Chapter 145: Leon’s Growth (3)

Rebirth.

The dictionary definition means becoming a better person than before.

And in the realm of enlightenment, it signifies a transformation into the most perfect physical form.

In fact, Leon had already undergone one rebirth at the time of his birth.

It was not for nothing that he possessed the rank of creation.

By fully absorbing the Goddess of Light, he had undergone a rebirth and obtained a perfect body.

However, that was merely close to a perfect physical body; it did not mean it was absolute.

Nothing in the world is 100% complete.

The distinction lies in how close one can get to that perfection.

Currently, Leon’s physical state could be said to be around 70% of that 100% completion.

However, through another rebirth just now, he had reached a level of perfection nearing 80%.

And that power was…

-Flash!

A movement that kicked off the ground.

The moment his will moved, his physical body transcended time and space to arrive before the Queen Ant.

“……”

The Queen Ant’s gaze remained fixed on the spot where Leon had been just a moment ago.

She had not perceived him.

It was inevitable.

The power of the Labyrinth.

The force that sealed all authority applied to the Queen Ant as well.

Even this Queen of the Chungwangjong could not manifest any authority, excluding her physical abilities.

Of course, such a seal was a tremendous penalty for those manifesting the traits of an Awakener.

While it would normally benefit those with superior physical prowess, it was useless against Leon, who had undergone two rounds of rebirth.

And so.

-Slash!

Unlike before, the intangible sword—the sword that had achieved emotional tranquility—sliced straight through the Queen Ant’s body.

-Splurt!

Surprisingly, in that brief moment, the Queen Ant managed to dodge.

However.

“Thud!”

Though she saved her life, she lost her right arm.

-Twitch, twitch!

The arm, unaware it had been severed from the body, thrashed about on the ground.

“How?!” 

The Chungwangjong.

A Queen Ant, in particular, would possess immense physical strength far beyond ordinary species.

Yet, she had failed to notice a movement even as a Queen.

Having confirmed a realm that humans should not be able to reach, she retreated in shock.

“What does being human have to do with it? My master who taught me is simply that outstanding.”

With a light smile, he immediately kicked off the ground.

-Whoosh

“How dare you!” The enraged Queen Ant also moved.

-Flap!

She spread her wings to increase her speed, but…

-Slash, crunch!

She was one-sidedly cut by Leon’s sword, losing her arms and legs.

If it weren’t for the sealing power of the Labyrinth, she would have recovered in an instant.

However, the sealing ability pressured the Queen Ant instead, leading to a situation where she was helpless against Leon’s attacks.

“You must have always looked down on humans.”

Especially in the Labyrinth, that was bound to be the case even more.

An Awakener whose every ability was sealed was nothing more than a weak human who moved a bit faster.

In terms of innate physical strength and speed, the Chunggwijong or Chungwangjong were bound to be superior.

“But sometimes, mutations do appear. The laws you created ended up binding you instead.”

In fact, if the abilities hadn’t been sealed, it might have been an even more fierce battle but because they held the prejudice that the human body was weak, this current disaster had occurred.

They were overwhelmingly pushed back by the performance of a body near perfection, having undergone rebirth twice.

“I… I have lost.” The Queen Ant struggled, having lost her limbs.

“So please, show mercy and at least save my child….” The Queen Ant surrendered.

However, it would be more accurate to say she didn’t surrender to Leon, but rather to her child who was about to be born.

Leon watched that scene with a puzzled expression, ‘Does maternal instinct even exist for a Queen Ant?’

A Queen Ant is a production system that creates soldiers for the legion.

Therefore, they usually perceive those born from consuming nutrients as soldiers, not as children or offspring.

Yet, her current behavior was undeniably that of a parent with a child.

Acting?

No.

She couldn’t deceive Leon, of all people.

Like Kim Si-won, Leon, who had opened his Insight Eye, had the ability to verify the truth.

Therefore, he knew that the Queen Ant’s words and actions were the truth, not a lie.

That made it even more questionable.

Her act of production was merely to increase the soldiers of the ant legion.

However.

‘I guess a King is different after all.’

She had explicitly called it the Ant King.

That meant the being she was trying to produce now was a very special existence, and…

‘It means it’s powerful.’

-Slice!

He swung his sword and took off the head of the pleading Queen Ant.

There was not a shred of sympathy in that movement.

Regardless, the Queen Ant must have devoured countless species and humans to produce the soldiers of her legion.

‘With this, I have reached the Strange difficulty.’

He had succeeded in the Strange difficulty on the first and second floors.

But afterward, he had failed to achieve the Strange difficulty on the third through fifth floors and had to settle for Incomprehensible.

This alone could be considered a sufficient achievement.

However, Leon was still hungry for more.

‘Maybe this… is a clue to move beyond Strange.’

Unusually, the final enemy this time was not the Queen Ant.

-Thump

The giant egg sac straight ahead.

The Ant King was alive and breathing inside it.

There was a high probability that being would be the final enemy and that was the only path to exceeding the limit of the Strange difficulty. 

Leon had an intuition.

If he didn’t eliminate this Ant King while it was still breathing, he wouldn’t be able to reach an even higher difficulty.

However.

