Chapter 83
Chapter 83
Chapter 83 Just One Human
Originally, Zeus had intended to mess with Han Yeong-min a little.
The being who had stolen his divine authority without permission after seeing the avatar he'd sent to the tutorial.
Throughout conquering the Hell difficulty of the Testing Floors, hadn't he shown shocking behavior, even going so far as to use Zeus's own divine authority for resistance training on the 6th floor?
Being invited as one of the five Constellations was something that should have boosted his self-esteem to some degree, but even that was quite disappointing since he wasn't first.
Even after receiving the invitation, he was paying more attention to the Astrape he was holding rather than Zeus himself sitting on the throne, which naturally made him feel petty.
'He's paying more attention to a weapon than me, the master of Olympus.'
Astrape, the strongest weapon created by the Cyclopes.
It was certainly an artifact that any craftsman would naturally be interested in, but not more than Zeus himself, a Highest-Grade God.
So he had planned to have some fun by throwing him Astrape, which had its own ego and only acknowledged Zeus as its master, but the result was unexpected.
Han Yeong-min was easily gripping Astrape, which mortals couldn't even face without being unable to handle the aftereffects, and was spinning it around in his hand and playing with it as if it were his own.
An artifact that even the other twelve gods of Olympus or even Baal, who was called the strongest Demon King, couldn't carelessly handle.
'Astrape... acknowledged a human?'
Moreover, he wasn't just gripping it, but was properly drawing out the power contained within.
This probably meant that Astrape had acknowledged Han Yeong-min as another master.
It was the first time since the beginning of time, so Zeus couldn't help but be dumbfounded.
Looking at Han Yeong-min, he remembered something he had seen in an ancient document.
—The Primordial Transcendent is the supreme one who makes all things kneel. Any weapon becomes a gentle lamb in his hands.
At the time, he had scoffed at that document.
From Legendary-grade artifacts onward, they only acknowledge one person as master and follow their will, so how could there be a being who could freely handle all weapons?
Records belong to the victors.
Any record inevitably has to exaggerate the abilities or achievements of the ruler of that time, and he naturally thought this was the same.
'Could that actually have been true...?'
And if Han Yeong-min was the successor to that, then this situation made sense.
No, there was no other way to explain this situation except for this possibility.
It was the moment when Han Yeong-min's existence in Zeus's mind was elevated from simply being a joint creation of Earth's God and Baal to the successor of the Primordial Transcendent.
He had to either get him under his control or destroy him.
Without fail.
****
'Why is he acting like that?'
I couldn't understand why Zeus was flustered.
I had simply caught it when he threw it telling me to look at it directly, and I had just tested Astrape's performance as is.
That kind of reaction only comes out when something unexpected happens, so I briefly used my head to roughly analyze why the other party was flustered.
'Don't tell me this guy didn't take any measures and just gave it to me?'
Since I could handle it too easily, I thought Zeus had temporarily released the binding or given it to me after commanding Astrape, but if that wasn't the case, then that reaction made sense.
From Legendary-grade artifacts onward, they require a process called binding and only follow their master's commands.
But this weapon was obediently following my commands even though it serves Zeus as its master.
The reason this was possible was probably due to the Great One effect that exists in Primordial Blood.
It seems that being able to handle artifacts containing transcendent divine authority without penalty doesn't only apply to artifacts without masters, but also applies to those with masters.
When I first saw it, I thought it was an ambiguous effect since I probably wouldn't have much occasion to see Mythic-grade artifacts, but looking at it now, it was an absurdly overpowered ability.
Unless they were transcendents who fight barehanded, most would be handling Mythic-grade artifacts, and doesn't this mean I could dispute ownership the moment their weapons touch me?
'But looking at it now, this guy is pretty shameless.'
So he threw me Astrape thinking I wouldn't be able to catch it?
Since Constellations can't directly harm players without reason, I probably wouldn't have been hurt, but he could have teased me asking why I couldn't catch something he was giving me.
So I decided to innocently do the opposite of what Zeus was trying to do.
'You dare mess with Han Yeong-min, the God of Pranks?'
Then you need to get a taste of your own medicine.
"Huh..? What do you mean... Didn't Zeus-nim take some measures so I could touch Astrape?"
Only then did Zeus nod with an 'oh right' expression and give a hollow laugh.
