Chapter 8

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Translator: 8uhl

Chapter: 8

Chapter Title: 【Opening】

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Thud.

"Ow! Shit, that hurts like hell."

I'd fallen flat on my ass. Rubbing my throbbing tailbone, I pushed myself up and scanned my surroundings. Gentle white waves lapped over a brilliant blue sea, with a pretty sunset glowing in the background.

'It definitely feels like a dungeon, but...'

This was nothing like the first dungeon I'd dropped into. Throw in a few parasols, and I could've sworn I was in Saipan or Hawaii.

Swoosh.

Gripping Ego tightly in case of trouble, I walked slowly along the shoreline. With each step, my footprints imprinted into the soft sand.

Whoosh.

The waves that had lost their momentum on the shore retreated and advanced, leaving only white foam behind. The foam began piling up along the sand's edge, soon forming shapes even larger than me.

"What the...?!"

Bang!

I quickly attacked with Ego, but the foam simply swallowed my shout and kept growing. Four stubby legs sprouted from the massive bubble mass, followed by a long neck and tail. The moment it resembled a lizard, the foam erupted in dazzling light.

"Nice to meet you."

I cautiously opened my squinted eyes. Standing before me was a purple lizard. Or was it a lizard? More precisely, it was in the shape of one.

"Uh... who?"

"The Creator of this world."

"Creator?"

Thud.

"Ugh!"

Suddenly, my chest buzzed with pain. My body lurched violently from the sharp agony, and I barely kept my legs from giving out.

What was that? I'd never seen this thing before, yet it felt strangely familiar. The one thing nagging at me... was how disgustingly familiar it was.

The lizard watched me with glowing yellow eyes, as if waiting for me to speak.

"So... you're a god, right?"

"Yeah. Call me the Absolute. 'God' just isn't cool enough!"

The lizard—no, the Creator—let out a childish giggle.

"If you're a—"

"Absolute."

"Fine, whatever. Absolute, then. Did you make the dungeons and monsters too?"

The Creator shook its head.

"Nope~ Those are just inevitable byproducts when this world was born. Even Absolutes can't touch 'em~"

"So no matter what, this world was doomed to fall, huh."

For a moment, everything went silent.

'Oops, foot in mouth.'

The stillness was so profound it felt like even breathing was forbidden.

"Doomed to fall?"

Words tumbled out one by one from the Creator's horizontally slit mouth, forming a sentence. It looked no different from before, but primal fear crawled up my spine.

'Best to play dumb in times like this.'

I casually plopped down on the beach and prodded the waves with my toes.

"Why react so sensitively? Without Awakeners, the world falling to monsters is just natural, isn't it?"

"Ahaha~ You could see it that way~"

The suffocating silence shattered with the Creator's laughter, and the steady crash of waves returned to normal.

"Anyway, why'd you bring me here?"

"Oh, right. I totally~ forgot~"

The Creator stretched out its stubby leg and placed a hand on my head. I'd expected a slimy touch, but it was just a faint, ticklish breeze.

"Whoa. You really are SS-Rank."

"Haven't you seen other SS-Ranks?"

"Nope~ You're the first, Ji-ui."

The Creator removed its hand from my head and coiled up, lying prone before me.

"You seem so clueless about your skills, it was pitiful, so I brought you here."

"Me?"

"Yup~"

'Calling me out like that outta nowhere?'

The heavy truth hit me like a brick, making me squirm uncomfortably.

"It's just a skill that attacks with my voice, right? I awakened while screaming."

"Attacking with your voice is right~ But monsters don't die from hearing it..."

Whoosh.

The sand on the beach started clumping together, soon forming a round Earth.

"Your skill disrupts the target's balance~"

"Balance?"

"Yup. What if all the blood vessels in your body suddenly doubled up, and your organs got stuck to your toes?"

"Ugh, I'd puke. I'd die."

The Creator held out the sand Earth to me.

'Wants me to attack it, huh.'

Instead of drawing Ego, I screamed at the top of my lungs. A white shockwave engulfed the sand globe. The continents scattered chaotically and split clean in half.

"You say scary stuff so casually all of a sudden."

"What can I do~ Your skill's just scary~"

The Creator rolled onto its back, rubbing against the sand, then turned its head toward me.

"But telling you about your skill is because I have a favor to ask~"

"What favor?"

"Like you said, if things keep going, this world is doomed~"

'It's real.'

I'd known it, but having it hammered home left a complicated feeling. I nodded silently, and the Creator blinked.

"Not surprised~"

"I figured it was doomed. So, what favor?"

"Become my Apostle and stop the world's end~"

'Here comes the big choice moment.'

Having to decide without any info on the Absolute? Worst case. I held off answering and asked something else.

"What does an Apostle do?"

"Protect the talisman that prevents the end~"

"Talisman?"

"Yup."

