Chapter 441: Next Step (2)

The gods, including Mamiya, revealed the reason they called Chi-Woo.

—An interference came from a place so high that we can’t even dare to fathom it.

The gods explained that the place that the interference came from was even beyond the scope of their comprehension.

—This interference exactly pinpoints you.

Chi-Woo wondered why he was chosen and singled out among all the many existences on Liber.

—It’s understandable that you would be baffled. We are also confused since it’s so sudden…

And the gods proceeded to say that they had come up with several speculations by deducing the reasons for the interference. The first was that an event that shouldn’t have happened in Liber’s current state had happened.

—You must know Liber’s situation better than anyone else. It’s a planet where even its World had disappeared. That’s what Liber…no, should I call it Asha now?

—Anyways, though you went back in time and modified the past to revive the World…Asha’s powers are extremely weak compared to a normal World’s. It’s almost nonexistent. That’s the current status of Asha.

Chi-Woo nodded after digesting what Mamiya was telling him. He realized that Mamiya was right when thinking about the past. The World’s condition had been so dire that she couldn’t even endure his brother’s power. It wasn’t much different now. Thus, it was surprising and suspicious that a phenomenon that easily surpassed his brother’s ‘Second Coming’ had occurred and without causing any other abnormalities.

—It’s definitely suspicious, but let me tell you something interesting. Since the path is already open, I will show you that first.

Mamiya explained, and simultaneously, a vast array of light formed at the center of the six gods, coloring the white space and blinding Chi-Woo before it gradually dissipated. Then it turned into an oval shape and fluctuated like ocean waves. Chi-Woo realized what it was as soon as he got a good look. When he used the Kobalos’ magic fire pit, he remembered seeing something similar. It was a portal connecting to another dimension, and it was the source of the interference that the gods were talking about.

—With the appearance of this interference, we received a revelation of sorts. We will tell you the revelation now.

Mamiya cleared his throat and continued.

—It was to call you, Choi Chi-Woo, and make you decide whether or not you will take this path.

Chi-Woo tilted his head. He had been feeling anxious, but the mission was simpler than he expected it to be. Yet Mamiya wasn’t done.

—And to go into more details…this path is a kind of junction created by somebody’s strong will. It also appears to be set so that it only opens when a special condition is met.

What did this mean?

—Let me tell you the rest of the revelations first. If you go on this path, the conditions to your tier promotion would be modified.

Chi-Woo blinked hard. His promotion conditions…?

—With your promotion, we meant to give you the standard benefits and things that will allow you to surpass your past self. But if you choose to walk this path, all that will become meaningless. There’s something you must give up to walk this path.

Chi-Woo’s face fell. In simple terms, this meant that Chi-Woo would have to give up all the rewards he had been promised with his promotion to pass through this cluster of light.

—There’s no result without a cause. Of course, the formation of this portal is an event that occurred outside of the norm and ignored the normal laws of causality. But even the existence utilizing this irregularity can’t completely escape the rule of the universe.

—But besides that, it’s amazing no matter how many times I see it. Even an existence on the ninth tier can’t get around this rule so freely even though they can bypass them. Who could it be that they can…

Mamiya murmured in astonishment, but Chi-Woo shook his head. This was too much. He didn’t even know what existed inside the cluster of light. Perhaps it could even be a trap, set up by somebody to stop him from progressing further…

—I suppose we can keep that possibility in mind, but it is very unlikely. Think about it. If this existence really intended to sabotage you, they wouldn’t hand over the choice to you. They will probably force you to make a choice, and of course, we would’ve stepped in then.

Mamiya had a point. But then what was the reason behind this existence’s actions?

—We don’t know that either. As said before, this is an interference coming from an existence beyond our comprehension. Thus, the fact that such a being would interfere at this point in time clearly means that there’s a reason we can’t find out yet. And that could be another potential or opportunity for you.

It appeared that Mamiya and all the other five gods wanted him to go inside the cluster of light. Chi-Woo was a bit taken aback. Besides everything else, he was most curious about who the existence that brought upon this interference was. If he at least knew who it was, perhaps he could guess what all this was about. Chi-Woo contemplated for a long time and suddenly thought of one being. Before entering Liber, he had shared a short conversation with a being at the library. Was it perhaps…

—That was what I thought too, at first. But it’s not her.

A low voice pulled Chi-Woo out of his thoughts.

