What Is That?

"What is that?"

"......A player, I'd guess?"

"Looks human to me. No — a demon?"

"There's none of that gloomy aura demons always give off. I think it's human."

"What's a human doing here?"

"Our kind aren't the only ones in the Heavenly Realm."

"That's not what I meant...... Look at what he's doing. He's tearing the flowers out with his bare hands. How is that even possible?"

"How should I know?"

What the moderate celestials had stumbled upon was none other than Yujun. He was harvesting the flowers at a terrifying pace, sprinting the whole while and yet not missing a single one — so thoroughly, in fact, that it would have been fair to call him a master of the craft.

"Shouldn't we ask ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠him?"

"Ask him what?"

"He's breaking the rules the System laid down and wrecking the garden."

"I'm curious, sure. Think he'll actually tell us?"

"And if he doesn't? He's only a human. We threaten him."

"True...... But what if he doesn't listen?"

"Then we kill him. Simple as that."

Unfortunately for them, they failed to recognize Yujun. Any celestial of decent standing might well have known him on sight, for he had grown into a player so overwhelmingly strong that "rising prodigy" no longer suited him at all. The trouble was that he had gilded every piece of his armor gold. The color was gaudy, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the harsh sunlight struck it so fiercely that it was difficult to look at him with open eyes. They could tell he was human, but his identity escaped them entirely.

The four celestials strode right up to him.

"Hey!"

"Hey?"

Yujun stopped dead. He had sensed them, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but he hadn't expected them to walk up this brazenly.

"Human. How are you able to lay a hand on the garden's flowers?"

"Tell us the method."

They clung to their bullying tone. Even up close, they still didn't recognize him as Yujun. Humans — East Asians in particular — apparently all looked much the same to them, so nothing about his face struck them as odd.

"You talking to me?"

"Is there another human here besides you?"

"Ah. So it was me you were asking."

Yujun drew his sword, and the celestials took two steps back.

"What do you think you're doing? Drawing a weapon?"

"Put it away. We've no desire to fight."

"Weren't you just saying you'd kill me if it came to that? Unbelievable."

"......"

All four froze at once. He had heard every word they'd spoken from a distance? They hadn't even raised their voices — it had been little more than a whisper.

"Harp. These are the sort who deserve to die, aren't they?"

"Yes! They said bad things to Dad! They're bad people! Please punish them!"

With Harp's agreement, Yujun smiled in satisfaction and swung.

Shhk!

The four moderate celestials never saw him move. Their heads hit the ground before their minds could register what had happened — a pathetic end for celestials past level 600.

"Huh."

For all their swagger, they had been absurdly weak. They had looked confident enough that he had expected at least some resistance, and he hadn't even swung with his full strength. He had moved lightly, as if this were nothing more than a spar.

Is it this sword?

The Planet Destroyer's Sword — an item bound to a level requirement of 800, with power enough to shake heaven and earth. Honestly, even if the Stone of Omnipotence's options had not been applied at all, he still would have used it. Its attack power alone exceeded eighty-nine million.

The options, of course, could not be ignored either. All stats up 240 percent, Strength up 560 percent, Magic up 120 percent, and every Trait's effect raised to its maximum. If he considered how drastically that would amplify his Genius trait and his Swordsmanship, the resulting synergy was beyond words.

How in the world did No-Pay Casual Gamer get this sword?

Reinforcing it with a Transcendent Stone and a Stone of Omnipotence was what had given it such broken options, but even before that it had been an outstanding item.

Which means No-Pay Casual Gamer is at least level 800.

What worried him was that synchronization had already reached 112 percent. Even assuming 150 percent was the ceiling, he had no sense of how much better the items still to come might be. A faint unease was beginning to creep in.

No-Pay Casual Gamer won't turn into an enemy, will he? I raised him. He owes me that much.

He had raised the character all the way to the level-500 cap. Surely it wouldn't stab him in the back. Even beasts like dogs and wolves understood the debt of being born and raised; a game character could hardly fail to grasp it.

Stealing his items does weigh on me a little, though......

It was not a little. Ever since the Planet Destroyer's Sword had come through, the anxiety had been constant.

If someone took my items, I wouldn't let them walk away either.

Yujun kept at his work and ran into several groups of celestials along the way, and they tried to attack him outright. His vandalism of the Golden Flower Garden was simply too conspicuous to ignore. Behind him stretched nothing but open wasteland; where the golden flowers had been, only black soil remained. It was a sight rarely seen in the Golden Flower Garden, and word seemed to be spreading. The number of celestials swarming him grew exponentially, and the clamor around him swelled until he frowned.

Too many.

This was bad. A Golden Goblin would never show itself where this many players had gathered. Far from appearing, the crowd would drive off any goblin that was already here.

"That's Shin Yujun, isn't it?"

"His gear's changed. It's gold now."

