The Mediator’s expression was worse than ever before.
He hadn’t said a word yet, but already he was reacting this way.
After a moment, the Mediator pointed a finger and asked, “Who told you to do that?”
At the incomprehensible question, Evan’s eyes narrowed.
“What do you mean by that?”
The Mediator grew even more frustrated at Evan’s response.
“I’m talking about you. The power that resides within you.”
“Say it plainly. How am I supposed to know?”
“Don’t know? You should be well aware of it.”
Faced with the Mediator’s intense reaction, Evan pondered for a moment.
What was causing such a response from him?
What had changed compared to before?
He considered many things, then suddenly something occurred to him.
‘Could he be talking about divine power?’
There wasn’t much else that had changed in particular.
‘Why doesn’t he say it outright?’
Evan’s curiosity was piqued.
The more ambiguous something is, the more likely there’s something behind it.
Without showing anything, Evan feigned ignorance and replied, “If you keep saying ‘that power,’ how am I supposed to know what you mean?”
The Mediator’s face twisted further in displeasure.
Then, with a look of annoyance, he changed expression.
“You asked about the existence of the gods before. I’m talking about their power.”
Even as he spoke, the Mediator vaguely referred to it without giving full details.
“What exactly is it? Can’t you say, or are you hiding something?” Evan asked firmly.
“It’s something you can’t handle right now.”
He had said this before.
Back then, he had also expressed that it was beyond Evan’s capacity.
And this was an important hint.
‘Could it be related to the Main Quest?’
Oddly enough, whenever anything connected to the gods of this world came up, the Mediator got sensitive.
‘Well, that makes sense. Just one such existence has turned the Main Quest into a Transcendence-level Quest.’
A Transcendence Quest was serious enough to cause catastrophic disasters across the world.
It was only natural the Mediator would be on edge.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Evan asked the Mediator, “Then I’ll change the question. The power you mentioned—what exactly is that power?”
Although it seemed unlikely he’d answer, Evan asked anyway.
But the Mediator responded without hesitation or change in expression.
“It is the power that sustains the world.”
With that brief answer, the Mediator fell silent.
‘The power that sustains the world? What does that mean?’
Evan tried to deduce meaning from the Mediator’s short phrase.
But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure it out.
And of course, even if he asked directly, the Mediator probably wouldn’t reveal more.
“Frustrating,” Evan clicked his tongue, and the Mediator glared in displeasure.
Ignoring the glare, Evan got to the point.
“Fine then. Just give me the quest reward.”
Immediately, the Mediator made a light hand gesture.
[Transcendence Quest ‘The Last of Humanity’ has been completed.]
[Bracelet of Acceleration has been added to inventory.]
[Beast’s Heart has been added to inventory.]
[90,000,000 Merit Points have been granted as a reward.]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
Along with the reward, Evan’s level jumped by twenty—a huge amount befitting a Transcendence Quest.
‘All the Merit Points I’d spent before were restored in an instant.’
Above all, his level had now surpassed the mid-100s.
His growth speed was several times faster than in his previous world.
‘But what exactly is this reward?’
Evan opened his inventory to check the rewards.
Inside, a pulsating heart caught his eye.
Rank: S
[Type: Consumable Item]
[Effect: Permanently applied upon use. Grants complete immunity to all fear effects.]
[Note: The Beast’s Heart is said to have forgotten even instinctive fear, not feeling dread even at the brink of death.]
‘Immune to fear status? That’s more powerful than the name suggests.’
Fear immunity was no small matter.
Humans—and all living beings—have a deeply ingrained survival instinct.
That instinct can cause hesitation or cloud split-second judgment.
‘This kind of instinct can’t just be easily removed.’
Without hesitation, Evan used the Beast’s Heart.
Thump!
At that moment, the sound of a heartbeat echoed as it seeped into Evan’s body.
[Beast’s Heart acquired.]
[Beast’s Heart effect: Fear immunity applied.]
Surprisingly, he didn’t feel any immediate difference.
‘I guess I’ll notice it only when I face a situation firsthand.’
Evan then shifted his gaze to the next item.
It was a golden bracelet.
Taking it out of his inventory, he immediately put it on and checked the item details.
[Rank: S]
[Type: Accessory]
[Defense: 200]
[Durability: 150/150]
[Effect: When used, increases skill proficiency gain by 5 times for 10 minutes.
(Cooldown: 24 hours)]
[Note: Seems like it will help skill mastery progress faster.]
Evan’s eyes lit up.
An item that increases skill proficiency gain by five times.
This meant he could raise skill levels five times faster.
For example, the proficiency gained from swinging a sword once would be equal to swinging it five times normally.
Especially for hard-to-level skills like Aura Mastery, this would be incredibly useful.
‘This is a really good item.’
Satisfied with the rewards, Evan told the Mediator, “I’ll use this Equipment Purchase Ticket right away.”
He pulled out the ticket from his inventory.
The ticket shimmered with golden and crimson hues, glowing brilliantly.
It was a Transcendence-grade Equipment Purchase Ticket received as an achievement reward.
The Mediator took the ticket.
At that moment, a shop window appeared before Evan’s eyes, displaying new equipment options.
‘I have to pick just one from all of these…’
Transcendence-grade equipment referred to S-rank gear with special skills.
The presence of skills was what set this apart from other S-rank equipment.
Without hesitation, Evan checked the swords.
It was well past time to change his sword.
‘And this time, I want something unassuming that I can carry around regularly…’
Jormungandr’s Poison Fang was conspicuous and couldn’t hide its aura.
That always caused difficulties in use.
Evan scanned through the sword list and soon something caught his eye.
