Chapter 373

Chapter 373. Transaction of Gods (4)

‘This guy needs to be more concerned about his safety than anyone else.’

This war was no different than a chess game that ended if the king was captured.

Earth was already under attack.

In such a Scenario, if the Damned System was kidnapped, or detained, and the dimension collapsed, everything would be over.

Therefore, I could not allow the System to wander outside the dome alone.

“Don’t go roaming around recklessly if you understand.”

I gritted my teeth and mumbled grimly, as if I was warning it.

Did my firm and coercive attitude finally get through to it?

-… Will you come if I call?

The System, for the first time, dropped its sullen attitude and asked.

Relieved to find a compromise at last, I nodded my head and replied.

“Yes.”

– No matter when or where, you mean you’ll come if I call?

It was annoying to repeat what I’d already said, but if that meant this fellow wouldn’t restrict my actions indiscriminately and wander alone unaware of my safety, then there was no reason not to respond.

“Yes, whether you need to move somewhere else, or just feel like taking a walk on a whim, it doesn’t matter. Just call me for any reason.”

I didn’t mind being summoned for trivial reasons.

‘Because I can just shove it back inside after giving it a good beating.’

But I couldn’t allow it to wander alone in places where I couldn’t guarantee its safety without me.

‘If I had a little more knowledge or understanding of divinity, I would have trapped it in there for good.’

I deeply regretted my inability to do so due to lack of ability.

While I clicked my tongue in frustration internally, the System seemed to be in a relatively good mood in contrast to me.

The sullen demeanor from earlier was nowhere to be found.

– Understood.

The voice that reached me was noticeably softened.

I expected no further unnecessary energy wasted on trifles with the System.

“Then go back inside now. Don’t forget to search for those remaining intruders.”

– Yes, I will.

I instructed the System to close the dome entrance.

It headed inside the dome wordlessly, scuttling along.

Moments later, the entrance between us disappeared with a whoosh.

I turned around and returned to Earth.

As soon as my feet touched the apartment rooftop, shortly after,

《System Message》

《Kang Hyunwoo!》

The system message obstructed my view.

Though a long sigh escaped me, I had to overcome causality in a flash due to the promise I’d already made.

Returning to the place I’d left just seconds ago, I spotted the white orb poking outside the dome.

Though it lacked eyes, a nose, or a mouth, it undoubtedly locked onto my gaze.

Experiencing a boiling fury, I strode towards the System.

Then, gritting my teeth, I raised my fist and brought it down on the System.

I gave the one who did unnecessary things a thump.

Of course, it didn’t inflict significant damage on the System.

My hand, which met the soft orb, bounced away with a “toong”, sound.

However, satisfying the decade-old wish of delivering just one hit, I felt content to leave it at that.

Letting out a sigh that could sink the ground, I said,

“I came, happy now?”

No specific response returned from the System.

Still, I could sense its overwhelming joy.

It exceeded mere satisfaction that I listened to its request.

Wondering why it couldn’t control its emotions like this, a thought flickered through my mind.

‘… Was it lonely?’

I had not engaged in detailed conversations nor heard explicit truths, but I seemed to understand why it called me out with such unnecessary antics.

‘It’s been about half a year since I reached status.’

I spent notably little time beyond causality compared to other gods.

Even in numbers, it didn’t exceed 100 hours.

Since there was no reason for me to stay here, that was a matter of course.

Staying in the material realm was a given right, as it contained everything I needed to protect.

For me, emerging beyond causality was an unusual event.

But that was only from my perspective.

The story could differ from the System’s view.

‘I couldn’t be sure if gods like the System possessed social traits similar to humans.’

From the System’s behavior and background, it seemed like it could feel lonely.

The constant meddling in my actions out of worry, the stubborn sulking—all of that.

Revisiting the behaviors the System had only displayed towards me, the speculation became certainty.

‘Perhaps it disliked being left alone.’

It had protected Earth alone for over a hundred years.

If it anxiously fretted over the newly formed divinity disappearing too, its persistent objections to my actions made sense.

‘Of course, all this is based on the assumption that the System can genuinely feel loneliness.’

Given its actions now, denying it seemed strange.

Arriving at that realization, leaving abruptly as I did hours ago was no longer an option.

“Sigh…”

Already softened by seeing the hard work of the System, it was now repeatedly reinforced.

I didn’t like projecting personal emotions onto the System, but despite that, I couldn’t coldly vent my frustrations.

‘There was a time I enjoyed peace under its hard work.’

Not knowing would have been one thing, but now I understand very well who I owe my peace for the past few years.

