Chapter 223
Chapter 223
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 223
Chapter Title: Land of the Forgotten (1)
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[Since it looks like everything's over, I'll ask again, but did you really have to do that?]
“What? You mean rejecting all the sponsorship offers from the gods?”
[Yeah, that! Why on earth did you do it? What was the problem?]
The next day.
I had just left after briefly observing the process of transferring the Taegeuk Guild's master position to Choi Yeon-soo, deciding I'd seen enough.
Besial scratched his head, unable to comprehend.
[Sponsorship from gods higher-ranked than angels. You'd get so much stronger if you filled your unique ability slot with Divine Power. Plus, there were some pretty famous gods among those who made you an offer.]
As Besial said, there were, frankly, many offers that were a shame to refuse.
I held up two fingers.
“There are two reasons.”
[And?]
“I’m not telling you.”
[Ah, why not?]
My relationship with Besial wasn't one of give and take.
It was more like I took everything and occasionally tossed him a scrap.
I opened my status window and examined the unique ability section.
Next to Main Player (EX) was a blank space marked 'Empty'.
It was an effect of the Speciality that came as a bonus to Main Player.
‘I can acquire one additional unique ability.’
Normally, you can only have one unique ability.
This is where Divine Power becomes a problem.
Divine Power, gained when a god makes a player their avatar and grants them power, pushes out the existing unique ability and takes its place.
When you've already acquired traits and skills tailored to your unique ability, you’d be reluctant to accept it unless it's unconditionally better or highly compatible with your current setup.
My ability is darkness.
None of the sponsorships that came through Besial before were a good match for it.
‘More importantly…’
I knew full well that the moment I obtained Divine Power, I would be unable to reach the True Ending.
[Is it because you didn't like any of them?]
“No. I’m just testing the waters. Might as well raise the stakes, right?”
[You’re negotiating your price with the gods. You really are… Wow. That’s just astounding. How can a human like you even exist?]
If I told him the truth, the gods would immediately lose interest in me.
I couldn't let my benefactors go just like that.
I have to gently pique their curiosity and get as much as I can out of them.
For a while, I can use this to rake in sponsorships from the gods.
The smart ones will catch on and back off, but…
[The ‘Holy Immortal’ is convinced, finding your reasoning sound.]
One of the sponsorship messages caught my eye.
The Holy Immortal.
That was definitely… the name for Spenta Mainyu.
The good god who opposes Angra Mainyu, eternally fighting against him.
It seemed I’d caught his attention for defeating Angra Mainyu's avatar.
‘Spenta Mainyu would be around Tier 3.’
Even the power of gods is divided into tiers.
It's not an official classification by users, but rather a tier list I made up myself.
Since I explained it in one of my strategy videos, some of the players are probably using that metric.
‘A chief god would be Tier 2. You’d have to be a creator god to be Tier 1.’
If I were ever in a situation where I absolutely had to obtain and use Divine Power, it would naturally have to be at least Tier 2 or higher.
There has to be a significant gain, since I'd have to risk being countered by the final boss.
A sudden, incredulous laugh escaped me.
To think I have to stop a being that devours even creator gods with ease.
And not in a game I'm watching through a screen, but as myself, in reality?
[What's with you all of a sudden?]
“It’s nothing.”
Why am I getting soft?
There's only one chance. I was the only one who ever cleared the game.
I don't have the right to be weak.
“Anyway, isn’t it about time for you to get to work?”
[Ah, right. I forgot. I've been forgetting I'm a manager quite often these days.]
Besial whistled and vanished somewhere.
I walked into a nearby cafe.
“Welcome. Are you ready to order?”
“One regular caramel macchiato. With whipped cream.”
“Got it~”
Today, I was in the mood for something sweet.
I’d always liked sweet things, but I hadn't had many chances to eat them lately.
“Ahh.”
This is the stuff.
A sweetness so intense it felt like it could melt my brain.
I sat down with a satisfied smile.
[Ah, ah, my dear players. Hello? It’s been a while, hasn’t it?]
Right on cue, Besial’s announcement began.
I leaned back comfortably in my chair and listened.
The people around me shuddered at the sight of Besial.
“Ugh, it’s the money-grubbing—no, the coin-grubbing devil!”
“What are you trying to pull now!? Stop taking our stuff!!”
[Hey, come on. I’m out of that business now. I’m clean.]
“Like we can believe that…”
“Hey, hey, just leave him. Let’s see what crap he’s spouting first.”
I almost spat out the caramel macchiato I was drinking at the nearby players' conversation.
Then again, Besial had never been a likable manager before he disappeared.
He brought it on himself.
[During the last disaster’s appearance, there was some damage caused by a certain devil’s personal feelings. So, I’m here to distribute compensation for that.]
What Besial was talking about was a decision made internally among the devils.
Besial, as the manager for the Korean region, was simply relaying it.
If I really made a scene, I could probably get compensation from the angels too, but the losses would outweigh the gains.
“Compensation…? For real?”
“Now that’s something to look forward to.”
[Right?]
Besial grinned.
At that, the players' briefly excited expressions soured again.
Nothing good ever happens when a devil smiles.
They must have been screwed over enough to learn that lesson… no, they must have grown.
[Alright, then, a present for you! Hope you get what you want!]
Poof!
Beautifully wrapped, colorful gift boxes fell from above the players' heads.
They were about big enough to hold with two hands, but to open a box, one first had to ‘choose’ what would go inside it.
From a list of items that could be placed in the box.
‘Ho, not bad…’
I marveled inwardly as I scanned the list.
