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Chapter 309: 309

The qualification to become a god…

The administrator’s statement was similar to the system message . It seemed that he knew what kind of powers Su-hyeun had acquired .

Su-hyeun went on, “Can you tell me what exactly this qualification is?”

“It is as it says,” the administrator answered matter-of-factly . “It pertains to the qualification of godhood and the authority accompanying that . It’s an ability that gods possess . ” The administrator was looking at Su-hyeun’s sword as he spoke . “The power contained in that sword has a similar story . What you have gained is the qualification of ‘strength’ out of several qualifications that the godly beings possess . ”

“The qualification of strength?”

“Simply put, your physical strength has exceeded that of a human . ”

“Does that mean the three-digit mark is the boundary?” Su-hyeun clarified .

“More or less . But that shouldn’t be the end, though . Various qualifications for godhood exist out there, and even if it’s the same type of qualification, there’s also the difference in class to consider . ”

The three digits in a stat denoted the boundary between a man and a divine being .

According to the administrator, 100 points was not the maximum limit attainable for a stat . Since the ‘class’ and the gap in strength also existed within the scope of godhood, any value higher than 100 must exist as well .

“Although a bit of a shortcut has been taken here, with this, you have now acquired three types of qualifications for godhood . ” The administrator narrowed his eyes and gestured as he spoke, “The clouds, the wind, and now, strength . ”

The ‘clouds’ and the ‘wind’ indicated the Somersault cloud and the Palm Leaf .

“The first two might be nothing more than half-realized powers . But still, depending on how you utilize them, they can become full-fledged ones,” the administrator explained .

“Just how many qualifications for godhood are there?”

“Honestly, I have no idea . ”

“You don’t have to be specific,” Su-hyeun pressed on . “Even a vague explanation will do . ”

“There are way too many of them to count . ” The administrator shook his head . “In general, acquiring just one qualification is enough for you to be referred to as a quasi-god . However, I really don’t know what the requirements are to become a ‘full’ god . But I can assure you that I have never seen or heard of a god that possessed countless qualifications . ”

The administrator scratched his head the moment he finished . He felt he had said too much, including unnecessary information .

“Argh! Whatever . Okay . So you’re here to take up the next challenge, right?”

“Yes, I am . But when I got here the first time, that plaza didn’t exist . ”

“No plaza exists in this place,” the administrator remarked, shaking his head, as if Su-hyeun had said something outrageous . “I’ll be directly sending you to the next floor . ”

“In that case, what about the hints for the floor…”

“No hints from now on . ”

Shuwuk, shuk—

The administrator crouched on the ground and began drawing a circle with his finger . “Even we don’t know anything, you see . ”

“Excuse me?”

“I said, I don’t have any hint to give you . Okay? All done . ” The administrator finished drawing a circle and some lines that resembled a star on the ground, then dusted his hand in satisfaction . “Get inside . ”

“…”

Su-hyeun stepped into the circle . He didn’t say a word, but he was in doubt . He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of magic circle this was . Once inside, he began to sense a unique power emanating from it .

This simple magic circle turned out to be a door to a different dimension .

“You’ll see for yourself when you get there . Alright, now then…”

Snap!

Ging!

When the administrator snapped his fingers, the magic circle began emitting bright light .

“We believe in you . ”

Along with those words, the view before Su-hyeun’s very eyes transformed .

***

Caw! Caw!

BOOM!

The cawing of a huge crow and a loud footstep intertwined with the sound of wind rustling past the tall grass .

The new scenery was a forest . However, it was far too different from a typical one .

‘Trees here are absolutely tall . ’

Su-hyeun couldn’t recognize what these trees were . The whole forest seemed to be made solely out of these huge, thick trees, at least 100 meters tall .

He quietly roamed around the forest . He found a stump and decided to take a rest . Then a message popped up .

[Prevent the birth of the next predator . ]

“…?”

That message was somewhat familiar . He was told of it before .

It was almost akin to the message from the trial back on the 100th floor: to prevent the birth of Fafnir .

If the 100th floor’s trial was a type of test the administrators had prepared, then this would be the beginning of the ‘real’ thing .

