The Angel of Blessing

When I opened my status window, I could not contain my astonishment.

“…….”

My body trembled. I could not suppress the thrill racing through me. I was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so exhilarated that words were unnecessary.

From every angle, everything remained exactly as it had been. The final state I remembered—my stats, my options—nothing had changed. Even the fact that I had opened the Gate, obtained the Infinite Vessel, and reached Molting was still there.

Only one thing was different.

The fact that I had mastered Cheonma Shingong had vanished.

A single line that should have been written under Special Notes was gone—the note that Cheonma Shingong had reached the Sixth Star and granted me 1.6 times my Sacred Power. That multiplied Sacred Power had even been classified as a pure stat and added to the front number.

This, too, differed subtly from what the Eternal Monarch had said. He had claimed everything would disappear, yet the only thing that had actually vanished was the record of having learned Cheonma Shingong.

Even the Eternal Monarch does not know everything.

Perhaps he had never known. He had discarded himself. I, however, had not discarded myself. I had merely reclaimed my place. In that process, the parts that were not discarded remained and merged, while only what was deemed unnecessary fell away. That possibility could not be ruled out.

If so—

If I learn Cheonma Shingong again…?

Would my current Sacred Power become the new baseline for amplification? Multiplied from 190? Even the First Star alone would raise it by nineteen. At the Tenth Star it would become three hundred eighty. Even when the Randolph who had erased me had been empowered by the Skin Hybrid of God, he had never reached that level.

I know the mantra.

The mantra of Cheonma Shingong. Half expectation, half excitement, I recited it once more.

……Ah. So it really wouldn’t work.

My body itself seemed to reject it—like putting on clothes that simply did not fit. Steadying my breath, I checked the final and most important section.

In the place where ‘Eternal Monarch Randolph’ should have stood, both Monarch and Randolph had vanished, replaced by the single word ‘God’—just as with God of the Demon Blood Species. It meant I had ascended to a seat with nowhere higher left to climb.

Yet even these changes were trivial beside what had unfolded on God’s Island.

An angel.

What is an angel? A messenger of God, a divine spokesperson—that is how the existence called ‘angel’ is defined. Yet in all the history of Pangenia, not a single angel had ever appeared. Demons and demonkin had swarmed without number, but never once had an angel shown itself. So I had, in truth, been somewhat curious about what form an angel would take and what power it would display.

And then—

The Eternal Race—an immortal people who live forever. Only when I saw their forms did I finally understand. They were not living creatures.

Seeds spread across the entire island. Pure white seeds resting upon mountains and trees, stones and grass, soon swelled richly and shaped themselves into the forms of fist-sized children.

“……Fairies, it seems.”

Isabella, who had entered God’s Island with me and was watching the same spectacle, spoke. To her eyes as well, those shapes were unmistakably fairies—the kind that had long existed in Pangenia and were classified as monsters.

Fairy Dragons……!

The moment I heard those words, I could not help but marvel inwardly. Fairy Dragons were regarded as the most powerful of the dragonkin—a race of mystery. In other words, they were not fairies at all, but dragons. And among dragonkin, they were beings spoken of only in legend and myth, incomparably stronger and wiser than ordinary dragons.

In short, every one of those seeds could become a Fairy Dragon. If that entire number became Fairy Dragons, they could overwhelm even an empire.

Now I understand why the Eternal Monarch was willing to discard himself to protect this place.

It was worth protecting. It was worthy of the name God’s Island. Infinite possibility that could threaten even Ruin itself lay dormant here. What had once been hidden-trait-ified as the Iron-Blood Monarch’s Heart—if the other Gates held potential of this magnitude, the mere thought was dizzying.

Then—

The Skin Hybrid of God tilted its head. Perhaps thanks to the Angel of Blessing, the Eternal Race’s growth rate was unnaturally fast. Of course, not all of them were fast. The closer an Eternal was to me, the slower its growth. Moreover, for some reason they could not approach my vicinity at all—as if they found it hard to endure.

That was not the only strange thing.

……I, the master of the island, had been forcibly expelled from the island.

The reason I had been expelled. And Earth, now connected to God’s Island. Seeking the link between the two, I logged out.

