Chapter 64
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Chapter 64
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Crossroads and Invitation
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I've thought about this before.
Probably Anonymous (1) said it back then too.
When I said I'd help Anonymous (2) without any strings attached.
He finally remarked that we looked like a proper group and suggested we pick a name.
I dodged the question at the time, claiming the chat room's direction wasn't clear yet.
But one thing was certain: by now, the chat room's direction had solidified to a significant degree.
The reason I was bothering with the Anonymous (4) mask and even dragging in a hero candidate was precisely because of this firm momentum.
The transcendents' group chat.
They believed '0' was a great existence surpassing even transcendents, and that he had gathered them with some intent.
And I—the true identity of '0'—had been glossing over that 'some purpose' with vague responses that left room for interpretation, without ever giving a straight answer.
In the process, I'd gained the transcendents' aid and resolved the troubles coming my way.
And right at this moment, Anonymous (1) had asked '0'.
What is the purpose?
Could I brush it off like last time?
Of course I could. The reason I'd claimed I could smooth things over as '0' was because I'd cultivated an image where silence prompted them to fill in the blanks themselves.
I stepped up decisively only where it mattered, and completely ignored everything else. That survival tactic had kept the concept intact this far.
But I had to think it through too. I couldn't stall forever.
'What is the purpose?'
Yeah, even I'd been letting it slide.
What purpose? I just couldn't manifest a cell phone, so I hid beta manaphones around various regions. The ones who found them all happened to be transcendents. To get info or muscle from them, I played the part of a being beyond even transcendents.
I'd been cornered, but now I needed to think.
Ta-da, thanks for your hard work, beta testers. Truth is, I'm just a regular mage—no lofty transcendent purpose or anything~ How would I handle the fallout?
From that instant, I'd be on the run for life.
From dragon rank transcendents surpassing probe rank, and even sovereign rank above that, brushed off like nothing.
If not the others, definitely Anonymous (1). His attitude flipped the moment he suspected Anonymous (4) of lying.
Of course, I had zero intention of that.
I needed to bring Rosellin here, and keep borrowing their power going forward.
'What could the purpose be?'
To establish a purpose, I first had to examine myself. '0' was me, and the goal I set would be amplified through the '0' mask, hanging like a slogan.
I had no plans to slap up some unrelated purpose just to tidy up the current mess. This chat room was my creation, after all. Worrying if it didn't benefit me was pure indulgence.
Reviewing my current situation: I'd stumbled into becoming a transcendent and drifted from the human world.
Somehow tangled with human transcendents like Joart Merrin, and evil forces like Ard.
Yet I hadn't prepared a thing. Back in Vieirn territory, Father, brother, and sister were waiting, along with ties like Oz and Professor Palrez.
The 'preparations' the chat transcendents mentioned might be exactly this: tying up pre-transcendent relationships.
I'd become a transcendent utterly unprepared, but fortune smiled—I had trait conversion.
Thanks to it, I could hide my transcendent nature and finish those preparations. That was the plan.
But someday that power would surface. Whether by my choice or forced, I'd have to survive it.
Transcendents' power logic was crystal clear. Blunter, even.
Merely restrained by covenant.
And right now, even that covenant was on shaky ground.
In the ensuing chaos, I'd have to claw my way to the origin.
Reach the origin, and without weeks of blood, sweat, and draining mana to craft one manaphone, a mere snap would do it. It'd solve merging into existing manaphones too.
Then, nationwide cell phone rollout.
I'd once trembled in dread, unsure what reaching the origin would do to me. But ultimately, I'd push for the origin—and stretch toward the creation stage beyond. That path lay clearly before me.
In a sense, the chat members were aiding that journey. Transactions, sure, but on my terms.
And I'd keep it that way. No—I had to.
'Apostles?'
If apostles truly mirrored the Sephirot-hero bond as Anonymous (1) described—vessels realizing their lord's purpose—then... these were my apostles.
Whether I was Sephirot's true heir or not. Even if I wasn't the great being they imagined.
They were my apostles.
I'd leveraged their help to pursue my aims so far, and I'd keep doing so.
