Chapter 223

〈 224th Chapter 〉 To Prevent Destruction

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Congratulations on passing the trial.

At that moment, the fabric of space shattered.

What lay before me was a great tree.

I should have felt joy at passing the trial, but I didn’t.

“I’m sorry, but…”

I was a little angry.

“Wasn’t this a bit excessive?”

Then, a voice echoed from the void.

­In what way do you feel that?

It had a dry tone.

However, the essence felt like a male’s voice.

I knew it was a familiar voice, but I couldn’t recall whose it was.

“Well…”

Of course, the one at fault was me for being deceived.

Still…

“Isn’t it a bit much to deceive me twice?”

Then he spoke in a tone that felt somewhat apologetic.

­I had my doubts about that too, but the God of Chains insisted on this.

“What do you mean by that?”

­Before that, let’s correct something first.

He made a correction.

­This trial didn’t completely deceive you.

“The fact that it didn’t deceive me completely means…”

I had an inkling of understanding.

But I couldn’t quite grasp it.

Then he ultimately changed the subject.

­Hmm, then do you know what the purpose of this trial was?

Purpose.

In truth, I hadn’t realized it while overcoming this trial.

I had simply been swept along and stumbled my way through.

‘So what was the purpose of the trial?’

Let’s think back to the situation when I passed the trial.

‘How did I even pass the trial?’

Everything was uncertain.

If I failed, everything would fall on me.

Even in such a situation, I had declared my intention to prevent destruction.

I merely showed that will.

‘Will?’

It was at that moment.

Suddenly, his voice overlapped with someone else’s.

The end of swordsmanship lies in will.

I voiced that name after a long time.

“Libero?”

But he denied it.

­That’s not my name.

“But…”

That voice sounded all too similar.

Moreover, the concepts I had expected him to govern were overlapping with him.

Of course…

­The man you speak of is already in eternal rest.

Hearing his words, my desire to meet him again faded.

It would be better not to disturb him, who would certainly be resting forever.

Ultimately, what I should focus on now was something else.

“Then can I call you the God of Will?”

­Yes. But I can’t deny that I am greatly influenced by him. The impression you’ve received is probably because of that.

“I see.”

With this, I understood the purpose of the trial.

Now it was time to think about what he just said earlier.

‘It wasn’t a complete deception…’

It was ambiguous.

It meant some parts were deceived, and some were not.

‘Is it that Earth in the trial wasn’t completely false?’

Some parts might have been true.

Then…

“If I head towards the High Priest as I am, is it true that I would be defeated?”

­That is true.

“Then is the story of the parallel world also true?”

­That too is true.

Wait a minute.

Are all of these true?

‘No way…’

Suddenly, a hypothesis crossed my mind.

Especially because of the God of Chains he mentioned, the hypothesis became more plausible.

“Am I to understand that everything I experienced in the trial is true?”

After a brief silence, the God of Will spoke.

­Yes, everything is true.

That means…

“I was being deceived until just now.”

There was no falsehood in the contents of the trial.

Including the story of the parallel world.

Even the fact that Sung Yoo-rang received my memories.

Rather, what I was deceived about was believing that it was a lie within the trial.

“Was that… really the trial?”

Did the me within the trial truly get it right?

Or…

­Well, does that really matter?

“What do you mean it doesn’t matter?”

­If we’re being specific, what you experienced was indeed a trial. However, all the environments and conditions were a complete match with real Earth. And the judgment you made at the end as well.

Having said that, he posed a question to me.

­I’ll ask again. What was the purpose of my trial?

“It’s will.”

It was in that moment.

“Will?”

­Seems you’ve realized.

Yes, looking back, that was it.

In the last moment, it didn’t matter whether I was Allen Pleuk or Sung Yoo-rang.

After all, my will was singular.

Defeating the High Priest and preventing the world’s destruction.

Thus, who I was didn’t hold much importance.

“I understand.”

Now I had completely grasped his trial.

It was indeed a trial worthy of being called a trial of will.

However, aside from that…

“Then Sung Yoo-rang must have already begun his activities over there.”

­That would be the case.

I already knew what he would do.

I had shared consciousness with him during the trial.

‘If he just succeeds…’

It would surely be a great help in defeating the High Priest.

Of course, there was no guaranteed method for success.

‘In any case, that’s now out of my hands.’

That was no longer my concern.

‘Let’s leave the High Priest to Sung Yoo-rang.’

What remained for me was one thing.

