Author's Note: Welcome back to reading your favorite book (at least, maybe? ;), faithful fans! This is the first chapter for today with another coming out just later today! Enjoy!
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I stay still in shock.
My brain is still processing what is happening right now. Like, first of all, why do I see a translucent thing in front of me? I thought I had the condition of never being able to see anything? If I am able to see this then, it must be some sort of vision from Death God, right? While I was pondering as to what that thing was, it repeated it's message, but with some more information.
"Your real mission starts now. This is an order from the Top Divine, The God of Creation: Genesis. You are instructed to evacuate the area and free the remaining Divine Beasts as fast as you can. The Scourge was predicted to attack in several hundred years, but due to unseen circumstances, one of it's minions have infiltrated your world and is planning on summoning it here. Because of limited time and a rule, we can only give you general locations of the Divine Beasts. The Divine Thunder Beast is located in the valleys in the A**a* mountain chain. The Divine Frost Beast is located at the bottom of the fjords of P**in*. The Divine Quake Beast is located in the labyrinth of Cr*cy*i. Lastly, the Divine Nova Beast is located in a hidden room in the Castle of D****. You must hurry as one day in your world has already passed since the tragedy. We wish you the best of luck, Hero."
The translucent thing that I just saw then faded back into the ground after fulfilling it's purpose.
...
So much stuff that sounded important was all said so easily and quickly that my brain hasn't processed every bit of information yet. Alright, let's try to organize everything the object said. According to it, it was a message from the God of Creation. He sounds like a pretty important guy as he is literally the God of everything that exists. It then said that I had to leave as soon as possible due to the attack on Quaran.
At first, it was a bit weird that the Gods would be worried about something on my world but, that just confirmed it. It looks like that attack was from one of the minions of The Scourge who is seeking to bring it to this world. That means, the one who ordered those men to kill all of those innocents, was actually working for the thing I promised Death God to defeat.
After that, it started giving the locations of the Divine Beasts but was unable to give more detailed and exact information due to something about a 'rule'. Anyway, the message was fuzzy when it actually came to the names of the places where each one was. It said that the Thunder Beast was in a valley near a mountain chain; the Frost Beast at the bottom of a fjord; the Quake Beast in some sort of labyrinth; and the Nova Beast in the castle of (probably) a nation.
...
After reviewing each of these locations, I think it would be easier to go find the Thunder Beast first, due to it probably having the least amount of risk. The Frost Beast is located at the bottom of a fjord and, according to what Sigma told me, are extremely deep. I won't be able to swim all the way there and I don't think Calido will fare better than me.
The Quake Beast is in a labyrinth, which could take me a long time as there might only be one room where it is located, which would be hard to find. Also, there is a large amount of risk in going inside of one as I could get lost and be trapped in there for who knows how long.
Lastly, the Nova Beast might just be the hardest one to find for me. It is located in a hidden room inside of the castle of (probably) another nation. I might become a wanted criminal in that nation if I am caught and it would inconvenience me a lot if I was branded a criminal. So, after my careful analysis, I decided that the Divine Thunder Beast will be my next target.
Also, didn't the message say that an entire day has already passed since the attack on the Proving happen? If it has then, just like the message said, I am running out of time. I am up against an unknown enemy who has many people working under him. If I don't travel a lot, I might get caught sooner or later.
Plus, this enemy works for The Scourge, an unbelievably strong entity that wishes to bring havoc to everything in existence. So, if he really does work for The Scourge then, I might be screwed. They might even rival the Gods in power so, who's to say that they don't have similar powers?
They might have already realized the fact that my soul is much, much bigger than anyone else on this world so, they might use it against me by just identifying which human has the largest soul. I can't use Soul Rejection either as it is completely reliant on how I am feeling. Also, they might be able to see my soul retreating away. To counteract that, I must find every Divine Beast as fast as possible.
Freeing the Divine Beasts requires me to split my soul so that they will be able to leave. If I split my soul then, my soul gets much smaller. They won't be able to know if it is me if I free just enough of the Divine Beasts to make my soul match the size of regular people. Alright, now that my strategy is set, I must go now... alone.
(Hey, you're not alone, Alex. Remember, I'm here with you on this journey as well.)
(Thanks, Calido.)
I almost forgot Calido was still staying here with me as he was completely silent during my strategizing time.
(Oh, I almost forgot to tell you something. You know how you were out for an entire day and a half?)
(Yeah, I remember that.)
Compared to last time, I was left unconscious for a much shorter time. The Mana substitution really worked out in the end.
(So, since you were out and everything, I decided to do something.)
(What did you do this time?)
Oh no, what did Calido do? Before, I would just anticipate what kind of amazing thing he did but now, I am scared because he is starting to act more and more like me by the second.
(Do you remember the clothes you got from your little friend?)
I remember that.
(It got ripped, right?)
Why are we suddenly talking about my clothes? I already accepted that it was a necessary sacrifice to keep myself alive.
(Well, I know how emotionally attached you were to it so, I kind of picked up the ripped parts. It was already trashed but, I thought you would like it as you had some sort of connection with it.)
Oh my Death God.
Calido saved the scraps?!
What the hell!? That is just weird, man. Well, he only did it for me so, maybe I am the weird one between us. But, it was actually saved so, I am a bit relieved.
Wait...
Won't this jacket and my underclothes be the only ones I have?
...
(I am so happy you did that, Calido!)
(Oh well, you're welcome.)
This may be the last clothes I'll get for a long time so, I must protect them at all costs. Oh yeah, before I do anything...
I get Aether out of my shadow and put it against my jacket.
(What are you doing?)
(I need to at least look stylish.)
If my jacket was ripped, I doubt it was ripped evenly. I should cut it down so that it is even and still preserves it's design. I swing Aether and cut off the long pieces that don't fit in evenly and grab those strips.
(Calido, where are the other pieces you retrieved?)
(Here.)
I grab the other pieces that Calido was holding onto with his mouth and tie all of the pieces around my neck. Even after suffering disaster, people will try to recover. This time, I overcame a fashion disaster and was able to make myself look even cooler while utilizing the disaster. This plus my amazing cape will make me look awesome!
This is the resilience of humans!
...
(Are you even trying to hide from them?)
(The more prominent I am, the more they would want to check me. If I free enough Divine Beasts before they check me, they will only find a regular person. After that, they will let go of their suspicions and I can go on my merry way.)
...
(That sounds like the stupidest plan you have ever made, but it sounds so idiotic that it may just be genius. There's only a small chance of that happening though.)