Chapter 53: The End of Childhood
*
After finishing all 100 attempts.
I found myself once again in front of the Great Tree.
”So, have all your desires been fulfilled?”
100 attempts.
If Libero, who had probably already lived an eternity, hadn’t been by my side, enduring that long time would have been impossible.
In fact, starting from the mid-point, I began to feel that the remaining attempts were too precious. By the final 100th attempt, I felt a sense of regret.
“But there’s nothing I can do about it. My promise with you was only until the 100th attempt.”
”I felt regret too. Watching you was quite enjoyable.”
You watched me the whole time?
I wondered if the gods also perceived time differently because they lived for eternity.
”Then, I will give you a reward for successfully completing the trial.”
As she spoke, a fruit began to fall from above the tree.
This time, I didn’t panic like before.
Because I had the Wind’s Power.
The Wind’s Power slowed the falling fruit, and I caught it.
The size was not much different from the last time. However, unlike before, I could feel that something was inside it.
‘At least it’s not an intangible reward.’
It felt light, though something was inside.
I inserted my finger into the opening of the fruit.
Suddenly, blue light began to swirl around.
‘Blue…’
It was one level lower than purple.
Well, the chance of getting purple rewards twice in a row was quite low.
The contents were more important, but I should consider blue a win.
I cautiously opened the fruit.
‘What is this?’
Inside were seven identical pills.
I displayed the item information in front of me.
Category: Consumable
Type: Pill
Description: A mystical potion with mysterious power. Consuming the entire pill is required for the effect. Raises all stats by two levels for 30 minutes, but causes all stats to drop one level for 24 hours as a side effect. Effects are halved when consumed multiple times, and side effects are doubled.
‘Not bad.’
I placed the pills into my inventory.
It was a pretty good reward for compensating for my shortcomings.
No matter how much I learned swordsmanship or acquired great relics, my pitiful stats remained the same.
But with these pills, I could temporarily mitigate those shortcomings.
‘The two levels here are a bigger jump than I thought.’
In the beginning, it was easy to raise stats with basic training.
However, in the later stages, raising stats reached a limit, and even dedicating years to training might barely improve them.
And yet, these pills promised to raise my stats by two levels.
Regardless of the side effects, it would definitely be useful in crucial moments.
”Looks like you quite like the reward.”
“Thank you.”
”No need for thanks. The reward was not chosen by me.”
Speaking of which, the God of Regret had also said something similar.
Though it was her giving rewards, it was the recipient who made the choices.
‘Then who chooses the reward?’
Just then, I felt a warm energy at the crown of my head.
Someone’s hand was resting there.
“Who…?”
”It’s me. I want to show you one last reality.”
It was the voice of the God of Reality.
But why?
”I liked you. So I want you to know the complete reality.”
I couldn’t resist.
Suddenly, I felt something flowing into my mind.
And then… nothing changed.
‘What changed?’
I expected something to happen, like a change of location, as it had before.
But I was still standing in front of the Great Tree.
“God of Reality?”
No answer.
“Hello? Nothing’s different here!”
Still, no response.
As I was bewildered, another voice reached my ears.
”The smaller tasks are handled by the God of Regret, while the bigger ones are done by the God of Reality.”
It was a man’s voice.
I was sure I’d heard that voice before.
I looked up toward the Great Tree where the voice came from.
There, someone was sitting. But shadows obscured their form, so I couldn’t make out who it was.
“Who are you?”
”I can’t tell you my true name, but you would recognize me as the God of Chains.”
‘The God of Chains?’
I narrowed my eyes and glared at him.
But still, I couldn’t see his figure.
No, the shape wasn’t what mattered.
What mattered was how much I wanted to meet him.
“It’s you. You’re the one who made me possess Allen.”
The reason why I became possessed in the body of Allen Pleuk.
It was probably due to [Absolute Obedience].
And the source of that [Absolute Obedience] was the [God of Chains’ Blessing].
“Are you implying that your silence confirms it?”
I urgently snapped at the figure sitting on the tree.
“If so, tell me. What was the purpose of possessing me? How can I return?”
But the God of Chains remained silent.
“Then at least answer this! What happened to the God of Reality?”
Finally, the God of Chains spoke.
”She lost her voice due to the strain of using her powers. It will take quite a while for her to recover.”
“She overexerted herself?”
”Yes, the reality she could show you originally was only what the trial challengers were neglecting. However, she revealed to you a reality beyond that.”
That wasn’t true.
Nothing had changed since she placed her hand on my head.
Yet the God of Chains told me.
”Check your status.”
‘Status?’
I checked my status.
1. Information
Name: Allen Pleuk
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Stigma: Inheritance Mark
‘Huh?’
It changed.
Originally, where there had been ‘??? Mark’ in the Stigma section, it was now replaced with ‘Inheritance Mark’.
‘Is this the true identity of Allen’s mark?’
I hurriedly scrolled down the status window.
There, the legacy characteristics and skills of the Stigma were present too.
5. Stigma
SP: 70
Main: [Inheritance Mark]
Inheritance Trait: [Inheritance Compatibility (Greater)]
Inheritance Skill: [Memory Transmission (Ex)] – Inactive
‘What is this…’
I checked the inheritance trait first.