"...Haha. That's right. Still, it's remarkable for a mortal to handle Astrape to that extent, so I just said it."
He's taking the escape route I created for him quite well.
Then you need to get hit a bit more.
"I thought so! There's no way Zeus-nim would be such a petty person who throws a weapon to a mortal without any measures just because he got sulky that a human showed more interest in a weapon. Hahaha!"
Zeus's expression momentarily twisted, but as if he wasn't the supreme god for nothing, he quickly recovered and laughed heartily along.
"Hahaha! You're good at joking too. I think weapon appreciation is enough for now, so take a seat."
When Zeus snapped his fingers, a luxurious chair appeared in front.
He was acting calmly, but I could feel that his insides were burning quite a bit.
'I shouldn't scratch any more.'
I still wanted to tease him more, but if I did that, we might really become enemies, so I decided to stop here.
As I sat in the seat Zeus had prepared, the Astrape I was holding in my hand suddenly transformed into the appearance of a woman with blonde hair and a sensual smile.
She put her elbow on my shoulder and crossed her arms to embrace me while opening her mouth with a face full of laughter.
"Why, Zeus. I want to play with this guy a little more."
"...Astrape. What do you mean by that?"
Looking at Zeus's reaction, this woman who suddenly appeared must indeed be Astrape's human form.
'Can Mythic-grade artifacts transform into human form too?'
I don't know much related information since I've never heard stories about Mythic-grade artifacts from Estelle or my companions.
I should try it with Necronomicon later too.
It would be disappointing if it can't, but oh well.
"Until now, I thought you were the one who could handle me best, but... this guy is a bit different. I get the feeling that he could draw out everything I have without holding back."
Was she thinking this way because of the many abilities I have related to weapons, such as Primordial Blood, Master Craftsman, and All-Mastery?
Still, it was quite surprising that she thought I could handle her better than Zeus.
"So you're saying you'd choose Han Yeong-min over me?"
Astrape shook her head at that question.
"No. No matter how much a raw gem shines, it's not better than a cut jewel, right? As long as you maintain such an overwhelming appearance, I'll continue to be your woman, Zeus."
That meant if I became a cut jewel, if I could become strong enough to be on par with Zeus, then the story might be different.
Zeus also seemed to sense that from Astrape's words, as his expression had hardened a bit more than before.
"Huu... I understand. I'm planning to have a conversation with Han Yeong-min, so just don't interfere."
"Yes, yes."
Even in human form, Astrape was still lending me power.
As if telling me to try handling her this way, she kept inducing mana, so when I played along a little, I felt my essential understanding of lightning increasing.
—Oh. Not bad? As expected, my eye for people is never wrong, right? This time, try it like this.
Astrape's voice rang in my head.
Since Zeus told her not to interfere, she was talking to me this way.
"Then may I ask what your reason for inviting me is?"
Since I had already reached the Peak of Harmony, splitting my consciousness in half wasn't difficult.
I focused half my consciousness on Astrape and the other half on Zeus as I continued the conversation.
"Well, it's because I want to get you under my control. You said you had no intention of making an Apostle contract, but if we talk directly, your mind might change, right?"
It probably wouldn't happen, but saying so seemed like it would let me hear more.
"That's true. You never know what might happen with people."
"Right. That would be even more so for you, being a Regressor."
Zeus casually dropped a bombshell statement.
But faltering here would be third-rate.
Rather, being confident is first-rate.
"I naturally thought you would know. The fact that I'm a Regressor."
Zeus also laughed as if exasperated by my confident appearance.
He probably intended to gain the upper hand in psychological warfare with this, but it doesn't work on me.
"Haha... I didn't expect you to reveal it so confidently... You really are interesting."
"You probably think of my identity as something like a secret weapon created by Earth's God and Demon God Baal, right?"
Zeus made an expression that he didn't expect me to know that much.
"I never thought you'd bring it up yourself... Did you just decide not to hide anything?"
"If you already know everything anyway, wouldn't it be more convenient for me to just spill it myself? Let's get to the main point."
This way I could also pull the atmosphere to my side.
"I suppose so. Then I'll speak directly. I don't know what Earth's God and Baal promised, but whatever they promised, I'll give you more than that. So become my Apostle."
Zeus's blank check had fallen.
Just to recruit one human.