Ertarn is pretty much a world that has already been cleared.
It was the place I first discovered multi-dimension, where I awakened the dream of its final boss and master, ‘Ertarn,’ and saw it through to the end.
Plus, I had built a somewhat friendly relationship with Ertarn, so it’s almost like I cleared it.
In fact, when facing the Iron Devourer, I used the stone of the God of Giants to call upon Ertarn to get the job done.
Upon arriving at Ertarn, a 2-meter tall stone woman welcomed me as if she had been waiting.
“Hello.”
The God of Giants, Ertarn.
“It’s been a while.”
“Yeah. It’s been a while, Yena.”
She nodded and welcomed me, and I sat in the spot she had prepared atop the giant rocky mountain, Ertarn.
– That’s the challenger.
– Monster. Monster.
– The one who awoke the God of Giants.
– Liberator.
– Why are you back?
Nearby, giants seemed to be watching us as if they were onlookers, and just like before, they interrupted the conversation.
[It’s a giant!]
[Lolololol]
[Good to see you again.]
[Are these guys friendly?]
[Let’s kill them all.]
[How cute they are just watching, lolol.]
[Are they handing it right over?]
[These kids are harmless.]
[Hmm.]
“Have you been well?”
“Uh, okay, I guess.”
“There must be other users who came as well. Did you see anyone?”
“Users?”
“Challengers.”
“Ah.”
Ertarn nodded while sitting on her own body as a chair.
I was the first to visit Ertarn and clear the episode, but quite some time had passed since then.
Other users probably tried to visit Ertarn to undertake episode quests, if not me.
‘It doesn’t look like anyone has cleared it yet, though.’
Ertarn replied with her characteristic blank expression.
“There were many. Not that remarkable, though.”
“Were there any standout people?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
[Oh]
[Wow, wow, wow, wow]
[That confidence is intense, lolol]
[Great God]
[Lmao]
“Still, many rankers must have gone.”
That was quite a brash statement from the God of Giants.
It could be seen as arrogance, but from Ertarn’s perspective, with her ‘upper’ level powers and strength, users were closer to bugs crawling beneath her feet.
No matter how much they fluttered about, it was nearly impossible for them to inflict any harm on Ertarn, who had an entire ‘world’ at her disposal.
Not now, but in the past, one had to give their all just to face Ertarn.
It wasn’t long ago at all.
“You. Besides you, nothing special.”
“Hmm. Is that so?”
“Yep.”
[Huh]
[Muh-ah Muh-ah]
[D-D-D-D-D-D]
[Is this a confession?]
[Not exactly a rock…]
[Oh my!]
[LOL]
Ertarn nodded with a confident look in its eyes.
“You. Already conquered. Three worlds. If I join, it’ll be four. But challengers find even one hard.”
“How do you know that?”
Users might know where I’m at, but the residents here shouldn’t have a clue.
Even when roaming other dimensions, no one knew of my exploits in other worlds.
Upon hearing my question, Ertarn replied with a faint smile, not really an answer.
“I’m the master of this place. Knowing the news isn’t difficult.”
“Aha…?”
“My body. Here.”
The 2-meter tall Ertarn pointed downward.
This mountain is the body of Ertarn.
And this world is where Ertarn’s ‘will’ resides and acts.
All the information and incidents happening here come into Ertarn’s ears and eyes.
Of course, Ertarn won’t be watching all the time, but if it wants to know, it easily can.
‘Looks like a lot of users have come.’
For an ordinary resident, it might be hard to understand, but if you’re at a rank close to a thousand or a high demon, you’d inevitably get it.
Anyway, pleasantries aside, I had to clear this ‘Ertarn’ now.
Currently, the episode of Ertarn is simple.
[World – Another Celestial Being (EP.3)]
Objective – Eliminate the newly born celestial being, or ascend as a new God.
Reward – ?, Celestial Being’s Divine Stone (3/3, Transcend), Title – Ertarn’s ?
I don’t know why it was born (the episodes will proceed automatically even if I don’t advance in Ertarn), but I could either eliminate the newly born celestial being or elevate it to Ertarn’s position.
The method is simple but it’s a significantly difficult episode; I suspected many users had attempted it.
You might think I could just look it up, but surprisingly, there weren’t many sharing information in Deoen.
Unless it was a low-level stage or a specific purpose like a disaster raid, crucial information like hidden quests or the new continent was typically kept secret.