He opened the info window for the sword.
[Rank: S]
[Type: One-Handed Sword]
[Attack Power: 1,700–3,500]
[Durability: 200/200]
[Usage Restriction: Level 150+]
[Effect: Consumes mana to activate elemental blades in the sword. While activated, the user can use elemental powers and elemental skills.]
[Note: A legendary sword imbued with the power of nature.]
The sword looked like a crude longsword on the outside, but inside it was something completely different.
It was a magic sword that allowed control over elemental forces of nature.
Being able to manipulate natural elements made it highly versatile.
For instance, it could remove obstacles by using elemental power, or combine elements to enhance attacks, or exploit enemy weaknesses by attacking with vulnerable elemental attributes.
It could be used in many ways.
‘I’m going to use this a lot.’
Evan bought the Elemental Sword, closed the shop window, and asked the Mediator, “What’s the next quest?”
No sooner had he said this than a message window popped up.
But it was a bit different from the quests he’d received so far.
[You have greatly influenced the world.]
[The aftermath of the Transcendence Quest is causing quest reorganization.]
Evan thought as he read the message.
In his previous world, completing Transcendence Quests meant saving the world.
Here, it only said he had influenced it.
It was a subtle difference in wording, but the meaning was significant.
‘It sounds like I can only influence the world with Transcendence Quests, not save it.’
That was bad news for Evan.
This world was definitely different.
Not just a simple disaster, but here humanity itself caused even greater man-made catastrophes.
‘Just looking at what the Nervan Cult did makes that clear.’
Things that would have been unimaginable in the previous world.
[Due to reorganization, there is currently only 1 available quest.]
A moment later, the quest window appeared before Evan’s eyes.
[Description: You have the potential to become the heir candidate of the Kerthen Marquisate. The person who becomes the lord of Kerten County will have a significant impact on the world.]
[Type: Branch Quest]
[Difficulty: D]
[Goal: Become the family heir]
[Recommended Level: 150]
[Recommended Participants: None]
[Reward: Common box, small experience, 100,000 Merit Points]
“Depending on whether I become the heir of the Marquisate, the world’s order will change?”
The Mediator replied matter-of-factly.
“It’s natural. Your existence itself is for the world. Everything you do is a crucial matter for the world right now.”
Evan looked at the Mediator with surprise.
“I didn’t expect those words from you.”
“I’m just stating the facts. All the quests you undertake are for the sake of the world.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true.”
Evan smirked and accepted the quest.
“Honestly, it’s clear that Gongja was the one who defeated the replicated goddess. That magic circle was only for controlling the goddess.”
Darwen and Clyd were deep in conversation.
They talked about how they had been and the details of the recent incident.
Clyd looked shocked.
Even though he usually hid his expressions well, this was a shock to him.
Evan had defeated the replicated goddess.
That was a truly remarkable achievement.
‘Unexpected.’
Clyd had already been tracking Evan’s activities through reports.
Suppressing the roots of the rebellion in Talin, stopping massive monster waves.
Those achievements were commendable, but this surpassed that level.
“Count? Are you alright?”
At that moment, Darwen watched Clyd with a worried expression.
Clyd shook his head and answered, “I’m fine. I was just thinking about something. But Marquess, when did you find out that Evan has mana?”
The most surprising aspect was, of course, the mana.
Evan had already risen to a level where he could control not just mana but also Aura.
Judging by appearances alone, he was definitely above Sword Expert intermediate rank.
But considering the strange techniques Evan displayed when defeating the replicated goddess, his rank couldn’t be assessed so simply.
Darwen stroked his beard and said, “Hm, don’t be too disappointed. As you know, Gongja had to hide his mana because of Heres and Hilton, so he had to be careful.”
“No, I actually want to thank you. It was something I had overlooked…”
Clyd recalled Heres and Hilton with a bitter expression.
As the atmosphere quieted down, Darwen shifted the topic again.
“Oh, right. I want to discuss business too. We have many idle resources in our territory. I want to take this opportunity to push a development project in Gongja’s name. What do you think?”
Clyd thought for a moment.
His intention was clear.
On the surface it was a business talk, but in reality, it was a declaration of support for Evan.
Still, Clyd couldn’t easily dismiss the proposal.
The Armeria Territory was mountainous, especially rich in mines.
Proper development could yield abundant resource deposits and progress.
He had heard news that many merchants were eyeing this closely.
‘Definitely an appealing proposal.’
Darwen scratched his head and continued, “I was so absorbed in research that I neglected family matters. It’s time I start paying attention.”
“Are you sure? Merchant families might offer more money than us.”
“You know as well as I do that trust is more important.”
Darwen had been betrayed before; Clyd too had been betrayed by family.
Perhaps that was why he understood Darwen’s feelings best.
Clyd smiled faintly and said, “Indeed. If possible, I’d like to offer my help. I will provide support with manpower.”
“Heh, that’s unnecessary. I just want Gongja to—”
***
As Darwen tried to refuse, Clyd shook his head.
“I owe a great debt to the Marquess. It doesn’t feel right to only receive help. And I’m grateful you care for my worthless son like this.”
“Haha, it’s nothing. Won’t you become my daughter’s fiancé? A future son-in-law is someone I should look after.”
Darwen hesitated, then proposed, “Since we’re pushing the business, let’s also schedule the engagement ceremony soon.”
“If that is the Marquess’s wish, I have no objections. We will prepare the banquet hall on our side.”
“Understood. But this engagement will surely cause a big stir in society.”
“Yes. Officially, I haven’t even debuted in the social scene yet. There will be much to prepare.”
Without Evan even knowing, the date for his engagement ceremony was being set.