62
062 ― Bertus
The Lord's name of the God of Wars, is easy to understand. The Lord of fighting and war. The name is almost identical to the divine name.
Bertus, who serves the God of Wars and holds the number 1 position in contribution points. The fact that he possesses the same black flames as Ireland means...
'A minion of the War Lord.'
That was the only conclusion he could reach.
But why...
'Why is he here, treating people?'
Jin-woo's mind was filled with questions about this incomprehensible behavior.
If someone is called a minion of Erosion, they are no different from Erosion itself. No, since a single entity possesses the energy of Erosion that could spread across vast territories, it would be fair to call them walking Erosion.
Yet such a being is treating people's wounds?
'It doesn't seem like he's pulling any special tricks either.'
If he were secretly pulling tricks to spread Erosion, there's no way it wouldn't be visible to Jin-woo's eyes.
These were the eyes that even saw through the barrier that the Sky God had set up to protect the divine artifact. There's no way he couldn't detect the tricks of a mere minion.
That Orc named Bertus wasn't particularly implanting Erosion energy into patients or anything. He was really just honestly treating them.
"You're Kang Jin-woo, correct? The one who holds over 100 million contribution points in Moonlit Forest."
Bertus looked at Jin-woo and approached without hesitation to ask.
The surrounding people who had already been glancing at Jin-woo held their breath and stared.
Ignoring their burdensome gazes, Jin-woo answered with a frown.
"That's right. And you're Bertus, I heard?"
"Yes. I am Bertus, who serves the God of Wars on this land and accumulates merit. I'm an Orc of the proud Ashfire Tusk tribe and the son of Grondar, the great warrior of my clan."
His manner of speaking wasn't rough, and his content was well-organized. He didn't seem completely irrational like the Black Knight, nor did he feel forcibly suppressed like Ireland.
'He actually seems more rational than regular Orcs?'
From what Jin-woo knew, Orcs were beings who prioritized instinct over reason. They fight, eat, sleep, and reproduce. A race that is faithful to their own desires and doesn't feel ashamed of it.
Therefore, elves called Orcs a barbaric race, and among Earth's hunters, there was a saying to throw food and run when encountering Orcs.
However, Bertus was rational in a way unlike Orcs, and unlike a minion of Erosion, he was properly maintaining that rationality.
'More dangerous.'
That's why Jin-woo felt he was a more dangerous being. Even more so than the Black Knight or Ireland.
"Kang Jin-woo? Is there something on my face?"
"...No, it's nothing."
When Jin-woo sighed and answered, Bertus smiled.
"I really wanted to meet you at least once. The very person who defeated Lin Shenlin and brought down the Sky Temple! A human, not an Elf, who receives all the love of the God of Moonlit Forest."
"It wasn't me who faced Lin Shenlin, but Mahiri and April here."
"Ah, that's right."
When Jin-woo mentioned this, April, who had been standing behind with her arms crossed, let out a hmph! and puffed air through her nose. Though her expression didn't change, she somehow looked quite pleased.
"How about it, Kang Jin-woo. Would you accept our god's invitation to run wild in the arena once? There are quite a few people interested in your skills."
At Bertus's words, everyone around also lit up their eyes.
These were all people who came to fight or came to watch fights.
For them, the most talked-about topic was naturally Kang Jin-woo, the number 1 in contribution points, who brought down the Sky Temple.
―Is Kang Jin-woo really the strongest in this city?
―Recently, many humans at Lin Shenlin's level, or maybe even stronger, have entered. Even Kang Jin-woo would find it tough.
―In the end, he proved nothing. It was Mahiri, the dragon tamer, who faced Lin Shenlin head-on, wasn't it? April also joined that side.
―Lin Shenlin retreated and disappeared, but Kang Jin-woo couldn't prove he was stronger than such a Lin Shenlin. Just because he's number 1 doesn't necessarily mean he's the strongest.
Whispers could be heard from various places. Some were words Jin-woo could understand; others he couldn't.
However, just from the atmosphere, he could tell they were all saying the same thing. They wanted to see Jin-woo's real skills.
"I, too, and my god as well, are very interested in your power."
[The God of Wars takes notice. Is the power shown at the Sky Temple truth or illusion?]
Even Bertus and the God of Wars were observing Jin-woo with persistent attention. Their expectations were somewhat different from others.
'The God of Wars saw how I conquered the Sky Temple.'
When he had infiltrated the Sky Temple. Several gods had witnessed the process of Jin-woo bringing down the temple while munching on popcorn.
They might not know exactly how he broke the God of Sky's barrier, but they did see the scene of breaking the barrier itself.
The God of Wars and Bertus probably want to know that. The source of that power that shattered the barrier personally deployed by the God of Sky in just six steps.
"Sorry, but I'll pass."
