Chapter 257
Chapter 257
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 257
Chapter Title: Heavenly Realm (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Rokan immediately backed away, preparing for battle.
It was called a Giant Ketopi, but for a mere crawling bug, it was level 399—an astonishing level, far surpassing even the Sandworm known as the Terror of the Desert.
Its skin looked fragile, and it didn’t seem aggressive, but he didn’t let his guard down against an opponent teetering on the edge of High Master, just shy of Grand Master.
He had no idea what beings lurked in the heavens, just as he couldn’t gauge the combat prowess of this seemingly innocuous Giant Ketopi.
‘Should I fight?’
Yet he didn’t make the mistake of striking first recklessly.
According to the system notification, he hadn’t yet ‘saved’ in this heavenly realm. In game terms, that meant he hadn’t reached a save point.
If he died, he’d respawn back on the surface—and have to deal with that godforsaken asteroid field and Misralthorum all over again.
“…….”
Squirm, squirm.
Instead, he maintained a state of readiness, tension coiling through his body as he waited. The Giant Ketopi wriggled for a moment, then abruptly turned and slithered away.
Thinking about it, it made sense. It wasn’t your average maggot, but still—maggots eating meat? Absurd.
Watching for a bit longer, the Giant Ketopi approached a nearby tree and began happily munching on the leaves.
“Phew, not off to an easy start.”
He was confident he could win if it came to a fight, but he had to worry about what came after.
What if the noise drew other monsters? What if they swarmed like those wyverns earlier, or were level 400 and up?
He couldn’t guarantee victory.
Reverting time to return to a safe zone was an option, but miss the timing, and he’d end up back somewhere unsafe.
And if monsters were waiting there? Death would be inevitable.
Rokan swallowed hard and began moving slowly.
Naturally, he kept Stealth active to avoid unnecessary fights, staying vigilant for anything that might pierce it.
‘Exhausting.’
Constant vigilance drained the mind.
The walk to the first village was only about thirty minutes—short, really—but Rokan felt drained in body and spirit.
How long had it been since he’d moved with this level of tension?
A wry chuckle escaped at the sight of himself, once an absolute ruler on the surface, now like this—but he kept his guard up.
[Mad Slime][Lv 367]
[Iron Maul Kobold][Lv 384]
[Sacred Great-Horned Deer][Lv 391]
How could he not stay tense, spotting things like these along the path?
Most surprising was that the one looking like an ordinary deer outclassed even humanoid monsters like the kobold.
A world where appearances meant nothing.
He was reminded once again: this was the heavenly realm.
“Halt right there!”
“……?”
He hadn’t even dropped Stealth yet, but a lizardman guard at the village entrance called out to him.
[Starting Village Guard Rilakkun][Lv 388]
High level aside, guards probably had Detect Stealth as standard. Thinking that, Rokan canceled Stealth. The lizardman guard’s face twisted slightly in displeasure.
[Title Dragon Slayer effect activates.]
[A being with faint dragon blood feels instinctive hostility toward you.]
[Lizardman race initial affinity and reputation decrease.]
‘Damn.’
Was it the lizard connection? He vaguely recalled a lore bit about lizardmen inheriting some ancient dragon blood.
The title’s negative effect on affinity and reputation made Rokan uneasy.
‘Surely I can still enter the village?’
A subtle anxiety sprouted, but thankfully, the bloodline wasn’t strong enough for total rejection.
“You give off a nasty vibe, human. What’s your business here?”
“Mm, I’m Rokan, a human Rage Berserker who just arrived in the heavens. I saw the village and came over.”
“The heavens? Kekeke! A total newbie, huh. Been ages since a human showed up. Rage Berserker? Figures a lunatic joins as a rookie. Fine. You’re allowed in. But cause trouble, and I’ll strip you bare and kick you out—watch yourself!”
The lizardman guard growled a bit but didn’t bar entry.
Probably because of his guard position—he had to let in those who met the conditions.
[You have entered the First Village.]
“So this is a heavenly city.”
The place called the First Village was more ordinary than expected.
Diverse races roamed about—ones he’d only seen as monsters on the surface, plus some entirely new to him—but the village itself was average.
Not too big, not too small: solidly mid-sized.
