Chapter 169

Leikart left behind some profound words as he departed.

When he left, a massive lightning bolt struck down from the sky, and he vanished in an instant.

After that, the situation wrapped up somehow, and I left the temple. Once out of the temple, I stayed in Byzantine for a few days.

What could possibly happen in just a few days? I thought to myself.

Crash!

“Muahaha! This is true freedom now!”

“Hahaha! Come back, Your Holiness!!”

Yeah, it was a thing.

The Pope had this habit of breaking windows every single day to make his escape, while Gaspart chased him down.

According to Rize, it happened at least once a day. Thanks to that, she said, there was never a dull moment.

“Is it really okay for someone like the Pope to act like that?”

“Everyone seems to understand.”

“Understand that…?”

Looks like Byzantine is not as stable as it appears if they’re treating the Pope’s great escape as a local spectacle.

Besides that, I enjoyed the food in Byzantine and had a couple of duels with Rize. All in all, I spent my time more productively than I anticipated, but it was time to head back.

With the situation getting more chaotic, the news spread quickly after the divine Leikart dropped by.

Not wanting to show my face too much, I returned a bit earlier than usual.

“Don’t trust Gaia?”

After returning to the Academy, I lay on my dormitory bed and pondered for a while.

“Don’t trust Gaia.” If a divine being said something like this, it couldn’t be a minor issue.

Of course, I couldn’t dismiss the possibility of cunning intrigue either. To me, Gaia and Gulrak seemed pretty much the same.

Forcing people who were living well to tumble into the forest and making their lives miserable—how could I trust deities like that?

From my perspective, they’re all equally untrustworthy. I couldn’t bring myself to believe in those divine beings.

“It feels unsettling in many ways.”

The Soul World allows for various concept plays, especially the Paladin concept, which is quite versatile.

Gulrak displays versatility in combat, while Gaia stands out in utility and support roles.

Moreover, Gaia has such a good image that she is treated well wherever she goes. Especially when it comes to increasing honor, she seems to enjoy various perks.

“I hardly had any interactions with Gaia, unlike with Gulrak.”

You could even ask if there are any followers of Gaia at the Academy.

Well, there are, but they’re in a different class.

Since the Academy collapsed, I haven’t really been keeping track of those connections.

Above all, I really didn’t want to get tangled up with that person. They were an exhausting character that nearly drove me crazy in the Soul World.

At least Luna just needed to watch her mouth, but that person? To freely operate, it’d be better to steer clear.

“Let’s just bypass the gods. They’re probably all cut from the same cloth anyway.”

Regardless, whether it’s Gaia or Gulrak, they haven’t changed the fact that they’re putting decent people through hell.

Maybe it would have been better to be chosen by Chaos instead. At least it would have been easier to gain some faith.

To be honest, I wanted to hurl some choice words, but I held back. I felt like it would drop my faith otherwise.

“Well, they do say a crab feels more at home with crabs.”

It was around that time I started thinking Chaos wasn’t much different from the other gods.

[Your faith is decreasing.]

Strangely enough, a message popped up saying my faith was going down.

I raised an eyebrow at that message. It could just be my imagination, but there was a slight sense of discomfort in it.

It felt like a silent message telling me not to be treated on par with those beings. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it.

“Are they opposing me being drawn into this place?”

This time, no message appeared. It seemed they were choosing to remain silent.

Unlike the other gods, Chaos doesn’t express direct intentions. Unless it’s this sort of thing.

“Then how does Rize communicate?” Is it through dreams?

Thinking it over, it felt a bit strange. The Soul World is just a game, so I can roll with it.

But this is reality. Unless you have a status screen like mine, communicating with Chaos is impossible.

Even though Luna has her special “eyes,” I’m not sure if that’s comparable to a status screen.

Think of it as my status screen combining with Luna’s eyes to become a character in the Soul World.

“It’s complicated.”

Doubt gave birth to more doubt, and questions begat more questions. It was like trying to solve a puzzle with missing pieces.

In the end, I had no choice but to hope time would provide some answers. For now, it felt like I was just being fed breadcrumbs.

“First things first…”

The visit to Byzantine, which I planned for a week, wrapped up in less than a week.

If that’s the case, I should be able to reduce the number of victims that demon will ensnare. But I need to locate him first.

That demon tends to wander from place to place, not sticking to one spot. Thankfully, his cycle is pretty long.

“If I don’t handle this now, it’ll turn into a bigger headache later.”

As I can tell from Porori’s example, certain monsters or demons get stronger over time.

The monsters I have to deal with in the future will be no exception. Typically, those monsters are tough to tackle at first, leading beginners to skip over them.

But if you meet them later on, they become crazily strong. They might not reach the point of being colored indigo, but they’ll be close.

“It’s already tough to catch them now.”

The difference lies more in raw stats than in patterns. Just a single hit might drop you into a near-death state.

To put it differently, with my current stats, I could easily dispose of them. If your strength is high, just crush it with an even stronger force.

However, since they’re lurking outside the Academy, I’d still have to go out. I’d prefer to sneak out if I could.

“Hmm…”

Thinking about it, sneaking out isn’t a bad option either. I’ve been granted freedom, and I can use that freely.

Sivar is free! Meaning I can shout that out loud. The moment that thought crossed my mind, I jumped up.

