novelSeoul (17)
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Seoul (17)
The God of duel.
The god who had been watching me since the early days of the Tutorial.
Since I was an amateur challenger who didn't know anything, when I didn't have the same confidence I had now. Thanks to that, he didn't have a good impression of me.
Somewhere in between, he had a change of mind, so he gave me some power as a gift. He was also a god who didn't pay much attention to me because his evaluation changed again.
Before entering the 60th floor, the messages I'd seen about the God of Duel were usually like this:
[God of Duel regrets something. ]
[God of Duel is displeased. ]
[God of Fight regrets something. ]
[God of Duel is disappointed in you. ]
Such was the case. That was all. I knew what the duel god wanted.
Me to have a fair confrontation with an enemy.
But f*ck that, it wasn't possible in the Tutorial's Hell Difficulty.
No matter how much I got stronger, at the time, it was abnormal to demand such a thing at a high level of difficulty, where the easier option was to hit someone's back or find a shortcut.
Was it on the fourth floor? There was a negative message for me, saying that I'd have to repeat the attack against the city of Goblins. Should I have run straight from the main gate of the city of Goblins to the throne room of the King Goblin?
What the duel god wanted was always unrealistic. Of course, after gaining more power, I was able to clear it in the way he wanted me to.
But why would I? I was never interested in fair confrontation. It has always been that way, and it will continue to be so.
In conclusion, the God of Duel was a god who wasn't on good terms with me. So when Hochi and Yong-yong had participated in the Tournament, the God of Duel demanded the return of his power.
That obstinate god suffered whenever his power was used in a wrong way. That may be why the power, which had already been altered, copied, torn and used, was still asked to be given back, with a promise of reward.
"God of Duel."
He nodded his head.
He was a giant with flaming red skin, bulging eyes and a muscular, yet irregularly-shaped body that was reminiscent of the goblins listed in folktales. He resembled the monks I'd met on the 13th floor. Maybe they're from the same clan.
"What brings you here?"
"Requirement: the return of powers."
The God of Duel answered, plainly, in a firm voice. He was a little different from the God of Hope, who telepathically communicated in the shape of a strange fly.
Stiff talk. He looked like a monk, but his tone was a little different.
"That request was accepted by me."
The God of Duel nodded. The God of Duel had promised a reward. It was of no consequence to return a power that was already useless to me.
But...
"Who gave you permission to come here?"
"Of course your..."
The voice of the God of Duel, who'd answered in a monotonous manner, halted.
Everything in sight began to vibrate. The sofa, alarm clock, table, and other furniture in the living room of the flat rose into the air and were broken into pieces while vibrating. The walls and ceilings of the building were drilled with holes. Same was for the God of Duel.
His skin couldn't stand the shock and began to peel off. He, who already had red skin, became more red with blood clots all over his body.
This was different from the God of Hope who summoned his own world to Japan and dealt with me. The God of Duel jumped into the middle of my territory, and to make matters worse, exactly where I was.
Die.
"I accepted the demand for the return of your power. Though I don't remember saying that you could come to my place at any time."
The God of Duel tried to use his power and protect his body.
He spat out, "Have you been busy?"
His voice was weirdly calm. And the answer wasn't fit for a situation where his eyes were being half pulled out. It was definitely a busy day.
Restoration of Seregia... I had to find a solution. I still needed to call in Kim Min-hyuk to find out what happened over the past few days, and what Hochi and Yong-yong had been doing. I also had to visit Park Min and wring his neck.
"You must have been very busy. I'm sorry. You told me to come later, so I thought that the timing wouldn't be important."
The God of Duel immediately apologized. I didn't like it. Even in such a situation, he gave me a calm reply, not a scream.
"More than anything, I thought it would be best to meet you now. For me, for you and for the other gods watching us."
F*cking bastard.
This was the most annoying thing. The God of Duel did not come alone. There were countless eyes of gods with him. The gods of the Hundred Gods Temple.
Just as Lee Yeon-hee came to the 60th floor with the eyes of those gods, the God of Duel did the same. The fact that the gods could indirectly come out and look at Earth through the God of Duel wasn't pleasant for me.
"What do you mean by 'would be best for me'?"
I won't allow him to make a bullsh*t story. I'm willing to pull out his eyes and make him blind like the guy on the 13th floor.
"Many gods are anxious."
"Why?"
"Of course, because of you."
Tch.
I clicked my tongue. It was the same as Kirikiri said.
"You are an anomaly in many ways. Most Combat Gods can't even reach the Minor God level, but you are well beyond it."
"I see how it is."
It's no wonder that the Hundred Gods Temple was concerned about my power.
A more important problem. What I wanted was owned by the gods of the Hundred Gods Temple.
"It's been less than a day since the hunt was over, have you already prepared the cauldron?"
As soon as I had finished hunting down the God of Hope and the Rulers, they checked in immediately. It was too much of a coincidence. I thought about dealing with them once I kill the God of Duel, the medium of their gaze, and shut all the eyes on Earth.
'Seregia. '
[Yes, Warrior. ]
'Help me. '
[It's too much right now. ]
'Can't you do anything?'
[I'm helpless. ]
Damn it.
Seregia seemed to be in a worse condition than expected. When she killed the fake, she was hit hard by the power of God of Hope.
I was also harmed by that power, but Seregia, who had to face it head-on as a weapon, suffered even more damage.
It wasn't something that I had noticed while getting back to Earth. First, I had to solve the issue at hand. Before the Hundred Gods Temple could come down to Earth in earnest, I'd have to kill the God of Duel.
I was planning my future actions, when suddenly the quest window opened. Having opened without my will, the quest window flashed brightly.
