1.
About a week after we chased away the snail army, the goblins finally arrived at their destination.
[The Goblin Race has returned to their homeland.]
[Quest Clear!]
[You have safely rescued the Goblins from Rimepolis.]
[As a reward for completing the quest, you will receive race points…]
Since it was the reward for completing the 32nd floor, I thought the points would be quite generous.
I only had about 100 race points when combined with what I had before.
'At least I can find some use for it.'
After thinking this, I looked at the goblin's homeland.
Guru.
The homeland that the goblins had missed dearly… wasn't in a very good state.
To be honest, it would be better to call it a ruin.
-Well, that's natural.
Bae Hu-ryeong shrugged.
-With no one living in it, the village would be covered in weeds in an instant. After my hometown was destroyed, I went back a while later, but it had already become a jungle.
'Eh, that kind of thing happened?'
-Of course. I'm a man with a great past. If I were to write an autobiography, it would be a masterpiece with 39 volumes in the first book, 22 volumes in the second, and 13 side stories.
'I feel like those numbers are strangely specific…'
-Even after dying and becoming a ghost I could still write a glorious three part masterpiece. And after you die, when I possess someone else, I'll add some more side stories.
'Please stop there!'
I looked back at the old village. And all I could see were weeds. Plants had completely taken over Guru.
Traces that someone had once lived here had all disappeared. Now, only a few crude pillars and statues that the goblins had made a long time ago remained with moss covering them.
-Oh.
Among them was a statue that was vaguely familiar. I wasn't familiar with the statue because I'd seen it before, but because I knew what it had been sculpted after.
White stone. A mane carved by clumsy hands, large fangs…
-They even made you a statue?
It was me.
-You picked a white lion, so they used white stone to create it. Hey, that's a lot of work. They did their best.
'I know.'
I looked around slowly, wondering what was so good about this overgrown place. The goblins had put down all their belongings and were prancing about happily. There were even goblins who used the hammers they got from Rimepolis to knock down trees. They seemed eager to make a place to live in as quickly as possible.
'I'm not their master.'
The boundary between master and friend. Among all the people closest to a person, I think only their parents had the right to choose.
Parents could act as masters or friends. But that choice was probably not up to the children, but their parents.
'There's something I should tell them before I leave this stage.'
That night.
Using the 100 points I had left, I bought an item from the store.
[Purchased 'Dream Appearance'.]
[100 points have been deducted!]
[You currently have 0 race points.]
[All other race points have either been invested or are currently unavailable...]
I entered Gorke's dreams.
"Hey, brat. Long time no see."
-Kirrrr?! De-, demon!
I received a warm welcome.
"Huhu. If you treat me that nicely, I'll feel shy… You must have missed me after not seeing me for so long. I'm sorry that I can't read your mind."
-If you're really sorry then please stop entering my dreams!
Gorke jumped up and down.
-I thought I was going to die last time while fighting those snails!
"Hey, you didn't die, did you? Everything that can't beat you will eventually be beaten by you. Gorke, don't get beaten up by the world, you must live a life where you beat up the world."
-Y-, your mouth is still filthy. How can you say such filthy things? Ker. Whether you're a god or a demon, I wish you'd speak nicer… You're so cool when you're a lion, but you become like this in my dreams….
Gorke muttered to himself, an expression as though his fantasy had been broken on his face. I didn't deny what this little guy said, instead I said something else.
"That's it!"
-Gork?
"The goblins are currently filled with sweet fantasies. You have this fantasy that I am your savior, wonderful and perfect, and that I'll take care of you unconditionally. But the real me is a bit devilish as you said."
-A bit…?
Gorke made a philosophical expression at that moment. Perhaps the first philosopher of the goblin race was about to be born. If he ended up leaving words like, 'All things are made of kerk!', then students in the future would certainly suffer.
"You are the only one who knows who I truly am. I am not the god you think I am. Instead, I am more like a helper and an advisor. Gorke, you have the responsibility of spreading this truth to your friends and family."
-Ke! I don't want to. That sounds annoying!
"In the last fight, your aura was still unrefined and didn't reach a satisfactory level. Let's restart your training in your dreams from today. Perhaps a year would be enough time for you to learn."
-Gorke loves the truth! Gorke will definitely share the truth!
Gorke was brimming with passion. I was happy to see it.
-B-but I have a question.
"Mm?"
-If you are not our god, then why does Kekerkker take care of us? Why do you care about us? Why did you save us from the calamity in the beginning, and why did you rescue us from the snails? I don't understand why Kekerkker would do that…
"First of all, it's because you guys are really adorable…"
-Ker? Are your eyes broken?
This bastard.
"Actually, it's because I'm not very different from you guys. There's almost no difference. So if I had to pick a reason… It's because you guys are a bit like me."
-Like you? That's strange. Kekerkker is not like us at all.
"I'm not talking about looks."
I scratched my head.
"I'd be worried about people who thought they look like you guys. To put it simply, I see myself in you. See my greed in your greed, and see my situation in your situation."
-Gor…?
"I care about you, because I care about myself."
I rubbed Gorke's head.
"Nevertheless, if you wish to serve me, think of me more as a close friend than a god. I would rather be treated with friendship than reverence. Trust is much better than faith."
