Chapter 265
Chapter 265
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 265
Chapter Title: Red Axe Drokshi (4)
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“What do you mean by that power? Do you know something about this ability?”
“Of course I do…… No, wait, how…….”
“That’s not important. How do you know him? You’re talking about the ‘Lion King,’ right?”
Nod.
Drokshi nodded affirmatively, his eyes still filled with confusion.
My God, the Lion King. Was he in this heavenly realm too?
It was entirely possible for someone who had already reached the Grand Master realm, but it was surprising that he was using the same power after abandoning all his divine equipment.
“There’s no way I wouldn’t know, yo. The Lion King Gaokan is someone almost no one in the heavenly or demon realms hasn’t heard of, yo.”
“What about Gale? Do you know his whereabouts by any chance?”
“Gale?”
Rokan, having grasped the situation, mentioned another person’s alias, but Drokshi looked clueless.
If he at least knew the name properly, he could try asking around, but all the info on Gale was just his tracks.
[Gale’s Footsteps][Quest]
Having found all of Gale’s traces, you are qualified to follow in his footsteps.
Find Gale’s footsteps and seek him out.
He will gladly welcome you if you’ve surpassed his achievements.
-Wings Acquired (Complete)
-Heavenly Cannon Crafted (Complete)
-Entry to the Heavens (Complete)
-Conversation with Gale 0/1
But Rokan had no doubt that he was somewhere in this place. Wasn’t the quest to follow his footsteps pointing right here to the heavenly realm?
He didn’t know what would happen once they talked, but since it was a quest that had dragged him all the way here with such difficulty, he wanted to meet him at least once.
‘We could have a spar.’
He was probably at least a Grand Master, but it would be even better if they could have a duel.
“I see.”
Calming himself a bit, Rokan pressed Drokshi for info on the Lion King first.
He wondered if the Lion King had joined the heavenly realm’s faction, but that wasn’t the case.
Of course, both the heavenly and demon realms had tried to recruit him, but Gaokan had flatly refused.
The reason was so typical of him.
“To fight both the celestials and demons? Man…….”
Rokan found it absurd yet understandable. Wouldn’t he make the same choice himself?
He could already replace celestial or demon wings with Gale’s wings.
That resolved the tangled mess of worries about joining the heavenly or demon realms—like cutting through a knot.
“So, can I meet the Lion King?”
“That’s naturally difficult, yo. He doesn’t have a fixed base of operations, and you can’t just meet a transcendent like him casually.”
“I see. Let’s head back for now.”
Rokan turned around with a smirk.
The ant cave was already perfectly cleared.
He confirmed completion marks on both bounty missions and returned to the border village.
[Fame has reached a certain level.]
[The heavenly and demon realms have taken interest in you.]
[Transfer to the heavenly or demon realm is now possible.]
[For details, inquire with each faction’s scouts.]
And when he reported the quest results and gained massive fame as a reward, the opportunity came to him too.
A chance to transfer to the heavenly or demon realm.
But Rokan’s choice was the same as the Lion King’s.
“No reason to give up a hunting ground.”
He chose no faction. Like the undead pawnshop owner or the Lion King, he stayed neutral, unaffiliated with any side.
The benefits of choosing a faction weren’t small, but not enough to sway Rokan’s decision.
“No, this might actually be more advantageous in every way.”
Plus, staying neutral didn’t make both realms hostile.
Both factions’ reputation would start at ‘Disregarded,’ but that was fine. At least it wasn’t hostile.
Wouldn’t reputation rise naturally as fame grew?
Even the Lion King Gaokan was said to be in a position neither celestials nor demons could disregard.
“Strength is all that matters.”
Of course, that required Grand Master-level power or higher, but Rokan was confident.
Even just using Muhon Awakening, he could go toe-to-toe with most Grand Masters.
“Are you serious, yo? There’ll be a lot of hardships…….”
Drokshi frowned, displeased, but Rokan ignored him.
Probably because of the potential risk of siding with the demon realm depending on the situation, but so what? As long as Rokan got his benefits.
“So what now?”
Instead, a small dilemma arose.
Normally, you’d transfer to the demon or heavenly realm, take quests, and level up, but Rokan had lost that chance.
“If you plan to leave this place, you’ll need ‘qualification,’ yo.”
“Qualification?”
“With that much fame, wandering neutral zones won’t be a big issue, but to head to the heavenly or demon realms, you need their approval, yo. Otherwise, why would they open their territories to you, yo?”
In the end, whether celestials or demons, they were looking out for their own interests.
‘Same bastards, whatever.’
Just like the half-elves were greedier than expected, demons weren’t especially vile, and celestials weren’t automatically angelic.
Rokan nodded as if he understood and continued preparations.
