“…I’m screwed.”
“You’re not screwed.”
“I wasn’t planning to fight the celestial beings…”
“What are you?”
Bang! Bang!
As I flew and arrived at the village, giants approached.
They looked quite similar to Buta and the other giant I saw earlier.
The peculiar point was that unlike those with black eyes, these giants had green eyes.
They also had much more grass growing on their bodies.
“I came through the holy seal. They said you’re a challenger.”
“Challenger?”
“But, why are you here─”
“Before that!”
Woong.
A square blue spear rises between me and the foremost giant.
A hologram of blue magical power rises like a chat window.
As I grabbed the magic sphere in front of the hologram, the words I was thinking were written at the very top line of the spear.
—Let’s talk with this. When you grab the sphere, your intended words will automatically be recorded.
“?”
The giant paused for a moment and then grabbed the much smaller sphere.
—What is this?
—It’s a means for smooth conversation. It’s a magic that quickly records what you want to say.
—That’s interesting. Words get recorded right away.
—……
Even with magic, they still speak in fragments.
[Oh]
[Did this exist?]
[Still speaking in fragments]
[Creating a chat system ㄷㄷㄷㄷ]
[Then why did the giant hit? lol]
[Why didn’t you use it earlier?]
I reduce the sound of my voice through magic.
The giants can’t hear it, only the viewers and Jeokhye can.
“It’s not originally meant to be used this way.”
This magic existed during my time as a professor at the academy, originally created for communicating with people who couldn’t speak.
Among the academy students, quite a few had accidents, and it was mainly used for communication with them.
It also had a translation function, so it was used to converse with outsiders who spoke different languages.
‘Not that I used it much.’
If someone couldn’t speak, you could treat them so they could.
Since I had learned most languages, there was really no need for translation.
However, these giants in front of me weren’t facing an issue of ‘illness’ or ‘language’.
Because of that, I didn’t feel the need for this magic when I first met them, but after a few conversations, I decided to recall and use it.
‘But I’ve already hit one giant a while ago.’
I feel a bit regretful about that.
After hearing my explanation, Jeokhye gives me a sideways glance.
“…I just think the challenger is strange.”
[lol]
[For real, lol]
[Hey now]
[With Lily, it must be an angel]
[You should be glad you didn’t split any part ㅇㅇ]
─Anyway. Let’s talk with this. Are the giants all here?
─No. We. The Green Eye tribe. There are other. Tribes of eyes.
─How many more are there?
─Many. So many. That we can’t count. It’s not just one.
─Do the tribes exceed ten fingers?
─Is that so? Yes.
─……
[?]
[LOL]
[Is that so? Yes.]
[I don’t know]
[That might not be an NPC]
I can’t tell if they lack the ability to count or if there truly are so many.
What’s certain is that there are quite a few giants, and they are from a different tribe than the ones that attacked Jeokhye, whom I was worried about earlier.
Since there doesn’t seem to be a special system for information sharing, it seems unlikely we’ll be attacked by them.
“Do you know how many giants there are?”
“I know that giants are quite few compared to other races. It’s their nature, but their small numbers make them lose in territorial battles.”
“Uh…”
“But at least it should be over thousands.”
Thousands.
That’s not an insignificant number when you compare the power of each individual giant.
If thousands of giant soldiers invade the continent of Deoen, everything except the Empire and Elbrite will be swept away.
─How’s your relationship with other tribes?
─Relationship? Why. Do you ask?
─Just curious. You have so many tribes, I wondered how you all get along.
─…We just. Exist.
“Right.”
Thud! Thud!
Another giant approaches from behind.
This giant looks about one-third larger than the leading giant.
An 8-meter giant picks up a blue sphere about the size of a ping pong ball.
To the giant, it’s probably a ping pong ball, but for me, it’s about the size of a basketball.
─The tribes. Are not. Friends. We just. Coexist.
─No exchanges at all?
─Sometimes. We share in the dreams of the gods. Rest. Otherwise, we just. Fulfill our roles.
─Rest… Speaking of which, the giant that let me in said he was the Liberator of Rest. What exactly does that mean?
Huff!
As the giant exhales, light bursts from his outer eyes.
As the power of the strongest among the fifty giants radiates, the ground shakes and even the surrounding giants flinch in surprise.
‘This is comparable to Jeokhye.’
─Rest. Liberation. The Liberator of Celestial Beings.
─Of celestial beings?
─The eternal. Dream of celestial beings. Pain. Must be liberated.
─How do you liberate them?
─Monument.
Kuhuhum…!
As the giant clenches his thick fist, a massive monument rises from the ground.
A gray stone monument about my size.