‘Preventing the birth of a predator means…’

BOOM!

Su-hyeun turned his head to where the sound came from . He saw a huge monster that resembled a dinosaur in the midst of trees .

‘Could it be that creature?’

Krr!

Green spittle drooled out from the maw of this dinosaur-like monster with yellow eyes . Its size was almost as big as a small apartment block .

Drip . Dribble .

The thick drool landed on the ground . The grass melted as if the spit was contagious . If the spit was that bad already, then its blood could be deadly .

‘Is it a venomous monster? It looks like a physical…’

Whoosh!

Crack! Crunch!

Slam!

The dinosaur-like monster swung its front limb . Su-hyeun moved quickly and leapt up . The trees swayed and then fell to the ground .

BANG!

“Well, I guess it fights with its body . ”

Tak .

Su-hyeun landed on a thick branch above and looked down on the creature . Its huge head turned to Su-hyeun’s direction . Su-hyeun noticed that the monster could actually see him from afar . Even its movement was agile as well .

‘With this kind of skill, this thing must be stronger than a senior monster of an average-strength blue dungeon . ’

However, such a thing wouldn’t be enough .

‘This monster isn’t going to be a predator . ’

It certainly was strong, but it was not exactly overwhelming . Compared to the black dragon Su-hyeun encountered, the one that Bradley ended up devouring, this monster was lacking in many aspects .

“Still, this guy wouldn’t be so bad as a new summo—”

Crack! Crunch!

Su-hyeun quickly turned his head to a different direction . He sensed that someone—or something—was coming, and it was moving fast .

Swoosh!

Whoosh!

A wild beast sprang out from the trees . It leapt towards the enormous monster’s head . It attacked the creature with its claws, scratching its head .

Rip!

Ki-aah!

The monster howled .

The beast ripped its face . It continued to howl in pain, flailing its limbs . Its eyes were badly injured that it couldn’t see anymore . It hit a number of trees as it moved aimlessly .

The wild beast then moved closer to the monster . It stood at its rear .

Pow!

Crunch!

The beast slammed the monster’s neck with its fist . Its thick hide was ripped apart and the bones were crushed . The dinosaur fell to the ground, dead .

BOOM!

The ground shook because of its massive weight .

Su-hyeun didn’t move as he watched the wild beast . It was a bipedal wolf covered in white fur . It stood on its hind legs like a human being and was at least three meters tall .

‘This guy is also not a predator . ’

Su-hyeun couldn’t sense any magical energy from this wild beast .

It wasn’t as if this creature had been concealing its magical powers . No . That energy source simply didn’t exist in it .

‘Wait . So, that wild beast hunted that monster down using only its physical strength?’

Honestly, that came a complete surprise .

Although the wild beast was bigger than an average bull, its broad shoulders certainly looked threatening . However, it was still smaller and more worn out compared to the now dead monster .

Despite that, it managed to easily kill a bigger and considerably stronger opponent .

Aside from the physical strength and speed, its battle instinct was also top-notch . The vibe Su-hyeun got was that this creature was a highly trained warrior .

In other words, a formidable opponent had shown up .

Krr—

The wild beast suddenly bared its fangs . It had noticed Su-hyeun standing on the side .

Its wolf-like face turned to confront Su-hyeun . It glared at him and howled . Su-hyeun didn’t move or make a sound . Then the beast spoke, “Looks like you don’t have enough meat on your bones . ”

“…?”

“Go away . You don’t even look

delectable for an appetizer . But we’ll see once you grow much bigger later . ”

The wild beast grabbed the dead monster’s large thigh as it spoke .

Drag . Drag .

And then, it began to drag the huge corpse away .

Drag .

This amazed and puzzled Su-hyeun at the same time . Just how did the wild beast did that? Where did its strength came from? That monster must have weighed a hundred tons! It was heavier now that its dead .

The wild beast had a well-toned body that enabled it to drag a bigger and heavier creature . It also had intellect, which enabled it to talk to Su-hyeun .

Su-hyeun stared at the back of the wild beast as it walk away .

“Did it actually consider me as its prey?” Su-hyeun muttered .

