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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: The Predation Monarch
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Pantheon.
The 100th floor of the Tower, home to a society of gods.
I stopped before a grand temple built on the outskirts of the Pantheon.
[Altar of Twilight]
A heavy, sealed door blocked my path.
"I've finally reached it."
*Gag.*
A surge of blood burst from my mouth.
Wounds covered my entire body.
Poison, burns, cuts, frostbite… countless other marks were etched into my flesh.
These were the wounds I'd sustained while single-handedly forging the path to the Pantheon.
Even so, I couldn't stop.
I still had a job to do.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed hard against the doors leading to the altar.
*Grind—!*
As the doors slid open to either side, the interior of the Altar of Twilight came into view.
[Unmelting Ice - Symbol of Ymir]
[Ancient Obelisk - Symbol of Ra]
[Scales of Judgment - Symbol of Themis]
....
These were powerful artifacts containing the divinity of the Old Gods.
Top-tier artifacts—Holy Relics.
From among them, I picked up a grain of wheat that shone with a golden light.
Compared to the other brilliantly glowing Holy Relics, it looked insignificant.
But I knew the true value of this relic better than anyone.
[Predating the First Tribute to Ishtar.]
[Essence Grade - Myth]
[Essence Predated: 7%]
[Essence Predated: 12%]
[....]
The divinity dwelling within the Holy Relic seeped into my body.
"Ugh."
My stomach churned.
On my way to the Pantheon, I had stored the essences of many gods within me.
Essences that felt as though they would burst out at any moment.
Normally, I would have needed to spend a great deal of time carefully absorbing them, but I didn't have that luxury.
Just a little more… if I can just absorb the essence of Ishtar, the core of this whole mechanism…!
"This is as far as you go, mortal."
"There is nowhere to run."
"To think you'd scurry into the Altar of Twilight like a rat."
Long shadows fell one by one over the Pantheon.
The sun god, Hyperion.
The sea god, Nodens.
The god of magic, Lurein.
The demon of the Cedar Mountain, Humbaba.
Besides them, dozens of old gods who had been robbed of their [Names] appeared.
The Old Gods.
The very culprits behind this catastrophe.
"Quite a crowd you've brought."
I provoked the Old Gods with a smirk.
My stomach roiled, but I forced it down.
I needed time to [Predate] Ishtar's divinity.
If I showed any weakness, it would be over.
"Truly persistent. The humans of Earth… mere vermin, struggling to the very end."
Hyperion.
The old sun god stepped forward, his expression filled with disdain.
His eyes were full of arrogance.
If only my body were in one piece, I would have broken his limbs. A true pity.
"A lowly thing that shows no respect for the gods."
"And you're just a bunch of has-beens who can't let go of your former glory."
The Old Gods were those who had been pushed aside by the flow of time.
Like the Titans, supplanted by the Olympian gods.
Like Bergelmir, swept away by the great flood Odin had caused and exiled to the cold, desolate Jötunheimr.
They were gods of a bygone era, pushed aside by the current generation and stripped of their [Names] and [Status].
And the Altar of Twilight was where the items that symbolized them, the 'Holy Relics,' were gathered.
"You talk big for someone who sowed discord because you were afraid of a mortal."
Humanity couldn't unite, not even in its moment of crisis.
Players who sided with the gods in search of their own glory.
Those who weren't chosen were killed off one by one in the Old Gods' invasion.
Hyperion was one of the masterminds behind that scheme.
"You blasphemous mortal!"
Hyperion raised his hand.
It looked as if blazing flames would pour down at any moment.
I clenched my left fist tightly.
"Stop, Sun God. He is a being who has earned that right."
"One of only six Monarch-level Players on Earth. It is a great feat for a mortal to have entered our domain."
"More importantly, we must first find out what the Predation Monarch is plotting."
Predation Monarch was the title they used for me.
The sea god Nodens, the god of magic Lurein, and Humbaba held Hyperion back.
I shrugged nonchalantly.
"Plot? What plot?"
The god of magic, Lurein, stepped forward.
"You are one of only six Monarch-level Players in all of humanity, aren't you?"
"I was."
"When humanity's final squadron made their last stand, why weren't you with them?"
"If I tell you, will you spare my life?"
I asked Lurein in return.
"I'm sorry, but that is a request I cannot grant."
Lurein shook her head without hesitation.
"How heartless."
"Only when you die will the Tower of Babel complete its absorption of the world."
The Old Gods had a single objective.