I had to find a way to prevent destruction.

And the one likely to know about it was also…

­It seems the understanding of the situation is coming to an end.

The God of Chains.

He appeared once again atop the great tree.

“It’s been a while.”

­I hear you were looking for me?

You know well.

If so, you must have brought something worthwhile.

“The God of Chains. I heard it from Albert. You have something to help, right?”

­Of course. But don’t get the wrong idea. This isn’t unconditional help; it’s a reward for your achievements so far and for passing this trial.

“I understand. Then…”

­The God of Connection.

It happened at that moment.

Albert suddenly sprang from my inventory.

And soared upward.

“Albert?”

The God of Chains received Albert who landed on the great tree.

I managed to calm my surprise and asked him.

“What’s going on right now?”

­No need to worry. I’ll return him soon.

As soon as he answered, light began to radiate from his hand.

‘What is that light… No, wait…’

For just a moment, the light illuminated the hood of that being hidden in darkness.

And the fleeting sight I caught was…

‘He resembles me?’

What that implied was clear.

‘A god greatly influenced by me?’

According to what the God of Will said earlier, that would be the case.

Since his case was said to have been greatly influenced by Libero, resembling his impression.

Then it could be said that the God of Chains was influenced by me.

‘But…’

What concept on earth does he govern?

What name lies hidden behind the God of Chains?

I couldn’t fathom it at all.

“You…”

Just as I was about to ask him his name.

As if he had already anticipated it, he answered.

­Not yet. You haven’t fully passed my trial yet.

Simultaneously, the light from his hand vanished.

­It’s done.

Instead, the light that was shining from his hand now shifted to Albert, glowing gently.

­However, it’s true that you have raised my divine authority significantly. I have just transferred everything to the God of Connection, except for the minimum amount of divine authority.

To prove that, the divine authority I felt from him had notably faded.

In return, the now more intense divine authority was again thrown to me from Albert.

­Here, catch it.

Using the power of Wind’s Power, I caught it and could only be astonished.

‘This is…!’

Classification: Weapon

Form: Sword

Relic Grade: 5-Star

Description: A sword imbued with the essence of the God of Connection. It has no special power, but possesses a massive divine power since it’s infused with the God of Connection. The divine power will grow stronger as the God of Connection develops his concept.

There wasn’t much difference in the description.

However, the grade of the relic had risen from 4-star to 5-star.

“God of Chains, why is that?”

­Don’t you need a means to prevent destruction?

“Albert is the means to prevent destruction?”

­I can’t be sure, but for now, it’s the most likely.

But I didn’t quite understand.

I had always been with him since the Leim Kingdom, but I never thought I could prevent destruction using him.

­I can’t provide detailed explanations. The rest will be up to you.

“It’s up to me?”

­However, to tell you why I transferred my divine authority to the God of Connection, it’s because he’s still far from having enough divine authority to prevent destruction. You understand what that means, right?

“I need to raise Albert’s divine authority further?”

­Yes, you get it. How to raise it, though, you’ll have to figure that out yourself.

The God of Chains had been avoiding answers since earlier.

It seemed that his assistance could only go this far.

­With this, you’ve also obtained a tool to prevent destruction. So, what you need to do is clear.

A tool to prevent destruction.

That probably referred to Albert.

Though I wasn’t sure how to use him yet, it was certain that the energy I felt from him was different from before.

And now, what I needed to do was…

It was already clarified through the trial of will.

“Just prevent destruction.”

­Yes, do as you’ve always done. Attempt it, and prove it. That’s how you’ll finish my trial as well.

“Your trial?”

I had heard that words once before, but it piqued my interest a bit.

It was the first time he mentioned his own trial.

“What is your trial? Can’t you tell me even a little?”

­Well, I suppose you already know.

“Know what?”

­That which is always right in front of your eyes.

In front of my eyes?

It was at that moment I realized.

Since the moment my memories of Sung Yoo-rang came in, there had been one sentence that had always been in front of me.

It was that sentence I had become so familiar with that I no longer paid attention to it.

[Objective: Become a Hero.]

‘So this was his trial.’

But if this was the trial, there was nothing to worry about.

After all, it was only natural by now.

Then…

“Now let me out. I’ll finish your trial in no time.”

­Yes, I’ll be looking forward to it.

With that response, my consciousness began to rise to the surface once again.

When I opened my eyes, I was outside the lake.

‘I’m back.’

Like waking from a long sleep, my mind felt clear.

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