Vol 2. Chapter 73: The Salvation of God (10)

I sat still and watched the various people who were reflected on all kinds of displays. There was a person walking on the street while looking at his cell phone, many others who were talking excitedly, and some dressed in suits who were on their way to work… I couldn't resist but let out a groan, "Wow, the people going to work are tremendous. Office workers are amazing."

Ares simply snorted. Most of them will probably die without being able to do anything in the stage anyway, right? If they don't have memories of the stage, then they will surely be able to go to work like usual, just like how it was a few months ago.

"If you put it that way, then… Yeah, that's right too. But still..." I checked the time, which was 8 a.m. on a Friday. Funnily enough, the world was still revolving around.

What do you plan to do with the production types?

"Well, focus on Hunters and Berserkers for now. There are too many Goblins already."

Certainly… Ares said, There's a lot.

I looked at the mountain range of steel that stretched vastly beneath me. That's right, it was a mountain range. I was sitting on an enormous mountain range of steel. "Genie, how many units are all these in total?"

It's a little less than 50 million units.

"I can't believe it has reached a level where we can give 1 Avatar to each person if our country has all been cleared… Needless to say, we can't put it back into the Unique World, can we?"

Genie's voice trembled as if shocked by my question. Do you know how many things are being pushed back in our backlogs list for you to say such words…?

"Then again, we can't even put in a few tons a day." I shrugged.

On this stage, I didn't start playing at Gwanghwamun Square or Gyeongbokgung Palace as usual. I definitely shouldn’t do so. If I had started at Gwanghwamun Square… If it had been done at Gyeongbokgung Palace, all of Gyeongbokgung Palace's barriers would have exploded, and hundreds and thousands of people would have died.

The Albatross ship would instantly lose balance the moment the stage ended, you know.

"What an exaggeration." I lifted myself up with a false smile. It had been a while since I have been out and about, so I should go and see some people. Then I piped up, "Ahh, right! I need you to upgrade Knight too! Albatross has a soul circuit and a soul energy route, so it's possible right?"

Of course, Captain-nim. What about the weight?

"It's okay even if it's over five tons, so please just make it sturdy!"

Understood. Ah, I'm out of soul energy, so please share some with me.

"What, already? Okay." Nodding my head, I sent all the spiritual power and Aura in my body to the body in the Unique World. With everything else in its place, only the status of retained power went back and forth.

'No matter how I think about it, it doesn't make any sense to share my actual status.'

Supreme Divinity that even the Untouchables dared not look up at, the authority of the Unique World, which I received as a present from the Spirit God… It was contained in another body.

It wasn't a low-level power where my body split into two and my soul flew around. Instead, it was similar to a multiplication on the coordinates of the existence called 'me'. Only one set of coordinates existed for sure, but an inexplicable phenomenon allowed two physical bodies to exist at that coordinate, as well as two worlds. In fact, what really didn't make sense was that the sharing of status was not available for use in the stage.

"It's not a completely useless thing, but... Still, I can't believe it can block the authority of the Spirit God," I muttered.

My body in reality and my body in the Unique World could share their statuses as I wished. In other words, if one body slept for a few days in a row, it didn't matter even if the other body didn't sleep. Moreover, if one body ate twice the usual portion for a meal, the other body wouldn't have to ever eat.

That was not all. Even if my body in reality broke a shoulder and my body in the Unique World broke a leg, I could exchange the wounds or even swap all the wounds to one body only. Even if I was poisoned, I could divide the burden between two bodies. Moreover, if one body exercised and one body took a rest, it was possible for both bodies to reap the benefits. However, that power, the authority of the Supreme Divinity, was blocked from the stage.

'As expected, it's probably an Unnamed.' Beings who did not carry a name, and existences that didn't have any prior settings… They were weird, gruesome, and unpredictable. They were also known to ignore the laws and logic of the world because they were not incorporated into the Great Universe's setting. If it were those beings, then there would be nothing strange even if they could block off the authority of the Supreme Divinity.

'Come to think of it, that was the case with that Juan guy, too.' I remembered when he broke into the Albatross ship, and had a flashback.

"What's your name?"

"It's Juan. Juan Unnamed Nieto."

Considering his appearance, he was probably Mexican. It was apparent just by looking at his name, his father’s last name, as well as his mother’s last name. 'The problem here was his father's last name. What was with the last name ‘Unnamed’? It was too blatant.' In other words, he was basically revealing his identity right from the start. It was difficult to understand, but Juan was an existence born between a human and an Unnamed.

