Chapter 154
Chapter 154
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: The Origin of the Quest
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- Why four, you ask?
Elatra’s voice echoed, though she was nowhere to be seen.
Now merged into one, her tone was quite different from the one she had used in their conversation just moments ago.
With the two having become one, it was as if their personalities had also been split in half.
‘Haha… It seems the two really have become one.’
- This is my original self. But you asked why there are four, did you not?
‘Yes.’
Do-jae sat down and sipped his now-cold green tea.
Sarieta and Oson were looking around, searching for the suddenly vanished Elatra, but dealing with that was a hassle, so he decided to tell them later.
- The Ascetics you've met so far total four. Me, Altein, Haydn, and Ruiden. And in the memory of Gellahan you saw, there were nine Ascetics in total. So if you exclude Gellahan, the numbers match, don't they?
He recalled the moment he first fell into Gellahan’s memories, where a total of nine Ascetics were gathered around a circular table.
Excluding Gellahan, the remaining eight were the current Ascetics.
Elatra’s words were not wrong.
However, while that was part of it, what Do-jae was truly curious about was this.
‘It’s about the main quest. The main quest’s count increases by one each time I meet an Ascetic and gain a passive skill. The Eye, Nerves, Blood Armor, and Skeleton. I received these from all of you. In that case, what about the remaining part, the Heart? Who is the Ascetic that gave me the Heart of the Golem?’
This.
Come to think of it, he still didn’t know which Ascetic had given him the Heart.
They had only spoken to him one-sidedly through the quest's status window; the first time he'd had anything resembling a real conversation was with the half-Elatra.
And then there was the quest itself.
Who created the quests?
The other world was a place where the word "quest" seemed entirely out of place.
As seen in the ruined magical kingdom, its level of science and civilization was comparable to medieval Europe, and modern items, especially those using electricity, were nowhere to be found.
- Hmm? You mean no one explained that to you?
‘No. No one explained it to me.’
- But why? It’s not like it’s a secret.
‘I wouldn’t know.’
- Huh? Altein, you didn't tell the Adversary something like that? I just assumed he already knew.
- Wait. Let’s be clear. It’s not that no one explained it; he never asked, did he?
As Ruiden spoke in a teasing tone, Altein hastily added his own words.
Thinking back, Altein was right; he didn't recall ever asking.
At some point, quests and status windows had simply become a natural part of his life.
‘Is that so? Well… it seems like a rather important fact. Altein, you can be so thoughtless.’
- Hah, how can he be so shameless?
Do-jae cleanly ignored Altein’s sarcasm and spoke.
‘Lady Elatra, please explain.’
- Very well. I shall tell you. It will be easier to understand if I start from here.
Do-jae listened intently to Elatra’s voice.
The unified Elatra was still gentle, but there was a strength to her voice, a feeling that was both comforting and dependable.
- The first to act as an Ascetic was Gellahan. And the last to ascend to the position of Ascetic was Han.
‘Han’ was the last of the nine to become an Ascetic.
She was full of curiosity, loved to research, and fostered harmony among the other Ascetics.
The gathering Do-jae had witnessed had also been started at her initiative.
- Han was an Ascetic, yet she was the most emotionally expressive, and she knew how to sublimate those emotions into her divinity.
‘Han’ was said to feel things a little more deeply than the other Ascetics.
The Ascetics who attained godhood found their emotions dulled.
This was especially true for Gellahan.
He didn't speak from emotion, but only after thinking through and mapping out every step of the process.
In contrast, ‘Han’ would sometimes play pranks, express affection, and freely showed her feelings to the other Ascetics.
- Due to that personality, Han was an exceptionally harmonious being.
‘Han’ was said to enjoy spending time with the other Ascetics.
Even outside of the regular meetings, she would often visit the others to talk, and all the Ascetics were fond of her.
- Of course, it wasn’t like that from the beginning.
Unusually, ‘Han’ was not a native of this world, but an outsider.
Her form was human, but her appearance was completely different from the people here.
Much like Do-jae.
That was also the reason she was the last to become an Ascetic.
She couldn't be trusted because she was an outsider.
‘Han’ claimed her origins were across the sea, but even the Ascetics could not easily cross the ocean beyond the continent.
The harsh environment was no issue, but the distorted mana wavelength was enough to cause significant damage to their divinity.
- Above all, the supreme god, Gaia, did not permit passage.
In the end, it was fair to say that Gaia was the one sealing off the continent.
So ‘Han’, who had crossed that sea, was both a marvel and an unfamiliar presence.
Nevertheless, her uniquely cheerful personality allowed her to become one of the Ascetics.
- Han was the first to notice Gellahan's intentions, wasn't she?
- That’s right. She was the first to come to me for counsel.
- What? No, Altein. The first person Han came to was my brother and me!
When Altein answered Elatra's question, Ruiden cut in.
Ruiden spoke in a teasing tone.
- Ruiden, you are mistaken. Han always came to me first to talk.
- I think you're the one who's mistaken, Altein. That may have been true most of the time, but we were the first ones she spoke to about this.
