Chapter 64: The Monarchs Absolute Might
Zalea hesitated for a moment before speaking. "The Mercantile Exchange is currently managed primarily by The Eldest Princess Tiana’s faction..."
Liam gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "It doesn't matter. If Tiana has a problem with it, tell her to come find me."
Shock rippled through Zalea. This was the first time she had ever encountered such an uncompromising Guild Master. Most of her predecessors had gone to great lengths to stay on the Kingdom's good side, yet Liam was looking for a fight with Tiana right out of the gate.
"Just get it done," Liam said, finally revealing his display name.
"Frost... Frost Monarch?!"
Zalea gasped again. Now she understood where that bottomless confidence came from. This was the man who had slaughtered the nine Silver Grade generals of House Volkov and seized Blackwind City single-handedly. He wasn't just a leader; he was a monster among men. To top it off, he had somehow forced King Abraham into a compromise to lift the ban. Any one of those feats would have been enough to turn the world upside down.
"Guild Master, I will put everything into motion. I can have the Mercantile Exchange system operational within seven days."
"Three days," Liam countered, his voice like iron. "If we’re going to seize the market, we do it fast. Besides, I don’t need the full system yet—just deposits and withdrawals."
"If that’s all you need, I can have it ready in one."
"Then one day it is," Liam said. "We’ll worry about the other services later. Go, get it organized immediately."
"Understood." Zalea bowed respectfully.
With the Mercantile Exchange settled, Liam turned and left the Adventurer’s Guild. Now, all he had to do was wait. In a few days, Tiana’s quest would be ready, and King Abraham’s requirements would be met.
As for the quest to help The Night-Walkers establish a regime within The Astral Kingdom, that was still squarely in the 'Hard' category. Overthrowing a government and building a new one meant making an enemy of the entire nation. However, he had no intention of letting that Innate Talent, Bloom of Ascension, slip through his fingers. Even a marginal increase to his Beyond God-Tier status would yield staggering results.
He wasn't quite ready to take on the entire Astral Kingdom yet, but given enough time, it was well within his reach. Once the Mercantile Exchange was up and running, he would have the kind of wealth that could make even the gods do his bidding.
After leaving the city, Liam began the grind. He needed to hit Level 50 as quickly as possible to unlock all dungeons within that bracket. With his current stats, his leveling speed was astronomical; the only bottleneck was the respawn rate of the mobs. Even so, it took him a mere five hours to reach the level cap.
He opened the Level Leaderboard to check the current standings.
Level Leaderboard:
1. Frost Monarch: Level 50 (100%)
2. Barney: Level 35 (92%)
3. Matchless Blade: Level 31 (11%)
4. Once-a-Night: Level 29 (65%)
5. Idol Who Slays Boars: Level 28 (93%)
...
At this stage, the gaps were widening. Aside from Liam and Barney, the only one keeping a decent pace was Matchless Blade.
Looking at that name, Liam felt a pang of lingering bitterness. One person, one sword, holding a single city against millions. In his past life, Liam had been something of a fanboy. The image of her standing against the world, slaying gods with a single blade, was the stuff of legends. Behind that masculine name was a woman of peerless grace and lethal beauty.
His bitterness stemmed from her end. She had held the city, her sword never faltering against the enemy, only to be stabbed in the back by her own allies. In that regard, they were kindred spirits—both betrayed by those they protected.
As for the fourth and fifth spots, the names didn't ring a bell. Much like Misty Snow, there were always players who experienced a temporary surge in power thanks to a lucky break. Misty Snow had leaned heavily on the Golden Scepter to dominate the sub-Level 20 bracket, but now that the average level was climbing, her advantage was starting to wither.
Next, he checked the Gear Rankings.
Gear Rankings:
1. The God-Slayer Registry
2. The Tome of Mortality
3. Purifying Jade Amulet
4. Hibiscus Treasure Lantern
5. The Enigmatic Gourd
...
Liam’s eyebrows shot up. Not because he owned four of the top five, but because The Enigmatic Gourd had actually made the list. He knew it had some utility, but he hadn't realized it was powerful enough to rank this early. The Hibiscus Treasure Lantern was another mystery; he didn't recognize it from his memory of the late-game leaderboards, suggesting it might have been a mid-tier powerhouse that eventually got replaced.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Liam returned to the Black-Water Lake. It was time to farm stats. Level 50 was the threshold for the Second Advancement, and since he hadn't completed his Class Advancement yet, he couldn't level up further. He could, however, continue to stack his HP.
As his damage output continued to skyrocket, the amount of HP he could milk from each dungeon run began to dwindle, but progress was progress.
A day passed in a flash. Liam’s HP increased by over 1.5 million, pushing his total past the 5 million mark. His health pool now rivaled—or even exceeded—Field Bosses of the same level.
On the second day, he continued the grind, but because his damage was so high that he was clearing mobs too fast, he only gained 900,000 HP.
By the third day, the gain dropped again to 500,000. Still, his total HP had successfully reached 6.4 million. Now, a single Basic Attack from Liam dealt over 380,000 True Damage. Other players didn't even factor into the equation; even someone as tanky as Barney would be erased in a single second.
As the three-day mark hit, a notification chimed.
Ding! Congratulations! You have completed Princess Tiana’s prerequisite Quest Scroll.
You have received: AP +100, Blessing of the Gods +1.
Finally, another Blessing of the Gods.
"Use Blessing of the Gods."
Ding! Zhurong, the Fire God, is bestowing a Divine Blessing upon you...
You have obtained: Skyfire Meteor.