“……Remarkable adaptability.”

Slurp.

Sipping a warm americano, I looked around. This was the café right beside my house—the same place where I had once met my ex-girlfriend Kim Seoyeon and Kim Hana. The café still bustled with people, yet only the location remained the same; everything else had changed. Expansion work had enlarged the interior and altered the décor. The café’s name had become ‘God’s Coffee,’ and every employee working inside had been replaced by non-humans—Demon Blood Species.

“Yes. In accordance with the will of the great God, we have all chosen the path of assimilating with ‘humans.’”

The black-dyed Alkar stood beside me and answered with formal courtesy. In other words, they had changed everything solely because of me. Even granting that their appearance, speech, and manners had become human-like, one point still defied understanding.

“With what money did you buy the building?”

The entire building had fallen under Demon Blood management. No—not only this building. Every building around where I lived had come under their control.

“We sold the pebbles rolling around inside the Dragon Vein.”

“……I see.”

Pebbles rolling inside the Dragon Vein—a kind of mana core. The Dragon Vein itself was composed of such overwhelming mana that even the small stones tumbling within it became objects that carried mana. Moreover, mana cores from Pangenia could not be brought into reality. The only way to obtain a mana core on Earth was to kill an invading monster and extract its core. Naturally, the price of mana cores on Earth had skyrocketed. With the money from selling those rolling pebbles, they had bought up every building in the surrounding district.

To protect me, then.

The intent was obvious. They had all come here solely to guard a single person—me. The entire legion of the black-dyed Alkar had entered Eunpyeong-gu, assimilated with humans, and completely free of suspicion.

“How did you manage it?”

They were clearly not human. Any player with powerful observation or appraisal abilities would be able to see through them. There had to be a reason they were drawing no suspicion at all.

“It is all thanks to Lord Lucaria. He placed a blessing of the Illusion type upon every Demon Blood Species that emerged onto the surface so that none would be suspected.”

Ah. At last everything made perfect sense. With Lucaria’s power, even a Transcendent player would find ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it difficult to see through them. And the black-dyed Alkar himself looked, at a glance, as though he possessed power beyond imagination—though right now he wore the form of an ordinary human.

No…… was it ordinary?

“Why…… do you look like that?”

“D-Does it displease you? Great God, I have offended your eyes. This faithless wretch will offer himself as a sacrifice at once!”

……Why was he bald? I could not bring myself to ask. His reaction was far too violent for that.

“No. I meant it looks cool.”

“Th-Thank you!”

Truly, every single reaction from this fellow was extreme.

Anyway.

I turned my gaze outward. A banner hung on the building across the street.

I almost thought a National Assembly election was underway—as if Park Taewoo were campaigning as a candidate in Eunpyeong-gu.

Park Taewoo. Korea’s strongest player and leader of the Hero Alliance. When Isera invaded, I had gifted him Ruins City Rundela on the condition that he bring Lucaria.

I stroked my chin.

I have to find the warp connected to God’s Island.

God’s Island, linked to Earth. Yet I could not find it easily. The only clue was the phrase that ‘Completed Ones’ could not enter. There were conditions for entering God’s Island.

……Those below a certain level, or those who have not yet satisfied certain conditions.

Those two possibilities came to mind at once. And the place where such people gathered in the greatest numbers was, of course—

I should head there.

The vicinity of the Hero Alliance, where Park Taewoo served as leader.

Korea, headquarters of the Hero Alliance.

Inside a spacious office within the building, a woman watched the training grounds with languid eyes.

“Haaap!”

“Hiyaaah!”

Two men sparring. Watching a bout that looked like children’s play, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠woman let out a long sigh.

Pathetic.

The Seventh Lord, Basara. The lord of the seventh hell was currently amusing herself on Earth. After joining the Hero Alliance, she had taken on the role of examiner for new recruits under Park Taewoo’s orders. Yet the work was far more tedious than she had expected.

Substandard. Far from any real examination, all she saw were owners of such wretched talent that only sighs came out.

Wilhelm. Even your world is worthless.

Not Pangenia, but Earth. She had held a modest expectation for the humans of this place with its entirely different ecology—yet it seemed that a being who shone like Wilhelm existed in no world at all.