Since the damage was caused by a devil, the rewards were things a devil could give.
Things like cursed armaments that granted great power, or good skills that came with a penalty.
That made it all the more regrettable.
They were all things that would definitely be helpful, but I had to give them all up and choose something else.
“Hey, devil. What’s this ‘random’ option? Does anything come out?”
[An excellent question! It’s exactly what it says—a random gacha! You don’t know what you’ll get… but to put it another way, that means you could get something amazing that isn't on the list! Yes, for instance… like an S-rank piece of equipment that even guild masters have trouble obtaining?]
The players' eyes changed.
An S-rank item could make you so much stronger that it was almost like jumping up a whole rank just by equipping it.
It was a perfectly natural reaction.
[For your reference, the probability of getting something good is 0.001%.]
Many looked disappointed and gave up at Besial's addendum, but a few were still different.
It would be fun to see how their expressions change in a little while.
‘An S-rank item provided by a devil would be cursed by default. I wonder if they know that.’
[Choose from the list (0/1)]
I had already told Besial what I would be taking.
I scrolled down the list and selected an item.
It was an item that wouldn't normally be included in the scope of compensation rewards, but I could get it because we had subtly manipulated the range.
[The selected item has been distributed.]
[Key of the Phantasmal Boundary]
A key that can open a door to somewhere.
No one knows where it leads.
The item was just as I remembered.
I satisfyingly examined the ‘dagger’ in my hand, then put it in my inventory and stood up.
Only after reaching a secluded spot in the residential area, where people rarely went, did I take it out again.
“This should be fine.”
As its appearance suggested, this was no ordinary key.
It was named a ‘key’ only because it faithfully performed that role.
I infused the dagger with mana and swung it hard at the empty space before me.
Swoooosh!
The sound of wind seeping through the crack of a door.
At the same time, something similar to a gate, yet different, appeared in mid-air.
If a gate was a distortion of space, this felt more like a hole cut into a stage curtain, revealing what was behind it.
[Aish. Is this really going to be okay? If I get disciplined again, I’m going to be stripped of my manager title.]
“It’s fine. They won’t catch on from this. I made sure to change the reward scope just enough to be within a manager’s discretion. What, are you having second thoughts now that you see it?”
[I don’t know. As long as I don't get caught, it’s all good.]
“A fine attitude. That’s how a devil should be.”
[…Is that a compliment?]
The introduction of the ‘random gacha’ raised the maximum value of the rewards and lowered the minimum.
The point here was that the range of rewards obtainable from the box had widened.
Not just vertically, but horizontally as well.
The Key of the Phantasmal Boundary was one of those horizontal additions.
‘If I’m going to meet the enemy, I should know about them first.’
At least in the current situation, there was nothing more certain than going to the other side.
I clenched and unclenched my fists a few times.
I could feel a power that was clearly different from yesterday.
For this, I had used an elixir yesterday to break through my strength and agility stat caps, achieving a dramatic stat increase.
The tens of thousands of coins I had earned were gone in an instant, but it would be well worth the price.
“Alright, let’s make it a quick trip.”
[Moving to the Inner World – Yuldoguk.]
***
The world of all forgotten things.
The world of ghosts and spirits.
And, the world of the Dokkaebi.
The place one could reach with the ‘Key of the Phantasmal Boundary’ was just such a world.
[Ehehehe.]
[Agh, fuck! You scared me!!]
“…I’m standing right here, so why is a devil getting scared by a ghost?”
[Devils can be scared of ghosts too!]
This one was more of a phantom than a ghost, though.
I tossed the mischievous phantom away and walked on.
[Look over there. It’s a human, a human.]
[A living human.]
[I’m jealous. I wish I had a body too.]
[Should we take it?]
[No. He’s strong.]
[If I take it, will I be strong too?]
[You’ll die before you can take it.]
[But I’m already dead?]
[Oh.]
There were phantoms having an interesting conversation right in front of me.
They flew around me, trying desperately to possess my body, but when nothing happened, they drifted away, dejected.
As if they could possess me.
This world operates under a law that prevents harm to humans.
If they don't like it, they can leave this place, but the outside world is crawling with players hunting with fire in their eyes.
Leaving is easy, but coming back is not.
[So, why are we here?]
“To meet the Dokkaebi King.”
[What? The Dokkaebi King?]
Besial was struck dumb, his mouth hanging open.
[What are you talking about, meeting the king of a species like you’re just popping down to the convenience store? And an otherworldly being living in the Inner World, no less. What for?]
“To become friends with him.”
[Ah, right. I should just stay quiet like usual and figure it out myself after seeing the result, right?]
Giving up quickly is good for one’s mental health.
I chuckled and continued deeper into a cave-like path, passing by all sorts of beings.
Before long, strange laughter echoed from within.
Listening to it, one might feel bewitched, or a chill might run down their spine, or an inexplicable fear might arise.
A bizarre, yet merry laughter.
And otherworldly beings that looked just as bizarre.
I approached a giant Dokkaebi laughing heartily in their midst.
“Hmm? A human? What’s this? How did a human get in here? You don’t look like a spiritual ascetic.”
“I’ve come to see you on business.”
“Me? Kyak! How amusing. Well, you don’t seem to have any hostile intent.”
The Dokkaebi King rose to his feet with a spirited cry.
He was about my height even when sitting, but now that he was standing, his sheer size was truly apparent.
On top of that, there was the immense pressure of his ghostly aura, so strong it was almost visible.
The Dokkaebi King stretched his mouth into a wide grin.
“Then first, show me you are worthy.”