Chapter 166
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 166
Chapter Title: 16th Floor - Temple of Time (1)
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The Fairy King's coup had involved interference from several gods.
The God of Discipline and Wealth had apparently built up considerable power based on the ideology of capitalism, which worked well on any server.
A sharp stone is bound to get chipped.
Other exiles had started joining this server late, and the Gods of Magic and Duels had sided with the Federation.
The Cult of Chaos only controlled a single server, so it was tolerated.
In short, most gods chose to hand over an entire server to the Cult of Chaos, which barely had any followers.
They couldn't stand seeing their immediate rival, the God of Discipline, take a huge slice of the pie.
After all, ascending to godhood meant diving into this cutthroat game of political and diplomatic land grabs.
"Then I guess there's nothing for me to do."
「That's right. The gods' time is based on the kingdom's, so we've been keeping Discipline in check for eight years. The Alliance split the spoils among various gods. Discipline's cult is still strong, but it can't dominate the Alliance alone.」
In the midst of all that, the remnants of the fallen empire had also been absorbed into the Alliance.
For the Greenskins—especially the ogres—they wanted to live under the Federation, in the shadow of fellow capitalist states.
「Even some goblins who weren't fans of communism headed to the Alliance. Honestly, that's the real federation. Ours is just federation in name.」
The goddess added at the end.
「I'm truly glad you all made it back safely. My final dreams.」
"Are we those dreams?"
「I've been hyping you up to the other gods, but too many of them just snort in derision.」
Well, gods were challengers at their core.
They were the ones who toiled away at clearing the labyrinth, only to hit a wall and get chosen for godhood.
The labyrinth's prisoners all yearned for escape, one way or another.
"I'll have to convince them in the kingdom."
「Go declare that you've come to rescue them.」
"As you command."
「I can't wait to see the others' reactions. Heh heh.」
There was one problem, though.
Eight years? Eight years had passed?
I needed to contact the angel in the kingdom.
Fortunately, he'd spent those eight years living a truly desire-free, happy, and peaceful life.
He'd never aimed for promotion in the first place, so he'd hidden his identity and avoided joining any guild.
The goddess had provided him with every convenience, so he had no reason to harbor ill will.
「Even so, he was a total bum. He loved how much the kingdom had developed—first time he'd seen anything like it—and spent his days doing nothing or just sleeping. No interest in farming or anything.」
'Long-lived races like angels can have a different sense of time.'
「I wish I could be that laid-back.」
Sending the angel ahead had been a brilliant move.
There was a ton to do in the kingdom. Having a comrade rooted there for eight years was a huge advantage.
Since I'd see him soon anyway, I just confirmed he hadn't changed sides. Time to focus on the tasks at hand.
The trolling left by the God of War was still there as a hole sucking everything into the abyss.
A normal Sudden Death would be imperceptible to labyrinth residents, but this was a recognizable disaster.
The Federation had even designated it a holy site: the goddess's land, a gateway to the abyss.
Thankfully, the stairs were in a somewhat intact spot.
The problem was that it was somewhere in vast cosmic space, but eight years of searching was more than enough time to find stairs floating in the void without context.
The undead goblins who'd fought alongside us in the abyss were all hailed as heroes.
I personally pinned an Honorary Star of Chaos on each one.
The Federation's highest honor, the Star of Chaos, was a beautifully crafted purple candy.
"Your tastes are so consistent."
「They kept demanding snacks, so it just ended up like that. Wasn't my intention.」
Fair enough.
One day of rest wasn't enough for the party.
The food bought from the devil prioritized extreme calorie efficiency: nothing but oatmeal and the like, tasting predictably awful.
It was draining both nutritionally and mentally.
Four still-living members were barely half-functional, so we focused on recovery.
Eat well, rest well.
The Hunter turned into a fairy. The fairy card's appearance buff was truly miraculous.
The Grove Fairy card turned the rugged, bearded middle-ager into a handsome man with sharp eyes.