[Quest Window]
[God of Slowness-Conversation with God of Duel. ]
[God of Remorse-Conversation with God of Duel. ]
[God of Origin-Conversation with God of Duel. ]
[God of Amusement-Conversation with God of Duel. ]
[God of Devotion-Conversation with God of Duel. ]
[God of Light-Explosion! (Completed)]
[God of Light-Explosion! (new!)]
It was an unexpected quest. But I could understand the will of the Hundred Gods Temple. They wanted me to talk to the God of Duel. They're going to talk to me, using the god of duel as a spokesperson.
[God of Slowness-Conversation with God of Duel. ]
Explanation: The God Of Slowness is curious about your latest move.
The God Of Slowness would like to learn more about you through a conversation with the God of Duel who visited to get his power back.
[God of Remorse-Conversation with God of Duel. ]
Explanation: The God of Adventure asked.
[God of Origin-Conversation with God of Duel. ]
Explanation: The God of Origin is deeply concerned about your recent move.
The God of Origin would like to confirm that your move does not threaten the safety of the God of Origin, through the conversation with the God of Duel who has visited to receive his power back.
There were even different explanations for what they wanted even though they all gave the same quest.
The Gods of Slowness and Adventure were intrigued while the God of Origin was concerned.
The God of Light...
What is this?
I'm sure I already did that.
[God of Light-Explosion, please! (Completed)]
[God of Light-Explosion, again please! (new!)
Description: The Lord of Light is shouting 'One more time'. The God of Light has prepared a reward for the quest, a new price, but not consent for the transfer of the tutorial. Whatever the reward is, you'd better ignore it.
I'll ignore it.
All the other gods wanted me to have a conversation with the God of Duel. It was not to draw a conclusion through conversation, but to use it as a basis for judgment on me. It was strange, but that was the attitude the gods had been using for the challengers.
"Conversation."
"Are you willing?"
The God of Duel was still calm.
I wanted to throw a stone in that calmness.
Conversation.
My preferred conversation was one that involved throwing hands and not words.
"Ta-da!"
Then, Kirikiri, who had disappeared through the quest window, came back out.
* * *
"Heng heng, I knew you two were going to fight, " commented Kirikiri, munching on a chocolate pie.
Now, even if I didn't give it to her, she brought snacks out of the kitchen on her own.
"Come on, eat. Talk while eating."
Kirikiri said so, and gave me and the God of Duel one slice of chocolate pie each.
Hey, this is mine.
It's my house.
To put it aside, it was a house owned by Kim Min-hyuk, and the snacks he bought.
"The God of Duel doesn't speak well. How dumb. Ahahaha."
Kirikiri laughed, pounding the back of the duel god. The God of Duel quietly tore off a piece of the choco pie, and began munching on it. It seemed that he didn't even care that Kirikiri had hit his back.
It was annoying. The fact that he remained so unguarded irritated me.
"There are two main concerns of the gods."
"What is it?"
"One is that you're completely out of the constraints of the system."
Does that matter?
It was different from the God of Hope, who used the boundaries of the system to his benefit. The God of Hope used his men, but the other gods did not punish him because he belonged to the Hundred Gods Temple.
But in my case, my land was only vaguely related to the Hundred Gods Temple, and if you looked closely, I myself, would be considered a third party.
If I'd intruded into the joint area of the Hundred Gods Temple without permission, I would be attacked by the Hundred Gods Temple.
"Well, maybe you can find a loophole. Above all, In the eyes of the Hundred Gods Temple defense is impossible if you attack only the personal land of a particular god. Just as you destroyed the holy lands of the God of Hope."
It's not the problem of the Hundred Gods Temple, but a particular god then.
"Some of the gods are worried they might be your target."
That won't happen.
"You think I'm going to pick a fight with just anybody?"
"Heng-heng."
Kirikiri just smiled.
I guess you think so.
"The second worry is choosing a way to avoid the restrictions, with Ho-jae protected by the system."
"And how is that possible?"
To avoid the restrictions while being protected by the system.
"You already know. By becoming the apostle of another god."
Apostle.
I hadn't expected that to appear again.
"In the first place, the apostles were created by the gods to free themselves from restrictions and expand their sphere of influence. If you're an apostle of another god, you'll be a part of the Hundred Gods Temple, but you can avoid the system's constraints."
"Can you be an apostle of another god even after you become god?"
"Of course."
Several hypotheses came to mind.
About the God of Hope.
"Among the gods in the Hundred Gods Temple, is there any other "God apostle"?"
"Yes. Yes. There are. Typically they were under the God of Hope."
The God of Hope. That's why I got the impression that he was free from the system.
Kirikiri said, looking at the God of Duel sitting next to her.
"God of Duel here is also an apostle."
The God of Duel was the apostle of another god.
Whose apostle was he?
Soon, I got the answer.
"The God of Slowness."
The God of Duel nodded.
"Heng-heng. Anyway, Ho-jae is very unique, such a situation has never happened before. That's why it's like this. Just know that the Hundred Gods Temple doesn't want to antagonize you right now."
The Hundred Gods Temple had no intention of antagonizing me. Of course. There was no unified opinion in the Hundred Gods Temple. Practically each god had different thoughts and goals after all.
"So what was the conversation they wanted to have with me?"
"Well, they wonder what you're going to do in the future, and whether you plan to antagonize them in the future."
I asked the God of Duel, but Kirikiri answered instead.
The God of Duel stared at Kirikiri and opened his mouth.
"I have a proposal for you."
"Huh?"
Kirikiri looked at the God of Duel with her eyes wide open. The God of Duel spoke without regard for her.
"It's a proposal from the God of Slowness. Become her apostle."
Kirikiri's eyes began to glow fiercely, her face radiating as she glared at him.
As expected, each god had their own agenda.
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