A Marvelous Transformation

The one who had brought me here was almost certainly Raiga.

But for all that I had been the one collapsed on the ground, Raiga's condition was far worse. He looked ready to die at any moment — the very picture of a terminal patient in the final stages.

Park Hyunmyung. This is my body.

I examined myself carefully and nodded inwardly. I was Park Hyunmyung now. Raiga still knew me as Hyun of Adrium — which was precisely why, upon finding me, he had brought me back to the Empire.

I drew a long, deep breath.

So it wasn't a dream after all.

He had conquered every trial, helped me reach completion, and at last returned to the Goddess's embrace. With Wilhelm's descent finally released, I had reclaimed my true form.

But the person I was now was nothing like before.

The second Molting.

When Creation of Heaven and Earth had reconstructed everything from the ground up, the second Molting had finally begun — and I had fallen into a deep sleep.

What changed?

The thought set my heart racing. After completing the first Molting on God's Island, I had obtained the Infinite Vessel. That alone had not been the end of it. My natural regeneration had soared, and I had gained a staggering twofold increase to experience acquisition — a foundation for overwhelming survival and growth.

If the first Molting had been that extraordinary, I could not even begin to guess what the second would bring. All I could feel right now was how light my body had become. Vitality flooded through me on a scale that defied comparison with anything before.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Status window.

To grasp the changes with any real certainty, I needed to look at my status. The window rose before me, and I read it down slowly, turning every line over in my mind.

"…"

The very first line of the status window left me speechless.

Class: Martial God.

I had never seen a class that carried the name of a god itself. Followers of a deity, successors ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠— those I knew existed. But a class with the word "God" stamped clearly into the field? I had never heard of such a thing, let alone seen one.

And yet I could not simply celebrate.

My class changed.

It did not match my memory. When I had cleared the main quests in bulk to "cheer on" Wilhelm, I had finished the Class Acquisition quest as well — completing the acquisition of a Hidden Class that had evolved endlessly through the Great Succession.

The class I obtained was definitely Heaven-Defying Destroyer.

After completing the tutorial on God's Island, the Archangel Gabriel had appeared. Gabriel had blessed me and bestowed the Great Succession, and through it I had undergone an endless evolution of Hidden Classes.

Destroyer. Warlock. Heavenly Demon. Eraser of Sacred Radiance. Destroyer. King of Ruin… and finally, Heaven-Defying Destroyer.

Every single name had leaned toward an evil alignment. None of them had anything to do with "Martial God."

If it had changed so suddenly, there could only be one reason.

Wilhelm…

It must have shifted through Wilhelm's aid. Completing Creation of Heaven and Earth and cleanly separating us had altered my very alignment. Without him, I would have been buried in darkness myself.

From beginning to end, he had given me nothing but beneficial help. Even after I had cursed him as a bastard of a god and resented him, he had remained upright and honorable to the last.

Which made it all the more regrettable — that our meeting had been so painfully brief.

From now on, I'll be the one helping you.

But every encounter was said to have a reason. There had to be something I could do for him. Completing his salvation by following Wilhelm's memories, for instance. Whether I reached him or not, whether we ever met again — it did not matter. I simply wanted to do something for Wilhelm.

I shifted my gaze slowly. This was not the end yet.

Climbing the Tower of the War God had raised me two levels. Even so, for a Level 6 character, the attributes were absurd — a total that would put most Level 10s and above to shame.

At this rate, I could clear most of the Seven Great Hidden Quests.

The Seven Great Hidden Quests — also called the Seven Great Wonders. I had completed one of them as Wilhelm, which left six remaining. True wonders that still stood unbroken by anyone. Even while raising Randolph, I had never dared attempt them. Now, though, a few of them seemed within reach.

The Seven Great Hidden Quests were, after all, about solving impossible trials under conditions foul enough to make anyone swear — either with hard level restrictions, or requiring attributes and knowledge so far beyond one's level that they bordered on the insane. Like the quest to defeat the King of Bloodhorn Mountain at Level 1.

They were a nightmare, but the rewards were rock solid.

Just recalling it made me dizzy. Even now, it had been pure madness. But the rewards had been every bit as mad.

Surpass Wilhelm.

For his sake, it was a task I had to complete no matter what.

And more than that — this entire ordeal had burned a fierce sense of urgency into me.

…The Demon King who seized Wilhelm's body.