—She said that herself.

It was the White Horse General.

—She said that it’s an interference that even she cannot fathom. Furthermore, she also wants you to take this path. It’s the same for me. If you decide to walk this path, I will consider the condition I gave you as complete.

Sensing that Chi-Woo was struggling with a mess of thoughts, the White Horse General interjected to voice his opinion.

But that would make everything seem meaningless. What was the point of rising to Master tier when he would have to give up all his promotion rewards? No, it wouldn’t be completely meaningless since he would be able to rise to Grand Master in the next promotion. Still, Chi-Woo couldn’t overcome his confusion and decided to organize the situation once again, taking it slow to go over one thing at a time.

1. An existence that even the gods couldn’t decipher singled him out and caused an interference.

2. The interference was the creation of a portal that connected to who-knows-where.

3. And to go there, he needed to offer all the promotion rewards he would’ve gotten by rising to Master tier.

4. What he could earn there was impossible to learn at the present.

“…” Anyone could see that it was a gamble and an adventure. If the beings who recommended this decision to him weren’t gods, he would’ve instantly refused and turned around without a second thought. Yet the gods were urging him to go through this light portal more aggressively than he would expect in a decision like this. They were telling him to choose for himself but clearly expressing their desire for him to go. Even La Bella, who had remained quiet the whole time, did the same.

There would be no need for him to contemplate further if he could be certain that he would get something that far surpassed his promotion rewards by going through the light portal, but there was no guarantee of that.

Chi-Woo closed his eyes. He had a hard time making the decision. This was a problem he couldn’t know the answer to right now. Then, as he had always done before, he needed to trust his intuition in situations like this.

—Oh!

Chi-Woo tried to listen to his intuition when he suddenly heard a loud gasp. He was shocked as soon as he opened his eyes. He was standing right in front of the portal. He had left the choice to his intuition and before he even realized it, his body had unconsciously made its way to the portal.

‘What? It’s at this level?’

Chi-Woo was astonished. His intuition was basically telling him that he needed to go inside at all costs. Chi-Woo glared at the cluster of light and sighed deeply. For the first time, he seriously considered going against his intuition, but in the end, he shook his head. He had never done such a thing before.

For now, he made a temporary decision, but he couldn’t enter the portal now since he didn’t know when he could come back.

“Could you give me some time to think?” For the first time since he came here, Chi-Woo voiced his thoughts out loud.

—What? What more do you need to think about?

The White Horse General said a bit disapprovingly of Chi-Woo’s desire to postpone the decision.

—Calm down, sir. We need to consider his position. Since he doesn’t know how long he will have to leave his post, he would need time to organize.

In response to Mamiya’s words, the general calmed down and closed his mouth.

—Go ahead, sir. And please visit us again when you are certain. But keep this in mind while you are making your decision—even we don’t know how long this portal will last.

Chi-Woo nodded, taking it as Mamiya’s warning that he shouldn’t take too long to come to a decision.

***

After returning to reality, Chi-Woo fell into deep thought. Right now, he had two choices. The first was to continue as things currently were and receive guaranteed rewards. The second was to give up all his promised rewards to seek something potentially bigger. But these choices weren’t the only things he needed to concern himself with.

‘But why now of all times…?’?

Soon, the twelfth reinforcements would arrive at Shalyh. They were going to be the largest elite forces that the Celestial Realm had ever sent, and if he did well after their arrival, he would be able to solve at least half of the remaining conditions for his tier promotion.

Furthermore, he didn’t know whether it was all right for him to leave his post for so long at a vital time like this. But while he was agonizing over the matter, he recalled what his brother had told him before.

‘No, wait. The problem is…’

Chi-Woo tapped on his desk with his finger and called Eval in to explain the situation to him. After hearing what Chi-Woo told him, Eval spoke without thinking for long.

“Yes, I understand. If you have to leave your post, please do so,” Eval coolly responded.

“Can I really do that?”

“If you are worried about the twelfth reinforcements, there’s no need.” Eval shrugged. “It doesn’t matter whether Seven Stars participate in the recruitment process or not anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s as I said. Even if we don’t participate in the event, we will be able to bring in the heroes we want. That’s the current position Seven Stars is in,” Eval said with overflowing confidence, and Chi-Woo laughed humorlessly.

“Is it because I’m a Choi?”

