Chapter 312.2: 312.2

Seoul(16) – Part II

* * *

[Lee Ho-jae]

I was back at the Sangam World Cup Stadium . It was strange to meet a fan of my professional-gamer self after such a long time .

When I was a professional gamer, I didn’t pay much attention to my fans . The most important thing to me was the game and my victory .

Now that I thought about it, it was not much different from the relationship between a god and their believers . However, the relationship differed in terms of faith, power, performance, and support .

It didn’t seem like a bad idea to get together with my old fans . Some fans were so enthusiastic that I still remembered them, but the man I met at the restaurant was not a fan I remembered . He was probably one of the countless fans who came to the stadium .

Actually, at first, I assumed he was saying he was nothing more than that . When the man with thinning hair said he was my fan, I thought he just wanted to be friends with me . But after listening to what he said, I learned he genuinely was my fan from when I was a professional gamer .

He had said he was 36 years old—just a little old-fashioned and younger than me .

I could tell that I was quite old for a human . Considering all the time distortions I had experienced on the 60th floor, how old was I now?

I didn’t know . It may have only been a dozen years or might have been thousands . However long it was, it was long enough to make it difficult to calculate .

Whenever I was engrossed in doing something, I ignored the time . It was an old habit of mine .

It’d completely escape my mind, and wouldn’t realize until later .

My mental health or proficiency had not been affected by the passage of time, and my habits remained unchanged . The tendency to forget about time had become more pronounced since I turned into a god . Perhaps you could say it was a side effect of gaining godhood .

Changing habits was not easy .

“Quest Window . ”

A hologram, akin to a system window, floated before my eyes . The Quest window contained the talks of the gods of the Hundred Gods Temple . And there was only one thing they wanted from me .

[God of Duel-Return of Powers]

[God of Light-Zit Pop! Blow it up!]

[God of Death-Thanatode Purification] [1]

Some gods offered simple conditions like the God of Duel . Some asked for something like the God of Death . And some even asked for something as absurd as the God of Light .

What was I supposed to do for the God of Light?

Should I go to a planet with no one there and make it explode? Or maybe I should show him the incineration of a sub-dimensional space?

[God of Order-?]

[God of Adventure-?]

Some gods had question marks behind their names . These gods haven’t specified what they wanted yet .

It was tricky . I had to wait to ask for something while the gods could freely ask me to do whatever they wanted . If I didn’t obey, they would make it so that I wouldn’t get what I wanted .

If that had been the only way, I’d be happy not to do anything overall . But this quest window was made by Kirikiri .

I didn’t want to take it . I didn’t like it very much, and above all, I was unwilling to do these tasks and didn’t desire anything from the gods .

In the end, I still accepted it .

“I still don’t like it . ”

Suddenly, Kirikiri’s face hovered over the quest window . She looked a little disappointed .

“Heng, I made it . The system didn’t make it . ”

“That’s why I took it . ”

If Kirikiri had not made it, I would’ve never accepted it . Another reason for receiving the quest window was that it made communication with Kirikiri easier .

“Can I enter?” Kirikiri asked .

I nodded . Kirikiri disappeared from the quest window, and after a while, she popped out of the air .

“Tada! I’m here!”

“What are you so happy about?”

Kirikiri looked around .

“Is this a temple?”

“Mn . ”

I was going to use this place as a temple . It was still plain in many ways, but I could leave that to Yong-yong . I knew he would decorate it enough to lead us to a world filled with grandeur and beauty .

“Heng, how’s the quest?”

“I’ll start when I connect to the 60th floor . I think I can do the quests one by one . ”

I had to fulfill the requests of the gods one by one . Just in case, I had to make sure their conditions didn’t become twisted .

There was no such risk right now, so I was going to solve the simple ones first . The first thing to deal with was the God of Duel .

In the God of Duel’s case, there was nothing to worry about . He simply wanted his power returned . That was all .

There has been no talk of the price of using the power so far or if the power could be revoked, or offering a new power . I only had to give it back .

Until now, the God of Duel did not seem interested in how weak the power would be, and what changes I’d made . This simplistic way of thinking alone showed how harmless the God of Duel was .

The God of Duel was a god who did not become the enemy of anyone unless they created a situation in which he had to fight . And with my nature, the God of Duel could not threaten me even if I became his enemy .

“You’re not trying to fight, are you?” Kirikiri asked with a slightly worried look .

“No . Do you think I’m a gangster who’ll challenge anyone to a fight? “

“…Heng . ”

What was with that pause? I feel like she does think that way .

Bitter . An acrid taste lingered in my mouth .

I asked the question I had prepared . “I have a question . ”

“What is it?” Kirikiri was still very lively .

“What does the God of Adventure want from me?”

“Heng-heng, I don’t know . ”

I looked seriously at Kirikiri, who spoke in a mischievous tone . “Kirikiri . ”

At my pressing voice, Kirikiri puffed out her cheeks . Then she began to engage in a serious conversation . “I’m worried about you . ”

“What?”

There’s nothing to worry about . I don’t think I’m going to be in huge danger again .

Even so, I was confident of getting through .

“You’re taking one step—one step towards your goal . I expected everyone to give up on the way, but you came all the way here . I don’t think you’ll give up, change your mind, or break before you reach your goal . ”

The question grew bigger in my mind .

Then why?

“I’m worried about what will happen after you achieve your goal . ”

I sat in silence for a moment to think of the meaning behind her statement .

“Everything has an end . You, who always moves forward, will have to stop someday . Not because of a wall you cannot surpass, but because you will inevitably reach the finish line . ”

“So, what do you want from me?” I unconsciously answered in a slightly high-pitched voice .

“Heng-heng, don’t be so angry,” Kirikiri laughed playfully .

As always .

“You’ve always acted according to what you think is right . Naturally, you’ll get the consent of the God of Adventure . ” Kirikiri, who left with those last words, disappeared back into the air .

The temple, which had been a little noisy for a while, was desolate again . My quiet sigh echoed in the temple . As expected, it was tricky .

Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters .