142 Trial Island

142.

At the pier I reached after moving along the tiles, an old boatman was waiting for me.

Following his guidance, I boarded the small boat.

,Is this small boat really going to be okay?

That’s what I thought, but the boatman was a veteran. With skillful rowing, the boat smoothly cut through the water.

The clear sea was easy to see through. Several types of fish could be seen swimming beneath the surface. The boatman only rowed, not saying a single word.

The small boat went on for a while and arrived at a white sandy beach.

The boatman left as soon as I got off the boat. Will he come to pick me up again when it’s time to return?

The island wasn’t large, but it was quite high vertically. At the end of the sandy beach was a cliff. It seemed to have been carved by the waves over many years.

Stairs were built in a zigzag pattern on the cliff.

I started to climb them.

The sound of the sea is heard in a constant rhythm like a lullaby. The dull white stairs seemed natural, as if they were originally part of the cliff.

The scenery from the middle point was beautiful. The sky and the sea mirrored each other like a decalcomania. The light and airy one was the sky, and the deep and darker one was the sea.

I wish I had a camera…

But the purpose of me coming here isn’t to admire the scenery.

I didn’t feel tired at all while climbing to the top. A mere few thousand steps couldn’t exhaust a Hero.

Waiting for me at the top was a white lion, or rather, something resembling a lion.

,Welcome, Hero Elena.

It speaks. Well, it wouldn’t be strange for a messenger of God to be able to speak.

,Are you Purpur, the apostle of Eustea?

The overall appearance resembles a giant lion. The only difference is that only the upper body is more obese. Like the exaggeration often used in drawings.

,That’s right. Shinsoo (Divine Beast) Purpur. That is the name given to me.

A fluent voice and archaic tone. A voice that feels more dignified than anyone I’ve met in this world so far.

,I heard it from Holy King Grace. That you are calling for me.

Purpur raised his head and looked at the high sky. And began to speak.

,You must also be feeling it. The power of the wicked is getting stronger and stronger. There is a being that lends power to the wicked. Something with great authority is operating in the shadows.

,I know. According to the demon Astaroth, it’s called ‘That Person’.

,That’s right. The Goddess calls it Epsilon. But the identity is still a mystery.

Epsilon… It reminds me of a character from some robot anime.

But I still don’t know why I was called here.

,So why did I come here?

,The mission I received from the Goddess is to confirm the qualifications of humans who stand against such evil. Hero, just like you.

,Confirm qualifications? In what way?

Purpur stood up.

,In this way.

The grass in the field began to shake noisily. The white lion’s mane spread out menacingly. Light was pouring out of his eyes like rays.

Behind Purpur, wings of red light stretched out majestically.

,It’s like a scene from mythology.

,I’m going!

Purpur slammed his huge body into me.

,Kuk!

Heavy. I drew my sword and responded instantly, but I was being pushed back. It was a terrifying strength as much as its size.

It was the first time. Coming to this world and being pushed back by someone with pure stats.

Should I use Overdrive?

I was constantly being pushed back by Purpur’s head. In that state, Purpur raised his front paw and strongly struck me.

Heavy and fast at the same time. I was directly hit in the side and rolled across the field for a long time.

,Kyaooooooo!

Purpur chased after me, letting out a terrifying roar that could only be heard as a monster. I was pushed all the way to the edge of the cliff by the relentless attacks.

I have no choice.

I activated that skill.

,Overdrive!

White wings appeared from behind my back. At the same time, all the equipment I was wearing flew away and I became naked.

But this is not the time to worry about that.

While deflecting Purpur’s front paw with my sword, I used the rotational force to kick the lion’s head hard with a roundhouse kick.

Kuoong-!

Purpur’s huge body is pushed back and falls over. The ground shook. The smell of crushed grass and dust filled the air.

Several white light bullets were fired from within.

I busily moved my sword to shoot them down. I evaded what I couldn’t shoot down. In the meantime, Purpur reorganized his posture and rushed at me.

The sword and the giant beast’s body collided several times.

Even though he was hit directly several times with my sword and the Gi Thunder, Purpur had no intention of falling.

The duration of Overdrive is about 15 minutes. That limit was getting closer and closer.

I have to finish this quickly. Then I only had one option.

With another clash, the distance between Purpur and me widened somewhat.

Taking that as an opportunity, I put all my strength into the sword.

,Brave Sword!

The sword, with its concentrated white light, slashes horizontally.

Following the trajectory of the sword, a white light strike flew through the air.

