Chapter 164: The Fourth Trial (4)

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Well, it’s been a while since I’ve seen something good.

That was the voice coming from the Great Tree.

If the first trial had the voice of a child, the second trial a mature woman, and the third trial a polite man, this time it was a rough and raspy male voice.

I responded to him.

“You’ve set up an interesting trial, but it’s a shame I can’t stay long.”

Well, I suppose you’re the only one who would call my trial “fun.” Though it seems your comrades are enjoying it to some extent.

“Are you talking about Yusera?”

I hadn’t really worried much about Yusera.

However, I never imagined she would be enjoying this trial as well.

Since she didn’t even have a clock, I had expected her to try and leave the trial much earlier than the three-day subjective experience.

Yes, our methods were different, but the purpose of my trial isn’t just about fighting.

“Not just about fighting…”

No matter how I thought about it, this trial was specialized for that.

It was about battling oneself to find one’s shortcomings.

Growth through that process.

If all you think about is the sword, it makes sense to think that way. Moreover, you are already an unusual case who can view yourself from the perspective of a third party.

“An unusual case?”

Most people who enter my trials feel fear when facing another version of themselves. It’s a being that should never exist. And once they surpass that fear and realize it is exactly the same as them, they feel disgust.

Those were words that didn’t apply to me.

But I could understand well enough.

Concepts like doppelgangers or self-hatred already existed in Sung Yoo-rang’s knowledge.

It could be due to their abilities or perhaps their appearance, among other things. Many fall apart in my trial because they become frustrated with the reality that doesn’t change no matter how much they fight against themselves.

“Then, is the solution to this trial accepting reality?”

For some, it might be agonizing, but that would be the first step. However, if it ended there, my trial wouldn’t be any different from the God of Reality. Simply acknowledging reality doesn’t mean the trial is over.

He continued speaking in a calm yet firm tone.

Accepting reality and giving up is something I will not recognize. Recognizing oneself and taking one step further from there. That’s what you’ve been doing for three days in my trial, and it can be said that it is the very purpose of my trial that you’ve already engaged in during your reality trial.

“What did I engage in during my reality trial?”

Hahaha. How I laughed when I heard that from the God of Reality. Going beyond merely acknowledging reality and forging your will for hundreds of years to train the sword. In doing so, you had already passed my trial.

Had I already passed this trial back then?

That was an unexpected revelation.

But if I had already passed the trial, there was one question I could ask.

“What is your name?”

The name of the god.

It felt a bit hollow, but if I really had passed the trial, he should be able to tell me his name.

And he answered.

Yes, I’ll tell you my name. I am the God of Nothingness. Nothingness does not simply mean martial arts like swordsmanship. It means to take oneself as a sword and become stronger and sturdier.

The God of Nothingness.

It was certainly within the realm I somewhat expected.

I never thought I would pass through his trial like this.

In joyful tone, he spoke.

In that sense, I’ve enjoyed your ‘nothingness’ quite well. You inherited Libero’s sword, and you’ve been able to constantly surpass your limitations and pile up incredible prowess. I too wished for more than three days.

I chuckled at his words.

“I’m grateful for the interesting trial you prepared for me.”

And I felt the same regret.

But…

“I guess I have to leave now.”

That’s right. You have many tasks ahead of you.

“But before that…”

Just then, another voice suddenly came from the tree.

It’s been a while.

It was a familiar voice.

I looked up at the Great Tree.

There, perched on a branch, was a familiar silhouette.

“God of Chains.”

Once, he had a terrible relationship with me.

When I fully believed I was Sung Yoo-rang, I thought he was the one who brought me here, and when my contact with the Divine Seat was cut off and he entered his break, I thought he was behind it all.

But now that all misunderstandings had been cleared…

No, I could have spoken about misunderstandings in the first place.

He certainly had the ability to do so.

But the fact that he didn’t say anything about it meant he was in the wrong.

So I decided not to forgive him for the past.

“So, what brings you here this time?”

Then he replied.

“Weren’t you about to call for me just now? I simply came before you could put in the effort to do so.”

He wasn’t an especially likable guy.

So, what’s going on?

But his words were true.

I was indeed trying to call for him.

Restocking usable weapons wasn’t my sole purpose for entering the trial.

“I have something to ask.”

If it’s something I can answer, then good.

It was the same for me.

I wasn’t sure if the question I was about to ask fell within his range of answers.

“If I manage to block all the Demon Kings, will that be the end of it?”

It was about time I needed information on this.

There were five major endings to Hundred Braves.

First was the dead ending.

Literally, it means the player’s character dies.

In fact, most of the other endings would fall under this category as well, but in the community, ‘dead’ usually refers to dying not from an ending but from Chaos Beasts, etc.

