Chapter 245

Chapter 245

Chapter 45: The Prelude to Disharmony (2)

“An ignorant bastard dares to talk about shortcuts…”

Someone who couldn’t last a day living like K would collapse and fall apart yet dared to mention shortcuts.

‘Of course, we had the help of the beastfolk this time.’

Even without their help, K and and his team had the skills to gather attribute mana.

They’ve never done anything to deserve being called sleazy.

In a moment of anger, he nearly typed a comment but held back.

‘Hold it, hold it. Good me should endure.’

Reacting as K’s party member here would only escalate things.

Those types spew filthy words just to get a reaction.

Kim Yul recalled the stories he heard endlessly from senior trainees and switched off the community window.

Instead, he opened the auction window that ended at midnight yesterday.

「Auction No. 1975648」

-Registrant Codename: K

-Auction Item: Attribute Mana Stone (Detailed Information)

-Starting Bid: 100,000,000 Mana

-Auction Start Date: Biharin Year 2664, September 26

-Bid Winner Codename: Zodiac

-Final Bid: 466,900,000 Mana

-Auction End Date: Biharin Year 2664, September 26

「Auction No. 1975649」

-Registrant Codename: K

-Auction Item: Attribute Mana Stone (Detailed Information)

-Starting Bid: 100,000,000 Mana

-Auction Start Date: Biharin Year 2664, September 26

-Bid Winner Codename: Harmonica

-Final Bid: 417,288,000 Mana

-Auction End Date: Biharin Year 2664, September 26

「Auction No. 1975650」

-Registrant Codename: K

-Auction Item: Attribute Mana Stone (Detailed Information)

-Starting Bid: 250,000,000 Mana

-Auction Start Date: Biharin Year 2664, September 26

-Bid Winner Codename: Ethan Rembrandt

-Final Bid: 775,300,000 Mana

-Auction End Date: Biharin Year 2664, September 26

「Auction No. 1975651」

-Registrant Codename: K

…….

All the auctions being questioned were already concluded.

There were no less than 14 of them.

These were items acquired by killing general-rank and nemesis-rank entities at the Orkal Canyon with the help of Horfe and the beastfolk.

‘More than half were rank 2 mana.’

Most sold in the range of 300 to 400 million.

The higher the grade, the higher the final bid.

As a result, the total of all sold attribute mana stones exceeded 5.7 billion.

‘Adding up all the mana absorbed by K from this hunt, it came to 9.6 billion.’

Learning of this fact, Kim Yul made a proposal.

– Uncle Taeho, why don’t we channel the mana to K hyung?

– If we pitch in a bit more, I think hyung might hit 10 billion.

Since we’re likely to encounter more nemesis-rank entities, and we can’t always rely on Horfe’s help.

It seemed better to support K, who excelled in frontal assaults.

‘Hyung’s not the type to pretend he didn’t get help.’

Fortunately, Yang Taeho agreed with Kim Yul’s suggestion.

Having witnessed Horfe’s battle with the nemesis-rank entities, it was a natural response.

K had no reason to refuse their offer.

Thus, upon returning to Habon, he promptly accepted the mana transfer and underwent the fourth awakening.

That happened exactly two days ago.

Since then, K instructed everyone to rest until new schedules were set and retreated to his room.

Yang Taeho went to Earth to meet his wife, and K didn’t step out of his room even once.

Even a gentle knock on the door received no response.

Food was left at the door, but there was no sign it had been touched.

“That workaholic staying in his room…”

It was strange. K wasn’t the type to waste time like this.

Given the circumstances, Kim Yul found himself unintentionally looking for K’s reaction.

‘There were peculiar vibes occasionally on the way back…

Quite frankly, the feeling wasn’t good from the Orkal Canyon.

‘Didn’t he say he had someone to catch, yet came back empty-handed?’

It was since then.

K began to stay locked in thought alone, sometimes with a hardened expression.

At times like that, merely being in the same space made one feel K’s tension.

There was once when he looked pale, sweating coldly.

Even when asked what was wrong, he showed no intention of explaining.

It didn’t seem like he was sleeping much, either.

‘He was always a thoughtful person, but…’

There was no way to explain away the current situation as simply having a lot on his mind.

So much so that Yang Taeho hesitated considerably before heading to Earth.

As Kim Yul laid on the sofa looking up at the second floor, he turned towards the table and spoke.

“Do you know anything?”

His gaze landed under the table.

There lay Rice Cake, curled up and eyes closed.

“You’re connected to hyung, aren’t you?”

He vaguely remembered K mentioning in passing.

– Whether it’s reading my mind or my emotions… I feel like there’s some connection between that guy and me.

Maybe Rice Cake knew why K suddenly holed up in his room.

Despite repeated inquiries, Rice Cake remained silently crouched.

He hadn’t truly expected an answer.

Even if Rice Cake said something, Kim Yul doubted he’d understand.

It was closer to talking to himself out of frustration.

For a moment, he habitually stroked Rice Cake’s soft white fur.

Suddenly, Rice Cake’s ears perked up.

He quickly scampered out from under the table.

“Huh?”

Surprised by Rice Cake’s sudden movement, Kim Yul also sat up hurriedly.

Rice Cake had already dashed to the staircase, fervently wagging his tail.

He even busily paced back and forth in front of the stairs.

That was enough to hint that something was happening.

