Chapter 184: The Dragon Heart

Description

A rundown cabin on the outskirts of the Gods’ Domain.

Woooooooong!

A bright sphere of light began to gather before it.

Then.

Hwaaaaah!

The sphere of light soon transformed into a human form, and that form quickly took shape as a fully realized person.

“So this is how it works? Anyway… this really is a shabby cabin.”

He was none other than Seong-jun.

As Seong-jun appeared before the cabin.

Kiiiiiiik!

The cabin door slowly opened.

-It seems the one I’ve been waiting for has finally arrived.

The one who emerged from within was none other than Robelate, the God of Insight.

“Hm? Don’t tell me you’re… Robelate, the God of Insight?”

The sight was quite different from what Seong-jun had imagined.

-That’s correct. I am Robelate, the God of Insight. Why? Different from what you imagined?

There was certainly that aspect to it.

Hearing he was a god associated with insight, Seong-jun had pictured something like a solemn sage.

But the figure before him now was entirely different.

“Yes, so different that it’s almost disorienting. How should I put it? Like a scheming background character from some shadowy faction trying to manipulate the world through plots and conspiracies?”

That was indeed the case.

Black bob-cut hair, skin pale as snow, small eyes that were hard to tell if open or closed, and a subtle smile curled at the corners of his mouth.

Rather than the image of a sage who had perceived all the principles of the world, he looked like the final boss of a dark organization lurking in the shadows, twisting the world to its whims.

-That may be so. After all, the greatest criterion humans use to judge others is appearance. Especially when meeting someone for the first time, that standard carries even more weight.

At Robelate’s words, Seong-jun shrugged.

“I’m not so sure. I don’t think it’s just about appearance. I heard you were the one who urged Hemeias to eliminate the followers of all other gods and become the one true god. Thanks to that, Hemeias is the one bearing all the resentment.”

Seong-jun asked outright whether there had really been a need to make Hemeias the sole deity.

At that, Robelate spoke with a smile on his face.

-It was an unavoidable situation.

When I sealed Bakjehwang, I definitely felt it.

A very small and faint power sleeping within his body.

The power of the Primeval, the origin of all power—the power of Chaos.

A power of Chaos that no other god had sensed—Robelate had felt it.

And in that moment, he had precisely predicted that a situation like today’s would come to pass.

“You felt the power of Chaos? Then why didn’t you tell the other gods?”

-Telling the gods would only have worsened the confusion.

At that time, the gods were divided into several factions.

Some groups were on good terms, but others were not.

To face Bakjehwang, who could awaken from his seal at any moment, even combining all their strength might not have been enough.

Yet they were scattered, showing hostility toward one another like humans.

Do you think such beings could ever unite?

That’s why I told Hemeias, who commanded the most powerful force at the time, to become the one true god.

Ah!

Of course, I mixed a bit of truth with lies.

Hemeias had known nothing about the power of Chaos.

And she had only learned later that the power came from Bakjehwang.

Now the reason was made clear.

Robelate was the only one who knew Bakjehwang had obtained the power of Chaos, and he had not told the other gods.

Even Hemeias, who had pushed aside the other gods and risen to the position of the one true god, following his words, had not been told.

“Hah, well, fine. That’s a matter among gods, so it’s not my place to interfere. I have a question. The Deep Analysis I possessed even before I absorbed the Essence of Hermia Jaylin and obtained Hemeias’s power—it turns out that was your ability. Did you have some scheme set in place? And I just happened to fall into it?”

At Seong-jun’s question, Robelate nodded.

-That’s right. From the moment I sealed Bakjehwang and learned he held the power of Chaos, I was able to predict exactly how the future would flow. If nothing was done, the Continent would eventually crumble because of him. So I set up a very small scheme. Of course, I never expected it would flow into an entirely different dimension rather than the Continent.

Even Robelate, the God of Insight, had not predicted this.

That was the connection between dimensions and the creation of the System.

And that the scheme he had sown would dissolve into the System and reach a being from an entirely different dimension.

In short, Robelate had scattered his scheme hoping that anyone among the Continent’s people would catch it—but out of nowhere, a being from another dimension, Seong-jun, had stumbled right into it.