“That’s the case, sir.” Heroes were very weak when they first landed on Liber, and they needed to grow stronger desperately. Thus, pretty much all the heroes desired help from an organization who could provide professional support for their growth.

Thus, how would they feel about an organization where all sorts of famous heroes, including the Celestial Lights, were part of? And on top of that, what if the leader of such an organization was the youngest son of the Choi family, who had been shrouded with mystery until now? In addition to curiosity, all sorts of great interest would be directed toward Seven Stars; it didn’t seem like an exaggeration to say that a hundred out of a hundred heroes would be interested in joining, especially heroes who considered themselves special.

“The descendents of a god, the Ho Lactea? The greatest bloodline among humans, the Afrilith? All that is meaningless now. Whatever conditions those two organizations offer, we would be able to surpass that and more with your presence in Seven Stars alone.”

It was then Chi-Woo finally understood what Aida had told him before. She had said that he could simply wait, and the stars would naturally come to him.

“Well, I suppose we have no reason not to participate, though. We got our gold coins too.” Eval raised the pouch that Chi-Woo had received.

“Good. But if I happen to be away when the recruitment event happens, bring Aida with you. I’m sure she will be able to help you,” Chi-Woo said.

“Yes, I understand. I’ll give the captain of the fourth team a heads-up.”

“Also, could you tell everyone to come? I think it’d be better to tell them personally that I might be away for a while.”

Thus, Eval gathered everyone at Chi-Woo's office, and Chi-Woo explained the situation to them. Surprisingly, all the members accepted the news calmly. It was because it wasn’t the first or second time Chi-Woo was doing something like this. After finishing the meeting, Chi-Woo went outside. He wanted to meet Shersha before he left, but unfortunately, he couldn’t do that. Astarte told him that Shersha had finally fallen asleep after suffering from insomnia for a couple of days.

“How is Ms. Shersha’s condition?” Chi-Woo asked.

“A bit better than before. She stumbles on some words, but she is beginning to talk a bit more now. But…” Though this was fortunate news, Astarte’s expression still looked a bit downcast. It seemed Shersha’s condition was more severe than he had expected. “Please understand. Though she is a great demon, Shersha is different from us. She’s a girl who has never killed even a bug with her hands.”

Thus, she was in great distress after witnessing the Demon Empire’s miserable downfall and going through such terrible experiences in Shalyh. Perhaps those incidents were just the tip of the iceberg. Chi-Woo didn’t dare to fathom what she had witnessed and gone through exactly that she would be suffering like this. He wanted to ask her in person, but decided to back off after hearing that Shersha needed to settle down first.

“I plan to be away for a bit.”

“Hm? Will it take you a long time?”

“I don’t know how long it will take. Still…” Chi-Woo glanced at the house that Shersha was sleeping in and looked back at Astarte again. “I hope that I will be able to see Ms. Shersha healthy when I come back.”

“…Of course!” Astarte smirked. “I’m sure Shersha feels the same way. She didn’t speak a word no matter how many times I tried to talk to her, but she showed a little bit of response whenever I mentioned you.” Then, Astare said that she had told Shersha everything Chi-Woo had done for the Demon Empire’s survivors without missing a detail. That she was certain Shersha was also thankful to him too. After the conversation was over, Chi-Woo moved again.

With this, he had taken care of all the urgent matters. But he continued to contemplate over everything after returning to the Seven Stars headquarters.

‘Will I be able to save Liber with this choice?’?

Or would he have a better chance of doing that by following the current path and rising to Master tier the original way? He knew that there was no guarantee of him saving the world just because he rose to Master tier. The World’s situation was too dire for that to be the case. There was nothing he could be certain of yet.

[This path is a kind of junction created from somebody’s strong will.]

Mamiya said that this was a junction. A junction was the starting point where many paths diverged. If he could gain an important clue to saving Liber by taking this path, he could understand why the gods would have encouraged him to take it and why his intuition continued to pull him toward it too. In the end, he would only know the answer after everything unraveled. Though he was still conflicted, Chi-Woo thought he could come to a decision if he had to take either one of the two choices presented to him.

Chi-Woo went to his bedroom, kneeled on one leg, closed his eyes, and prayed. Soon afterward, he heard Mamiya chuckle.

—Good. You came earlier than I expected.

“I’ve decided.” Chi-Woo walked toward the wavering cluster of light without hesitation.