“Yeah. Let’s go right now.”

Short thought, quick action. I immediately gathered up everything I needed.

Well, everything I needed was just Ragnarok. Also, some cash and a simple bag.

That should be enough. Besides, the town wasn’t that far away, so I could come back quickly.

“If I need to contact anyone… Nah, I’m not a kid. I wouldn’t go looking for them, right?”

Still, just in case, I’ll stick a note on the dorm door. Just saying I’ve stepped out for a bit.

That way, even if people come looking for me, they might be puzzled, but it won’t really worry them.

“If I get the sword from that guy, I have to ask Rod for a favor. Oh, right. Weren’t they making the Usuk sword too?”

I had completely forgotten I assigned the Usuk sword crafting and didn’t go pick it up. But I don’t think I need to grab it right now.

I can come back and give it to Luna as a gift. Given we share secrets, this much should be fine.

Scribble-scribble—

I wrote a note to stick on the door. It simply indicated I would be away for a while.

After that, I stuck the note on the door and headed towards the Academy’s main gate. By the way, I had a hearty meal.

“Let’s see… the back gate leads to Byzantine, and the main gate leads to the town, right? Great.”

A few people recognized me as I passed by, but I easily ignored them. I was used to this kind of attention.

“I should wrap this up quickly and return.”

I didn’t want to cause needless worry. My friends had a tendency to treat me like a child.

However, there was one thing I didn’t consider. It had taken a whole day to reach the town by ‘carriage.’

That meant it could easily take longer than three days. I didn’t realize how the Soul World treats “fast travel.”

“I have plenty for food, so it should be fine.”

Vacations should be spent productively.

******

About a few hours after Sivar had gone out of the Academy…

Luna, back from Byzantine, had been lying on her bed for a while. She couldn’t quite shake off her thoughts.

The dream she had when she fainted from Sivar’s ridiculous prank. That dream left quite an unsettling feeling for Luna.

“Identical to Sivar, with purple eyes… But he had two weapons.”

At first glance, he looked just like Sivar. More precisely, he resembled Sivar at a more mature age.

Though now Sivar’s body had grown, he still had a somewhat youthful appearance, while the one in her dream was a strikingly handsome figure with a sharp expression.

He wielded an axe as his primary weapon, but he was also holding a huge greatsword in his left hand.

“Is it truly… the future?”

A future Sivar becoming a mass murderer in her dreams. That’s something she must prevent at all costs.

He was already plenty strong, but in the future, he could be exponentially stronger. At that point, even Rize or Rod would struggle to stop him.

But then another question arose. What on earth caused Sivar to initiate a massacre?

The mountains of corpses were left by humans, not demons. She remembered that clearly.

What could possibly have turned him into a monster comparable to demons? For now, she couldn’t grasp it.

“…Guess I have to ask him directly?”

Since this had happened, might as well check out those eyes too.

Were they truly red or showing signs of turning purple?

With a deep sigh, Luna finally rose from her bed. It would be better to discuss this with Sivar before making any plans.

“…Huh?”

But then, she noticed something strange stuck to Sivar’s dorm door.

A piece of paper taped on with great care. Luna leaned in closer to examine the note.

[Just stepped out for a bit. Don’t search for me.]

Looks like he had been working hard on learning how to write. Although he misspelled “went” as “went to.”

But Luna tilted her head at the note. Was there a need to stick a paper just for stepping out?

“Did he go marking territory in the forest?”

That was a high possibility. If that’s the case, it could take him a while, so it might be best to check back tomorrow.

The next day, when she stood in front of Sivar’s dorm, Luna raised an eyebrow.

“What the? Still there?”

The note remained plastered to the door. Was Sivar too lazy to take it down?

She even knocked on the door but got no response. An uneasy feeling began to creep up inside her.

If it were anyone else, she might brush it off, but this was Sivar—a disaster waiting to happen.

Inside the Academy, he was fine, but if he stepped outside… well, that could lead to lots of trouble. Luna immediately began her search.

Sivar’s appearance stood out from afar, making her investigation easier. The first area she checked was the Chaos Forest, Ratatosk’s domain.

“Why? He hasn’t been here for a while!”

“Didn’t come yesterday either?”

“Yeah. Nope.”

Ratatosk, busy shucking acorns, responded as if it was no big deal.

So far, it was confirmed that he hadn’t been in the forest. Thanking Ratatosk, Luna moved on to ask others.

“Sivar? Nah, never seen him around.”

“I haven’t seen him either.”

After asking Kara and Eli, the answers remained negative.

Amidst rising anxiety and foreboding, Luna stumbled upon some news.

“Sivar? He was heading out yesterday.”

“What?”

It was Antonio, who directly saw Sivar leaving through the main gate yesterday.

Antonio, holding stocks in his hands, spoke up.

“I happened to see him when I was going to buy stocks yesterday. He was heading out of the Academy.”

“Do you… know why?”

“How would I know? He was loaded up with weapons and a bag.”

“…”

Something feels off. The moment she heard that, Luna dashed straight to find Rod.

“Um… Headmaster.”

“What’s the matter?”

Luna hesitated for a moment before revealing her conclusion after the investigation.

“I think Sivar has run away.”

“…”

That wasn’t completely incorrect.

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