"Please send me to my room."

I hope you have a good time.

Along with the greeting, the background changed. I then asked, "Ahhh, come to think of it, you didn't put my body in the Unique World through time freeze, did you?"

Ares answered my question. Why would I put it through a time freeze? So that you can work out or something?

I shook my head at Ares' words. "No, it's fine. Even if working out via macro was a crazy sweet thing to do, it's better to not do it if it was going to be so futile.”

Working out via macro? Do you not like the way it sounds?

I laughed bitterly at the Ares' grumbling. I said, "It's fine so just leave it alone. Even if I grow slightly bigger right now, it wouldn't make a big difference."

I changed into clothes that were prepared beforehand and left the room. The place I resided in was still Gangnyeongjeon, but unlike before, it had been changed to an ultra-luxury room where I alone stayed on one floor. There was even a separate room where the court lady in charge stayed.

Clattering.

"Wow. What's with the 5-minute standby time?"

"Five minutes is too late. You have to be able to get out in 10 seconds." Seon-ae, wearing a court lady's attire, was standing at the door across from the room that I came out from.

Wol-il High School

Level 8

Fist-style martial arts expert, Lee Seon-ae

She was only Level 8 despite clearing the Level 10 stage. However, the other level was different.

Level 10

The information window of the stage, which showed only the level without any other information, was shown as such. Perhaps only that level could be seen in the eyes of other players.

'Her capability didn't keep up with her stats,' I thought to myself. More people had cleared the Level 10 stage than I had initially thought, but it was actually all thanks to the strategy guide, and not because they had really reached the realm of a Compléter. If they bought an Experience Potion and raised their level, they would only be able to increase their stats. However, unless they were a great genius, they would need sufficient time and effort to develop their capability to be able to match those stats.

"Kkokk kkokk!"

"Huh?" I tilted my head at the sight of the chicken running through the open door. It was somewhat familiar.

Seon-ae's expression relaxed. "Oh my oh my! Ari's here? Mommy will be back in a jiffy, so stay at home and rest."

"Kkokk!" The chicken turned around and walked into the door as if it could understand human speech.

I asked, dumbfounded, "What the? Don't tell me you are raising that chicken at home?"

"What? You're the one who gave it to me."

"No, that's true but… It's just a chicken, isn't it?" I commented. The chicken looked slightly unique, but it was still one of the livestock I had asked from Jae-seok in the end.

Seon-ae was furious at my bewildered appearance. "Ari is not just a chicken! He's a Baekbong Ogol[1] breed, okay!"

'What's a Baekbong Ogol breed?'

Genie answered my question. Baekbong Ogol breed. It is a chicken of the Ogol breed for medicinal purposes. The feathers of the whole body are white, and the flesh, tongue, bones, and intestines are all black. As a rare medicinal ingredient, the Principles and Practice of Eastern Medicine[2] mentioned that 'White-feathered Ogol is good.' It's also called 'The Health Food of a King'.

'It sounds like something great, but it's food in the end. Isn't it?'

Of course, that is how it is.

'...' I received 700 of them before. No, rather, I laughed in vain remembering that exactly 699 chickens were already in my stomach. Well, what else qualified as a pet? If you gave it affection, then it was a pet.

"Well, Ari is none of your business. Anyway, Sunbae wanted me to pass you a message."

"What kind of message?"

"She would like to meet you once, would that be alright? You don't have to go to her. She'll come to you if you permit it."

Upon hearing her words, I nodded coolly. "Tell her to do whatever she wants. I am just in the middle of taking a break," I said so and went down the stairs. I went to Gwanghwamun Square to go for a walk and also to see people. The Lee household was right in front of Gwanghwamun Square, so it was a good place for a walk. Gyeongbokgung Palace would be there when I got out of the parallel world.

Shiiiiingg! Seon-ae clicked her tongue as I quickly got out into the surface world. "Wow, it is absolutely forbidden to move directly from Gyeongbokgung Palace to the surface world though."

Then, there was a voice that interrupted her. "It's a meaningless rule. Not sure if they know it or not, but those who have achieved a certain position would break this rule."

"Sunbae?"

Before we knew it, Min-kyung had arrived next to us. It was a surprisingly quick response, considering that it was a busy time.

