Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Paradise of the 34th Earth
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Among the countless civilizations scattered across the greater universe, Earth stands out as a particularly peculiar case.
Originally, Earth was just another fringe planet lost in the vast cosmos.
But then it got swept up in an incident involving Asura—known as the dark side of the Creator God—and various cosmic entities... and everything changed completely.
The root of the incident was Syndroid, the seed of the world that cycles through reincarnations to prepare for the universe's destruction. To prevent such a thing from happening again, Cain—the Flame Dragon God, one of the most powerful supreme deities renowned for his magic—came up with an unimaginable solution.
He copied the entire solar system containing Earth and scattered the duplicates across the greater universe!
Not just one or two, but a full hundred planetary systems!
That's how Earths numbered from 1 to 100 came to exist throughout the cosmos.
'Insane. Even for a supreme deity, how is something like that possible...?'
Fortunately or unfortunately, this "copying" didn't create perfectly identical Earths.
Some Earths had already surpassed three civilizations and were roaming the stars, while others were still stuck in ancient times. Some Earths were home to sub-races like elves and dwarves, while others had only humans.
Some Earths had no superhumans at all, let alone any concept of superpowers. And some...
'Almost every human is a superhuman.'
Our 34th Earth is the wealthiest, strongest, and most peaceful among the hundred.
Especially around fifty years ago, when it was teeming with "elders," the entire universe was rocked by the 34th Earth's rise.
Back then, the 34th Earth was so terrifying that even the space pirates [Basara]—whom the universe's greatest power, the [Union], couldn't easily handle—were crushed by mercenaries from the 34th Earth, their forces halved or worse.
Of course, time passed, and many elders died, moved to other civilizations, or left for the Steel Realm, the dimension ruled by the Game Master. Even so, the immense wealth and resources they amassed remain accumulated on the 34th Earth.
And that's not all.
The 34th Earth is protected by the universe's one and only supreme god: the [Game Master]. There are also guardian deities watching over and protecting humanity: the God of Justice, the God of Truth, and the God of Honor.
'No wonder people from other Earths and civilizations are desperate to immigrate here.'
The 34th Earth is safe.
The 34th Earth is peaceful.
The 34th Earth is fair.
But even the 34th Earth—envied by outsiders as the [Game God's Paradise]—is not without its shadows.
"......Hoo."
He awoke between rocks, clad in full mithril armor. A chill northern wind made his body shudder.
It was mild autumn now, so this was nothing. Come winter, temperatures would plunge to minus thirty degrees.
"Wow, I actually slept like this."
His mouth wasn't even numb, and frostbite seemed unlikely despite the harsh conditions. His condition was only slightly off—otherwise, he felt fine. In fact, the rare sleep had cleared his mind.
He was reaping the full benefits of his reinforced body.
Crunch! Clank!
After a light stretch to loosen up, he headed toward the center of the dragon vein.
And as he did, he reflected.
Before entering Ardenia, Earth had been hell for him. Nowhere welcomed him. He had been nothing but worthless human trash.
But now he knew. The 34th Earth was plenty deserving of the paradise label.
A world without extreme evil.
The problem was...
That paradise had stagnated completely.
"Why... me?"
The 34th Earth was a rigidly stratified society with almost no social mobility. The divide between native families who served the elders and immigrants who didn't had long passed the point of no return.
Abundant welfare policies and near-perfect public safety made it hard to feel, but in the end, he was just another ant crushed at the bottom of the pyramid. Even being at the bottom and still finding life livable was what made the 34th Earth a paradise—but human value and happiness are inherently relative.
Simply scraping by didn't change the worth he held on the 34th Earth.
'And yet, to someone like me.'
A power that defied the laws of physics and transcended psyrenics.
Something akin to creating an entire world.
How could such an absurd level of authority be granted to him?
"The only thing that comes to mind is the Game Master."
Anyone overhearing would scoff and call it ridiculous, but he couldn't think otherwise.
After all, wasn't it a game?
Even in the vast greater universe, few beings could pull off something this massive.
'But.'
Even so, the doubts lingered.
Why him, of all people?
And why...
This package-game-like ability of all things?
Lost in fruitless rumination, he reached the center of the dragon vein. Stealth worked flawlessly—no goblin spotted him.
Not even the regular ones.
Red Tusked Goblin Shaman (Elite).
Red Tusked Goblin Warrior (Elite).
Red Tusked Goblin Ranger (Elite).
Beyond the elite goblins emerging near the dungeon, a pillar of light came into view.
'That's... the Goblin Dungeon.'
[Red Tusked Goblin Fortress (Common~Rare)]
Even from a distance, the dungeon was crystal clear—the entire dragon vein had been flattened like dough rolled out flat.
The pillar of light in the center looked like a chopstick stabbed into a tray.
Swish.
He climbed a nearby dead tree and hid. Thanks to mid-tier stealth, neither the goblin shamans nor rangers noticed him.