"Is he picking those flowers to plate his items? Is that why?"

"Hardly. He's just gilding his equipment while he's at it collecting gold."

Not everyone attacked him. Those who recognized him refused to get involved at all. After a few fools charged in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and lost their lives in an instant, no one else approached. They did, however, tail him stubbornly from a set distance, and that was what had begun to grate on his nerves.

At this rate I won't catch a Golden Goblin, and harvesting the golden flowers is likely to suffer too.

Yujun made a decision. He would clear out every player who had gathered around him.

Moderate or hardline — that isn't what matters right now.

Having taken a commission from the hardliners, it would have been wiser not to touch their celestials, but this was no situation in which he could afford to be picky. He poured mana into his sword.

No need to go as far as Chaos.

His own caliber had risen considerably. He no longer needed to borrow Chaos to overcome a gap in standing, and the power of Weapon Earthquake unleashed through the Planet Destroyer's Sword required no explanation.

Thud!

Grrrnnn.

Golden flowers not yet harvested shuddered violently in the shock. The quicker celestials still standing on the ground spread their wings in a panic, but they were too late. The wave from Yujun's Weapon Earthquake gave them no time to react or flee.

"Guh!"

"Khak!"

Struck from within, the celestials dropped to their knees or collapsed unconscious. More precisely, they died. Not a single celestial who had kept their feet on the ground survived. Only those who had been chasing Yujun with their wings already spread lived through it, and there were not many of them — thirty, at a rough guess.

"I-insane......"

"What was that just now? What happened......"

"I think they're all dead?"

"There were easily over a hundred, weren't there?"

"There were. Five seconds ago."

"......"

"Shin Yujun's doing, right?"

"It's his ability. I've seen it before, so I know."

"Was it like this last time too?"

"Yes."

The celestials lucky enough to survive let out sighs of relief. A little closer, and they would have lost their qualification for the event without accomplishing a thing.

Then Yujun charged them. He could cast flight magic, so putting distance between them did the celestials no good.

Shhk!

Two heads came off. Only then did the celestials scatter in blind panic, every last one of them.

"Should've done this from the start."

With the nuisances cleared away, Yujun glanced at his party window. Fortunately, every one of his companions was still alive. Manuela appeared, slipping a transparent ring from her finger.

"Done?"

"Yeah."

"Do you still have items left to store the golden flowers in?"

"Plenty."

"Even after stuffing that many away?"

"Worst case, I can put them in potion bottles. Don't worry about it."

"I really want to see what's in your inventory. I'm dying of curiosity."

"Not happening. My inventory might as well be my entire life."

Even Yujun would have had to burn a full day if he wanted to go through it piece by piece. That was how many items he had, and how varied they were. It was not only equipment, so he had containers to spare for the golden flowers.

Just then a message arrived from Do Jiyun, telling him to check the video orb. Yujun tilted his head and drew the orb from his inventory. Once a flow of mana confirmed the connection, he spoke.

"What is it?"

"A player says they've found a Golden Goblin."

"Ah. Are they sure?"

"Yes."

"Do you believe them, Do Jiyun?"

"Honestly, it's fifty-fifty."

"As high as half?"

"Besides that one, dozens of other players said they spotted a Golden Goblin nearby."

"So it's definitely in the area. But if that many people found it, how has no one caught it yet?"

"They say the Golden Goblin is strong beyond imagination. So they're recruiting party members for a raid."

"How strong are we talking?"

"One of the Four Archangels went after it personally and still had to retreat badly wounded."

"He fought it alone?"

"Yes. He tried to hunt it solo and got thoroughly thrashed. Nearly two hundred celestials have gathered now."

"All that for one Golden Goblin?"

"There's contribution to consider, so no one feels the need to go after it alone. Even in numbers, the goblin is strong enough that catching it is a maybe. Anyone stubborn enough to try on their own is already dead."

"Have you joined them, Do Jiyun?"

"I'm still thinking about it. I contacted you because I need you to make the call. You'll come over once you find a Golden Goblin anyway."

"Right."

"What should we do?"

Yujun answered without hesitation.

"Join them."

"Understood."

"And they'll let a human in?"

"I doubt they're in any position to be picky. They'd borrow a cat's paw if one were offered."

"Fair enough...... All right. Message me when you find the Golden Goblin, and I'll call Paranet and head over at once."

"Okay."

With that, the video orb cut out.

"If we find the Golden Goblin, we won't be able to get any more golden flowers."

At Manuela's words, Yujun smiled.

"Not necessarily."

"Hm?"

"We kidnap it and seal it inside a sealing orb."

"......"

"Then we keep harvesting golden flowers, no one else can find the Golden Goblin no matter how hard they look, and the event never ends."

Manuela's face went pale.

"......You're a demon."

"A demon? Still better than a Demon God Worshipper."

Yujun smiled, thoroughly pleased.