I choose to press forward, not sidestep.
No easy feat. Rallying transcendents—upper-tier ones, no less.
Variables beyond my current grasp would pop up, so I'd need more intel, more strength.
Still, I'd take that forward step. Align the chat room's purpose with my path.
Are we the ones chosen as your apostles?
No one appended anything after that question.
Everyone was waiting. For what the answer would be.
Perhaps the question itself was an opportunity handed to me. Before they harbored their own doubts and those took root deeper, a chance to set the course.
Yes.
You are already the ones chosen as my apostles.
Precisely speaking, you are invitees.
You have been invited.
The first time Anonymous (1) and Anonymous (2) joined this group chat, I'd casually picked the word 'invitation' from something Anonymous (2) said that sounded impressive, without much thought.
Claiming that bringing them here was indeed an invitation.
The reason I'd hesitated to define a purpose all this time was fear that '0's goal might clash with these transcendents' ideologies.
Discord would follow, and that rift alone would shatter the '0' image.
So I'd emphasized invitation. Shifting focus from selection to invitation.
A word leaving room to refuse anytime. And I could play it off as if I'd anticipated it.
Same went for new members. Not knowing who'd join next was a huge variable, but 'invitation' allowed flexible handling.
Then I'm curious about the purpose for which we were invited.
I remember you saying back then that we might not understand it right away.
I had an answer ready for that too.
The reason I'd said they wouldn't understand: it'd prove itself, a grand goal too nuanced for simple good-evil judgments, overly elaborate.
Creation.
Not even a lie. I would advance toward the creation framework.
As expected, no response—not from purpose-asking Anonymous (2), nor the others who'd been awaiting it.
Lost in thought, no doubt.
Frankly, even I'd react the same. 'Creation' lobbed out there? No easy comeback springs to mind.
Before their deliberations spilled into chaos, I spoke first.
It's natural you can't grasp it right now.
I only told you because you've reached a certain threshold.
Then... nothing changes from now on?
No need for changes. We'll keep transactions going as before.
For starters, no one smashed their manaphone and bailed—a win. Well, no sane person would go nuclear over one word like 'creation.'
Even more heartening: no backlash despite flat-out calling them apostles. Proof I'd built decent rapport.
To navigate future curveballs, I'd need more intel and power...
But defining a purpose wasn't pure downside. Even a lofty goal gains traction once organized.
Consider the forces of evil.
They had 'That One'—likely the absolute-authority wielder Anonymous (1) mentioned.
Frustratingly, they knew of me. Collision loomed inevitable.
If Ard wasn't their sole apostle, but more...
I could counter force with force, not lone wolf style. Just brand them purpose-obstructors.
The justification I'd mulled every '0' utterance? Way simpler now.
And this chat room... a covenant-immune secret cabal. Purpose-sharing anytime, anywhere—raw unifying power.
Had evil forces wielded this tech, they'd be stealthier. Human outfits like Joart's might never sniff them out.
Plus tangible perks: smoother aid requests as Anonymous (4). All under one banner now.
Gaze into your mindscape. Been through the refinement process?
I think I know what it is.
So you skipped that process too.
Insane.
Did you really gobble some legendary elixir?
He says he hasn't taken it yet.
Then one more process to go.
Man, leveling up's a breeze, huh?
Stronger members? Nothing bad about that for us.
I sidelined their banter and tried peering into my mindscape.
As Anonymous (1) predicted, no refinement process—but I had a sense of what it was.
Shoving my consciousness into that enlightenment stage, a floating sensation seeped in.
And at some point, a mirror stood before me.
The mirror reflected me sharply. Etched atop it, a subtle imperfection.
A gaping hole midway up, above the navel. From the black void beyond, an indescribable flow whistled past like wind. As if this were a conduit, things coming and going.
'Is this what they call opening?'
I blinked awake and checked the manaphone.
You're a mage, so likely your heart opened first. Drawing potent mana from there.
Hold up.
What?
I had no choice but to cut off Anonymous (1).
Heart opening? Potent mana?
...
Neither.
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