The Creator nodded and rose. A massive shadow fell over me.

"Protecting that will stop the end?"

"Can't guarantee 100%~"

The vibe was off, but it was just a feeling—no solid proof.

"If you become an Apostle, I'll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠grant you a wish~"

"A wish?"

Psssh.

"Cough, cough!"

Purple smoke poured over my head. A sharp floral scent stung my nose, making me cough spectacularly.

'What just happened?'

Looking around, the Creator was gone. Only vivid purple text reading 'Authority' floated there.

Authority?

No sooner had I read the last line than the smoke cleared, fresh air enveloping me again. Gentle waves lapped the sea as before, and the Creator lounged on the beach, sunbathing.

"Just a teaser~ Try making a circle with your fingers?"

I touched my thumb and index finger to form a small ring and held it up. Purple text floating around the Creator came into view.

"...This is the authority?"

"Yup~ With that, you can see dungeons, monsters, even other Hunters' skills~"

"For real?"

"But it's just a replica, so you can't analyze everything~"

This was way more powerful than I'd thought. Replica or not, it'd be huge for gathering intel.

The Creator lowered its head to meet my eyes.

"And if you become my Apostle, I'll grant your wish. Whaddya say~?"

"Wish?"

Could I save Ji-yu before saving the world?

I swallowed hard and slowly parted my lips.

"Oh, but I can't revive the dead~"

"...I see."

My head went cold in an instant.

Guess I'd have to save this world somehow.

"Whatcha gonna do~? I'd looove for you to be my Apostle~"

Becoming an Apostle might let me squeeze out all the benefits, then bail or backstab if things got weird. A wish was on the table, so it wasn't a losing deal.

The Creator extended its short, cute hand toward me.

Shake with the Absolute and uncover the end's secrets, or go my own way.

"My arm's gonna fall off~ Hurry and decide~"

'Yeah, better team up with someone who knows this world, even a little.'

Decision made, I slowly reached out toward the Creator.

Fwaaah.

'What...?')

Just before my hand met the Creator's, a status window popped up. Until now, it'd only shown sudden orders or achievement progress—never a "greatly violates mission" warning.

'No way the Creator's tied to the end...'

Bang!!

"Huh?"

Before I could sink into thought, a familiar explosion tore through my ears. A white beam sliced the Creator's hand in half.

Vwooom.

The space rippled violently with immense vibration, then shattered like broken glass.

'What? What's going on?'

In the chaos, I frantically looked around. Inside a glowing orb floated something familiar.

"E-Ego?!"

Touching my ear, the piercing that should have been there was gone. Ego's light faded only after the space fully collapsed, then it calmly reattached to my ear as if nothing happened.

Whoosh.

Crashing waves and soft sand. The space Ego had obliterated was fully restored.

"...What was that."

The Creator alternated glances between its severed wrist and me.

I was too stunned to think straight. All I knew instinctively was that my missions and 'Ego' were rejecting the Absolute before me with every fiber of their being.

"Guess today ain't the day~"

The Creator flopped belly-down on the sand again, looking satisfied.

"I'll send you back for now~ If you change your mind, you gotta tell me, okay~?"

"Y-yeah."

Ending the awkward chat, my feet sank into the sand. Consciousness faded like drifting into sleep.

Thud.

"Goddamn it!"

My tailbone was really gonna bruise at this rate. I'd ass-planted onto my bedroom floor again.

'This is definitely my house, right?'

Everything felt unreal. Bursting out the door, I heard Mom's snoring from the master bedroom.

"Haaa..."

I slumped against the peeling wallpaper, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠knees to chest, and took a deep breath. It helped a little.

'Why'd Ego do that back there?'

Vmmm.

I pulled out Ego, held it in my hand, and closed my eyes. The snug grip felt just like holding someone's hand...

"Wha-what?!"

It wasn't just a feeling—a real white hand gripped mine. Barely stifling a scream, I looked up. A white silhouette identical to me stared back.

'Finally met you, Ji-ui.'

"This leaves me short a pawn..."

The Creator rubbed its severed wrist against the sand, and a new arm regrew. Its tiny toes wiggled on the beach as if adjusting to the fresh limb.

He was quite flustered. His plan to groom the naive SS-Rank into a useful pawn had gone awry. Scratching his neck, he replayed the scene in his mind.

"Why does that kid have so many 'knots'..."

Crack.

"Like someone's checked the end multiple times~?"

The Creator's eyes snapped open, cracks spiderwebbing across his body. The peaceful beach drowned in pitch-black darkness. The white waves turned ferocious, swelling into a tsunami that swallowed the entire shore.

The autumn sunset sky burned ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blood-red like an ill omen, transforming into a apocalyptic wasteland in moments.

The lizard form was swept away by the tsunami. Only purple smoke quietly rose from the disaster's heart.