Second was the 72nd Demon King.

The 72nd Demon King of the Leim Kingdom successfully awakens and absorbs relics by conquering other barriers one by one.

This ending culminated when the 72nd Demon King absorbed all the relics and breaks through the final Hailen barrier.

Third was the Central Sea System.

This ending occurs regardless of whether or not the 72nd Demon King is stopped.

However, it’s certain that if both are not stopped, this ending leads to destruction more rapidly.

While the 72nd Demon King must methodically absorb relics, this one destroys Hailen straight away.

Fourth was Demon King Victory.

This signifies that despite having stopped both the second and third, it ends with the Demon King’s victory due to the actions of the 71st Demon King, etc.

Various scenarios exist in this case.

And lastly.

The Completed Incarnation Ending.

Unless it’s a character like Gwen who’s a sure bet for early death, this usually signifies the completion of training.

It just fades to black, and a result window appears indicating that a playthrough has ended.

But is that really a happy ending?

“What happens to the world afterwards?”

If Hundred Braves ends there, what about the world that follows?

The God of Chains, as if gauging whether it was an acceptable question to answer, fell silent for a moment before replying.

Destruction. And we call that destruction a destined collapse.

“A destined collapse?”

As I said before, this world is already fated to collapse. The demise of the Demon Kings merely hastens it. And what you refer to is precisely that destined collapse.

Indeed.

Now the only remaining collapse is the Central Sea System.

But that alone wouldn’t solve everything.

“Then is there a way to prevent this destined collapse?”

It’s merely a possibility. I believe you have the capability. That’s why I entrusted the fate of the world to you.

“You won’t tell me how, will you?”

Of course not. In fact, even I am not entirely certain about that.

It seemed he truly couldn’t disclose the method.

But learning about the existence of a destined collapse was a significant discovery.

It didn’t seem like there wasn’t a way to stop it either.

However, let me say this in advance. You weren’t planning to go find her in the Central Sea system?

“Her?”

The Water Sage.

He seemed to be aware of that.

After all, in order to safely utilize the stigma I inherited fourth, I absolutely needed her.

It was only natural he could predict I’d go looking for her.

“But why is she showing up here?”

She might help find that method.

Either way, I was going to go find her.

In that context, the reason to seek her out only increased, which is a good thing.

“I see. If that’s the case, that’s good.”

So is that all the questions?

“Probably. I assume what you can tell me ends here?”

Hmm…

He hesitated for a moment before speaking.

In fact, there’s one more thing.

“Yeah?”

News from Earth. You must be curious, right?

“Of course I’m curious.”

While I wasn’t technically Sung Yoo-rang anymore, his memories still occupied part of my memory.

Despite being another human, I was there rooting for him.

But I hadn’t heard any news since realizing he had changed after seeing me.

It seems your speculation was correct; the connection with him hasn’t been severed. His will to see your conclusion was strong, so in the end, I decided to turn this situation into an event.

“An event?”

An event caused by your singularity. A large-scale event orchestrated to create a full stop across all servers.

Wait, is that even allowed?

What do I have to say about it?

Of course, I was on a critical mission to prevent destruction here, but over there, I was merely one among many characters.

Few people can change just by seeing a mere game character.

Well, it’s already seemed to have grown a bit too large.

“Too large?”

You are no longer like other Allen Pleuks. In fact, if anyone mentions Allen Pleuk over there, they’re referring only to you.

“What does that mean…”

Given that the Hundred Braves was a quite substantial game, even the suspension of its operation created an event.

Naturally, I knew the repercussions must have been huge.

But…

3 million. That’s the cumulative number of viewers who have watched the broadcast so far. It’s still growing rapidly.

Even someone like me, who isn’t well-versed in internet broadcasting, could tell that number was absurd.

Moreover, this refers to live broadcasts, and if we combine it with the videos uploaded on streaming sites, your influence is no small matter.

“But is that really okay? Didn’t we say that altering the dimensions shouldn’t happen?”

It’s fine. It seems your influence has been judged positively on the Earth side. If such positivity continues, then…

He stopped mid-sentence.

It would be better not to say anything uncertain.

After having said that, he switched topics.

Now you need a reward for passing the trial. After all, you’ve completed it.

Even dodging the conversational shift felt reminiscent of our last encounter.

But if he deemed something uncommunicable, then that’s genuinely the case.

So I quietly caught the fruit he dropped with Wind’s Power.

This time, the fruit felt pretty heavy.

Is it a Relic?

With this sort of weight, it might be worth expecting something good.

As I opened the fruit, golden light began to shimmer inside.

Wait a moment, golden light?

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