Shops and stalls lined the streets just like on the surface, bustling with various races like in Taimura.
“First things first, save my soul here?”
Watching them idly, Rokan confirmed no one paid him mind and sought out an inn.
In most games like this, inns were where you saved your return point.
“Want to save your soul? Hmph, got the coins for it?”
His guess hit the mark. At the inn, when he asked the owner about soul storage, the man eyed him up and down and demanded payment upfront.
No idea how much, but at least it was possible.
“How much?”
“Hmm, hmm. Let’s see—first registration, eh? That’ll be 20,000 coins. Follow-ups are 5,000, but first time takes extra work. If you don’t have coins…….”
20,000 coins wasn’t bad. About 2 gold—earnable with a few fights, even in the heavens.
Assuming you survived them, of course.
“Here you go.”
“Huh? First rego, and you’ve got 20,000 coins?”
Rokan paid readily, surprising the innkeeper instead.
A gnome, familiar to Rokan, he widened his small eyes in astonishment.
Without reputation or registration, you couldn’t even exchange surface money for coins—so almost no one paid 20,000 right away for first rego.
“Rolled around Sky Island a fair bit, huh?”
He quickly guessed why. Some exceptions aside, most stopped at Sky Island before the heavens, hunted, saved up spare cash.
Pocketing the coins, the innkeeper handed Rokan a crystal orb. Placing a hand on it stored his soul here—a save medium.
[Your soul has been recorded in the heavens.]
[From now on, upon death, you can respawn in the heavens.]
[Miraculous achievement! You are the first visitor to reach the heavens.]
[Acquired title ‘Celestial’.]
[You are the first to acquire this title.]
[First][Celestial][Epic]
Praise for the first visitor to leave their name in the heavens.
You are the first to acquire this title.
[Effects]
-All stats +50
-Combat power +10% against all surface beings
-Heavenly chosen faction NPCs’ reputation +1 level
The title notification appeared only after soul storage.
He’d been puzzled and a bit flustered by no alert upon first stepping into the heavens. Now it made sense.
Just setting foot wasn’t enough.
You needed to store your soul and qualify for heavenly respawn to be recognized as a true Celestial.
“Chosen faction?”
Scanning the effects, he spotted something odd.
Chosen faction? Factions here too?
‘Wait, before that.’
He was already in the Golden Lion faction—set since race selection. What other chosen faction?
‘Heavenly chosen faction’ suggested another choice here, but the mystery lingered.
“Heh heh, still clueless, eh? Head to the next city first. Plenty of time to figure it out then.”
“……Thanks for the advice.”
Like the man said, he didn’t grasp much yet. If the next city revealed more, no point worrying now.
For now, just learn the heavenly basics and adapt.
“Oh, right—if you wanna head back surface-side, try Rainbow Teleport. Costs a heap of coins, but skips that hellhole. Same for Sky Island.”
“……?”
Rainbow Teleport? An image popped up, but he got the gist.
He held a human duke’s status surface-side, after all. Even in the superior heavens, abandoning everything built was too harsh.
So, probably a teleport circle like for the surface.
Of course, he’d never met or heard of a Celestial active down there—but that made sense too.
As the guard said, ‘newbies’ were rare, meaning Celestials were likely ancient surface vets or those with no surface ties—why blow coins on surface jaunts?
‘Unless for farming.’
If getting wrecked here drove them down for ‘sheep slaughter,’ maybe.
The fact exchange worked meant raking in massive cash via surface mob farms, then returning, was viable.
Rokan had similar thoughts upon hearing about exchange.
With taxes and shop revenue piling up even now, periodic withdrawals, exchange here—plenty of funding leeway.
Nodding like he got it, Rokan left the inn.
‘Nothing useful.’
Obvious next stops.
Weapon and armor shops first.
As expected, nothing beat the Lion King’s gear.
The accessory shop had slightly better items than his, but options shone brightest with synergy.
Objectively superior, but his current setup was solid—no need to swap yet.
“Consumables might differ.”
After several duds, Rokan hit the general store last.
Specialty shops and job guild houses remained, but for ongoing heavenly hunts, stocking consumables mattered most.
“Huh……?”
Stepping inside, Rokan tensed for combat upon seeing the shopkeeper.
An unexpected figure sat there.