[Inheritance Compatibility (Greater)]
Possesses traits compatible with the Stigma’s inheritance. The effects of inherited skills and traits are slightly increased.
Did this exist?
The skills or traits I had inherited until now were three.
Among them, because [Precocious] and [Swordsmanship] had Allen’s low talent, I hadn’t noticed them.
However, [Leim Royal Family’s Authority] did strike me as powerful for an inherited trait upon reflection.
‘Then what in the world is the inheritance skill…’
What skill could I have not known until now?
After checking the skill’s effect, I was…
‘Huh?’
My thoughts abruptly screeched to a halt.
[Memory Transmission (Ex)] – Inactive
A one-time skill. Deactivates after use. The user can completely receive memories from the player.
‘What?’
It took me a moment to grasp the meaning of that.
That fact was not something I could easily accept.
In fact, I didn’t want to believe it at all.
‘I wasn’t possessed?’
I wasn’t possessed by Allen Pleuk at all.
Rather, it was the opposite.
I was Allen Pleuk, and…
“You’re saying the memories of Sung Yoo-rang came into my head?”
”Do you understand now? I actually wanted to hide it for even longer, but I thought I could get away with just the God of Regret, but the God of Reality went and did something rash.”
“Why have you been hiding this from me until now?”
”Because you were supposed to be Sung Yoo-rang.”
I was supposed to be Sung Yoo-rang…
“What does that even mean?”
”I can’t share all the details, but does this help you comprehend?”
He spat it out coldly.
”Do you think you would have come this far without Absolute Obedience?”
That statement pierced my heart like a sharp icicle.
I slowly mulled over the words that had pierced through my chest.
‘Would I have made it this far without Absolute Obedience?’
There was no doubt it would have been impossible.
Now my dependency had decreased, but in the early stages, Absolute Obedience was my only ally.
Even so…
“What does that have to do with deceiving me? So, I wasn’t actually Sung Yoo-rang. So then what about Absolute Obedience…”
”Of course, it was used by the player, Sung Yoo-rang. You probably believed you were using it all along.”
“Do you actually think that’s plausible? That a player would use Absolute Obedience at the same timing as my thoughts?”
”Because you believed you were Sung Yoo-rang. Your thoughts aligned perfectly until you met that girl, Gwen.”
I changed after meeting Gwen?
Then something clicked.
“That was after I started seeing the people of this world as real people?”
”Yes, that was something I hadn’t anticipated. Because of that, a discrepancy arose between what you knew about Absolute Obedience.”
Suddenly, unbelievable facts flooded in.
However, they aligned too well with my experience to be mere fabrications of the God of Chains.
So what he said was likely the truth.
Yet questions remained.
“What exactly do you want from me?”
I now understood that the effect of bringing back the player’s memories was not something he had done, but the effect of Allen’s Stigma.
No, it would be more accurate now to say ‘me.’
But why go this far and collaborate with other gods to make me believe I was Sung Yoo-rang?
What is it that the gods want from me so badly?
”I can’t tell you. Like the God of Reality, I also have limits to what truths I can share.”
“So you’re saying you’re like the God of Reality…!”
”Be quiet. I’m tasked with a more important role than that one. But I will tell you that you’re still doing well.”
“Doing well?”
At that moment, the space began to shake unexpectedly.
It felt like an earthquake was occurring in the space around me.
Upon closer inspection, the walls were crumbling and disappearing.
”Our conversation is coming to an end. The God of Reality, who borrowed this space, has lost her power, so it must disappear.”
Not yet.
I still had things to tell the God of Chains.
“Absolute Obedience! You have to work something out about that!”
Absolute Obedience wasn’t useless.
But the dependency on Absolute Obedience had clearly diminished now.
Furthermore, with my values having split entirely from the player, Sung Yoo-rang, a problem could arise at any moment.
“Is there no way to rescind the blessing you granted?”
”Sorry, but it’s impossible to take back a blessing once given to a character. You know that well, considering you possess the player’s knowledge.”
“Then what about another way…!”
”You still have the memories of Sung Yoo-rang. You probably know about that well too. So trust him.”
Simply trusting him.
Of course, I knew Sung Yoo-rang well.
But the Sung Yoo-rang in my memories was not exactly trustworthy.
Yet, as if to counter my thoughts, the God of Chains said.
”He too must have changed a lot while watching your progress.”
‘He too?’
It dawned on me.
The first trial had given me strength by letting me see Sung Yoo-rang’s image.
Then, could it be that Sung Yoo-rang had also been influenced by watching me?
After all, he had tried to prove himself by using me.
As the space crumbled around me.
The second trial was completely drawing to a close.
No, it wasn’t just the second trial coming to an end.
‘Is this the end for me as Sung Yoo-rang too?’
I felt no aversion.
The old, useless Allen Pleuk was one thing, but the current me had grown much since then.
Furthermore, I had already distanced myself considerably from the Sung Yoo-rang in my memories.
If someone asked me who I was now.
I was neither Sung Yoo-rang nor Allen Pleuk.
I was just me.
Returning to reality.
Except for the trials I’d discussed with the gods, the memories of the 100 attempts were now faint.
Yet what I needed to do in reality was clear.
‘To become a hero.’
Because that was what I had been doing all along.
*
