Chapter 171
Chapter 171
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 170
Chapter Title: Emperor's Title and Dragon's Invitation
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[Emperor...]
Genie watched Jaeyeon walk away, pondering his [Title].
The Steel Temple, imbued with the power of the top-tier god and Game Master Gwandaeha, not only had its inherent functions but also revealed the true nature and malice of whoever's name was inscribed there as a [Title].
[No malice is expected, but it's still strange no matter how you look at it.]
The Steel Temple was one of the ultimate informational authorities that even top-tier gods couldn't deceive. Yet it had a flaw: the [Title] inscribed there was determined by the worldview of the observer.
[Emperor...? Not even an aspiration—he's an Emperor right now? How can a citizen of a three-civilization world have such a title?]
The meaning of "Emperor" varied greatly depending on the worldview.
Typically, an Emperor was the sovereign ruling an empire, so there might be a few per planet, or even over ten in extreme cases. In lower civilizations, anyone could claim the title of Emperor on a whim, right?
But once a civilization reached three civilizations and entered the great universe era, things changed.
In the great universe, where massive warships and cosmic monsters roamed, claiming to be an Emperor required divine power or the strength to overcome divine beings.
In other words, mid-tier god level.
That was the standard for those generally recognized as [Emperors], and now a 25-year-old youth who had just ascended to Transcendent was bearing that title.
[And just plain "Emperor," no fancy embellishments... Is this what it means to be the master's apostle? It's not normal.]
Genie shook her head.
In her view, far off in the distance, a green-haired woman welcomed Jaeyeon.
Her brightly smiling eyes held emotions so vivid that even Genie, the control personality, couldn't miss them.
[No, the one who's truly not normal is over there...]
She turned her gaze to the Steel Temple and found the woman's name. Though hidden from public view, Genie, who shared some of the Game Master's authority, could read it.
[Third Head of the Chromatic Dragon: Flower]
[No matter how I look at it, she seems sincere... Did that Chromatic Dragon fellow split his head and get dementia?]
About 450 years ago.
The dragon race mobilized hundreds, even thousands of dragons to battle their archenemy.
The Three-Legged Crow, Black Banner.
This cosmic monster, said to have existed since the dawn of time, had a massive wingspan nearing 30 kilometers and wielded divinity and authority so immense that its size seemed insignificant by comparison—a beast god.
The monster among monsters that feasted on dragons!
At that time, the Chromatic Dragon led all the dragons of the universe in an assault on the Black Banner. They knew the casualties would be horrific, but the entire dragon race shared the belief that leaving the crow—who devoured dragons whenever it hungered—would doom their future.
The result was success.
They ultimately defeated the Black Banner, but the losses were catastrophic. Most of the dragons who participated perished.
And the Chromatic Dragon who led them...
Had his body torn into five pieces.
It was an injury that should have been fatal. As a near-upper Transcendent with a unique birthright, the Chromatic Dragon possessed immortality, but the foe that inflicted the wound had even greater authority, didn't it?
With aid from other dragons, he avoided death, but afterward, he ceased all public activities. Occasional broadcasts or statements were all that revealed his presence.
[And now he's transformed into a young dragon doing idol activities... even smitten with a human...]
It would be a great universe-level scandal, but of course, Genie had no intention of telling anyone. Keeping secrets was a basic condition of the Steel Temple, and incurring the enmity of the Chromatic Dragon—the highest elder of Noblesse—wouldn't be wise, no matter how powerful 34th Earth's forces were.
[Ah, whatever. Whatever happens, happens.]
With a sigh.
She vanished from sight.
* * *
Lower Transcendents were rare enough that one per planet was fortunate, but across the entire great universe, they were surprisingly common.
More importantly, lower Transcendents had clear limits.
Though divine beings, sufficiently advanced science could counter them. A fleet of space battleships could orbitally bombard them until even a Transcendent perished.
Sure, if one unluckily let it infiltrate a ship, that vessel might be destroyed, but if prepared to face a Transcendent, self-destruct would solve it.
Mid-tier Transcendents were different.
The so-called [Emperor]-class powerhouses were nearly impossible to oppose with science alone. Forming an empire capable of spacefaring wasn't something just anyone could do!
‘In other words, reaching mid-tier Transcendent puts you at the pinnacle even in the great universe.’
Their numbers were so few it went without saying—fewer than ten known Emperor-class powerhouses existed.
‘Martial Emperor. Sword Emperor. Dao Emperor. Archmage Princess. All Master. Chromatic Dragon. Sword Sage... Ah, Color Emperor too.’
Anyway, the key point was.
Three such precious mid-tier gods existed on 34th Earth.
Justice God.
Truth God.
Honor God.
34th Earth's uniqueness stemmed not just from the Game Master but also these three gods.
Humanity on 34th Earth had to be just, truthful.
People from other civilizations asked how they endured such oppression—why not rise up for freedom immediately?—but 34th Earthers just laughed.
[Evil is everyday life, and when you can't even stop it, you package it as freedom?]
Yes, that was 34th Earth's view. Like modern gun debates.
[The state has no right to ban guns!]
[Don't suppress my right to bear arms!]
[The state is stripping me of my power to protect myself!]
Sure, those arguments held water in principle.
But if someone from a gun-banned nation traveled abroad and saw guns firing on the roadside—even people getting shot...
They'd naturally realize.
That kind of "freedom" was better off not existing.
The three gods undoubtedly oppressed 34th Earth's humans harshly... but people lived comfortably adapted to that oppression.
"What are you thinking about so deeply?"
That's when Flower spoke up. Having finally finished all the paperwork required for ascending as a Transcendent, I turned to her—she'd helped with every step.
"Someone kept staring at me."
