Chapter 22
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Interlude: Oracle of Delphi
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“Hmm……”
Just moments ago, I had been heading to the bakery to watch Historie munch away at a chocolate bun, crumbs falling onto her knowledge pouch.
And then, suddenly, my vision flipped completely.
The bustling scenery of the imperial capital vanished without a trace.
What I saw now was a barren landscape, as if filtered through thick gray fog.
Grasslands stripped entirely of green, trees bare and withered without a single leaf, and crumbling structures that resembled ruins.
What the hell?
This backdrop looked like it could turn into Nuka-Cola with just a splash of color.
It felt like any second now, some narrator would pop up, whisper, “But not as horrific as the settlers tormented by raiders here,” and ping the map.
The scene was that surreal, enough to leave anyone flustered.
But surprisingly, I felt psychologically calm.
Probably thanks to Hector's Courage, the skill that keeps me composed no matter the situation.
There's an old saying: even if you're dragged into a tiger's den, keep your wits and you'll live.
Still, one regretful thing.
I should've kept that nurungi horn scale on me.
No way to use it right now, and since it was a gift, I didn't want to toss it carelessly, so I'd zipped it up and stashed it in the freezer. That felt like a waste now.
From next time, I'll carry it around.
Maybe even make it into a necklace.
Next time... there'll be one, right?
To reassure myself,
I reached into my pocket, pulled out the die, and rolled it.
Luckily, I hadn't used it today.
Should give me a decent peek at my future.
My resolution: survive and escape this place.
I checked the die's result.
“Not bad.”
A 5 wasn't a great fortune, but it was no misfortune either.
With a more relaxed mind, I surveyed my surroundings and started walking.
.
.
.
Starting from my entry point into this unfamiliar space, I circled around widely to scout the environment.
The result: endless gray desolation.
No signs of life anywhere.
This place was almost certainly the Demon Realm.
There had been a rift nearby before the spatial transfer sucked me in, so yeah.
I hadn't even touched the rift, but just getting close had pulled me in like this.
So I picked up a sturdy gray branch from the scattered debris and gripped it tight.
Though I'd used up Heracles' Staff Technique in skill synthesis, leaving it gone,
I'd internalized the ideal swing paths plenty—practicing in real fights back then and swinging it casually for exercise since.
Even without the skill,
if I returned to Earth like this, I could probably conquer pro baseball as a home-run genius.
Though I'd skip the Giants.
Even Ohtani couldn't save that team.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
To add a bit of tension to my body, I practiced home-run swings while gradually expanding my patrol range.
And finally.
“—!”
“Ugh.”
A black, bear-like figure that screamed hostility toward humans burst into view.
The secret recipe for handling bears:
First: Maintain a threatening posture and slowly back away.
“—!”
“Ah, shit.”
Failure.
Like it was dead set on ripping me to shreds, the bear roared thunderously and charged.
I'm screwed.
No escape angle.
No one to tank it for me.
So...
“Haaah!”
Calmly, I aimed for the charging bear's head
and slammed the club down vertically with all my might.
In that instant,
a vitality I'd never felt before surged through me—strength, muscles twitching to life.
It felt like I could tear the bear apart barehanded, club be damned.
And then.
“────!!!”
No impact feedback, but the bear's head that had been lunging to devour me smeared into formless mush.
The headless body didn't tumble or roll.
It just melted away as if it had never existed,
and
“Ugh.”
the overflowing vitality drained from my body.
I'd felt this phenomenon before.
Exactly like the first time I tested Heracles' Staff Technique on those thug friends.
[...No matter the foe, when facing them one-on-one, you shall unleash prowess transcending your maximum potential.]
“I worship you, Hector……”
Engraving a vow to do three intense sessions daily if I escaped, I walked on, and on.
Until I reached somewhere that looked a bit safer.
.
.
.
“Agh, shit……”
I rolled like a dog.
Thankfully, no mythic monsters like the Hydra or Talos that Serephin mentioned.
But beasts of all kinds, even some humanoid ones, kept popping out to attack me.
No injuries, but my muscles screamed in pain.
Still...
Good thing I'd been working out lately.
Pulled out the indoor bike I'd been using as a clothes rack, endured Historie's glaring side-eye while building leg strength, grunted through dumbbells, did push-ups.
Morning jogs every day, occasional dawn runs to boost stamina—it was paying off.
“—!”
“Ah, shit. You startled me.”
I cracked open the head of the wolf-like shadow lunging at me.
And what I definitely felt was:
Hector's Courage was a highly variable skill.
Against the bear, strong enough to beat the bear.
Against the wolf, strong enough to beat the wolf.
Perfectly scaled to the level, my body powering up accordingly.
And it didn't amp up outside 1v1s.
Earlier, chased by two wolves, I really thought I was done.
Anyway.
After trials and tribulations, I started getting used to the Demon Realm bit by bit.
And at last.
“Oh.”
Some promising ruins caught my eye.
No ancient robot or mimic inside, hopefully.
Even if there was...
My stamina was hitting limits.
My trusty branch club was about to snap,
and I hadn't farmed a replacement weapon.
So.
Time to hole up there, observe the surroundings.
Stepping crunch-crunch into the ruins, which oddly evoked Greek architecture,
[Ἀπόλλων]
a stone stele engraved with Greek letters appeared, proving my guess.
Too bad my major was Eastern History, not Western, so Greek wasn't in my nine-language list—I couldn't read it.
Latin, and I'd have nailed it. Tsk.
Drooling over shattered statues that screamed archaeological value, I ventured deeper.
“A person...?”
Atop a collapsed throne, amid the gray world, sat a handsome blond man—the only one retaining color and light.
His closed eyes opened,
“Τραγουδήστε την τέχνη.”
“……”
with a radiant smile like Golden Sun.
He fired incomprehensible alien tongue at me.
Seeing my confusion,
“O one imbued with faithful human will. Sing forgotten memories as art, and the sun shall rise anew.”
Golden Sun whispered softly in archaic tones, words hard to grasp.
As I opened my mouth to reply,
his form dissolved in brilliant light.
What?
Hallucination?
Blinking,
“Huh...?”
From where he'd vanished, light began to spread.
And then.
White, brown, teal, blue.
Colors lost to the world started dyeing the landscape, bit by bit.
On the path to the great rift, heading back to the imperial capital from the Demon Realm.
“—!”
“────!”
“Thought I'd cleared them all……”
A few unprocessed demonic beasts still roamed, so he swung his sword repeatedly, slicing them down,
and ran endlessly.
.
.
.
Serephin had been sprinting at full speed for over two hours,
but
“Huh...?”
he couldn't help stopping in his tracks.
Doubt clouded Serephin's eyes.
Not far from the great rift.
The site tactically dubbed 'ruins,' where he'd slain a massive serpent that countered every attack as if prescient.
Upon arrival, expecting the same gray Demon Realm vista,
his eyes beheld not gray, but a picturesque landscape tinged with natural colors.
Wondering if he'd unwittingly passed through the rift, he glanced back—still gray Demon Realm behind him.
In over three years roaming the Demon Realm, this was a first.
Mesmerized, Serephin trudged toward the ruins' heart.
And there,
at the vibrant center.
“Whoa! Hero! It's the Hero...!”
Serephin
met Kim Yul, greeting him with utmost delight.