-Friendship instead of reverence, trust instead of faith…
"Right. Think of me as a close friend that accompanies you from time to time. Wouldn't it be nicer to say 'I am a friend of god' than 'I am loved by god'?"
Gorke stared blankly at me.
[There are signs that the belief of the Goblin Race is changing!]
[The primitive religion 'White Lion Faith' is likely to gain a new doctrine.]
I smiled.
"I wish you the best of luck. I have to go away for a while. Make sure to teach the other children how to use aura. And let them know that I want to be your friend."
-Y-, you're leaving?
"That's right. I brought you to Guru, so I've already done my job. Next time I return, I'll be upset if I find that you were beaten up by the snails again."
I pinched Gorke's cheeks with both hands, causing funny 'gork, kerk' sounds to come out of his mouth.
"You have to teach the other children aura and what I'm really like. Oh. And I forgot to say this before."
"You did good in that last fight. It was pretty cool."
I tapped him lightly on the shoulder.
"All the best."
Gorke opened his mouth to say something, but I swiftly left his dream. The longer the farewell carried on, the more regrets would follow, so it was better to leave as though we would see each other soon.
[Item usage has ended.]
I woke up from my dream.
As soon as I woke up, I ran out of Guru as quickly as I could. It was the middle of the night, and the goblins, who had returned home after weeks of travel, were all exhausted.
None of the children should have been able to follow me.
'Mm.'
Unexpectedly, I found a small presence trying desperately to follow me.
'Gorke.'
He'd called me a demon, but it seemed that he really liked me.
'I treated him roughly to avoid this…'
Feeling the heaviness of the bond between people, I moved a bit faster. Gorke persistently followed me, but he was unable to keep up with my speed. The distance between us just grew wider.
After running in the forest for a while, I could no longer feel his presence.
'Now then.'
I shook my mane with a soft 'krrng'.
'The other hunters should be thinking about it now as well.'
-Worried?
'Yeah. The Heretic Questioner already showed his crazy behavior of staying in the stage. And the tower allowed him to. Other people might think [isn't this better than going out?] too.'
A so-called battle of wits.
'The problem is, only the Heretic Questioner would do something that crazy.'
Lasting hundreds of years like this?'
Hundreds of years could become thousands of years, couldn't it?
'Only someone who is 130% a pure psycho like the Heretic Questioner would do something like that.'
Furthermore, the Heretic Questioner had been eliminated from this stage.
Because he couldn't stop the great escape of the slaves.
'In the end, everyone will have no choice but to give up and declare [Stage Clear]. I'm only hesitating because I might lose out if I declare clear first.'
-I see.
Bae Hu-ryeong nodded.
-Then what will you do?
'What can I do? In the end, someone will have to be first, and everyone else will follow.'
When I was far enough away from Guru, I muttered to myself.
'I declare stage clear.'
Swoosh!
White light enveloped my body.
[Stage Clear!]
[You have cleared the 32nd floor.]
[Your compensation will be settled after entering the 33rd floor.]
[Chain layers in progress—you will be sent directly to the 33rd floor!]
2.
The next moment, I found myself standing in a white space.
Before moving to the 33rd floor, it seemed that I would be staying in the waiting area again.
There was a hunter who had arrived here earlier than me, who declared [Stage Clear] first.
"Aha. You're here!"
The Heretic Questioner.
The only one who failed to accomplish his quest, who failed to clear the stage, waved his hand.
"I was waiting for you! Death King!"
"..."
"Although Rimepolis fell, the rest of the Snail Empire is still intact, but it seems that I automatically failed after failing the quest. It's too bad!"
"Hah."
I sighed.
"…I had a hard time in this stage because of you. No. Come to think of it, I've suffered a lot because of you before. It was the same in the [Tales of Somerwin Academy]."
"Huh? I was pretty calm at Somerwin Academy, wasn't I?"
"I'm sure you think so, but that wasn't the case from my perspective…"
The image of the Heretic Questioner laughing loudly as his ego was eaten by the evil lady was still etched in my mind.
"Mm. It was a long time ago, so maybe I don't remember the details correctly."
The Heretic Questioner put his hands behind his back. Flap. His blonde hair fluttered a bit.
"I worked non-stop for 200 years. I did my best! I assure you, even if I reach the top of the tower, I will never work as hard as I did for the Snail Empire. Do you understand, Death King? I used my ability to the fullest!"
"..."
"Nevertheless, I still lost to you in the end."
"That wasn't my intention."
I said.
"It's a loss for all of us"
"It doesn't matter!"
The Heretic Questioner shook his head adamantly.
"From rank 1 to rank 7, you are the one who united our companions. I dare to say that the odds were not in my favor for even a second! I won't embarrass myself by doing a full evaluation."
The Heretic Questioner chuckled.
"In the end, this is the limit of my skill! My judgment is worse than yours. My ethics are worse than yours. And my competence can't compare to yours. I'm relatively incompetent when compared to you."
"..."
"The judgments of the incompetent will lead to ruin. The deeds of the incompetent causes destruction. I don't want to be the one who presses the buttons of ruin and destruction! It is better to leave the judgments and deeds to someone more competent than I am."
"What are you talking about?"
"It's simple logic, Death King."
The Heretic Questioner smiled.
"I will take you as my master from now on."