-Ah! For your reference, you’ve likely had considerable luck since gaining that ability. Before setting the scheme, I asked Kritiana, the Goddess of Fortune, to bestow a powerful blessing of luck upon it.

In other words, the scheme Robelate had sown—the Deep Analysis—had been imbued with an extremely powerful fortune by the Goddess of Fortune.

Hearing that, Seong-jun finally understood why the things he needed had always appeared at the right moments.

“So. Do you think the scheme you sowed has worked properly?”

-Of course. You appeared as a Gardnian capable of containing divine power. Could it be any more perfect than that?

From the start, unless one was born a god, the highest stage a human could reach was Gardnian.

Of course, humans unaware of the existence of Gardnians would flounder in their own little wells, throwing around terms like Transcender or whatever.

“But what’s your plan? No matter how I think about it, with my current self, it doesn’t seem easy to defeat Bakjehwang, who possesses the power of Chaos. The fact that you called me here through Hemeias must mean you’ve prepared some special trump card to dramatically close the gap between Bakjehwang and me, right?”

Unable to raise his own power any further, Seong-jun had tried to compensate by strengthening his Summoned Soldiers and making those around him as powerful as possible—but he knew.

No matter how much he strengthened those around him, the outcome would ultimately be decided by the battle between Bakjehwang and himself.

And for that, Seong-jun himself needed to become stronger.

In other words, to face Bakjehwang, he needed some powerful trump card that would allow him to become far stronger than he was now.

And Seong-jun had a feeling Robelate held that trump card.

At Seong-jun’s question, Robelate asked in return.

-How much do you know about Gardnians?

An unexpected question.

Seong-jun answered within the limits of his knowledge.

“Those who possess bodies capable of containing divine power. Furthermore, as servants and Agents of the gods, they are intermediaries connecting gods and humans. That’s about the extent of what I know.”

At Seong-jun’s words, Robelate nodded and spoke.

-Correct. And at the same time, incorrect.

Both correct and incorrect? What kind of nonsense was this?

“Huh? Both correct and incorrect?”

-After creating the planet Alchemon, the Lord God, called the Primeval God, created many lifeforms. But the dimensions He managed were vast in number. He couldn’t devote attention solely to Alchemon forever. So He needed an administrator to manage Alchemon in His place. That was how the current gods were born.

In other words, the current gods were nothing more than creations made by the Lord God, the Primeval God.

“I see. So in the end, the current gods are also creations made by the Lord God, just like humans?”

-Indeed. The only difference is that we inherited the Lord God’s power, perhaps? Anyway, returning to the beginning—the Lord God sought to create a middle tier of gods to administer the planet in His stead. The first thing He did was create vessels capable of containing His power.

At that point in the explanation, Seong-jun realized what Robelate was trying to say.

“Don’t tell me… the current gods were originally Gardnians too?”

-Gardnian. That name was coined by the current gods. Originally, they were all the same kind of vessel. Only the size of the vessels differed. Among the vessels thus created, the twelve capable of holding the most power became the current gods. And the remaining vessels that fell short of expectations were given the role of assisting us gods.

In other words, the twelve vessels born with the highest quality became gods, while the remaining vessels that did not measure up were given the name Gardnian and made to serve as servants to the gods.

“Hemeias said Gardnians could be created artificially. That’s how I became one as well. So in the end, have the gods set foot into the domain of the Lord God?”

Just as humans committed all sorts of experiments dreaming of reaching the realm of the gods, the gods themselves seemed to have dreamed of reaching the realm of the Lord God.

-Certainly not. We merely created it within the limits of the knowledge given to us. Regardless, the reason I brought this up is that you, who have now become a Gardnian, and us, the gods, are not so different after all. There is only a difference in the size of our vessels and our rank. However, the size of a vessel can be artificially expanded, and as it grows, one’s rank naturally rises as well.

Suddenly, Seong-jun wore a puzzled expression.

“You’re saying the size of a vessel can be artificially expanded? If that’s possible, does that mean a thirteenth god could be born?”

According to what Robelate had just said, beings were divided into gods and Gardnians based on the size of their vessels.

But if the size of a vessel could be artificially expanded, then such a division wouldn’t have been necessary in the first place.

