[Lily Elbrite (Imposter) wants to talk to you.]
As the dungeon was cleared and the reward assessment was completed, a sudden conversation request came in.
And the subject of the conversation was the false Lily.
Past Lily Elbrite.
[?]
[Huh?]
[Is it not over yet?]
[Past Lily reappears, LOL]
[Give me my reward!!]
[So what’s Lily’s true identity?]
[But you haven’t finished the ruins yet, and it’s been cleared?]
[Shall we have a conversation?]
[Let’s talk; I’m curious.]
[What will you give me as a reward?]
“Hmm… Let’s just do it.”
I had questions too.
When I pressed the accept button, the world transformed.
Blue particles enveloped my surroundings, and soon I found myself standing in a pure white room.
Creeeak—
“……”
“I’ve been waiting.”
A single table divided by a transparent glass wall.
Sitting across from me was a woman who looked exactly like me.
It was Past Lily.
[This looks like a prison.]
[Visiting room?]
“It feels like a visiting room.”
“I was told this is the only way we can communicate. Unfortunately.”
I also sat down and stared at her.
On the table, there was a small button, and when I pressed it, a semicircular hole appeared at the bottom of the transparent glass wall.
Can I pass something through here?
“First, I should explain the situation. It might be a bit confusing.”
Past Lily cleared her throat and looked at me.
[Hey, I’m right here.]
Actually, she was looking at the camera that was filming both of us.
“I am the past of Lily Elbrite. So, I’m kind of like your childhood self. To be precise, I’d say I’m the background.”
At first, I didn’t realize.
“I didn’t even know there was a future me and didn’t think I’d ever meet her. I lived quite intensely.”
“……”
“Of course, compared to the ‘senpai’ in front of me, it probably wasn’t as intense.”
[Senpai?]
[LMAO!]
[Calling her future self ‘senpai’]
[Well, it’s true!]
[Lily times two… Is this heaven?]
[It definitely feels like a career story.]
[This is just an alien lie.]
I let out a faint sigh.
“…What you’ve done is not meaningless or lacking. It was just regrettable to see you give up. I certainly didn’t mean to belittle your life.”
After all, the Lily in front of me was myself.
Past Lily nodded.
“I suppose so. You are me, after all. I understand.”
“…It feels strange you keep calling me senpai.”
“Should I call you ‘death sentence’ then?”
Death sentence?
“Don’t tell me that’s what I think it is?”
“That’s right. I learned it from the same existence.”
“That’s right. I learned from the same existence.”
[From whom and what did you learn?]
[Not from a magic master, right?]
[Does Lily even have a master?]
[It looks like ‘Lily Elbrite’ herself has a master.]
[Having been a professor, there’s no way she wouldn’t have a master.]
……
“…It’s dangerous to speak carelessly.”
I have never had a master.
To be exact, I learned some basic knowledge until I quit being a Saintess, but after quitting, I have not had a master.
If I had a master, it would have been more like a relationship of paying a price than having a mentor.
“I don’t think ‘That Existence’ is my master either. However…”
“However?”
“I think I need to establish some common ground to receive a better choice from the Death Sentence.”
A better choice…
Does that mean that the past Lily is involved in the dungeon rewards I should accept?
‘……’
“Please continue.”
“Before that, the title of Death Sentence—”
“Just call me senior.”
I absolutely cannot handle being called Death Sentence.
Shaking my head, the past Lily gave me a subtle smile.
“I was troubled when I met you, senior. The senior in front of me is my future. Since the future is ahead of the past, I thought that my existence was fake.”
The past Lily thought everything was fake.
So, she gave up everything she had been doing and clung to me, trying to escape from the fake world somehow.
“But when I met you again, I realized that even in a fake world, it doesn’t necessarily end as fake.”
But it’s already too late.
“I’ve given up a lot, and the world was truly barren. You would understand well what that means, senior.”
“……”
The past Lily.
After 18 years, she spent seven years trying to catch up to me and missed many ‘growth’ opportunities.
Of course, growth can happen steadily through training in different timelines, but there are crucial events.
Events that led to significant growth, both mentally and physically.
As the world advances toward the 30th year, it becomes even more perilous, so if she misses that growth period, it will become quite difficult for her as Lily.
By the 25th year, Lily would have to face unnamed upper-tier demons on equal footing.
“So you resorted to this tactic?”
“This was the only opportunity left for me.”
“Other paths…”
“There are none. There wasn’t a single intact continent.”
[What’s that supposed to mean?]
[HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA]
[Why are you all talking like you know something?]
[???: I see… Is that how it is… I understand everything now.]
[I want to smack that way of speaking.]
[Lily, I think I’m getting mad.]