Let alone someone like me, broadcasting every detail of my progress; unless you’re a streamer, that almost never happens.
“Ertarn.”
“Yeah?”
The episode I would choose here was obvious.
“Why would I even eliminate Ertarn?”
I’ve already built rapport with Ertarn and we have a certain friendship.
There’s absolutely no reason to be hostile.
The absence of it.
Even if it’s not about removing the newly born Celestial Being, sealing the qualification of succession and letting it live in a suitable position would be enough.
“There’s said to be a newly born Celestial Being. Do you happen to know about it?”
“Ah, yes. That child.”
“Is that child…?”
“Yeah. The Challengers were quite interested. So I brought it here.”
“Huh?”
[?]
[What?]
[You didn’t kill it?]
[?????]
[You brought it here?]
[Huh]
As I and the viewers expressed our doubts, Ertarn casually lifted something from the ground.
A Stone Cradle.
A cradle made of stone that fits perfectly in the 2m size of Ertarn, and inside it was a small child made of the same stone.
Suck suck.
[Whoa]
[Oh my gosh]
[Whaaat!?]
[So cute, hahaha]
[What?]
[You want me to kill this?!]
It looked like it could just barely take its first steps, a young child.
The child was peering up at Ertarn with a strange baby bottle rare to see around here in its mouth.
The baby bottle was…
Swoooosh!!
‘It’s made of magical stones.’
The bottle was composed of transparent glass coated with magic engineering and a light blue magical stone lid.
As the child sucked on the bottle, something like milk automatically filled the inside.
From both a technical and material point of view, this bottle was not made here.
“Cute, isn’t it?”
“It really is cute.”
“Hehe.”
“Where did that baby bottle come from?”
“Oh. One of the Challengers gave it to me.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Huh?”
[?]
[You got it but don’t know who gave it?]
[Hahahahaha]
[Why would you think it would be squishy if it’s stone?]
[The sucking sound is so adorably big, hahaha]
[Kawaii!!]
Ertarn gently stroked the stone child’s head.
No matter what, the child was just continuously sucking on the baby bottle.
“This child. The first group of Challengers that found it. They were trying to escape and wanted to snatch it, but they were planning to kill it. One of them was holding it.”
“So you were looting it?”
“Looting?”
“You picked it up.”
“Yeah.”
So if we summarize roughly…
High-level users discovered the newly born Celestial Being and intended to raise it.
They were thinking of raising the child to take Ertarn’s place rather than just killing it, but it probably wasn’t just to protect the child.
‘If that were the case, they wouldn’t have tried to kill it when they were discovered.’
Naturally, raising the child to usurp Ertarn’s position would yield more rewards than simply killing it.
It would also be possible to manipulate the newly born child to one’s own will.
But when they were in danger of being discovered by Ertarn and losing the child, they decided to just kill it for the reward.
“Of course…”
Squeak.
[It broke like a dog]
[Sudden]
[How pitiful]
[Level ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
Despite failing miserably as the viewers said and leaving behind only that expensive-looking baby bottle…
Swish!!
While talking, milk filled the baby bottle again.
I guess it doesn’t matter since it’s a rock anyway, but it sure is drinking well.
“Bad humans. They kept coming back to find and take me.”
“So you’re under protection.”
“Exactly.”
It’s only natural for Ertarn, the world’s master, to protect a child, especially when those bad humans keep trying to kill an infant born with similar traits.
Before becoming a god, Ertarn cared for young children as she mingled with people.
She probably knows to some extent why the user is coming…
I asked Ertarn, who looked at the child with a motherly gaze, “Do you see it as a successor?”
“…I’m not sure.”
It’s definitely not Ertarn’s child.
But it is a child born in Ertarn’s world.
Since Ertarn is the world itself, and the world is Ertarn, it’s not a trivial matter.
Ideally, I’d like to ponder this slowly, but I can’t afford to waste time.
I need the celestial stone of the celestial being to extract Myeosin.
“Up until now, I don’t know. Our lifespan is infinite. There’s no need to make a successor.”
But, thinking from the other side…
“There’s no reason not to make one.”
Ertarn is the world itself.
For her, a successor is something close to a spiritual replacement for her body.
As long as her mind allows, there’s no need for a successor, but if she ever gets tired and wants to fall into a ‘deep sleep’ like before…
“Then it might be needed.”
That moment would be the day a successor is formally appointed.
I understand.
But I can’t just give up like this…
“Then how about we do this?”
“?”
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