'So that's a dungeon in its unclaimed state.'
Neutral dungeon.
One not yet conquered and "territorialized" by anyone.
Revenge, now in its tenth year of service, had only one neutral dungeon left, they said.
[The Nest of the Specter Dragon], located at Cheonwon.
In contrast, Ardenia had no owners for any of its dungeons.
First come, first served.
Rumble!
At that moment, goblins poured out of the dungeon.
He counted them in batches of hundreds while estimating and checking the time.
Year 0000, January 24, 11:30.
And roughly twelve hundred goblins.
Ardenia was in beta—many features locked, no quests, no events.
Even the calendar started from the system's descent: 0000 January 1, 00:00.
Considering Ardenia was just heading into autumn, it was barely useful as a calendar.
But at least...
'This clock is the most accurate way to tell time in the medieval lands.'
The displayed time might not match reality, but it ticked precisely. Comparing kill times to respawn times would reveal respawn intervals.
'Six hours exactly. That's how long it takes for regular monsters to revive.'
Shorter than expected, but with respawns fixed at the dragon vein's center dungeon, killing goblins on the outskirts or spirit veins would delay their return significantly.
[Namgung Ilgeom has acquired the Ring of Dark Protection (Rare) from the Tomb of the Dead!]
'Oh. Dark Ring. Name suggests an Empire guy... Where's the Tomb of the Dead?'
Protection rings were rare gear with simple functions. For example, the one Namgung Ilgeom snagged would have specs like this.
[Ring of Dark Protection (Rare)]
Dark Resistance +45%
Revenge had monsters tied to specific elements, and protection rings were essential for tackling them.
Maxing a ring at +9 pushed resistance to 90%, making those monsters a breeze, apparently.
It wasn't urgent, so he just noted it mentally and moved on—
"Sob sob sob... Th-this is b-bad... H-hey... Th-these... letters..."
"!?"
A faint voice from somewhere startled him into scanning the surroundings. Now that he looked, a village sat at the dragon vein's end.
Far enough from the vein to survive the dungeon's ground upheaval unscathed.
Pop!
He vaulted the log fence lightly and scouted the village. Passing goblin-patrolled homes, he found the voices' owners inside one.
"Sob sob sob... S-sis, I'm scared..."
"Don't cry, Windy. Dad will come save us. Dad will..."
He kept hidden and checked every building in the village.
Incredibly, women were imprisoned in all of them. The goblins had apparently kidnapped and gathered them.
'No major wounds on any of them. Terrified out of their minds, but... at least not livestock.'
Makes sense—if they were food, no reason to take only women.
But if not food?
Their [use] was all too obvious.
'Got to hurry.'
Hundreds at a glance—impossible to rescue solo. Just killing surrounding goblins wouldn't solve it.
Maintaining stealth, he surveyed the dragon vein's perimeter.
Vast enough that scouting should be tough normally, but the dungeon had flattened everything, so high ground gave a full view.
'Downside: enemies spot me easily too.'
Without stealth, scouting the dungeon would be impossible, he thought as he slowly exited the vein.
'Got the troop deployments mapped... Good, this should suffice.'
Once at a safe distance, he summoned Sting.
[Ironclad Rhino Sting (Rare) has been summoned!]
"Human!? Huh? A human?"
"When did a human get here?"
"Why from behind?"
Ignoring the goblins' shrieks, he leaped onto Sting's back.
"Catch him, catch him!"
"Steel monster with a steel human on it! Grab 'em!"
"Yeah! Why just stand there?"
'Summoning a pet breaks stealth.'
But it didn't matter—he slapped Sting's back. Sting kicked off the ground eagerly.
Boom boom boom!
He and Sting barreled straight through, smashing and trampling blocking goblins. They tried forming encirclements but failed.
Numbers fell short.
'Even with respawns, there's a limit!'
His troops roamed the vein battling goblins, and he'd massacred thousands himself. Three hours of nap or not...
After running awhile like that.
"Grrr!"
When Sting tired and slowed...
[Famed Steed Gale (Elite) has been summoned!]
He switched to the elite mount and kept going.
Three straight hours later.
"My lord!"
"You've arrived!"
"That's a new steed..."
He approached his welcoming subordinates and dismounted.
"Any issues?"
"Smooth sailing, my lord. Three more battles fought, no casualties."
"Some units hit level 21 as instructed. Stats allocated per your orders."
"Leveling paces vary."
A fleeting doubt crossed his mind, but variation made sense. Same battles, but one kills three goblins, another ten.
"Emphasize discipline more. Raising levels through valor is key, but never forget war's essence."
Fighting well mattered, but brawling allies for extra XP turned winnable fights into losses.
"Yes, my lord."
"Good. Keep it up."
He dumped loot from goblin massacres onto the ground from his inventory, then headed to his personal carriage.
"Don't wake me till I wake."
Too sleepy. Too exhausted.