-That’s impossible. But you are possible. Because you are the first being to become a Gardnian as a human. No—the only being among all lifeforms to have become a Gardnian.

What was this supposed to mean now?

“Because I’m human, it’s possible?”

-Yes. The Primeval vessels could not grow. Everything was determined from the moment they were created. But other creations were different. Lifeforms created by the Lord God, including humans. They were beings that grew. In particular, the growth of humans, whose lifespans were short, was so remarkable that even we gods couldn’t help but admire it. We focused on that aspect and began the Gardnian development project.

The gods possessed power so formidable that humans and all other lifeforms dared not even dream of challenging them.

But because the gods were complete beings in themselves, they had no concept of growth.

On the other hand, other lifeforms grew over time—physically and mentally.

The gods took interest in this aspect and embarked on a new Gardnian project that could utilize it.

What was created as a result was the orb Seong-jun had consumed.

“But why am I the first? Alchemon’s history is not short, so there must certainly have been those who reached the Pinnacle of Transcendence.”

At Seong-jun’s question, Robelate smirked.

-There were. However, until now, only a scant few have ever reached the Pinnacle of Transcendence, and even they naturally failed to pass the Hall of Trials.

Though they were only a scant few, those who reached the Pinnacle of Transcendence certainly existed.

The problem was that they all perished without passing the Hall of Trials.

“They failed to pass the trials? Why on earth? From what I experienced firsthand, while there were some quite perplexing parts, I didn’t think it was to the point of being impossible to overcome.”

As someone who had passed the Hall of Trials, Seong-jun couldn’t understand why not a single one of those who overcame the trials had existed.

There were tricky and baffling parts, but it wasn’t difficult enough to be completely impossible to pass.

-Why was that? Well… who knows. Perhaps the Hall of Trials judged them unsuitable to possess divinity. We don’t even know the reason behind that judgment. What happened inside the Hall of Trials is something even we gods cannot know.

Though he said that, judging from Robelate’s expression, it seemed he had some inkling.

He was the God of Insight, after all—surely he had some notion.

But Seong-jun didn’t bother raising questions about that part.

Regardless, the unchanging fact was that Seong-jun was the first being to become a Gardnian as a human.

“I see. So because I’m the first human to become a Gardnian, I have room to expand my vessel?”

-Yes. You can grow further from here. At the very least, you should be able to expand your vessel to match ours.

Hearing that he could expand his vessel to match the current gods, Seong-jun looked astonished.

“That’s amazing. A god. Are you saying I could become a god?”

-Yes. You can become a god. You possess ample potential to do so. However, that is only a possibility after all. Whether you achieve it ultimately depends on you.

Just because one had potential didn’t mean everyone reached that position.

Potential was, quite literally, only potential.

“What do I need to do?”

Seong-jun had already done everything he could.

What more could he possibly do here to grow?

-It’s not on par with a Gardnian, but there exists a being of Semi-divine status comparable to it. On Alchemon, that would be the dragons. Obtain the dragon’s heart—the Dragon Heart. That will make you into a more perfect Gardnian.

Dragon Heart.

Though not on par with a Gardnian, dragons, as Semi-divine beings, were absolute beings that looked down upon all lifeforms living on Alchemon.

Robelate was telling him to obtain the Dragon Heart, the very source of such dragons.

“Dragon Heart? Hah! Just when I thought it was one mountain after another, now you’re telling me to hunt a dragon?”

-As a human, you have already grown as much as you can. There is no more room for growth. So there’s only one method left. You must be reborn as a new species that can grow further. That is, as a Draconian who possesses the Dragon Heart.

Gardnian was not a species.

It was merely a vessel.

In other words, becoming a Gardnian meant one’s body could change into a vessel capable of holding divine power—but that didn’t mean one became a new species.

Draconian, on the other hand, was a species.

Hybrids born between dragons and humans were called Draconians, but those who obtained a Dragon Heart and gained a dragon’s power through their own efforts were also called Draconians.

Because the moment a Dragon Heart fused with a human body, it was no different from becoming a new species that was no longer human.

“Do dragons actually exist?”

-Of course. When Bakjehwang was sealed, the Red clan was following him. I’m not sure how things stand now. More clans might be following him, or perhaps not even the Red clan follows him any longer.