Skyfire Meteor (Passive): 1-Star
Effect: Your attacks have a 1% chance to trigger Skyfire Meteor. One thousand meteors will rain from the heavens, covering a 100-meter radius. Each meteor deals damage equal to one Basic Attack.
Cost: None.
Cooldown: None.
Mastery: 0/100 (Each trigger grants 1 Mastery point).
Liam stared at the description. "This is... a bit much."
Even at one star, the skill was absurd. If it triggered once, every mob within a hundred meters would be incinerated instantly. Normally, this would be a godsend, but for Liam, it was a problem. If he cleared entire rooms in a single proc, he wouldn't be able to hit the mobs enough times to stack his HP.
Furthermore, Death Cycle had ranked up to three stars, increasing its proc chance from 1% to 1.5%. Fortunately, his Luck stat was abysmally low, keeping these proc-based skills in check, but as the percentages climbed, they would inevitably trigger more often.
Liam found himself wishing for a very specific, usually "useless" item: the Tome of Light and Shadow. It was a Unique Gear with only one function—it allowed a player to manually toggle their passive skills off. Under normal circumstances, passives were always active, and no sane player wanted to turn them off. But for Liam’s specific needs, it was essential. He needed to turn them off while stacking HP and turn them on when it was time for real combat.
He put the thought aside and dived back into the dungeon. This run was a headache. Every time Death Cycle triggered, it deleted a mob, which was fine since he could one-shot them anyway. But when Skyfire Meteor procced, the entire floor died.
Another day of grinding resulted in a measly 250,000 HP gain. Part of the problem was his sheer damage making the Obsidian Lake dungeon too easy; the other part was the dungeon’s inherent limitations.
"I need that Tome of Light and Shadow immediately," Liam muttered, his expression grim. To anyone else, 200,000 HP in a day was insane, but Liam wasn't anyone else. He wanted more.
With his total HP sitting at 6.65 million, his Basic Attack damage broke the 400,000 mark. At this stage of the game, nothing short of a high-level boss could survive a single touch from him.
As he prepared to enter the dungeon again, a figure flickered into view.
It was Leona. She watched Liam with a searching gaze. "Frost Monarch, does our agreement still stand?"
Liam gave a non-committal smile. "Instead of asking that, why don't you just tell me what’s happening?"
"My father has finally lost his patience. He’s moving against us. I might have to return to the Novice Village for a while. However, the Novice Village isn't what it used to be. I might need your help to get back in."
Liam raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, I can't help you with that." He had promised King Abraham seven days of non-interference. It had only been four. He still had three days of neutrality left.
"We can negotiate the rewards," Leona said. She knew Liam well enough by now—everything had a price.
"Talk to me in three days. Not before."
Leona’s brow furrowed. Three days was a lifetime she didn't have. "I can't wait that long. My father won't give us that much time."
"Regardless, my hands are tied right now. If you’re in a hurry, perhaps Queen Fiona could help you."
"The Queen?" Leona’s expression darkened. Her mother’s death was tied to Fiona; she wanted nothing to do with that woman if she could help it. "You’re oversimplifying things. This is a Throne War. Even if she is the Queen, she cannot interfere—especially since my father has no intention of stepping down."
"If he won't step down, then just wait. Is there a reason you have to start a war right this second?"
Leona sighed. "We can't wait. If we miss this window, we have to wait another sixty years. That is the law of the Astral Kingdom."
Liam shrugged. "That sounds like a 'you' problem. What does it have to do with me? Besides, if you go to the Novice Village now, won't you still be waiting sixty years?"
Leona’s eyes sharpened. "No. I am one step away from a breakthrough. Once I take that step, I can defeat my father and claim the throne. I must lead the Astral Kingdom to Kingdom Ascension. My intuition tells me our time is running out. A great cataclysm is coming."
Liam’s interest was piqued. A NPC at Leona’s level shouldn't know about the Cataclysm that was still five years away. What did she mean? Was she sensing the impending resurgence of the Primordial Eastern Empire? If that empire rose again, the Astral Kingdom would be the first to fall. This was exactly why Liam was pushing his HP so hard; he needed to be ready for the storm.
"Are you truly refusing to step in?" Leona asked, searching for a crack in his resolve.
Liam nodded. "I cannot interfere directly. However... I might know how to break the stalemate."
"Oh? How?"
Liam grinned. "Give me your Blessing of the Gods prerequisite Quest Scroll, and I'll tell you."
Leona bristled and immediately shook her head. "No. Tell me the plan first."
Liam didn't argue. He simply turned and entered the dungeon. If she wasn't willing to pay, he wasn't going to waste his breath.
A short while later, Liam emerged from the portal. Leona was still there, waiting. To his surprise, Tiana had joined her.
"Both princesses of the Astral Kingdom here to see me at once? I’m flattered," Liam said dryly, then immediately stepped back into the dungeon portal before they could speak.
Tiana’s fists clenched, her face flushing with irritation. "He’s treating us like we’re nothing!"
Leona sighed. "Given our current situation, he’s the only one who can afford to."
When Liam emerged again, Leona spoke up immediately. "Frost Monarch, can we talk?"
"Unless you've changed your mind, there's nothing to discuss."
"Wait," Leona conceded. "Everything is negotiable. You don't have to act personally. If you can provide a viable way to topple my father—one that we are actually capable of executing—I will give you the scroll."
With that, Leona tossed the Blessing of the Gods prerequisite Quest Scroll toward him. Liam caught it and glanced at the details. The requirements were exactly as she had described.
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