Seoul(16) – Part II

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[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.

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