〈 Chapter 70 〉 Contract
*
Once again, I faced the Great Tree.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
Then, a male voice echoed from somewhere.
It was low, soft, and had a somewhat polite tone.
“I apologize. I’ve taken a bit of an interest in you, Allen Pleuk.”
This new god seemed to have been quite courteous.
However, I couldn’t let my guard down.
After all, these were beings unpredictable in their actions.
“…Do you know me?”
Yet, it was also true that there was no need to act hostile from the get-go.
Especially considering the God of Reality I met last time, who helped me even at the cost of his own sacrifice.
And it appeared that this god was not calling me with the intent to harm me either.
“Yes, I’ve heard about you from other gods.”
Of course, there was one thing I had to clarify.
“If that’s the case, could you stop using that name? It’s a hidden name for now.”
“You needn’t worry about that. This space is one that will never be visible from the outside.”
That was a relief.
But given what the God of Regret and God of Reality had said, as well as this god’s phrase of “I’ve heard it from other gods,” it sounded like there was active communication among the gods.
No, what exactly is this space in the first place?
I had too many questions, but for now, there was one thing that mattered.
“So, what are you curious about regarding me?”
I needed to know why I was dragged here in the first place.
Then, the god finally threw me a question.
“I was curious while observing the trial. Why you don’t use a sword. Surely, with your swordsmanship, you could’ve put up a decent fight.”
However, that question felt a bit odd.
“If you want to know that, can’t you just read my memories?”
“That’s something only the God of Regret can do.”
“Isn’t it true that gods know everything?”
“Only the God of Reality might be capable of that. No, even she doesn’t know everything.”
It seemed I had some misconceptions about the gods thus far.
“So, does that mean you aren’t omnipotent beings?”
“Well, within the concepts we each possess, we might seem omnipotent, but beyond that, we become lesser beings than humans.”
“You guys…”
Upon reflection, I realized I had hardly thought about the existence of gods realistically.
When I first approached the first trial, I merely accepted the God of Regret as a game element.
It was only during the second trial that I began to perceive gods as reality through the sacrifice of the God of Reality and my conversation with the God of Chains.
‘What on earth are these beings?’
In the memory of the Divine Seat, gods were never elaborated upon in detail in the game settings.
Perhaps it was only natural. The contract between humans and gods took place in the time before ‘Chaos.’
Now, 500 years later, there were no records left from that time, and the gods had vanished, leaving only traces of barriers and stigmas behind.
This place, the trial, was where one could encounter such gods.
Until now, I had merely thought of this place as one to receive rewards, but maybe I could learn more about the identity of the gods here.
“What are you…?”
However, that hope ultimately went awry.
“I’m sorry. That’s all I can tell you. If you were willing to confront annihilation, I could share more, but you wouldn’t want to see me disappear and the Hero Academy paralyzed, would you?”
Indeed, if he vanished and this place ceased to function, it would deal a significant blow to the Hero Academy.
The greatest advantage of the Hero Academy was the real-life experience through virtual reality.
Just like I encountered the Demon King moments ago, the spectrum of real-life experience was indeed vast, and I didn’t want to give that up either.
“If that’s the case, can you at least tell me what kind of god you are?”
“It’s against the rules to reveal names unless you are a human who has passed the trial. That would be difficult.”
It seemed that obtaining more information here was impossible.
“Understood. So ultimately, what you want is to know why I’m not using a sword, correct?”
If gaining more information was impossible, it would be better to solve this matter first.
Since I was summoned here for the god’s personal concern and not for passing a trial, I couldn’t expect any rewards.
But it felt a bit disappointing to respond to a god’s request without any exchange.
“However, I wouldn’t want to provide an answer without any cost.”
Even if he was a god, blindly trusting wasn’t my style.
I was suspicious of the contract he made with the Magic Tower.
It was always better to have a price for everything.
“What do you want then? I’m sorry, but since you haven’t formally taken the trial, I can’t provide you with a trial reward.”
I didn’t wish for that.
“I would like you to contract with me. I want you to cooperate to keep my use of swordsmanship a secret while I use a bow instead.”
Unless it was this condition, I had no intention of speaking.
“A contract, huh…”
The god seemed to ponder for a moment before speaking.
“Do you know exactly what a contract is?”
That was both an unexpected question and a vague one.
To me, a contract was just a contract.
“Is there some other meaning to contracts that I’m unaware of?”
“At least when it comes to contracts with gods, yes. It may feel unfair, but there’s a price needed from the human side to enter into a contract with a god.”
However, something felt off.
“So, does that mean the reason I don’t use a sword isn’t enough as a price?”
“Yes, that would just be the item to place on the scales. In addition to that, a fee would be required.”
A fee, huh?
I couldn’t even guess what would be demanded in return.
Just as I was hesitating, the god continued.
“In that case, how about using a relic as compensation? I’m talking about that sword you have. It looks rather precious.”
