[Description: You have discovered a replicated world and learned of Agarrus’s liberation. Their actions will bring enormous consequences to the world. Deal with the Nervan Cultists and Agarrus.
Classification: Main Quest]
[Difficulty: S]
[Objectives: Defeat Agarrus, eliminate the Nervan Order Remnants]
[Recommended Level: ??]
[Recommended Participants: 100]
[Reward: ??]
‘An S-rank main quest.’
As Evan inspected the quest, a bitter laugh escaped him along with a cold sweat.
He hadn’t expected the quest to update to an S-rank right here and now.
If the difficulty had risen to S-rank, then this Agarrus standing before him was at least a disaster-class threat.
“Hahaha! This is truly wonderful. I really feel alive.”
Agarrus, his body covered in runes, admired his own face and entire body in awe.
Evan could sense the desperation in him.
It was as if he had spent countless years in prison and was now overwhelmed with joy at finally breaking free into the outside world.
Then he baring his teeth, began to laugh again.
“Yes, I have risen from death! That is right! I am not gone!”
One of the Nervan Cultists spoke to him.
“Your Majesty, please hurry. Our cultists can no longer hold out in the ‘True World.’”
“I understand! I have not forgotten my promise to you all. I merely basked for a moment in the feeling of being alive.”
Divine Power (Small) radiated from his entire body as Magia began to gather in his hands.
Kuuuuu!
A shield-sized mirror materialized on his left arm.
A dark aura poured out from the mirror.
Evan narrowed his eyes, glaring at him.
‘This guy is also using Divine Power and Magia simultaneously.’
Agarrus, too, was wielding the unfathomable power displayed by the Nervan Cultists.
His Magia was thicker than usual, rippling visibly even to the naked eye.
‘Could it be… a monstrosity like the Twisted Chalice?’
The overwhelming power he felt from the mirror was similar to what Evan had sensed from the Twisted Chalice.
A sacred relic of the Nervan Cult, a fake that mimics the real thing—a Chaos Item.
‘If that’s the case, I absolutely must destroy that mirror.’
There was no way to predict what kind of calamity it might bring.
Agarrus then forcefully raised his shield high into the sky and declared, “I am ready now. Move out at once!”
The moment the command was given, the Nervan Cultists scattered in an instant, heading off somewhere.
With everyone gone, only Agarrus, Evan, and Darwen remained in the empty field.
“Haha, what a joyous day. Don’t you two feel the same?”
Agarrus finally turned his gaze toward Evan and Darwen.
Darwen shouted at him, disbelief evident in his voice.
“Agarrus? How are you still alive? You were the most miserably fallen king in Lamakria’s history.”
Agarrus smirked at Darwen’s words.
“Oh? You know about me?”
“Of course. Among our scholars, you’re quite famous. The hegemon of the central region, the main force who developed magic and alchemy with divine-like talent. Yet also the most foolish and reckless king. You’re mentioned ad nauseam in the records.”
“Hahaha! How amusing! Is that how this world depicts me now?”
Evan focused on the conversation between Darwen and Agarrus while silently checking Agarrus’s status window.
[Alignment: Good and Evil]
[Race: Replicated Human]
[Gender: Male]
[Affinity: 0%]
[Potential Ability: The Chosen One]
[Skills: Replication Lv. Master]
*You can access the visualization of soul memories.
‘Replication? The Chosen One?’
The information made little sense.
Evan could only speculate it had something to do with the fake world.
***
After some thought, he decided to access Agarrus’s memories.
‘If I can verify it, this will be the fastest and most accurate way.’
The moment Evan accessed the memories,
[You have discovered the memories of the Chosen One.]
[Visualization of Memory’ has been activated upon memory access.]
Along with the notification about the Chosen One’s memories, a mysterious message window called ‘Visualization of Memory’ appeared.
‘I’ve never seen this during any memory access before. Does that mean he’s truly special?’
His suspicion toward Agarrus deepened.
After a moment, a memory list appeared before Evan’s eyes.
[The Chosen One (Increases soul power)]
There was only one memory.
The memory of the Chosen One.
Before confirming the memory, Evan briefly assessed the situation again.
“There’s still some time left. Consider it a commemoration. I, myself, will converse with you.”
Agarrus laughed heartily.
He showed no intention of fighting immediately.
With Darwen present, Evan thought there would be no problem during this brief interval.
Evan selected Agarrus’s memories.
[Soul power has increased.]
[Level of Eye of the Spirit has risen!]
[Visualization of Eye of the Spirit memory is unaffected by the flow of time.]
At that moment, everything before his eyes froze.
In an instant, the scenery changed.
It felt as if he were flipping through photographs.
The scene that unfolded before him looked like a slum.
Evan could vividly feel everything—
Agarrus’s despair, his rage, and his sorrow.
***
Agarrus.
A pathetic name.
No, it was proof of the chains called fate binding him.
A name is proof that I existed in this world.
Without existence, there is neither fate nor name.
They say a person’s fate is decided at birth.
The strong and the weak, the noble and the slave, fortune and misfortune…
…….
Among all, our brothers’ fate was the most tragic.
Orphans.
A fate born from having no parents.
When I was seven, our village was destroyed by a monster raid.
My parents died brutally protecting us, and we barely escaped to the city.
All of us.
All of us.
And I repeated to myself many times—
I should have died back then.
This world filled with sorrow and suffering.