The mere fact that dragons truly existed was astonishing, but on top of that, the Red clan had been following Bakjehwang.

And now, even more clans might be following him.

“Hah! Dragons following Bakjehwang? I’m not sure a hundred EX-class individuals could handle that.”

He had roughly expected that the forces following Bakjehwang would be formidable.

But he had never imagined those forces would be dragons.

At this rate, even a hundred EX-class individuals might find it overwhelming.

-Once you obtain the Dragon Heart and finally attain true divinity, that problem will be resolved.

In the end, no matter what, it came down to obtaining the Dragon Heart.

“Well, what can I do? I have no choice. Next time I go to the Forest of Darkness, I’ll have to look into it.”

-Ah! For your reference, don’t use the stone tablet that allows communication with the other gods just yet. They will hold considerable hostility toward you, who carries Hemeias’s power. It could rather backfire, so for now, refrain from meeting them. And do your best to collect as many gods’ stone tablets as possible.

The other gods, unaware of the full details, still resented Hemeias even now.

If Seong-jun, bearing the power of Light, were to meet them in such a situation?

Of course, that hostility would be no joke.

“Even after a thousand years have passed, the hostility is still considerable. Would a little more time really change anything?”

-Don’t worry about that. All the gears have finally meshed and begun to move, so I suppose it’s time for me to start moving as well. By the time you become a Draconian and return having prepared a vessel to obtain divinity, everything will have fallen back into place.

He had been biding his time, staying low and waiting patiently until now.

But with Bakjehwang awakened and Seong-jun’s emergence, he intended to move in earnest to face him.

“What’s the reason for collecting as many stone tablets as possible?”

-What Bakjehwang uses is the power of Chaos. Alone, the power of Light from Hemeias alone will not be enough to handle it. That’s why you need to contain the powers of various gods evenly, with the power of Light as the core. If you do that, it won’t match the full power of Chaos, but you will gain power comparable to it. Only then will you be able to contend with Bakjehwang on equal footing.

In other words, while it wouldn’t reach the complete power of Chaos, he intended to artificially create a situation similar to it.

And to do that, the powers of as many gods as possible needed to be mixed together.

“Nothing comes easy. Understood. I’ll try to collect as many stone tablets as I can. Ah! And one more thing—just because I obtain the power of a god, it’s not like I’ll go on a rampage like Bakjehwang, right?”

Bakjehwang had been sealed because he had gone against the will of the gods while wielding immense power.

Frankly speaking, there was no law saying Seong-jun wouldn’t do the same.

At that, Robelate smirked.

-You and Bakjehwang are different. Bakjehwang had no way to cross over to the Original World, so in the end, he tried to take over the Continent. But you have a way to return to the Original World, don’t you? That side’s world is something we cannot interfere with. Whatever you do there is of no concern to us.

The difference between Bakjehwang and Seong-jun was whether there was a way to cross over to the Original World.

Seong-jun had the Crystal of Dimensions, and with it, he could cross over to the Original World as many times as he wished.

And whatever rampage he caused in that world was entirely unrelated to this one.

“Hahaha! So that’s how it is? Whether I go on a rampage or not, as long as it’s not this world, it’s fine? Quite a cool mindset you have. Fine, I’ll do as you say for now. Ah! One more thing. I used your stone tablet for this meeting—does that mean I won’t be able to meet you anymore?”

-That’s not the case. As long as you possess the stone tablet, we can meet again at any time. Of course, for now, it would only be possible through Hemeias.

Hearing that he could meet again through Hemeias, Seong-jun asked as if something had just occurred to him.

“Now that you mention it, I heard Hemeias consumed her divinity to invite me here this time. So does that mean it will have to be that way every time from now on?”

If every invitation of Seong-jun consumed her divinity, she might not be able to provide proper power when fighting Bakjehwang later.

-Once you obtain the Dragon Heart and earn the Qualification to receive divinity, there will be no need to consume divinity to invite you anymore. So focus solely on obtaining the Dragon Heart.

Inviting one who had earned the Qualification for full divinity into the divine realm no longer went against the natural order.

Hence, there was no need to expend divinity.

And so, Seong-jun left behind his brief meeting with Robelate and moved once more to where Hemeias was.