It was not a new thought, but experiencing Wilhelm had made it far more certain. I could not even begin to gauge how much stronger the Demon King who had taken Wilhelm's flesh had become. Wilhelm himself had said we needed to prepare — which meant that as things stood, humanity would likely fall the moment the Demon King appeared.

The Demon King is growing stronger beyond all comparison. And the Demon Realm is growing stronger alongside him.

This was not speculation. It was certainty. When the other Randolph had vanished, I had briefly glimpsed the Gate of Truth — and the knowledge within it had said as much. The Demon King was steadily becoming Ruin itself.

I cannot solve everything alone.

That urgency had also taught me that simply growing stronger by myself would not be enough. All of humanity had to grow stronger — Pangenia and Earth alike. Climbing the Rift Tower to unlock level caps and training ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠second-awakened on God's Island mattered, but what was truly needed was systematic cultivation.

Besides, there was no telling when another upheaval like the Tower of the War God might strike. Without Wilhelm, resolution itself would have been impossible. That was why growing those who could support me had become just as important as growing stronger myself. I had never taken the problem this seriously before, but it was something worth considering at least once.

…Next.

I cleared my thoughts and continued through the rest of the status window.

"…"

For a moment, I had nothing to say.

Was this even real?

Every single addition was a jewel. Natural regeneration and experience gain had risen dramatically. Cheonma Shingong had vanished, replaced by Demon Transcendence, and an entirely new special note called Nature's Path had appeared.

Natural regeneration over 20,000%…

No wonder my body had felt so absurdly fresh. At this level, I could regenerate a severed arm. I now possessed regeneration beyond that of a lizard regrowing its tail.

Nature's Path. The ability to use nature's mana — like the Heavenly Demon drawing ambient mana from the surroundings.

I could now wield mana beyond what I actually possessed. Since it scaled with natural regeneration, the efficiency would certainly defy imagination. A truly bottomless well might even be possible. The higher my mana climbed, the more absurd the feats I could pull off.

Learning a high-grade destruction skill or two wouldn't be a bad idea.

Beyond simply generating Sword Gang and deploying Sword Hwan, properly mastering a powerful high-grade destruction skill might actually be worthwhile now. I had always dismissed them as inefficient because of their enormous mana ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cost — but the equation was completely different now.

And yet.

Martial God… Ha. This is the most ridiculous part of all.

The most wondrous of everything was the beyond-specification Mystery: Martial God. A 1,000% boost to mastery efficiency and a +10 lift on level caps was already absurd enough — but being able to use every type of weapon at the level of my highest mastery?

A true Martial God.

It meant that whatever weapon I picked up — bow, spear, anything — I could wield it at Sword Mastery Lv.35. Every weapon with a mastery level restriction was now fully available to me.

Martial God. An ability worthy of the name — the god of all martial arts.

All streams return to the same source. So this is what it means to reach the end and find them all the same.

Master the sword alone, and there was no need to practice other weapons. A single blade connected to every piece of equipment. Honestly, my shoddy mastery with other gear had always been a blemish on an otherwise polished build. It would be a lie to say I had never felt the lack. But there had never been room to train other equipment. Even the sword alone had demanded every moment I had.

Of the remaining Seven Great Hidden Quests — I can definitely clear one of them now.

That conviction burned even stronger. An unsolvable quest. I was certain I could reach at least one of them. With only high sword mastery it would have been impossible — but with Martial God's Mystery granting overwhelming command of every weapon, there was no reason I could not break it.

And even that was not the end.

The Gloves of Omen and Calamity.

Rated at the Primal grade. Raiga did not seem able to see them, but both gloves were already equipped on my hands. I stared at them in silence.

"…Are you unwell? Your complexion is quite poor."

Raiga added a word after seeing my face. Even I, whose expression rarely stirred for anything ordinary, had gone deathly pale.

The earlier changes had each been extraordinary in their own right. But the reason I was stunned now was not simply because the gloves' abilities were outstanding.

I can transform. Into Randolph.

One ability among the gloves had caught my eye in particular. Randolph and I had merged. Not divided — made one, able to transform at any time. It was a clear demonstration of what the God of Omen and Calamity had meant by "unification."

The Glove of Omen held Randolph. The Glove of Calamity held me.

I kept staring at the Glove of Omen.

And then—

…Randolph's status window rose before me.

And it was completely different from anything it had been before.