Ch.64Rebirth of the Flesh (1)

After gathering the Nectar, I thoroughly prepared myself and reached for the Essence of Flame.

The Essence of Flame was in an entirely different state of extreme heat, as it was essentially a crystallization of flame.

How hot was it? If I touched it without protection, not only would my hand burn, it might completely melt away.

Sizzle-

Even with preparations, smoke rose from my hand along with the sound of burning skin as I grabbed it.

Seeing my actions, Lilly narrowed her eyes and spoke as if she had caught the scent of something.

“You’re trying to do something weird again.”

“Uh… um… that’s not it.”

I tried to deny it while avoiding her gaze, but it was useless against Lilly who could detect lies.

Eventually, Lilly, stressed by my behavior, started shouting in my ear.

“What do you mean that’s not it! You’re going to overexert yourself and pass out again!”

“This time I don’t plan to pass out…”

“If you want to break your limits, just break your limits! Why can’t you leave your body alone! I’m worried sick that you might never wake up again!”

Seeing Lilly with tears streaming down her face as her emotions intensified, I put down the Essence of Flame and embraced her tightly.

And I stayed like that. For a long time, just holding her until she could calm down.

After some time had passed, Lilly, now calmer, sat on my shoulder and spoke.

“Even if I act like this, you won’t stop. Not just this time, but you’ll keep pushing your body to the limit and driving me crazy.”

“…Yes.”

“So I’ll try to become stronger too. If I become stronger than the me you’re looking at, maybe you won’t have to suffer as much.”

The Lilly I’m looking at. That probably referred to the Lilly from the game.

It wasn’t wrong since Lilly’s combat ability and role were all based on data from the game.

So she was saying she would become stronger than her game version.

‘In this world, the Lilly I’ve known could definitely do it.’

Even without game knowledge, I felt certain that the Lilly I knew could definitely become stronger.

“I’ll believe in you and wait.”

“So what are you planning to do with that?”

Having shown her determination, Lilly turned her gaze back to the Essence of Flame.

I could see in her eyes that while she had given permission for what I was about to do, she wanted to know exactly what I was planning.

“Literally breaking my limits. Right now, there are restrictions on my growth.”

“It doesn’t seem like you just want to absorb it for physical changes… are you trying to remove impurities from your body with its energy?”

“That’s part of it… I’m also using a kind of repulsive force to elevate my body to a higher state.

The elevated state will return to normal eventually, but all the doors I’ve passed through will be broken, removing restrictions for future growth.”

Hearing this explanation that sounded dangerous to anyone, Lilly sighed briefly but didn’t say anything more.

She just gave me a look that said she hoped I would rest properly after putting myself through this ordeal.

Still feeling her concern, I shared one piece of good news to reassure her.

“But this time, I don’t plan on passing out.”

“What an achievement!”

However, I couldn’t avoid getting a smack on my back from Lilly, as if I had invited the punishment myself.

“Phew… let’s head out now, it’s getting hot in here.”

“Shall we?”

At Lilly’s words, I looked at Kitsune and Kirara. The items we had gathered remained in the same state as before, and it didn’t seem like they wanted to change anything.

Still, just to be sure, I waited for their response, and they both nodded.

“We’ve chosen everything we need. I don’t think we’ll find anything better suited for us, so we can leave now.”

“Kerung!”

After they both expressed their agreement to leave, we were able to head back along the path we came from toward the exit of the warehouse.

In front of the warehouse door, the Titan who had opened the door for us earlier was waiting. It seemed he had waited to open the door for us again when we returned.

‘Since it’s a kind of refrigerator, it makes sense to keep it closed.’

Seeing that we had returned, the Titan opened the door and welcomed us.

[It seems everyone has chosen well.]

[Fortunately, you weren’t distracted by insignificant gold and treasures.]

“Everyone has good eyes, so we chose things necessary for growth.”