He geared up to leave immediately, then spoke to both celestial and demon scouts to state his intent.
[Heavenly Realm Entry Pass][Quest]
The celestials have presented requirements in exchange for entry rights to the heavenly realm. Fulfill their demands to gain entry rights.
-Demon Hearts: 0/10
[Demon Realm Entry Pass][Quest]
The demons have presented requirements in exchange for entry rights to the demon realm. Fulfill their demands to gain entry rights.
-Divine Beast Hunts: 0/3
Both sides’ demands were clear. And ridiculous.
Sniping each other?
But what was even funnier were the items they gave upon activating the quests.
[Temporary Demon Realm Pass][Rare]
A temporary pass for entering and exiting the demon realm. Non-celestials can enter the demon realm up to 3 times with this.
[Temporary Heavenly Realm Pass][Rare]
A temporary pass for entering and exiting the heavenly realm. Non-demons can enter the heavenly realm up to 3 times with this.
They’d given passes to enter the enemy faction’s territory.
Single-use up to 3 times, but that was enough.
Once inside the heavenly or demon realms, Rokan’s reputation starting at ‘Disregarded’ meant no shops, but they weren’t asking to hunt hundreds or thousands. Stock up on consumables here and go.
“Isn’t this too easy?”
Packing them up, Rokan had one doubt.
It was just for entry rights, but wasn’t it way too simple?
Maybe celestials and demons were more lenient toward ‘neutrals’ than expected.
“Cocky, yo, heh heh. You’ll change your mind once you go, yo.”
“Why’s that?”
But Drokshi seemed to think differently.
“Keheh, you’ll see when you get there, yo. No matter how much of a berserker you are, can you cover the ‘gap’ too? Yo. Damn! This polite speech!”
“The gap, huh…….”
Rokan got the gist. He’d thought it easy since it was just three or ten kills, but they weren’t regular levels.
Grand Masters.
The ‘divine beasts’ name gave it away, but even ‘demon hearts’ were that tough.
‘Always the fake-nice ones that are the worst.’
He recalled the celestial scout’s nonchalant face.
Well, where to first?
“Let’s do the divine beasts first?”
Divine beasts sounded way stronger just from the name, but they had to be hunted anyway.
Order didn’t matter, but pissed off, Rokan headed to the heavenly realm first.
“……But how do we get to the heavenly realm?”
“……Follow me, yo.”
In the end, Drokshi was the guide.
The place he took Rokan wasn’t the village but outside it.
A massive tower five kilometers from the village, towering above the clouds—a place he’d wondered about, but up close, it felt different.
“Impressive.”
Rokan stuck out his tongue at the majesty of the endless structure. He’d never seen anything like it on earth or in reality.
Incredible tech, only possible in a game.
Even though not that wide, it seemed like it could topple and crush the village any moment.
“This way.”
But Drokshi, apparently familiar, approached without hesitation.
Ziiing.
“Hm?”
As he neared and spoke to the guarding dwarf gnome, it glanced at Rokan and activated a device.
A part of the structure touching the ground opened.
“Elevator?”
It was a massive elevator.
Following Drokshi, who gestured to come and entered first, the elevator jolted into motion.
Woooom!
Intense pressure from high speed, but Rokan was fine. Nothing to faze him.
Clunk. Ziiing.
Soon, it stopped, and the doors opened again.
Air thin? But breathing was easy.
Must be magical treatment.
As Rokan stepped out looking around like a country bumpkin, Drokshi strutted ahead proudly.
“Show your pass here, yo.”
Several beings were already waiting.
Most had wings symbolizing celestials, some wingless but mingling as prospective celestials.
“Pass?”
[Used Temporary Heavenly Realm Pass.]
[Remaining uses: 1/3]
Showing it to the waiting celestial gnome deducted a use.
Finally, preparations to head to the heavenly realm were complete.
“How do we go from here? Glide or something?”
“Kekeke, just wait, yo.”
But nothing happened.
Like the others, they just stood or sat waiting, and 30 minutes passed with no sign.
“When the hell…….”
“It’s here.”
“……!”
Then, something approached from beyond the clouds. Something big and massive.
“Airship?”
It was a flying ship. Not as huge as the ancient city, but sizable, armed too, coming for them.
“We ride this?”
Drokshi nodded at Rokan’s question and briefly explained why.
“If you don’t wanna die, yeah, yo? But don’t worry, yo. The magic circles on the airship and them will get you safely to the heavenly realm.”
[Airship Sailor Hirito][Lv 401]
One surprise after another. Just a ship guard was a Grand Master.
Foreshadowing tough times ahead, but Rokan smiled.
Life in the heavenly realm was gonna be fun.