- Heh, think what you will.
- Altein! I’m serious! Should we ask Han?
- Hahaha, go ahead and ask. See if it's true.
As Ruiden flared up, Altein spoke as if calming a child.
- It’s true…!
- Ruiden, Altein, that’s not what’s important right now. Besides, we can’t speak with Han at the moment, so let’s settle this later. May I continue?
‘Yes. It seems the most important part of the story hasn’t been told yet.’
- Right… We held one last meeting without Gellahan.
After ‘Han’ noticed Gellahan’s intentions.
She gathered the other Ascetics, excluding Gellahan.
At the time, they hadn't yet imagined the 100-Year War that would follow.
They merely discussed how they might change Gellahan’s mind and whether the seeds of his betrayal were truly growing.
But the betrayal happened, and the 100-Year War began.
- At first, we thought we could stop Gellahan easily. No matter how high Gellahan's divinity was, even he wouldn't be able to stand against the combined divinity and Powers of all of us. But he knew from the start that we were excluding him.
That was how the Apostates were created.
He divided his divinity into five parts, sharing it with the four Apostates.
The Apostates gained power equal to, or perhaps even greater than, the remaining eight Ascetics, and they prevented the Ascetics from uniting as one.
- Many races went extinct during those 100 years. The vast populations of humans, demi-humans, fairies… not only them, but many gods and demon lords also lost their divinity and fell. But thanks to their sacrifice, we were able to seal the Apostates and Gellahan.
Only after suffering immense damage did peace return to the continent.
But it was not the peace of the past, but a peace fraught with tension.
Gellahan and the Apostates had not been completely defeated.
In other words, it wasn't the end of the war, but a ceasefire.
- Our divinity was also greatly damaged. There was almost nothing we could do as Ascetics. We could only watch from the sidelines and wait for our divinity to recover. But Han was different. Han continued to worry about Gellahan.
‘Han’ feared that the seal would one day break, but she also worried about Gellahan himself.
Why had Gellahan come to think that way?
Why had he, who loved peace more than anyone, started a war?
In the end, his intentions remained a mystery, but she prepared for the future.
- Han’s Power was Harmony. She had the ability to merge all things into one. She could absorb and bestow. With Han’s Power, we decided to combine our divinity. We concluded that a unified divinity would exert greater power than a scattered one.
Barely able to maintain their title as Ascetics after the war and the sealing, they decided to gather their divinity into one place.
And they decided to hide that divinity somewhere.
- And Han decided to hide it in the place where you lived, Adversary Lee Do-jae. Gellahan could extend his power beyond dimensions, but we could not.
Just before Gellahan started the war, the Ascetics discovered that he was influencing a completely different dimension.
A separate dimension, with completely different space and time.
That place was Earth, and by the time they learned of it, the war had just begun.
After the war ended, ‘Han’ crossed dimensions at the risk of her own existence.
Dungeons appeared on Earth, mana began to flow in, and the awakened emerged.
- We sealed our own divinity along with Gellahan's scattered mana and entrusted our Powers to Han.
In the end, the sealed divinity of the Ascetics, sealed alongside Gellahan’s mana, were the ‘Sealed Memories’ that Do-jae had been finding.
Each time he absorbed one, an Ascetic’s seal was broken, and an immense amount of mana flowed into his body.
- If the humans of your world were to absorb our divinity and Powers all at once, their bodies wouldn't be able to withstand it. Han created trials so that the Adversary could slowly accept the power and grow. It was a method Han devised after crossing dimensions many times. And that is what the quests are.
That was it.
Something familiar to the modern people of Earth.
That was games, and the quests within games were a fittingly simple way to represent growth.
‘I see… In that case, is the Ascetic Han’s divinity the Heart of the Golem?’
- That is correct. It was created through her Power of Harmony. Even the name 'Golem' is just a simple term to describe the Adversary, reborn with our divinity and Powers.
Do-jae finally understood everything.
All his abilities were meant for the purpose of fighting Gellahan.
‘I understand about the quests. But if Han is the Heart of the Golem, why does the main quest show a progress of 7?’
[Quest]
Classification: Main
Content: You have met the minimum qualifications. To reclaim your complete power, you must gather the scattered pieces. (Progress 5/7)
…….
- Your question is, you need to find two more Powers, so why are there four Ascetics left?
‘That’s right.’
- Fufu. Why do you assume there's only one main quest?
‘Pardon?’
- Main is just main. It's not the final one.
‘…….’
Do-jae fell into thought for a moment.
As Elatra said, main was just main; nowhere did it say it was the final quest.
‘Does that mean… two of them have Powers that can strengthen me, and the other two represent another kind of power?’
- Something like that. There are two Powers remaining, and one Ascetic who holds the final power.
The number of new Powers Do-jae could obtain was two.
And the last one was unknown.
Elatra said she couldn't speak about it.
But still, that left the number of Ascetics short by one.
- That’s because it's hard to call Han an Ascetic anymore… Only her Power remains. Only as a quest.