A special move that puts the power amplified by Overdrive into one strike.

It is my strongest strike.

Seeing that, Purpur slammed his front paw on the ground.

Then, dozens of opaque barriers appeared in front of Purpur.

,Eum!

But it was useless.

The barriers were soon destroyed.

My Brave Sword broke through all those barriers and hit Purpur’s huge body.

,Keueum!

Purpur, who was hit directly, trembled. And soon collapsed on the messed-up field.

I couldn’t have killed him, right? I didn’t have the leeway to control my strength, so I blew it away with all my might.

My legs were also shaking, but I approached the fallen Purpur.

,Hey, are you okay…

The moment I said that, Purpur 벌떡 raised his huge body.

Could it be that he’s okay even after being hit by Brave Sword?

I didn’t have any more strength left to fight.

Purpur said in a dignified voice.

,You passed.

,Ha, passed…

,That power is a bit unique. Those white wings. At first glance, it looks similar to our red wings, but it’s completely different. What is that?

Huh? Are you talking about Overdrive?

,Wait a minute. Isn’t this borrowing the power of the Goddess Eustea? I heard from the Holy King that the world’s guardians are recognized by the Goddess and given power…

,No. That is not the power of the Goddess. It’s very similar, though.

What?

,Then what is it?

,I don’t know. Other than it’s the power of some being that is extremely similar to the Goddess.

What is it?

Wings of light borrow the power of a high-ranking being.

The red wings of light of Eustea’s Priest borrow the power of Eustea.

Astaroth’s black wings of light borrow the power of That Person, that is, Epsilon.

But Overdrive wasn’t the power of Eustea?

It couldn’t be the power of Epsilon either. I awakened to Overdrive because of my determination to defeat Astaroth.

Then, besides Eustea and Epsilon, is there a third divine being trying to lend me power?

I don’t know. It’s not the kind of question you can figure out by thinking.

,It’s definitely a powerful skill, but it seems there are also penalties.

Purpur intervened while I was thinking.

,That’s right.

,The equipment cannot withstand the unique and intense power surge.

I looked down at my naked body. Overdrive is a powerful skill, but it definitely has many drawbacks.

Above all, I have to be naked every time I use it. That’s why it’s a difficult skill to use in every fight.

Not being able to wear equipment is also quite a penalty. Stats and defense are lost as much as the armor is removed.

Well, until now, I haven’t really felt it because of Overdrive’s stat boost.

It’s a part that I might feel sorry for when strong enemies appear in the future.

Purpur began to dig the ground like a dog.

What is he suddenly doing?

He’s a messenger of God, but he looks a bit like a beast when he’s doing that.

What he took out of the ground was a muddy object.

Purpur shook his body to shake off the dirt and roughly brushed off the dirt from it as well.

,Metal?

,That’s right. This is a material called Shincheol (Divine Iron).

,Shincheol?

,The power of God is materialized in this world and takes the form of metal. This should be able to withstand any power surge. I will give it to you.

,Really?

Purpur handed me the lump of metal. The heavy and cold touch of the metal wasn’t too unpleasant. Maybe it’s because it’s a precious item.

Okay, there was a result.

I came all the way to this remote island and had an extreme battle with a giant lion while naked, so there should be some reward.

,Then goodbye.

,Huh? Is it all over?

,My business is over. If you have no further business with me, I will send you back.

I feel a little disappointed. I asked to get even a little clue.

,There’s something I still want to know. What is Epsilon?

,We speculate that it is an 음신 (Eumshin – lewd god). An evil and lewd god. We can only speculate that the 음신 (Eumshin – lewd god) who was pushed out of the world with the growth of the Eustea Church has returned.

음신 (Eumshin – lewd god)… I think I’ve heard of it somewhere.

,If it’s an 음신 (Eumshin – lewd god), does that mean they have the purpose of making the world lewd?

,That’s right.

Thinking about what Astaroth did, it sounds plausible.

But Eustea seems to be making the world lewd just as much.

I thought about it a little more, but I couldn’t think of anything to ask.

,Um, that’s it for now. Please send me back.

,I will. Should I send you back to Hwaris?

,Yes. Thank you, Purpur.

,I entrust the world to you, Guardian.

Purpur stomped his feet and a portal appeared under my feet.

I feel like I’m forgetting something?

Ah.

It was only after arriving at the square in Hwaris through the portal that I realized what it was.

Because I activated Overdrive, I was naked right now.

,Kyaaaaaa! He’s a pervert!

Damn it.

People started to gather.