To absorb multiple worlds.
To integrate them into the Tower of Babel and reclaim their stolen power, names, and authority.
For the Tower of Babel to devour a world, all of its existing humanity had to die.
In other words, what these detestable Old Gods were saying was…
"So you're saying I'm the last of humanity."
"That is correct. You are the last remaining human on this Earth."
I closed my eyes for a moment.
-The future, no, changing the past is up to you.
-We're counting on you, Predation Monarch.
-Let's hope our struggle was worth it.
The last of humanity, the so-called 'final squadron,' had challenged the Old Gods head-on.
A war with less than a one percent chance of victory.
The reason the last survivors, who had avoided all-out war as much as possible, had switched to an offensive stance was…
'To draw their attention until I reached the Altar of Twilight.'
Everyone had thrown away their lives to create this opportunity for me.
Because this was the only way to overturn our desperate situation.
I won't say things like 'thank you.'
I recalled the two 'Monarchs' who had been with me until the very end.
If I succeed, you'll also get a second chance thanks to me.
In fact, you should be thanking me.
Though I'll be the only one who remembers!
[Essence Predated - 100%]
[Skill - Time of Harvest has been added.]
[The essence of a god possessing the concept of time resonates with Ishtar's essence.]
Good.
The final piece had fallen into place.
I stopped my brief reverie and took a deep breath.
*Rumble—!*
A fierce storm of mana swirled around me.
At the same time, the wounds covering my body healed with astonishing speed.
A flicker of tension appeared in the Old Gods' eyes.
If I were in perfect condition.
I had enough power to take at least one of those Old Gods down with me.
After all, I had attained the rank of [Monarch], and I was humanity's strongest Player.
Hyperion's eyes widened in fury.
"I will end your life with my own hands!"
A spear wreathed in heat left Hyperion's hand, shooting forth like a beam of light.
Divine power, condensed to its absolute limit.
It was a presence like the sun itself had manifested in this world.
"Mortal, one second is all I need to annihilate you."
He wasn't wrong.
The moment that spear touched me, my body would melt away.
Right.
What I was aiming for was precisely that immense 'divine power.'
*Thwump!* Hyperion's spear pierced my heart.
A strangled cry escaped my lips.
Hyperion wore a shocked expression.
"Why."
"Why did I just let you hit me?"
I grinned.
It must have looked as though my wounds had healed.
On the outside, at least.
I just needed to put on a show so that arrogant Old God would use his full power.
"Hyperion, retrieve that spear at once!"
"What is that bastard doing…!"
The Old Gods shouted urgently.
That would be a problem.
I reached out with both hands and gripped Hyperion's spear tightly.
"I happened to need some energy."
The one second you mentioned.
That was more than enough.
I slammed the red stone in my left hand against the shaft of Hyperion's spear.
[The Dawnstone has detected strong divine power.]
[Converting divine power into the user's mana.]
An enormous amount of mana flooded my veins, spreading throughout my body.
That bastard Hyperion must have used his full power to try and kill me.
Thanks to him, I now had enough mana to activate the 'myth' I had built up.
My mana had been nearly depleted from climbing to the top of the Tower.
[The essence of Chronos interferes with time.]
[The essence of Atropos severs the current timeline.]
[The essence of Clotho weaves a new time.]
[The essence of Lachesis braids the rewritten time.]
[The essence of Ishtar fixes the newly recorded past as the present.]
....
*Click—! Clack—!*
The divinities of the gods I had stuffed into myself through [Predation] interlocked, using Hyperion's divine power as a foundation.
The 'time'-related relics that humanity's final squadron had gathered at the cost of their lives.
I had taken all their essences into my body, but activating them in my weakened state had been impossible.
Hyperion's divine power was more than enough energy to activate the concept of [Time] I had built within myself.
Time began to reverse.
As a floating sensation lifted my body, the forms of the Old Gods, including Hyperion, began to fade.
"See you again in the future… no, the past."
I greeted them by raising my middle finger.
* * *
The floating sensation slowly subsided.
Beyond the flickering blackness of my vision, a single ray of light appeared.
I blinked several times.
A bright yellow ceiling came into view.
It was a contradictory feeling, both unfamiliar and familiar.
It was the studio apartment where I had spent my youth.
Was it a success?
I pinched my cheek.
The flesh stretched.
I didn't hold back, and it hurt enough to bring tears to my eyes.
"Ha, hahaha."
Laughter burst out, even as my face tingled with pain.
Time regression.