"Ah! N-No, it wasn't that much...!"
"......?"
Her inexplicable words made me tilt my head, and Flower's face flushed red.
"N-No, it's nothing... So, who was watching you?"
[Honor God is watching you.]
The text appeared again. I said.
"The Honor God."
"Ah! Now that you mention it, yeah. As soon as I came to Earth, I felt watched too!"
I smiled faintly at her raised voice and asked.
"Do you serve the Honor God by any chance?"
"Ah, yes! I accepted out of curiosity. Turns out it's different from Justice God or Truth God."
Fair point. Becoming a priest of Justice or Truth God made quitting extremely difficult, whereas Honor God's priests had loose enough bonds to leave anytime.
"Are the abilities useful?"
"They're cheat-level. But since I'm an Archmage with plenty of money, they're not that meaningful to me..."
Priests of Justice God gained Justice Weapons—weapons that rivaled top-grade magic tools depending on usage.
Truth God priests wielded Veridical Force—words that manifested reality or greatly increased the odds, nearly rivaling Dragon Words.
Honor God priests gained...
‘Self-recovery and material creation.’
Self-recovery was useless to me, already near-immortal... but material creation was different.
It might even allow passing modern tech to Ardania.
[Honor God is watching you.]
"No... why does it feel so pushy?"
"Hehe. If you're not deciding now, just say you'll seek honor when you want it."
"Oh, really?"
An overly kind god.
"I'll request honor when I desire it."
[Honor God's gaze withdraws.]
"Does it really leave or not...?"
I'd erased my trash mana affinity for mana sensing, but even so, I couldn't detect a mid-tier god's gaze. I could only hope the text was honest.
"By the way, Jaeyeon. You said you'd treat me to dinner once the contest royalties came in, but why no contact? They arrived!"
"Ah, dinner..."
Come to think of it, she had said that.
‘Wasn't it just a casual pleasantry?’
But I wasn't fool enough to say that to her face.
"Haha! I've been busy... and I'm hungry anyway. Want to grab dinner?"
It was evening—actually night. Dinner with her then back to my studio would be perfect.
Of course, issues remained.
‘Gotta go somewhere expensive, right? As a Transcendent...’
Obviously, I wouldn't know such places. I hadn't eaten convenience store meals on Earth in ages.
Too stingy with money.
"Got a place in mind?"
I froze at Flower's pinpoint question.
Had to admit it.
"Nope. Stuck at home daily... Sorry."
Pitiful, but I couldn't name just any restaurant. Strangely, Flower didn't seem offended.
Instead, with an anxious expression, she said.
"Um, then... want to eat at my place?"
"......Pardon?"
"I-It's right nearby! Super close!"
"......"
My mouth hung open for a moment. Then I thought.
Her attitude toward me so far. Help. Gifts. Expressions. Skinship.
The signs had been obvious. No matter how dense, I couldn't miss this.
Yet I'd never considered it until now. Naturally.
‘No way... it doesn't make sense.’
Sure, history had precedents, and it was happening somewhere in the great universe right now... but that was for lower-civ dragons living centuries with humans.
Since Dragonians gathered on Dragonia planet after the great universe era, human-dragon pairings were exceedingly rare.
How could they pair when dragons viewed humans like cute dogs or cats?
"Um, do you hate it?"
Flower's large green eyes trembled with anxiety. Amid my confusion, I calmly replied.
"No. Why would I?"
I sorted my thoughts.
‘Nothing bad about it.’
Yes, truly nothing bad. Was she after my wealth or fame? Even as a Transcendent... she was a dragon.
Not just any dragon.
"Let's go."
"Ah, yes......"
I walked calmly with her. Soon, she reached out and interlaced our fingers.
‘But... is this real?’
We arrived at a luxury building. I'd half-expected other F·D members, but it seemed a solo dorm.
‘This is really happening...?’
Click.
The door shut.
"......"
"......"
We stared silently. The same expression another woman named Flower had given me recently.
No intention of making dinner in this atmosphere.
‘Ah.’
And in that mood.
‘I don't know anymore.’
I pulled her close. Our lips met, clothes fell to the floor. Her tall, curvaceous figure, green body hair caught my eye.
More beautiful than any woman I'd seen.
And just then---.
Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang at the entrance.
"Ignore it."
Flower's firm words.
But.
Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
It rang madly. Flower gestured.
Flash!
I felt space isolate. Absurdly, ultimate magic at this moment!
"Hurry...!"
Her urgent voice. And then.
Boom!
"......"
The isolated space shook. Even with her ultimate magic, this meant the outsider wielded power beyond it.
"Flower? What the—"
Kaboom!
The barrier shattered, door exploded!
"Flower! Stop!"
Beyond the wrecked entrance, a black-haired man appeared.
Was it even black hair?
"Who are you...?"
Tall, with long black hair cascading to his waist—a handsome man. His grave, heavy aura made his black hair ripple like shadows under dim sunlight, glimpses of countless stars and galaxies flickering beyond the darkness.
Far too transcendent for a human.
"Manager oppa...! What are you doing!?"
‘No, she has a manager? And he's a Transcendent too...?’
Whether I was stunned or not, Flower conjured clothes with magic and dressed. The man growled.
"What am I doing? Are you insane? You! You were about to, weren't you?"
"What does it matter to you!"
"Of course it does! You're too young! Forgot what you were told before leaving Dragonia!?"
They yelled, arguing fiercely.
‘Young? Too young? What’s that about?’
As I wondered.
[Combat police! Hands up!]
A booming shout, dozens of Gigases appearing beyond the broken wall.
In other civilizations, mortals meddling in Transcendent affairs would've been crushed... but this was 34th Earth.
"Aw, hell."
The situation was a total mess.