With it came the ability to sense mana, so the Hunter joined magic lessons too.
The old man lacked energy, so I handled it personally.
Everyone was worn out.
Hiu, especially vulnerable to the abyss's environment, showed anxiety symptoms.
Maybe some obsession too. She had to be helpful. Had to pull her weight.
But she hadn't been able to.
Hiu and I shared a room entirely.
There were two beds, but she kept burrowing into mine.
It was 'perfectly safe' since I couldn't get it up, but she thought holding hands would make a baby—hilarious.
The dysfunction down there had been going on for a while. Probably psychological, but no need to explain it in detail to her.
Hiu was utterly consistent.
She'd boldly crawl into bed, then get shy after.
When she awkwardly kept distance, I mentioned vampires lack reproductive ability, and only then did she snuggle in.
Her blushing now was plenty cute.
We talked a lot every night before sleep. Mostly about life outside. Stories she wouldn't normally share.
Her home sounded stark and barren, even now.
Her emotional deprivation meshed perfectly with the labyrinth, finding solace in me?
Her bubbly cheer might be PTSD too. People act out what they lack.
Then they start believing their own act.
Even in her heartfelt confession, she couldn't overcome shyness at the very end—maybe for that reason.
That bashful side might be closer to her true self.
I decided to stop habitually psychoanalyzing her.
Hiu was happy, and so was I. Comfort isn't grand.
Just talking, smiling at each other, feeling warmth—that's enough.
The goddess and God of Nature didn't watch at night.
Both seemed delighted, which was annoying. Like nosy old uncles.
If they thought anything happened, they'd be dead wrong.
Time flew.
Two weeks passed in a blink.
"Three months, huh? It all lined up perfectly."
And so we descended the stairs.
The snarky loading message popped up as usual.
[TIP: Many exiles think their journey ends upon reaching the kingdom. In reality, they've merely completed basic training.]
A bizarre space that was matter if you called it matter, mana if you called it mana.
A pure white void appeared. There was a floor, things above and below, yet simultaneously nothing.
A stark white door stood there too.
The party members, seeing the kingdom's door for the first time, trembled with emotion.
"I can't believe I suffered for nine years just to see this..."
"Haha. The kingdom. Haha."
Reactions from the little mage and the Hunter, respectively.
Of course, the Hunter's eyes drifted more to the right.
A resplendent golden temple reminiscent of Athens' Parthenon stood there.
Surprisingly, the Hunter didn't shed tears.
"I'll save my tears for my family."
The Hunter saying that still looked hollow.
So much of the labyrinth was like that.
In tough times, you crave it desperately—then, once obtained, it's just... this?
But it was something obvious all along.
Something you should have enjoyed normally.
Merely taken away by the labyrinth.
Now you could live a normal life again.
Many felt emptiness upon first entering the kingdom.
Humans crave not the goal itself, but the hope it brings.
Even so, regardless of that bittersweet feeling, we had work to do.
"Shall we try time traveling now?"
"If we don't go, another version of us won't escape the danger."
If we couldn't retrieve the angel card on the 10th floor, I might get ejected to the next run.
The cause? No doubt a fit of rage.
8th floor.
The little one confirmed she'd landed in a familiar spot and realized her connection to the goddess was severed, thanks to the God of Time's power.
She was completely alone.
The golden light blinding her eyes faded. After praying at the temple's central structure, the God of Time wordlessly transported her where she wanted.
She'd definitely gone back in time.
And now, no one was around.
The little one was thrilled.
It was a first.
She, always a burden, was dispatched alone on a mission.
As exciting as her first errand.
And Dad's request was perfect.
Not an order—trust. All new experiences.
She hummed a tune, piercing the dark night with her senses, heading to the burning fortress.
And right on cue, she arrived at the crisis moment.
Her well-honed [Fire Wall] provided solid blockage, and she handily thrashed the Lava Hammer Brigade afterward.
The little one loved her role.