The final gamble had succeeded.
A miracle that not even the damn Old Gods could perform.
I had absorbed the essences of gods related to [Time] and returned to the past.
"When did I return to?"
I reached out, fumbling for the table.
My cell phone came into my hand.
[October 9, 2025]
[7:06 AM]
Looking at the date on my phone, it was thirty years before the point from which I'd regressed.
Twenty-three years old.
The time I had just been discharged from the military.
I placed a hand on the back of my head; my hair was quite short.
*Tsk.*
Relieved that I hadn't returned to my military days, I smacked my lips.
"The regression seems to be a success."
I muttered to myself while browsing news articles online.
They were all articles related to the Tower of Babel.
Among them, I saw some familiar names.
Ellen, Sergei.
Players who would rise to the rank of [Monarch] in the distant future.
They were also comrades-in-arms who had fought shoulder-to-shoulder in a dying world.
Though we had fought tooth and nail before the Old Gods appeared.
I chuckled to myself, recalling events from the past—or rather, the future.
Anyway.
"That damn Tower is still there."
I looked at the structure visible beyond my window.
A massive structure that had risen simultaneously in various parts of the world.
The so-called Tower of Babel.
The Tower of Babel had appeared on Earth ten years ago.
Without any warning, they had sprouted simultaneously in the capitals of countries all over the world.
'At first, the Tower was called a blessing.'
All sorts of gold, silver, and treasures.
Elixirs that could cure rare diseases.
Even Mana Stones, which came to be called a third energy source.
The immense wealth that came from the Tower was great enough to affect the global economy.
The popularity of Players skyrocketed.
Those invited by the Tower, the so-called [Players], were hailed as a new, popular profession.
All without knowing that this incredible wealth was a prelude to ruin.
'The more rewards are released from the Tower, the faster the dimensional synchronization proceeds.'
The Tower of Babel had devoured many dimensions so far.
The rewards for overcoming trials were essentially bait.
But did that mean we could protect the world by not climbing the Tower?
'Now that synchronization has begun, it's only a matter of time.'
In the end, I have to defeat the Old Gods.
If I had intended to avoid the fight, I wouldn't have regressed.
I could have just served a suitable god as my Constellation and left Earth.
I clenched my fist tightly.
I will not be defeated a second time.
Just then, a voice devoid of any emotion echoed in my ear.
[The Tower of Babel has sent you an invitation.]
[A place where you can obtain wealth, power, and honor.]
[Challenge it with your life on the line.]
[From now on, you are a Player.]
Ah, right. It was that day.
October 9, 2025, was the day I received the invitation from the Tower and became a [Player].
At the time, I felt like I had the whole world in my hands.
A bitter smile played on my lips.
"Status Window."
I muttered the command I had called out countless times.
Player - Yoo Jinho
Age: 23
Level: 1 / Race: Human
Rank: Unranked / Class: None
Ability: Predation
Strength: 7
Agility: 6
Stamina: 7
Toughness: 6
Mana: 1
[Ability - Predation]
Devours the essence dwelling in living beings or objects.
*Special Note
You have not completed the tutorial. You cannot level up.
Compared to my status window before the regression, it was humble.
The abilities I had built up over thirty years had all been reset.
'The most important thing remains.'
I smiled.
Predation.
The ability that would one day make me the strongest Player.
At first, I couldn't use that ability properly.
The concept of Predation. I thought it was simply about stealing a portion of power from the 'corpse' of a defeated monster.
That was a mistake.
I picked up a nearby cup.
[Using Predation.]
[No essence is detected in the target.]
[Essence absorption failed.]
The cup remained unchanged.
But the smile on my lips grew wider.
When I first got the ability, I thought I could only extract essence from the corpses of defeated monsters.
I was wrong.
The target of the [Predation] ability was not limited to the tangible or intangible.
'Essence isn't held only by living creatures.'
In a broader sense, essence also includes status, concepts, and even authority.
What if I predated the Olympic Flame, which symbolizes an offering to Zeus, the king of Olympus?
It was possible to 'predate' a part of Zeus's myth.
'There are quite a few predatable essences all over the world.'
I licked my lips.
The entrance to the Tower of Babel opens on the first of every month.
There are about twenty days left until I can enter the Tower.
I have time.
I need to prepare thoroughly.
I pressed the power button on my computer.
What predatable essences might there be?
It was time to meticulously plan how I would absorb those essences and become stronger.
You Old Gods.
The revenge starts now.