‘The Queen Ant was also very powerful. But is it right to leave behind something that could surpass that and become a disaster?’

Questions and anxiety were bound to arise.

The momentum exuded by the Ant King, even before it was fully formed, was unusual.

If it were completed, if a perfect species were truly born as the Queen Ant had said, could the current Leon handle it?

No matter how much enlightenment he had gained, undergoing rebirth and nearing the most perfect body, could he handle this terrifying momentum?

It was, so to speak.

It was like a mental demon.

Anxiety and fear rushed in, wildly shaking his mental image and surprisingly, there was someone else experiencing the same phenomenon.

***

Altain, he was currently looking at the egg sac in front of him, the legacy left by the Queen Ant.

Even his indifferent eyes, which had stripped away personality and emotion, were filled with confusion.

It was unavoidable because the momentum exuded by the Ant King from the egg sac was so chilling.

And the total amount was…

‘It exceeds me.’

At first, he wondered if it was a bluff but it wasn’t.

This dense killing intent and energy clearly surpassed his own momentum.

If the Ant King were to be born like this, a monster that Altain could not handle would be created.

Therefore, he quickly reached a conclusion.

‘There is no need to take an unnecessary risk. Even if that guy, Leon, chooses to watch the birth of the Ant King, that is not an action that will disadvantage me.’ Altain guessed.

That Leon, who had now entered full-scale competition, was standing here on the same path of choice as himself.

An adventurous Leon, one who still had emotions, would likely choose a reckless gamble, but Altain would not.

Besides, it was only one floor.

Since he wouldn’t lose just because he didn’t gain dominance here, there was no need to take the risk.

Thinking so.

“Step”

***

With killing intent, he extended his fist toward the egg sac where the Ant King would be born.

‘There’s no need to take a risk.’

At that time, Leon was thinking the same thing.

It was only one floor.

Rather than betting everything here on a dangerous gamble, it was better to plan for the future….

“…like hell it is.”

His master, Kim Si-won, always said, ‘Approach everything as if it is your last. Even if you lose your life because of it, do not hesitate to take the challenge.’

Devotion.

Only progression, without regression or stagnation.

That was the fastest way to grow.

Kim Si-won’s theory was that those who keep retreat in mind cannot move forward.

The current situation was the same.

Do not hesitate to take the challenge.

-Thump, thump

The pulsing began to quicken like a heartbeat.

The birth was not far off.

However, Leon did not move as he watched the birth.

-Grip!

He poured strength and will into the sword, which now had only its hilt remaining.

-Vwoom!

His stabilized will erupted, forming the shape of a blade and before long.

-Splurt!

Finally, the egg sac split open, and yellow fluid sprayed out.

What came out along with the flowing fluid.

“…Hm?!” At that moment, Leon let out a groan full of doubt.

It was unavoidable.

“A baby…?”

He thought a very dignified being would emerge since it was called the Ant King.

No, it wasn’t just because of the name.

The wicked killing intent and momentum flowing out until just a moment ago were worthy of being called a perfect species.

But what was this?

What actually appeared before his eyes was…

“Mama…?”

Giant eyes.

A body more similar to a human than an ant.

It wasn’t a newborn, but it had a giant head and short limbs, looking like the body proportions of a four or five-year-old child.

The word that could describe all of it was cuteness.

It even wore a slightly curved crown on its head, but upon closer inspection, it wasn’t a crown but a deformed part of its body.

Since it was born with the fate of a king, its body had also taken the form of a crown.

Anyway, the baby Ant King was born that way…

“Mama! Mama!”

Looked at Leon and called him Mama.

In that moment.

“Ah!” Leon could recall one fact.

Many living creatures consider the first person they see to be their mother.

The baby Ant King was the same.

This perfect species saw Leon the moment it was born and recognized him as its parent.

“….”

Leon hesitated for a moment.

Normally, he should eliminate this cute creature.

However, an incomprehensible surge of sympathy and pity was interfering with that action.

Perhaps it was brainwashing.

A scheme to penetrate his psychology in a cute form to make him unable to attack, and then strike when he let his guard down….

“Mama—”

…It was no such scheme.

The baby Ant King dug into Leon’s arms and rubbed its body against him.

It was a display of love and favor.

-Slide

In the end, Leon lowered the sword he had raised.

A decision made because he had emotions and that was.

[Leon of South Korea has passed the sixth floor of Shinhwa difficulty.]

[He becomes the Conqueror of the Tower, replacing Kim Si-won, the previous Very Hard difficulty passer.]

[Leon has been appointed as the Conqueror of the Tower’s sixth floor.]

[According to the Administrator’s authority, no one in the world can access the sixth floor until the entry conditions are met.]

[A powerful Divine Beast following Conqueror Leon is given as a reward.]

As if it were planned, he cleared the sixth floor at the same time as Altain.

However, only the message of Leon, who had conquered a higher difficulty—the Shinhwa difficulty—resounded throughout the world.

“A Divine Beast…?!”

Leon couldn’t help but be shocked at the completely unexpected reward.

“Mama!” The baby Ant King was still crying out “Mama” while rubbing against him.

Surprisingly, that was the reward for conquering this sixth floor.