Huuuuuuuuung!!
The crane let out a long sound as it landed on the high ground.
After about 30 minutes of flight, I arrived at the land of giants, Ertarn.
It was a land where white trees grew everywhere, resembling the surface of the Marble Giant.
However, the difference is that the place I am standing on now is not the body of the giant I saw back then…
Dudududu…!
“Hmm! Strange. Human. Celestial Being.”
It’s the fact that a new life form has been discovered.
[Oh]
[It’s a giant, a giant]
[Isn’t it a bit small for a giant?]
[It has one eye]
The size is roughly around 5m.
On the giant’s gray stone surface, grass was growing, and its black single eye was looking down at me and Jeokhye.
Its fairly sturdy appearance seemed tough enough not to allow any regular attacks.
In reality, it possessed a strong power, boasting superior strength compared to the regular residents of the Main Temple.
‘It’s closer to a golem than a giant.’
“What brings you here?”
“I have arrived to enter Ertarn. I have the Holy Seal.”
Clink.
The rock pattern engraved on the wooden board.
When I presented the Holy Seal of Ertarn to the giant, its thick hand took my seal.
Then it turned and handed back the Holy Seal while turning away.
“Follow. Me.”
“Oh. Are we going straight? Without proof?”
“Yes. We go. Right away.”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Each step the giant took made the earth tremble.
It’s going smoother than expected.
The former observer said that giants are a race that doesn’t understand speech.
So I had anticipated that they would demand more proof than what I had at the Main Temple, but that wasn’t the case at all.
In fact, the process was moving even faster than at the Main Temple.
“Isn’t that right? Someone tried to kill me, claiming proof!”
“…It might be because you have the Holy Seal. Most giants are beings who cannot communicate.”
“Still, I saw them communicating just a moment ago.”
“Check again.”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Excuse me, Mr. Giant?”
“Buta. My. Name.”
“Mr. Buta, what kind of place is Ertarn?”
“Domain. Of the Giant. Nature. Beyond limits.”
Thud!
The giant’s footsteps come to a halt.
The giant, gazing intently at the ground, briefly placed its heavy hand on the earth before continuing to walk, thudding along.
“That. Kind. Of place.”
“…Hmm. I see. So are there other giants here? Or in Ertarn?”
“Both. There. Are. Many. In the embrace. Of the Giant.”
“……”
That means there are many in Ertarn.
Well, it’s obvious that the main world has far more beings than the part that fell.
I can somewhat manage a conversation though…
[Understood. All.]
[Why do you keep. Cutting. Your speech?]
[Hahahahahahahahaha]
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Ugh, this is so frustrating.]
[Can’t we just kill it?]
[That’s it.]
[It’s like talking to a scorpion ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[I seriously think we can kill it.]
[Let’s just listen to the frog.]
It’s way too slow.
Jeokhye floated gracefully in the air like a celestial being instead of hopping around.
“That’s why talking to giants is tough. Not only is their speech unclear, but it takes a long time just to finish a single sentence.”
“That’s true.”
It took over a minute to ask one question and get an answer.
But it’s not like we can’t communicate, so as long as we have time and patience, it should be possible.
“I don’t think it’s that bad.”
“No, it’s definitely bad.”
“Still, a minute is fine…”
“After seeing that?”
Jeokhye pointed with her short hand at someone standing before the giant.
Another giant blocking our path after we had been walking for a while.
Thud! Thud!
That giant was taller than Buta by at least a head.
“Where are you going?”
“Hmph! Strange human. Celestial being. Challenger.”
“Challenger? Who are you?”
“Strange. Human. Strong existence. Maybe.”
“…….”
“Liberator of Rest. Might be.”
“Liberator?”
“That’s right.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Let them go.”
“Got it…”
Flash!
Holy power surges.
In an instant, the overwhelming holy energy surrounds me, making the two giants look at me with blank faces.
Do they have a problem or something?
With expressions that show no emotion whatsoever, I felt a sense of absurdity and chuckled helplessly.
“Wow… I thought I was going to suffocate to death.”
Why are they having such a short conversation that lasts 20 minutes?
It wouldn’t have been so hard if there was more speech or if every sentence didn’t take so long to finish.
But those giants don’t speak that long, and it takes more than a minute to break a sentence.
I tried to keep watching because of Jeokhye’s words, but… I can’t hold it in any longer.
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Ugh.]
[I’m saying we should just kill it!!!]
[Please. Enough with the interruptions.]
[Why am I even listening to this ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[??: Giants don’t communicate (for real).]
[Rest? What’s a liberator…?]
[The way they speak is kinda funny.]
[AAAAAAAH!!]
[Lily holding out for 20 minutes is legendary ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[This is so exhausting.]