It felt like he somehow got dissed . He ended up scratching his head .

He still had no idea where this was or what kind of world it was . Even so, he began to walk after the wild beast .

***

Drag . Drag .

Su-hyeun continued tailing the wild beast .

The white-furred beast didn’t seem burdened by the weight of the dead monster as it effortlessly dragged its corpse .

‘This animal’s strength is pretty exceptional,’ Su-hyeun thought .

The beast glanced at Su-hyeun . He was 10 steps behind it .

“Stop following me . Or else, I will hunt you,” it threatened Su-hyeun .

The beast growled . It bared its fangs to scare Su-hyeun away .

Su-hyeun meekly smiled at the beast . He didn’t want to provoke it . “I didn’t mean to follow you . It’s just that I’m lost, you see . ”

The beast flinched when Su-hyeun spoke . It was surprised that he could actually talk .

“Can you show me the way to the nearest village, if there’s any?”

“But how… How can a monster talk?” the beast commented .

“Actually, I’m not—” Su-hyeun attempted to explain but the beast cut him off .

“I was talking to myself,” the beast clarified .

A monster? Who was it referring to? Su-hyeun looked around, then shook his head .

‘If this world is made up of therianthropes, then yes, I’ll definitely be seen as a monster . ’

Not just a monster, but a small and weak-looking monster at that .

‘Maybe he sees me as someone on a goblin’s level?’

A goblin was a dwarf-like monster that ranged from 50 centimeters to one meter in height . Moreover, it was the lowest and the weakest monster commonly appearing in red dungeons .

The difference in size between Su-hyeun and this wolf therianthrope was around the same as a human to a goblin .

“What an interesting creature you are . ”

The wolf therianthrope’s lips curled as it studied Su-hyeun . It was actually smiling . It must have found something really amusing .

“Looks like you are not some mindless little monster… Could it be that you’re some kind of an intelligent subspecies? Never heard of a species like you before, however . ”

“Is that so? Well, now you have . ”

“What an insolent little monster you are, too . Mind your manners, or I might just bite you to death . ”

Krr!

The therianthrope bared its fangs once more to warn Su-hyeun .

Its demeanor had changed . A few minutes ago, it was threatening Su-hyeun with its sharp canines . Now, it seemed friendly .

Of course, he might really try to rip Su-hyeun apart with his fangs .

‘Can’t be too careful,’ Su-hyeun reminded himself .

But from what Su-hyeun could tell, this therianthrope wouldn’t try to harm him .

He asked, “Is the village far from here?”

“I never said I’ll show you the way . Besides, you are going to cause a big commotion if you go there . I’m sure you will . To our kind, someone as weak as you is nothing more than an easy prey . ”

“I guess I’ll have to be careful in order to not be someone else’s snack then . I’ll take it to heart . ”

The therianthrope stared at Su-hyeun . It wasn’t expecting that kind of reply from him . One could easily tell that it was utterly astonished .

The therianthrope cackled and replied, “Do what you want . ”

Whatever the case might be, the wolf therianthrope wasn’t wary of Su-hyeun . He must have thought that the little monster wasn’t much of a threat at all .

On top of that, the therianthrope was also thinking that it didn’t really matter if Su-hyeun got attacked by its kin .

‘Not much of a snack . I doubt he’s tasty,’ the therianthrope thought .

Drag . Drag .

Su-hyeun and the therianthrope walked for a while .

“You know, we’re moving slowly . Don’t you think so?” Su-hyeun spoke . He was bored and was trying to engage the therianthrope in a small talk .

The latter replied while dragging the huge monster with one hand . “This thing is heavier than you think . You can help me carry it, you know . ”

The therianthrope shot Su-hyeun with a look that implied, ‘If you’re not going to help, then just shut up and follow me . ’

But then…

“Why don’t I do that?”

Su-hyeun strode forward and grabbed the dead monster’s hide .

Then…

Drag!

Then, he effortlessly walked forward with the corpse in tow—at a faster speed than the therianthrope, too .

“What are you doing?” Su-hyeun turned around and asked the therianthrope . It looked at Su-hyeun in disbelief . “Why aren’t you coming along?”