Sure enough, the sound of a door opening and footsteps followed.

*

After learning new facts through Eril, I pondered for quite some time.

But the conclusion I reached after that contemplation was simple.

In truth, the contemplation itself was pointless from the start.

When I chose to let Eril live, my heart probably leaned toward one direction.

‘Otherwise, there would have been no need to spare Eril after gaining the desired information.’

Eliminating her to prevent any repercussions would have been wiser.

Yet, I chose to let Eril live.

It was no mistake. To accept that fact, many thoughts and emotions needed sorting.

After taking the necessary time, there was no longer any hesitation needed.

‘There’s much to do.’

Fortunately, with the help of Kim Yul and Yang Taeho, I could become a Platinum rank faster than expected.

Given what I needed to accomplish next, it was fortunate.

‘But first, I need to learn how to use divinity.’

Having defeated five nemesis-rank entities at the Orkal Canyon thanks to Horfe.

Consequently, the Seed of Divinity trait had evolved to a sprout.

‘I felt something tickling inside since then.’

It had become possible to manifest divinity externally.

‘But that’s as far as it went.’

Saying I used divinity would be inaccurate.

While holed up in thought, I’d tried various things without success.

In that case, the only choice was to learn from someone else.

I headed to the temple in Habon the moment I broke my two-day seclusion.

My ultimate destination was a private room on the second floor of the west wing.

There awaited Gretman for me.

Upon opening the door, he sat leaned back on a sofa, watching me intently.

His golden eyes, unreadable in their thoughts, remained sharp.

“Oh.”

His golden gaze suddenly grew sharper.

‘He’s using Palao’s authority.’

Just like when I once fled the banquet screaming.

Entering the room, I faced Gretman’s gaze directly.

“To think this would really be possible…”

Gretman murmured, looking me over, before lowering his eyes to his teacup.

“You’ve grown quite a bit in a short time.”

Was he referring to my understanding of divinity and godhood?

Or does he somehow know about my ability to absorb rank?

Or was he talking about my promotion to Platinum rank?

‘No, that has nothing to do with Palao’s authority.’

Palao’s authority was about perceiving potential.

The potential to save more lives.

Gretman had reacted to the potential he saw in me just now.

Realizing this, I felt a bit irritated.

“Why are you so sure I’ll make that choice? There must be other options.”

So perhaps I unconsciously retorted.

“Do you want to control God’s power?”

But Gretman didn’t seem to hear me.

“It’s about time you learned the method to use it.”

Last time he at least responded.

It seemed he had no intention of doing so this time.

Swallowing a sigh, I sat across from him, forgoing further interruptions.

After all, my aim was to learn to handle divinity.

Being here meant he was willing to accept my request.

I decided to quietly listen to Gretman’s explanation.

“As you might suspect, you’re not an apostle.”

“That’s right.”

“Being chosen by a god is certainly a special and glorious thing. Naturally, there should be status accumulated from that.”

But I hadn’t gone through that process.

“Without the status gained from being chosen, it’s impossible to use a god’s authority.”

“Are you saying I can’t use divinity now?”

“Generally, yes. You need to establish status first if you truly wish to wield a god’s power.”

“……”

“If you build enough status, you will indeed develop your own authority, which would then enable you to use authority. That’s the only way for someone who isn’t an apostle to wield a god’s power.”

Listening to him, something felt off.

Authority seemed to be a special power influenced by the life one led.

Does that mean others besides the 7 Great Gods can possess authority?

“Then did you also gain authority as your status grew, mister Gretman?”

“It’s a power to make it easier to serve my Goddess.”

Gretman didn’t deny it.

He seemed to have some special ability, too.

‘Having authority doesn’t necessarily make one a god.’

There were parts I already understood and newly learned aspects, too.

New questions arose during the process.

‘So what about me?’

I wasn’t building status traditionally; I was stealing status from monsters.

No one explained it, but it was clear that this wasn’t the standard route.

Despite that, could I gain a special ability based on my records?

I was about to ask about it when Gretman preemptively blocked my question.

“Don’t seek answers from me.”

Without me asking, he continued.

“That’s a matter your god needs to answer, for you who are inflating status in such a peculiar way.”

He knew I was amassing status in an unorthodox manner.

But no one could predict what might happen at this venture’s end.

“Of course, there’s still a way to use divinity even without status and authority.”

Placing his teacup down, Gretman continued.

“It’s a kind of shortcut.”

The air around us hummed with a “woong” sound.

“In your current state, you should be able to use it well enough. It’s just a matter of forming it.”

It was that strange barrier that had concealed our presence from the gods.

My eyes lit up with realization.

Status and authority, important information as it was, didn’t align with why I’d sought Gretman.

My nod was swift. This shortcut was essential.

Learning it meant evading the gods’ watchful eyes.

“Yes, it’s not difficult, so I’ll teach you.”

Amused by the situation as it seemed, Gretman continually wore a smile.

It was subtly irritating.

Yet as he had no directly confrontational intentions, I refrained from calling him out.

‘It’d almost be better if he just outright taunted me.’

Despite inwardly clicking my tongue, I spent a considerable time learning how to wield divinity.

Amidst this, a message arrived through our party chat from Yang Taeho, who had gone to Earth.

– Pudding: Ah, the NIS is looking for me. I’m on my way with them now.

It seemed his personal information had been exposed somehow.

Damn System