Thus, it’s likely why I’m unable to harbor pure resentment.

“Damned system.”

An obvious result of emotional turmoil.

Perhaps this was a predetermined future from the moment my heart softened once.

I remained incapable of harshness, hence why I couldn’t turn my back on the timid System that summoned me without a word, eagerly observing.

Sighing heavily, I washed my face with my hands, and then lowering them, I gazed at the scene before me.

White dome, white orb.

‘A world drenched in white.’

I didn’t know why it had a pathological obsession with white, but if that was its preference, I supposed I needed to adapt.

While visually undistinguishable from the dome, I could undeniably see the System.

Thanks to that, I could sense it anxiously watching for my reaction.

I plopped down beside the dome.

And, with anger half-dissolved, I asked weakly,

“So.”

– Yes?

“Why did you call?”

A small, nearly inaudible voice replied moments later.

– Happy birthday.

I blinked, staring at the System, bewildered by the sudden remark.

After a brief silence, I thought I misheard, so I asked again.

“What?”

– Today is the date when the human named Kang Hyunwoo was born. Do you not know?

I had forgotten. It had been so long since I’d remembered any information unrelated to the war.

‘Today was my birthday?’

Many hectic events had occurred, causing me to lose track.

I hadn’t had the luxury to celebrate a birthday since being entangled in this game.

Momentarily flustered by the memory resurrection, it was short-lived.

– I also have a birthday.

Suddenly, the System began recounting its own past.

– According to the scholars of Earth, it’s during the Paleozoic era. So it’s difficult to estimate the exact date, but I do have a birthday.

Given the unexpected information, my lips twitched subtly.

‘Paleozoic era?’

Was it the Paleozoic I knew?

– Generally, a primordial god gains consciousness when life emerges in its dimension. That was the same for me.

My query naturally resolved with the System’s continued explanation.

The era of life emergence on Earth clearly divides into the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic eras.

‘Right, I learned that in Earth science classes.’

Thus, the Paleozoic the System mentioned matched the one I knew.

The era presumed to be around 570 million years ago.

‘Was the Cretaceous period when dinosaurs lived, at the end of the Mesozoic?’

Suddenly, I grasped the vastness of time a primordial god had existed through.

It made the situation even more astonishing.

A creature that must have lived for hundreds of millions of years now sulked and threw fits in response to a few words I said.

‘It doesn’t make sense to compare this to humans in the first place.’

I wondered how it had lived such a long time to act out in such juvenile ways.

Doesn’t reaching such an age naturally lead to feeling weary and apathetic due to routine, like Karlos did, desperately desiring to vanish from the world?

‘No, that’s not right.’

The System turning out like Karlos would be disastrous.

It would be far better for it to act like a child, bouncing around, than to scatteredly declare a wish to vanish, leaving behind destructive chaos.

Perhaps the other gods that once existed on Earth shared this sentiment, resulting in the System’s current state.

Due to the complexity running through my mind, verbal expression significantly diminished.

Regardless, the System continued its monologue, spilling stories of the material realm adjacent to me.

– Hera was the first to celebrate my birthday.

– Sometimes, I was allowed to visit the material realm as a gift.

– There was once nearly an accident when Thor lost his Mjolnir during a joint visit.

– When I shared this story, even Buddha was surprised, though Kang Hyunwoo seems rather indifferent.

Every word pushed my bounds of common sense, enough to induce a tick in my face.

More specifically, the names emerging in the tales posed problems.

Why did entities from Greek mythology and Norse mythology, along with Buddha, appear in these stories?

‘Is Buddha… from India?’

I found myself puzzling over Buddha’s origins without reason.

I stopped thinking, half-wittedly, as revelations rendered my mind blank.

Maybe because the System assumed I attentively listened, its tone grew noticeably upbeat.

– Ah, it’s not that I’ve visited the material realm many times. Others were never pleased with my visits there. On rare occasions, I was allowed just short excursions.

That was an obvious fact.

‘A primordial god’s movement entailed a massive price in terms of causality.’

Of course, addressing that problem wasn’t entirely impossible.

‘Like what Meferoseta did, sealing most powers before crossing over minimized the expenses.’

Though it introduced a new issue of greatly weakened status for the System, it wasn’t impossible to reduce the causal price.

The System seemed aware of this fact.

– Yet, I haven’t been back in centuries since then.

It stuck by my side, chattering on about the material realm. That prompted a nagging intuition.

Feeling this ominous sense, I subtly gauged the System’s intent.

Damned system

TL’s Corner:

System seems a little cute with his antics.