"What do you mean ‘Sunbae’? Well, it's not like I can't understand it, but… You're still the same as always huh." Min-kyung smiled bitterly at Seon-ae. Then, she looked at me and bowed.

Korea Empire

Level 11

Imperial Princess, Lee Min-kyung

I whistled inwardly as I saw her level, because she surpassed the wall during the time we didn't meet. She was now a Compléter, a strong being at the peak of humanity. 'Well, I can see why.'

Min-kyung was originally a mature beauty, but she was now too mature to be regarded as a high school student. 'She looks more like mid-twenties... No, maybe late twenties.' As I was having such thoughts…

Min-kyung, who politely bowed, greeted me, "It's been a long time."

"Yes." I roughly waved my hand and greeted Min-kyung, whose guards disguising themselves as tourists stood some distance away. They visibly flinched, but I ignored them. As if they had already heard something, they only frowned and did not dare to do anything to me.

"I'll be standing by nearby."

"I'll leave it in your hands." Seon-ae quietly blended into the crowd at Min-kyung's words. Before I knew it, her court lady attire had turned into an ordinary school uniform, so it didn't catch anyone's eye.

"What's going on?" As soon as I asked Min-kyung, a familiar name was heard among the crowd.

"Bae Jae-seok? He's totally crazy. How dare someone like a merchant raise an urgent request?"

"But Captain-nim, the Imperial Princess is using the chaebol grandson quite cautiously."

"Sigh... It's really the end of the world. These good-for-nothings who couldn't even learn any spiritual abilities are gathering ordinary people, and meddling around without knowing the consequences," I spoke with a voice full of envy before pausing for a moment.

Min-kyung, who was standing in front of me, also sighed as she heard my words. "I'm sorry for showing such a pathetic side. If I had to give an excuse, all the useful guys have a lot of work to do."

"You're going around with them as your guards for empty formalities and ostentation, huh."

"Because the Cloud Sword Unit is the biggest armed force in the Lee Family. Ultimately, they're people we have to embrace."

I simply nodded. I did not care how she led the Lee Family, rather, I was interested in something else. I suggested, "If it's just around the corner, let's call Jae-seok too. It's been so long since I've seen his face, so I want to see him."

"It's been so long, you say..."

I could feel Min-kyung staring at my face with a piercing gaze. I asked, "Why?"

"As expected, you've been around a long time too."

"That's only expected, of course."

Min-kyung knew that I was Iron Mask. It wasn't difficult to make a guess that I, the most popular player in the world currently, was a top ranker.

'But the way you look.'

"Aha." I figured out what Min-kyung was talking about. Although she no longer looked like a high school student, and appeared to be a mature woman now, my appearance stayed exactly the same. It was a funny story. "Are you amazed by Eternal Youth after coming this far?" Every time I opened the door, my all-stat went up 100 points. Not getting old was something not even worth mentioning.

"Then again, that's true."

"Just call Jae-seok over."

Min-kyung turned her head upon hearing my words and briefly gestured with her lips. Far away, I could see the flustered rookies floundering around, but a group of people approached after a while. I could sense the people stirring up a commotion.

"No."

"This is crazy."

"Unbelievable..."

Not only the Cloud Sword Unit, but even the people walking around Gyeongbokgung Palace screamed with fright. It was the reaction of seeing something completely unbelievable. The members of the Cloud Sword Unit, who were ignoring Jae-seok, groaned as they saw the man standing in the middle of the crowd.

"How can this be?"

"Lies, lies! This is impossible!"

"Is he… Is he really someone who used to be an ordinary man who didn't even learn spiritual ability until just a few months ago?"

Jae-seok walked through the tumultuous crowd and revealed himself: two meters in height, wide shoulders, and an incredibly slim waist, as well as long limbs. The man, who looked as sturdy as an extremely compressed steel, smiled broadly at me. "Dae-haaaaaa!!!"

I broke out in a dumbfounding laughter as I looked at him. "Wow." I could see the words floating above his head.

Ilsung

Level 15

Ascetic, Bae Jae-seok

He was currently equivalent to my brother who disappeared. So to speak…he was the strongest of humanity right now.

1. A breed of chicken in Korea. Further explained in this chapter.

2. ????(Donguibogam)in Korean. The Donguibogam is a Korean book compiled by the royal physician, Heo Jun and was first published in 1613 during the Joseon Dynasty of Korea.