“It’s all wrong.”
Our survival was a curse.
With no home, no parents, no support, our fate was obvious.
Wandering the slums, my younger brother starved to death.
I too slowly withered away, the flame of life flickering out from hunger.
And then, a miracle came to me.
Could it be that a god truly existed in this cruel world?
The Goddess chose me.
The Blessing of the Goddess.
She granted me the ability of Replication.
The power to copy the talents of others exactly.
From that day on, my world, my fate changed.
First, I copied the talents of a famous con artist in the slums and began to earn money for the first time.
Next, I became a servant in a noble’s mansion and replicated the talent of knowledge.
With my enhanced intelligence, I kept copying talents around me and transformed my life.
From slum dweller to commoner, from commoner to noble.
And finally, a great opportunity came to me.
The day our kingdom was destroyed by the empire’s invasion.
By luck, I came face to face with the empire’s emperor.
And I replicated his talent, the ruler of the empire.
From a pitiful orphan in the slums, I climbed to become the empire’s emperor by this power.
My fate, once at rock bottom, flipped like a coin.
The highest position one can achieve in the human world.
The wondrous power of the goddess.
With that power, I resolved to change this trash-filled world.
But it didn’t last long.
I met a miserable end of betrayal.
At that moment, I thought.
Changing the world was impossible.
What did the goddess want from me?
Why did she give me this power?
I wanted to meet the goddess myself and hear the reason.
But the day before my execution, followers of the goddess secretly came to the prison.
[Your Majesty, you can change the world. As the one chosen by the goddess.]
Yes, it can be changed.
I don’t know how they found out about my power, but they made me an irresistible offer.
Although the real me would be executed and disappear from this world,
A replicated version of me would continue to live on.
Using Replication, I copied myself and the world into a mirror that reflects the world.
And they promised.
They promised to change the world.
The replicated me would become the master of the fake world I copied, and turn the fake world into reality.
If I became the master of the world, I could change it.
And I would be able to meet the goddess who chose me.
Although the real me wouldn’t witness all this,
The replicated me, carrying memories up to the day before execution, would carry on.
He would write the story I could not finish.
If he followed my will, I would be satisfied enough even if I disappeared.
[You have viewed all memories of the Chosen One.]
All the scenery vanished, replaced by a dark space.
Evan remained silent for a while.
Countless thoughts crossed his mind.
The identity of the Goddess Nerban.
The power of the Chosen One.
The tragic life of Agarrus.
And the conspiracy of the Nervan Cultists.
Whatever Agarrus’s intentions, Evan couldn’t simply label his choice as evil.
For a man on the brink of death, there is no choice.
But one thing was certain—the replicated Agarrus and the Nervan Cult’s actions now were evil.
‘They speak of destroying the True World and becoming gods themselves. And surely they are plotting something else.’
Evan had once asked the Mediator about how good and evil are defined.
Everyone has different standards after all.
But the Mediator gave a simple answer.
‘Without the existence of the world, humans cannot exist. Those who harm the world are evil.’
The perspective of humans with short lives and the eternal view of the Mediator were different.
Through many quests, Evan had come to understand that meaning to some extent.
After a moment, the scenery changed again.
He was back in Bales.
It was as if the frozen world had slowly started moving again.
The conversation between Agarrus and Darwen reached his ears in slow motion.
“·Return…… Shio. Phantom…….”
“·Not…… present.”
Then, suddenly, Evan snapped back to full alertness.
“Phantom of the past. What were you trying to do here?”
Darwen’s voice grew clearer.
Hearing that, Evan was certain.
‘It seems connected to the answer just now.’
It felt as if no time had passed during the memory viewing.
More precisely, the time Evan perceived was different.
‘That doesn’t matter now.’
He had to stop Agarrus’s plan immediately.
Turning the fake into the real.
Evan suspected why the Nervan Cultists scattered in all directions.
‘They probably went to the temples in the east, west, south, and north. They want to lift the Bell Tower’s seal and open a passage to the True World.’
The door from the True World to this one was open, but the gate from this world to the True World remained closed.
Evan raised his sword.
“Marquis, there’s no need to talk to him any longer. I’ve figured out their purpose.”
“Huh? What do you mean all of a sudden?”
Darwen stopped mid-conversation and stared at Evan blankly.
Agarrus looked on, full of curiosity.
“Oh? You say you know their purpose? That’s an interesting claim!”
“Yes, replicated human.”
Evan smirked as he answered him.
His previously amused expression quickly hardened.
“Y-You… how do you know that?”
Watching his flustered face, Evan spoke slowly.
“No matter if you die the next day, you shouldn’t have made that choice. The fake wants to become the real? Change the world? That’s nonsense—it’s destruction. You fool. How could you have been deceived by that?”
At Evan’s provocation, Agarrus’s eyes reddened fiercely.
He clenched his teeth, blood dripping from his mouth.
Then he raised his left arm, the one bearing the mirror.
Magia erupted violently from the mirror.
“I will make you pay dearly for insulting me.”
The enraged Agarrus began to unleash his power.
[The power of the Boss Monster Lord of the Demon Mirror has been unleashed.]
Clang! Clang!
With the sound of mirrors colliding, Agarrus’s entire body was covered in mirrors, and powerful Magia and Mana swirled together in a storm.
[The Boss Monster Lord of the Demon Mirror has appeared.]