[Wait, in the meantime, 20% of the viewers just left?]
“Well then. Are you going to let us go?”
“Human. You have the holy seal…”
“I have the holy seal. It’s right here. Buta gave me permission earlier.”
“Is that so? Then, you should put that holy seal here…”
“Do you mean to stick it in? Alright.”
I pushed the holy seal into the groove carved into the huge rock behind the giant.
I kind of want to hear everything, but if I keep listening, I might unknowingly reach for them, so I quickly put it in.
I want to, but listening to that might make my hand move without me realizing it, so I quickly put it away.
Dddd…!
The rock moves.
A giant rock cracks open, and between the fissures, a gray portal appears.
The giant blocks the way and opens its mouth.
“Challenger. You are. Of the world’s. Power.”
“Power?”
“Born. A being. To solve. The celestial being’s. Dream…”
“Uh, I’m sorry, could you just get to the point?”
“Cannot. It’s a long. Story so….”
Kwang!!
I swing my hammer and shove the giant aside.
Using the saintess’s compassion, I minimized the damage as much as possible, but a few cracks on the surface were unavoidable.
Another giant, Buta, clenches his fist at the sudden attack.
‘That looks to be around 150, huh?’
Though my level might be much lower, physically I feel exceptionally strong.
“D-Da, the one who ascended?!”
“Let’s just go in first.”
“Wait! We can’t just go in like this…”
“It’s already too late.”
The portal swallows us.
[Entering Ertarn…]
[Warning! The master of Ertarn is currently sleeping. It is recommended not to wake them.]
[Warning! The master of Ertarn is not currently hostile.]
[The celestial being’s dream is in progress.]
[Collapse – 87%…]
■
The celestial being always dreams.
In the dream, the celestial being is a small rock.
It can’t move as it pleases, merely existing as a chunk of rock in place.
It isn’t any different from other rocks, but it holds one very special ability.
‘To remain unchanged.’
Having lived through countless eons, the rock could maintain a consistent form at some point.
Even in the rain, whether snow fell, or even during an earthquake, it keeps its shape intact.
‘……’
But that was all there was to it.
The rock merely existed.
One day, a multitude of humans gathered deep in the forest where the rock lived and began to place various foods upon its body, offering sacrifices.
The reason for the sacrifices was simple; a monster that ate people kept descending upon the village, and they prayed desperately.
They prayed for it to protect them from the monster.
That no one else would die and that they could live on.
The prayers continued for many occasions, and the rock silently felt them.
For the first time encountering intelligent beings, emotions, tributes.
It was a uniquely strange experience for a rock that had simply ‘existed’ for ages, enough to change the being that had only maintained itself.
It was enough to change him.
“…!”
“……!”
“!!”
Dudududu…!
And finally, their earnest prayers were answered.
“…I’ll help you.”
A god born from everyone’s prayers.
The Great God, the birth of Ertarn.
■
“God! God!”
“Flower.”
“Hurry and try it on! I made it!”
A young child with a bright smile.
Ertarn, gently caressing the child’s cheek, took the awkward flower crown and placed it on their head.
Being made of stone, Ertarn poked at the crown with fingers that mimicked humans, as if it was unfamiliar.
At this sight, the child giggled, and the adults laughed, too.
The monster that had been tormenting the village was chased away by Ertarn.
When the monster tried to devour Ertarn, who stood before the villagers in another attack, it lost its teeth and ran away.
At this time, Ertarn had imitated humans and stood taller than an adult man by two heads, taking on a female appearance.
The reason was that there were more women participating in the ritual.
Almost everyone had participated in the ritual, but due to the monster’s attack, many men had died, resulting in this.
The village chief, briefly smiling at the child’s antics, bowed his head and handed over a meticulously prepared silk outfit.
“This is a small token of gratitude for protecting our village. Of course, it’s probably meaningless to you, God, but please accept it.”
“Clothes. Like. It.”
“Is there anything uncomfortable?”
“Yeah.”
“Then how about going to that mountain today? I’m sure it’s something the God would like─”
“Village Chief!”
A breathless young man dashed in from the entrance of the village, making the chief scowl.
He was one of the few young men left in the village, tasked with guarding the place.
He had always been reckless, but to be this rude…
“What kind of insolence is this in front of God? Apologize immediately!”
“Right now, that’s not important, Village Chief!”
It’s a big crisis!
“…? What is it then?”
“The Knights have come! The ones you petitioned to the royal family with all the money you had left two years ago!”
“…What?”
The village chief’s face turned pale.
The monster had definitely been expelled.
But there were still things that resembled monsters left on this land.
Something that anyone could suspect…
‘…this is bad.’
“?”
Something that bears the name of a God.
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