Jin-woo shook his head.
There was no obligation to deliberately show what the opponent wanted to know.
Even aside from that, he had no intention of going up to the arena. Even if they offered contribution points now, he had no interest.
"I have no intention of raising my contribution points further. I already have enough."
"At this rate, won't I catch up to you in less than three months?"
"Catch up or don't. I've already achieved my purpose."
Actually, Jin-woo's purpose from the beginning wasn't to raise contribution points. It was to confirm whether the God of Moonlit Forest was the World Tree or not.
Having received confirmation directly from him that he was indeed the World Tree, there was no reason to be obsessed with contribution points anymore.
"Ugh. Humans are difficult. If it were an Orc, they would have immediately stepped forward to fight without any need for difficult persuasion."
"You're an Orc too."
"I'm a somewhat unusual Orc. I fell from a pear tree when I was young and hit my head."
Was it a joke or real? He couldn't laugh because he didn't know which it was.
"Humans do need justification and practical benefits. Come back with some justification or practical benefit that might tempt me."
"I'd like to, if I could, but I only have the skill to heal. I'll consult with my god once."
[The God of Wars gets angry. He doesn't know such difficult things.]
"Now, now, let's have a conversation together, Lord. Don't they say that even boar hide can be cut if two Orcs work together?"
It seemed the God of Wars wasn't as rational as Bertus.
Should he say it lived up to its name? Rather than Bertus, who was an Orc but not Orc-like, the god had a temperament more similar to Orcs.
"Then I'll be going. I happen to see someone injured. I need to go treat them."
"Don't pull any strange tricks under the guise of treatment."
"Haha, if I were going to pull such tricks, I would have done so long ago. I've been in this 3rd floor for over 2 years."
Saying that, Bertus left.
It was a short but intense encounter. Including hearing the voice of the God of Wars.
'The God of Wars.'
The lord of fighting and war. He was certainly a lord of Erosion. Since all Erosions were enemies invading stars, he might be an enemy to Jin-woo as well.
However, aside from such obvious things, there was one thing he wanted to know.
Whether the God of Wars was an enemy of the God of Sky, or an ally.
***
After sending Bertus away, Jin-woo had a conversation with April.
"April. Has Bertus really been in this city for 2 years?"
"I don't know exactly, but it would be about that. I've been here quite a while, too, and I've been indebted to him several times."
"I suppose he used to go around treating people like that before, too?"
"Bertus's clinic is famous in Pandemonium. He treats any major injury for free, so his reputation is excellent. Even the rough guys in Pandemonium don't touch Bertus's clinic."
Even in Pandemonium, a completely lawless zone, there were implicit rules, one of which was Bertus's clinic.
No one should attack Bertus, and in the clinic, don't fight even with your parents' enemy.
"He's quite peaceful for someone who serves the God of Wars."
"The existence of medics on the battlefield is more important than anything. Perhaps because of that, the God of Wars seems to favor him greatly. Actually, his contribution points are also the highest."
It's the opposite. It's not that he liked Bertus's abilities and gave him contribution points, but rather that Bertus was originally a minion he sent.
For what purpose exactly? He didn't know that yet. It didn't seem like something he could figure out in a short time, either.
If it were something he could figure out quickly, Bertus wouldn't have spent over 2 years in this 3rd floor.
'I'll keep it in mind for now.'
The fact that there was a minion of the War Lord here in Pandemonium. It was information he must not forget.
Engraving that in his mind, Jin-woo looked around the arena area anew. The Sky Arena, hosted by the God of Wars and assisted by Bertus, was very prosperous and full of people.
With so many people, there were those selling food and those making money selling cool drinks.
There was even what appeared to be a gambling den on one side. Probably something like a toto where they predict winners and win money...
"Kal..., no, Mahiri?"
He saw a very familiar duo at that gambling den.
"Ah, Jin-woo!"
When their eyes met, she made an awkward smiling expression. Kalesian, his main body in her arms, seemed embarrassed and turned his head.
"What are you doing here?"
"I've shown you an embarrassing sight..."
Mahiri answered while scratching her cheek. Looking behind, he could see money, gold, or accessories being exchanged.
Jin-woo looked at her, no, at Kalesian in her arms, with coldly cooled eyes.
"Fun, fun! I just did it for fun! There's no way a gambling den would be missing from such an arena!"
Mahiri hugged Kalesian as if to hide him and twisted her upper body while shouting.
"What did I say to make you react like that? You can gamble a little, sure. Now, I'll watch quietly, so finish what you were doing."
"Nngh..."
At Mahiri's trembling reaction, Jin-woo chuckled. He was just teasing her a little; Jin-woo didn't really intend to seriously blame her.
He already knew that Kalesian was a dragon who went crazy for gold and silver treasures.
