Chapter 537: Hidden Piece (4) |
“An outer god…” Kim Hyun-Sung muttered.
“What?”
“What she saw was probably an outer god…” he added.
“How do you—”
“I remember reading it in an ancient book. Of course, I don’t know the details, but… the word just popped into my head. Did you see what it looked like?” he asked.
“No, I couldn’t really make it out… I can’t really say that it looked human, so I have no idea what I saw. It was a gigantic being that I can’t quite grasp,” Sun Hee-Young answered.
“...”
“...”
‘What the hell is an outer god? Damn it.’
“Aren’t the gods in charge of this continent? What is this talk about an outer god? If they aren’t like Goddess Benigoa and Elune, what in the world did Hee-Young noonim see?”
“I really don’t know the details,” replied Kim Hyun-Sung.
“There’s too much information to process, so I have no idea what’s going on. Are you saying that an outer god isn’t like the gods that we know?” asked Park Deok-Gu.
“I think so. The ancient book said that an outer god is an outcast,” replied Kim Hyun-Sung.
“An outcast?” Park Deok-Gu repeated.
“One thing is for sure—they won’t be kind to us,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.
“That’s right, Guild Master. I don’t know the details, but the giant being wasn’t looking at us kindly. To be exact, it didn’t seem to be interested in us, but… I can’t say for sure,” Sun Hee-Young chimed in.
‘An outcast…’
There was a high chance that Kim Hyun-Sung truly wasn’t that knowledgeable about them since Altanus and Benigoa had to have restricted him from gathering a ton of information. Therefore, it wasn’t strange that he wasn’t aware of the situation up there.
Even if he knew about the outer gods…
‘He probably won’t tell us, considering our current situation.’
However, I had a general idea of what was going on, so I was suspicious about a few things. If the outer gods were truly outcasts, then…
‘Perhaps they weren’t assigned to this world’s dimension or planets?’
It didn’t make sense that the manager of the dimensions would allow a wormhole to just float around. The dimension that we were in wasn’t created randomly. I wasn’t sure how, but it was clear that a huge system was running things here, above, and below.
The gods were like employees of a company, and they were divided into their own departments. They would then manage their own dimensions, and they would most likely earn merit depending on how they were managing their own dimensions.
My assumptions of the continent’s unknown rules were the following…
1. Influencing the continent in any way consumes holy power. Miracles, quests, and even bestowing upon a calling to someone will consume a large amount of holy power.
2. The gods will suffer a huge penalty upon getting involved with humans. Direct harm was impossible.
3. They accumulate holy power and merit from humans.
These were what I had gathered so far. The gods of the continent were managing the humans, but it was undeniable that we were the reason why the gods were alive. The humans were the gods’ raison d’etre. Without humans, they wouldn’t exist. Without the dimensions, there would be no environment for humans to live.
If the outer gods truly were gods that existed beyond this dimension and this continent, Kim Hyun-Sung’s solemn look would make sense. After all, it would mean that the outer gods wouldn’t be under the constraints that I had mentioned earlier.
There was a chance that they could directly harm humans—no, they could definitely do it. If their existence was beyond the system, they could do whatever they wanted with the humans.
“Are you saying that they’re like demons?” Park Deok-Gu asked.
‘They’re probably different from demons.’
They were a bit different from the gods, but demons were still part of the system, so they were basically in the same position as the gods.
A demon would receive a penalty from the system upon manifesting in the real world, and the penalty would become even heavier if they did something against the rules of the system.
Unlike the gods, they could directly harm humans, but those actions had a limit as well.
There was a high chance that the so-called outer gods had no limiters at all, which made me realize something crucial.
‘How are they getting holy power? Are they even wielding holy power? Or is it something different?’
I had two assumptions. They either had too much merit that they didn’t have to worry about holy power or…
‘They become stronger by creating chaos…’
There was a high chance that it was the latter.
‘So it was those bastards...’
They were the reason Kim Hyun-Sung regressed.
‘I’m sure it’s them...’
And they were also the reason why Benigoa said that the gods weren’t perfect.
[That’s right, we’re not perfect. Keep that in mind, my proud Father Lee Ki-Young. We’re not perfect either. We’re incomplete. We’re just standing in a different position from those on the continent, but we’re not that different from you. Keep that in mind.]
I felt like I finally understood why she emphasized the fact that they weren’t perfect. At the time, I thought it was just an excuse to justify her trolling, but it didn’t seem to be the case anymore.
I couldn’t help but think that she was hinting at the fact that Kim Hyun-Sung and the continent would have to face a mythical being. It sounded like she was being delusional, but things were falling into place.
Kim Hyun-Sung’s worried expression was telling me that my useless assumptions might actually be true.
‘The masked scum…’
I couldn’t help but be curious about the masked scum’s movements in Kim Hyun-Sung’s past life.
‘Was he working under the outer gods as well?’
He joined the brigade, established a contract with a demon, and spread chaos on the continent—that was the extent of my knowledge about the masked scum. If I were to assume that he had been working with the outer gods, everything would make sense.