Saving weaker past versions of Mom and Dad? Unheard of.
Their startled faces were hilarious.
She nearly spilled future secrets in her excitement.
Future Dad had said: Probability is the Luck God's domain. Leaking future info is the God of Time's.
If they overlap, the probability amplitude spikes.
The little one understood fully and knew what not to do.
So she couldn't tell Mom her race would become angel, preventing hand-holding with vampire Dad.
Informed, Mom might refuse becoming an angel.
The little one proudly reached that conclusion from Dad's mere hint.
As daughterly duty, she advised Mom: Cling a lot and act lovey-dovey from now on.
Though it'd happen later.
First mission: success.
First time as main caster, not support.
First time taking the lead.
Teasing Mom and Dad was fun too.
She even got hugged by still-human Dad.
Heard him call her daughter.
Bliss.
Life brimmed with things undreamt before or after vampirism.
The little girl turned vampire at 10 was truly happy lately.
14th floor.
The youngest had to find an intact spaceship first. Federation gear handled spacewalks and repairs.
He knew the job well.
He'd glimpsed the ship that rescued the party before blacking out. Things might differ slightly.
No clue on time limit.
The youngest scoured intact-looking ships.
Many had undead inside.
His physical attacks struggled.
So he picked them up and tossed them into space.
Watching zombies scream with mouths agape, arms outstretched, he quietly clasped hands and bowed.
Rest in peace.
Slightly different from memory, but he found a intact Federation ship.
Interior cleanup needed.
Oxygen tanks still good.
So he pried off the outer hatch.
Then chucked every moving corpse into space.
Cleaning took longer than expected; he grew anxious.
Meanwhile, AI gear restored ship power.
Federation tech was top-notch.
Finally, engines hummed.
The long-idle mana reactor rattled, but no need to linger.
He piloted hastily.
Federation controls matched what he knew outside.
Subjective time outside: less than half a year. No forgetting controls.
Maneuvering deftly, melancholy hit.
A rational suspicion bubbled up.
Devout faith couldn't block reason.
His South American Earth slum was like that. Faith comforted, but didn't replace reality.
That's why he loved this place.
Gods were real now.
Former exile? Irrelevant. A god worth relying on was enough.
No need to parrot faith he didn't believe.
It'll be fine. It'll work out. The Lord watches.
No need to soothe young siblings with that.
The outside Lord had loved his siblings too much.
Took them early.
Enemy gangsters' rage-fueled act.
Couldn't even question it. No starting a revolt.
Everyone in that slum probably knew.
No God.
Or the world wouldn't be this way.
So how blessed was a real-god labyrinth.
The real goddess was playful yet solemn, bubbly but dignified.
He'd seen her descend on the leader once.
That daughter-of-a-friend aura had true divine grace.
He'd secretly teared up at that sanctity.
He hadn't joined the gang for fun.
Otherwise, he'd and his family would've died.
Now, no need for anything.
No painful choices.
The goddess lit the path.
She listened to pain, comforted sorrow.
No responsibilities.
No worries.
All per her will.
Even if he was mere labyrinth data fragment?
Then his family's suffering and blood on his hands weren't real.
Even better. Meant he hadn't killed anyone outside.
The goddess even forgave his sins personally.
Salvation beyond measure for a slum gang grunt.
He sailed the ship through darkness.
Finding the target was easy. Only one noisy spot in the quiet.
Rare alone time after so long.
No goddess gaze.
Yet faith strengthened in her brief absence.
Mind cleared. Path visible even in dark.
Following it, he rescued past party members perfectly timed.
As if fated.
The goddess's guidance, surely.
Post-rescue, he saw past self choke out from the lady's strangle.
Saw what he'd missed unconscious: goddess's champion slaying huge black evil.
At that majestic, holy sight, he clasped hands and bowed deeply.
His life dedicated to the Goddess of Chaos.
A life he'd never claimed as his own from the start.
So he offered it without regret.