"Big brother, big brother wants to try too? Good odds, low commission."
A Hunter who seemed to have opened the gambling den also invited Jin-woo. It was clumsy Korean that Jin-woo could understand, but judging by the characteristic tone, he seemed to be a Hunter from Hong Kong.
'If he's a Hunter from Hong Kong, most of them were raising contribution points for the God of Sky...'
Then wouldn't he have some grudge against himself for bringing down that Sky Temple? Thinking that and looking at him, the Hong Kong Hunter who had set up the den just grinned without any grudge or anything. The gold tooth embedded in his front teeth was very noticeable.
"Try betting once. The next match is between Moscow's A-rank and our Hong Kong's A-rank. I recommend betting on Moscow."
"Why? You think the hunter from the same Hong Kong will lose?"
"Yeah. I know that guy well, and that bastard is stupidly weak. Not all A-ranks are the same A-rank."
Whether he was giving real information, pulling tricks, or just throwing out random bait, it was unclear. Trying to get him interested in the gambling den somehow.
In any case, Jin-woo had no intention of betting money, so he shook his head and backed away.
"500 dollars on Moscow!"
Of course, Mahiri smiled brightly and cheerfully bet a large sum. She's probably planning to buy jewelry or something at a luxury store with the money she wins like this.
'Overall... It's like a festival.'
He wasn't just talking about this gambling den. The entire arena set up on the sky island was prosperous like one big festival.
It didn't look bad. Everyone had a place to eat, drink, fight, and enjoy moderately.
Even if someone got seriously injured, Bertus would heal them all to full recovery. Not just Bertus, but A-rank and S-rank Hunters with healing skills were also visible.
'S-rank healers and quite a few A-ranks too, and Bertus is even a lord's minion.'
He didn't know Bertus's purpose, but his healing skills were real.
The part about not knowing the former's purpose was concerning, though.
"Kalesian. Since you'll be here anyway, please also keep an eye on Bertus while you're at it."
Jin-woo created a barrier of mana so his voice wouldn't leak and whispered only to Kalesian.
"Huh? Why?"
"He's a minion of the God of Wars."
"...What?"
Kalesian seemed quite surprised but didn't show it. He might have reflexively looked at Bertus, but he didn't do that either. From the side, it was a perfect non-reaction.
"Got it. I'll take charge of watching him. I'm almost always at this place lately anyway."
"Only gamble for enjoyment. You may have a lot of money, but wouldn't it be regrettable if you lost it?"
"Y-yeah, got it."
His particularly stammering answer made it seem like he had already lost quite a bit.
Jin-woo shook his head. Well, they say you shouldn't worry about celebrities or Hunters, so he'll manage well on his own.
"Come to think of it, how is the research on the divine artifact going?"
"Huh? I'm making decent progress on that, too. Well, I have plenty of time, so I'm planning to take it easy."
When would be a good time to tell him about the 6th floor? Maybe it would be better to wait until returning to Earth. It would be troublesome if he immediately wanted to plunder a second divine artifact.
"Then I'll go down."
"Yeah, take care."
Jin-woo parted with him and headed toward the leaf going down. April also followed behind, saying she had no great interest in the arena either.
"Let's go back to the apartment for now."
"Let's do that."
Jin-woo decided to return to the high-rise apartment he had made his base camp.
***
There was a prior visitor at the apartment.
Although Jin-woo had made it his base camp, it wasn't exactly his house, and there was no lock either.
So it was a place anyone could enter, but still, being on a high floor, he thought foot traffic would be rare.
"Master? No one's there, so why aren't you going in?"
The visitor's presence wasn't visible to April. Jin-woo looked at the blue flames flickering by the window inside the room and spoke.
"Kurenai Masato. When did you come to the 3rd floor again?"
"Earth has been noisy because of the achievements you made in the 3rd floor. My busy work happened to be finished too, so I came to take a look."
It was the old man he had parted with in New York, Kurenai Masato.
He had hurried to Tokyo because of David's matter when a guild in Tokyo disclosed secret ledgers, and it seemed that the matter was all wrapped up.
Since he had handled it personally, that guild's end probably wasn't good...
"Coming here, your reputation is indeed high. But as it happened, I received an interesting request."
"A request?"
"Not a request, was it called a trial here? It's been so long since I've been to the 3rd floor that I'm hazy. Anyway, I went to the Temple of Lingering Light, and the god happened to ask me to do something."
The God of Lingering Light. Another name is the Lord of Light and Dawn.
He didn't know why someone who always hides his appearance and lives in darkness would go to a temple of light. But.
"He asked me to assassinate an Orc named Bertus. Can I ask you about it? I haven't been in the 3rd floor long, so I lack information."
The request, no, trial he had brought was somewhat unexpected.