Except for me, who had no particular limit on what I could bring, the Titan gave a positive assessment of the items the three had brought out.

And he gave a similar assessment of the Nectar and two treasures I had brought.

He seemed to think that while he might worry about whether others could use them properly, I would surely use them well.

So what concerned the Titan was not those items, but the Essence of Flame.

This was because it was an item too powerful to be dismissed with just a vague belief that it would be used well.

[However, that one… I cannot recommend.]

[The power it contains is extremely dangerous.]

[But you probably already know that.]

[And yet you still took it.]

“That’s right. I’m too weak right now to solve the problem in front of me.”

[…I see.]

I made a cold assessment of my current state. And the cold conclusion I reached was that I was weak.

I had the trump card of the True Word, but that was just a trump card and nothing more.

‘Right now my stats barely fall short of A-rank.’

Generally, A-rank adventurers have their main stats exceeding 100. So my current stats without breaking my limits were below that.

Instead, my actual strength when applying traits, skills, and items was higher than that.

Comparatively speaking, I was top-tier among A-rank adventurers. And my average combat ability could work against S-rank adventurers.

At this level, if my opponent was an Apostle who relied on status windows or skills, I could confidently predict victory.

And if I used the True Word on top of that, I could even achieve victory against someone at the level of a guild master when the opportunity arose.

‘My growth rate is fast and I could be considered strong, but…’

What awaited us was not an honorable battle but a war.

And in the worst case, it was a war where even the king of the dwarves might turn against us.

‘The Necromancer I defeated back then probably wasn’t the mastermind of the plan.’

It was a massive plan that could destroy one major race and potentially lead to the end of the world.

Though he was certainly strong, he didn’t seem like someone who could move this enormous plan. So there was likely at least one stronger person behind it.

And if the Evil God intervened directly, who knows what might happen—I couldn’t help but sigh.

“Sigh…”

[Seems like you have troublesome matters waiting.]

[I’ll cheer for you.]

“No, cheering alone isn’t enough.”

I lifted my gaze from the floor and turned to the Titan.

While it would be best if I could take revenge with my own hands, I had no intention of discarding a card I could use right now.

“Titan Alan, who unfortunately couldn’t participate in the war, prepare once more for the battle against the Evil God.”

[How did you…]

[…]

[Understood. I, Alan, Titan of the god Vulcan, will fulfill my created purpose.]

Alan looked at me as if wondering how I knew this fact, but he didn’t dwell on it too deeply.

While I had shown knowledge of things I shouldn’t know before, he didn’t need to know the reason.

War against the Evil God was the very reason he was created, so no further explanation was necessary.

“The war will happen soon. Probably… about two months from now. So be ready to come up anytime.”

[Understood.]

* * *

‘To be honest, the Titan is an asymmetric force.’

If we were to pit him against Cecilia the dragon, I could declare without hesitation that the Titan would win even with his eyes closed.

The same goes for Lilly, even if she were freed from her restrictions. No matter how freely Lilly could use her power, she wouldn’t be able to defeat the Titan.

That’s the kind of being the Titan was, created by Vulcan in the distant past.

He could only make two of them, and Alan, who was made later, couldn’t even participate in the war because he hadn’t finished charging his vast energy.

So perhaps the situation I’m trying to prevent could be resolved if the Titan stepped in.

But even with such a card in my hand, my anxiety never disappeared.

‘In the war against the Evil God, despite the participation of the main gods, all racial gods, the Titans, and the best warriors of each race, a draw was the best they could achieve.’

It was a draw in name only—essentially a defeat.

The Apostles sent by the Evil God still appear, and the Evil God left behind a destruction button before retreating after his defeat.

In contrast, the gods still couldn’t recover, let alone resurrect.

‘At least the goddess seems to be alive.’

Me, Lilly, and Kitsune.

The Hero and his companions.

Arges and the Titan.

And even the dwarves.

Despite making all possible preparations, a terrible anxiety still lingered in my mind.