Clap!
The past Lily claps her hands to gather attention.
Gathering attention.
“It’s a simple story. I missed the chance to grow strong while chasing my senior, and now I lack the power to stop the upcoming threats. Ultimately, I became neither here nor there, and I made one choice.”
“What choice?”
“If I can’t live in this fake world, then I must go to a ‘different’ real world.”
To the true god who created the fake.
I sought out the sleeping Forgotten Emperor and constructed a 10-level underground ruin around him.
A ruin that closely resembled what future Lily had seen.
Then, after preparing arrangements for Scorpio, who would come in the future to fully master his power, I proposed.
“Send me there.”
“Even if I can’t go back, I no longer wanted to remain there. So, the god accepted my proposal.”
“…The system?”
“Yes. As an option called ‘reward.’”
Zing!
A small semicircular door opened in a transparent glass wall.
Through it, the past Lily handed over three pieces of parchment.
Long-rolled parchment.
“Can I take a look?”
“Of course.”
I unfurled one of the parchments.
[Lily Elbrite (Fake) offers you a reward.]
[You can choose one of three rewards.]
[The first reward is a quest.]
[Class Change – Holy Mage (?)]
Objective – Repel Lily Elbrite (Fake).
Reward – Holy Mage 4th rank, Spear’s Path (Restricted).
[If you fail to clear this quest, the World Boss, ‘Lily Elbrite (Fake),’ will appear in the world!]
“…This.”
4th rank, huh?
[?]
[Oh sh*t]
[??????????]
[4th rank can appear here?]
[Let’s go go go go go go]
[If I fail, will she reappear????]
[LOL]
[World Boss Lily reappears!]
[Spear’s Path, what’s that?]
[Wanna have a showdown?]
[Ah, LOL, I’ll pick it right away]
I alternated my gaze between the parchment and her, while past Lily smiled bittersweetly.
“It’s not the choice I wanted. But if I can pull it off, it might lead to the result I desire.”
“Is it to go to Deoen?”
“Although I would only remain there. It’s actually for the best. There’s nothing left here anymore.”
“……”
Not bad at all.
I could ignore the bizarre quest and become a 4th rank.
Even if it’s restricted, 18-year-old Lily is quite strong compared to me now… but not strong enough for me to lose.
If I fail to win, I’ll end up with nothing, and a World Boss resembling me will roam the continent.
A World Boss will wander the continent.
‘…That’s a bit much.’
“First of all, let’s see the second one.”
I folded the first parchment and opened the second.
[The second reward is the skill, Holy Descent.]
“Holy Descent?”
“It’s a reduced version of the Inheritance Casket. It has no penalty but is a weaker technique.”
Inside the parchment, there’s a design of a white hammer etched in a blue circle.
[Not bad?]
[Seems like it’s for stat inflation.]
[Rather a king, huh.]
[If we’re going for the fourth tier anyway, this seems better?]
[I’m craving for the fourth tier.]
[Let’s see the future, go for 2 choices ㄱㄱㄱㄱㄱ]
[2222222222]
The reduced version of Inheritance Casket.
This isn’t bad at all.
Now that the Inheritance Casket is essentially sealed, I wonder if I can easily catch the ultimate World Boss for the fourth-tier quest.
There’s a possibility that the Kraken, which will appear soon unless something unexpected happens, is an ultimate-level one, but hitting the fourth-tier before that is impossible.
In that sense, getting Holy Descent right away isn’t a bad deal at all.
“…….”
Lily from the past seemed to hope for this.
“What will happen to you if I choose the second one?”
“Holy Descent is part of my power. If I receive the skill, all my power will vanish. And I will vanish as well.”
“…You really want that?”
“Yes.”
The past Lily didn’t answer and just quietly waited.
Is there some sort of promise made?
I didn’t ask and opened the next parchment.
As soon as I opened it, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
[The third reward is a Quest.]
[Class Change – Holy Mage (?)]
Objective – Rescue the Forgotten Emperor.
Reward – Holy Mage Fourth Tier, Path of the Saintess (Restricted) obtained.
[If you fail to clear this quest, the World Boss, ‘Forgotten Emperor (完)’ will appear in the World!]
“What is this?”
“…Because it’s a poor child.”
“A Celestial?”
“Senior, I wouldn’t recommend it either. It’s just that the God gives multiple choices.”
A chance of challenge and forgetfulness to one who knows the truth.
Compassionate mercy to the abandoned child.
“……”
“The choice is yours, Senior.”
[All three are good.]
[Fourth Tier Saintess ㄷㄷ]
[Lily Saintess Awakening ㄱ?]
[So I just have to save them?]
[What will you do?]
Three choices.
“I…”
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