However, I was still doubtful.
The masked scum—Demon Summoner Jin Cheong—had to have established a contract with Belial. I wasn’t sure about the other demons, but Belial was a demon that I could confidently describe as a soft-liner.
And that was why it was hard for me to understand why he had decided to work with the outer gods. Of course, it was also possible that he simply got into a contract for the sake of their own benefits.
‘No, I don’t think that’s the only reason. A contract with the outer gods is problematic…’
After all, it would be a relationship based purely on benefits, and Belial probably understood that better than anyone.
‘I think he didn’t get into a contract with Belial…’
I was still a bit uncomfortable, but I felt like I managed to solve some of the burning questions in my mind. Of course, I still had to confirm them for myself, but I had to set them aside and organize my thoughts.
However, I was a bit surprised to see that someone else was reading the room.
“This sounds a bit absurd, but… I can’t get rid of this feeling…” Park Deok-Gu muttered.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I’ll tell you if you promise not to laugh,” said.
“I won’t laugh, so tell me,” I said.
“Well… I’m wondering if this is the threat that Goddess Benigoa had mentioned after the war with the Republic,” he answered.
“...”
‘This pig might be onto something.’
Park Deok-Gu looked a bit shocked because he thought everyone would start laughing, but everyone was staring at him with serious looks.
Kim Hyun-Sung was particularly surprised, and I could see through his thoughts.
He was probably thinking along the lines of—what in the world is he?
“That’s…”
“It’s just an assumption. I don’t know what’s going on, but… our hyung-nim said that everything happens for a reason. I think there’s a reason we’re here,” he replied.
‘You’re the reason we’re here, you pig…!’
“It’s strange, right? I still don’t understand how our guild was able to enter this kind of dungeon right when we arrived with this ship, but Miss Jung-Yeon said earlier that there’s a chance that a transcendent being led us here,” he added.
“...”
“I think they’re trying to show us the enemy that we will have to fight in the future. I think that’s why we were led to this dungeon. You guys aren’t strong enough, so overcome this trial and become even stronger! Something like that…” he said.
“...”
“The thought that someone is probably watching us right now really gives me the creeps…” he added.
I actually got goosebumps as well.
It was a terrifying moment, and I was scared that Park Deok-Gu would suddenly awaken and introduce himself as Park Gu-Deok.
Some of his lucky guesses were actually right, and it made even more sense considering that I couldn’t contact Benigoa or Elune here. It was possible that a transcendent being had led us here.
In other words, a transcendent being who was aware of Kim Hyun-Sung’s past life had decided to interfere.
“It doesn’t sound like a ridiculous assumption. Of course, I can’t say that it completely makes sense, but I think it’s best if we keep what you said in mind,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.
“So, what should we do?” he asked.
“I don’t see any other options, so I think the best course of action is to conquer this dungeon. What about teleportation? Is it…” Kim Hyun-Sung trailed off.
“Y-Yes… it’s i-impossible,” Jung Ha-Yan stuttered.
“I see. I have investigated many dungeons, but I’ve never heard of a Mythic-rank dungeon before. We have to be always aware that the difficulty of this dungeon cannot be compared to the difficulty of the dungeons that we have cleared before,” he warned.
‘I don’t even want to imagine it. Damn it…’
“Mr. Ki-Young, even in the worst-case scenario, please…” he trailed off.
“Ah, yes. I understand,” I answered.
“A dungeon quest will never be safe, so I would like the rest of you to keep in mind that you might die….”
“Yes, we’re prepared, Guild Master.”
“The dungeon conquests have always been difficult, but the Blue Guild managed to overcome all those trials. I’m sure that we will succeed this time as well. Don’t worry too much about us; we’ll manage and succeed,” said Park Deok-Gu.
“Mister Deok-Gu is right. You don’t have to worry about us… Everyone. Is prepared,” Kim Ye-Ri chimed in.
“...”
‘Of course, it’s going to be difficult…’
It was a Mythic-rank dungeon, after all. Mythic-rank dungeons weren’t supposed to exist on this continent.
The dungeons that the Blue Guild had conquered so far were dungeons that Kim Hyun-Sung could easily carry the Blue Guild through, but this Mythic-rank dungeon was different.
There was a high chance that some of us would die.
Everyone was saying that it was fine, but Kim Hyun-Sung looked extremely worried.
He got even more worried the more we reassured him that everything would be fine.
Silence soon descended upon us as we nervously stood around.
[Welcome to the Mythic-rank dungeon—Sea of the Abandoned Dimension. Fish out random items from the Dimensional Sea to your heart’s content. However, you can only bring back one item, regardless of the item rank. Return once you’re done fishing (0/1)]
“Huh?”
I wasn’t the only one who got the message, and everyone started looking at each other.
‘This is…’
“Awesome…”
“Wow…”
“No way…”
Trial, my ass! We were basically about to have fun fishing.
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