I casually caught the stone, which he threw like a wooden board, and placed it beside me.
I had it by my side.
If I were an ordinary person, I would have been a goner.
─Gather seven stones. On the mountain peak. Just pray for rest.
─You mean we need to collect seven stones? Do the other tribes have these stones?
─That’s right.
Then we just need to hit up seven tribes.
It seems like this will be easier than I thought.
[Simple, huh?]
[The giants aren’t attacking]
[Let’s just try to kill them]
[Seven should be gathered in no time ㅇㅇ]
[I thought there would be a fight but they’re not fighting]
[Got it. I’ll gather them all.]
[What do we get for killing a giant?]
Tsuzut…
After canceling the conversation magic, I picked up the stone with a hand made of holy power.
Even after the prayer of rest, I asked a few more questions but didn’t gain any useful information.
All they said was to collect the stones and then perform the prayer of rest.
I also asked about the celestial being…
‘Our origin. Ruler of all things.’
‘The celestial being dreams a long dream. An eternally repeating dream.’
We must achieve the liberation of rest.
“Liberation of rest…”
Indeed, the celestial being’s dream was heading in a bad direction.
But I wonder, will just praying really guide the dream in a better direction?
The celestial being is not a simple existence.
‘Concept race.’
Like unicorns or the world tree, they possess divine powers in certain aspects, powers that rival those of upper-tier demons.
While they may fall short in might, their rank in power itself is high.
Whether such an existence can be changed by mere prayer is questionable.
“I don’t know. Is it about intervening like in a dungeon? Or is it just praying for good dreams?”
Whatever it is, I guess I’ll have to try it to find out.
Leaving the tribe of the green-eyed, I flew once again to move to the next tribe.
It’s a place inhabited by about 70 people, located roughly a mountain or two away.
Since the distance between the tribes is quite wide, I asked how they move around normally, and they said they just jump.
‘Jump?’
The celestial being’s body won’t last at this rate.
“Whatever happens, let’s avoid the black-eyed tribe for now. I didn’t know about the green-eyed giants, but they’re likely aware of it.”
“Eh, it was just a minor clash, we can apologize.”
Plus, I used the saintess’s compassion, so I didn’t hit them too hard.
[?]
[LOL]
[Usually, the perpetrator wouldn’t say that]
“……”
“By the way, that giant from earlier seems pretty important. Almost equal to Lady Jeokhye.”
“I’m stronger.”
“Eh, you were pretty similar… huh?”
“That’s not true! You can clearly see I’m stronger. Wanna go back right now and have a go?!”
“Well… I think I’d lose.”
“Eek…”
“But there’s something a bit strange.”
Jeokhye said she’s among the top three and the top fifteen across all dimensions, so that Giant from earlier must be quite an important figure in Ertarn.
When we say ‘across all dimensions,’ it refers to the integration of all five dimensions, not just Ertarn.
“Yet that Giant is merely the chief of the Green Eye ‘tribe.’”
Considering there are at least over ten tribes, that ranking is a bit questionable.
If all the chiefs have that level of strength, then almost all rankings should be skewed towards Ertarn.
“Don’t the other chiefs possess strength comparable to that of the Green Eye chief? They looked equal…”
As I voiced my doubts, Jeokhye, who was flying enthusiastically, coughed a bit and shook her head.
“…No.”
“Huh?”
“The ranking is based solely on ‘the multiverse.’ Members of their respective worlds are not included.”
“?”
That means…
“There are tons of hidden strong ones in each world.”
“Exactly.”
[?]
[Wait, was it a frog in a well all along?]
[Huh?]
[No wonder.]
[Was Jeokhye a joke? LOL.]
[It doesn’t make sense, LOL.]
The ranking that Nokju, the master of the separated Main Temple, mentioned is literally the ranking of ‘Aether,’ where ‘separated’ worlds gather.
The actual rankings are likely far more numerous and vast, and even in the ‘real’ Main Temple, there must be many stronger beings than Jeokhye.
“If that’s the case, the masters of those worlds…”
“That’s real! There might be similar second-in-commands, but the masters of the five worlds are indeed the strongest. Just look at the Celestial Being!”
“Thank goodness.”
Even Nokju is someone I can only deal with if I exert all my strength without the Sacred Transformation or Annihilation Spear.
But if there are a dozen or so who match Nokju in that world, it would be quite a troublesome situation.
“The rankings can be divided precisely because there are those designated who can traverse between worlds. Excluding the masters of the world, only chosen nobles can travel.”
And I’m one of those nobles!
Thump.
The flying Jeokhye gives a thumbs up.
Soft and squishy.
“Such noble softness.”
“……”
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