I had only one sword I truly cherished.
I pulled out the Relic Gravitas Replicant from my inventory.
“This one?”
“Yes. As compensation, I will take that sword until you graduate from the academy.”
That wasn’t a bad deal.
Of course, it would be painful to part with the Relic Gravitas Replicant for a while, but it was true I didn’t have an immediate use for it either.
There was no reason to refuse.
“Alright. Let’s proceed with the contract using this as the price.”
Thus, the contract with the nameless god was established.
I explained to him why I was using a bow.
‘Status.’
1. Information
Name: Allen Pleuk
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Stigma: Emblem of Inheritance
2. Stats
Health: D
Strength: C
Agility: C
Magic: F
3. Skills
[Memory Transfer (Ex)] — Inactive
[Swordsmanship (S)]
[Wind’s Power (B+)]
[Optical Modulation (C)]
[Archery (C+)]
4. Traits
[Inheritance Compatibility (Great)]
[Absolute Obedience]
[Precocious (Minor)]
[Overload (Minor)]
5. Stigma
SP: 70SP
Main: [Emblem of Inheritance]
Inheritance 1: [Rose Emblem (Minor)]
Inheritance 2: [Royal Emblem (Minor)]
Inheritance 3: [Crow Emblem (Minor)]
Inheritance 4: (Inactive)
Inheritance 5: (Inactive)
The status reflected my current situation the best.
Swordsmanship had risen to S since my last duel with Libero.
It was certainly a significant improvement compared to when I first inherited [Swordsmanship (B)].
But the problem was that ‘swordsmanship’ was still just swordsmanship.
Swordsmanship alone couldn’t achieve everything.
I learned that from Libero’s final moments.
Swordsmanship was ultimately a tool. I needed to move towards my goals rather than getting entangled with tools.
“I want to protect this world.”
In the end, it was an extension of what I told the High Priest.
I wanted to help Gwen with her wish to have a child.
I wanted to save Elsie’s life by preventing the crisis of the Leim Kingdom.
I wanted to prevent the world’s destruction for the sake of the inn I would return to.
“But simply relying on swordsmanship won’t let me achieve all that.”
That’s why I chose archery instead.
Of course, there were many reasons intertwined in my admission to the Hero Academy, such as the Demon King’s and heroes’ defenses and the quickest and most reliable way to earn the status of a hero.
But wanting to learn another means of attack was also a huge reason.
“If I learn archery, it’ll increase the options available during combat.”
In this regard, the knowledge of the Divine Seat had been helpful.
When growing a character, it’s crucial to pay attention to the character’s growth curve.
Where the rapid growth segments are located, and what the limits are.
Currently, my swordsmanship had effectively reached its limit.
Investing more in swordsmanship from here on wouldn’t yield efficient returns.
Although my stats had gradually been increasing through training, the changes were hardly noticeable now.
A useful method in this situation was to add another weapon I could wield.
The fact that Gwen was practicing not just swordsmanship but also martial arts and spear arts was for that very reason.
No matter how much of a difference there was between swordsmanship at S and archery at C+, they still each had different roles to fulfill.
“And I believe my archery would be sufficient to graduate from the academy.”
Of course, it didn’t mean I had a natural talent for archery.
If I did, I would have thrown away my sword long ago.
However, for some reason, the improvement in archery skills wasn’t bad at this early stage.
Even now, with the aid of Wind’s Power and Overload, archery could yield B-rank efficiency, meaning by the time I graduated from the Hero Academy, I might achieve an A-rank level of effectiveness.
If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be extraordinary, but it would at least qualify me for graduation.
And if I ended up with a decent relic, I’d be at a level of utility in real combat.
Of course…
“My main weapon will always be swordsmanship. But I intend to save that for critical moments.”
Until now, I always charged in with all I had, but now I couldn’t afford to do so.
I wanted to keep a trump card for any situation that might arise.
“As such, I would like you to help me a bit.”
That’s where my reason for using a bow ended.
And this was the contract made for that purpose.
In truth, this already solidified the contract.
He had accepted the contract by taking my Relic Gravitas Replicant.
But still, I wanted to hear his response.
“Of course. The contract has already been made, hasn’t it?”
That was the answer I had been waiting for.
Thus, my contract with him was officially established.
It was an unexpected gain.
With this, the chances of my identity being exposed had diminished a bit more.
At the same time, my vision began to shimmer.
It seemed I was about to leave this place.
One last time, the voice of the god echoed in my ears.
“May blessings be upon your…”
*
– God of Chains.
“Why did you call?”
A man answered from atop the Great Tree.
“Does the boy really need a trial?”
“That’s something you’ll have to decide. No matter how broad my concepts may be, I’m sure I’m no expert regarding yours.”
“Well, my concepts are difficult even for me.”
“That’s something you can’t help if you aren’t human.”
“True.”
“You have a year ahead of you, so think it over. It may even help you regain your divine authority.”
*
