine power incompatible and non-interchangeable in this world.
<Body Reinforcement>
<Automatic Levitation>
<Extended Consciousness>
The spaghetti god’s divine power reinforced Gegeobdo-in’s body to adapt to outer space, allowed him to levitate freely in cosmic space, and expanded his consciousness to encompass vast realms.
All of that was poison for Gegeobdo-in.
His muscles grew uncontrollably strong, causing massive damage to his bones and nerves, the forced levitation consumed tremendous energy to prevent him from flinging into the far reaches of space, and the overly expanded consciousness made it challenging to focus on the Oknodie right before him.
“Isn’t using divine power just to gobble up whatever is handy a nasty little combo?”
“It’s incredible that a mere mortal can engage in such battles. You’ve truly done well, princess of darkness. You have my acknowledgement; you’re worthy of being my contractor.”
“Yay! Then let’s formalize our covenant! Please become the guardian deity of my territory!”
Gegeobdo-in wasn’t some petty demigod who would refuse the outcome.
He was ready to accept with grace.
Yet just as the deal was about to be struck, the murmured words of Sing, who had awakened from the fierce battle, became an issue.
“Damn Oknodie… fainting people again. Ugh. People should listen to what they say…”
The way those around called Oknodie.
Just tag ‘Nodi’ to whatever they wanted to say!
That familiar expression made Gegeobdo-in ponder.
These mortals have their trends nowadays.
The demigod, newly born from the MZ generation, had absorbed the latest catchphrases like a middle-aged minister!
“I, Gegeobdo-in, pledge to become the guardian of the territory of Darknodi and, in return, shall receive the three volumes of the Forbidden Book of Ends.”
Three volumes of the forbidden books surged forth from Oknodie’s bag, surrounded by light before vanishing.
A proof that the deal was established.
And Gegeobdo-in also became enveloped in light before vanishing.
A proof that the deal was established.
“Eh? Huh???”
What is this?
“Where’s my Gegeobdo-in!”
Sadi, who had just awakened beside Sing, chuckled at the situation.
“Isn’t there a certain clone that comes to mind when you say Darknodi? Gegeobdo-in must have made a silly mistake, but in the end, the deal has already been cemented.”
And thus, Gegeobdo-in was suddenly dispatched from being a mere city’s guardian deity to become a subordinate of the Demon King Darknodi.