Chapter 380 – End

The prison of time.

It was familiar to me.

It’s not just because I often used this power of the God of Slowness for my growth.

Apart from that, there were many experiences of being cut off from the world and being blocked by the wall of time.

The first time I was blocked by the wall, I gave up and abandoned it.

I gave up on the challenge, admitting that my senses became dull and my skills declined as I grew older.

Without any goal, I confined myself in a small room and wasted time.

I would not have been so surprised or sad if I lived like that and then died suddenly because of alcohol.

That much, my attachment to life had disappeared.

The second time I was blocked by the wall, I continued to hit against it.

I was confident that someday I would be able to break through the wall.

I didn’t get old in the Tutorial, and I was able to keep growing.

As long as my mental power didn’t collapse, I could believe that I would clear the 6th floor someday.

So I was able to keep hitting the wall that looked so high, and eventually broke the wall and headed beyond it.

The third time I was blocked by the wall, I lost my confidence again.

Even though I finally had a goal, I ran into an insurmountable wall on the way towards the goal.

I believed that I could continue to grow, and I also believed that one day I would be able to challenge my goals and achieve them.

However, I couldn’t endure the unexpected wait.

Without a companion to clear the 61st floor, it was impossible to cross the wall.

I’d been broken several times in the thirst and impatience that seemed to burn me during every moment.

At that time, it was Hochi and Yong-yong who made my time on the 60th floor bearable.

And it was Lee Yeon-hee who let me know that hope was coming.

Eventually, I gained the ability to get out of there on my own before Lee Yeon-hee reached the 61st floor.

Through the three challenges, I gained complete confidence.

That I will endure, and that I will eventually win.

Even now, when Kirikiri imprisoned me in the prison of time.

I will break down the walls of this prison and escape.

No matter how long it takes, no matter how much trouble and effort it takes.

And that means that one day I can cross this wall.

That conviction gave me an answer.

The finger of the God of Light came to my face.

It was a finger shining so bright that it was hard to look straight ahead.

A finger approaching my nose, as if it wanted to touch something strange, came slowly and carefully.

That didn’t mean it wasn’t unpleasant.

I grabbed that finger.

“Put it away.”

The God of Light was surprised and hastily stepped back.

His appearance was very blurred.

After stepping back a little, I was able to see the God of Light again.

The God of Light was shining so naturally.

Because of the light, I couldn’t recognize the features of his face.

I could just see that he resembles a human form.

Had I been an ordinary human, my eyesight would have been blinded just by looking straight at his finger.

Not only his finger, but the whole body of the God of Light was shining like that.

The God of Light never stood still for a moment.

He was moving in all directions irregularly, like a firecracker held by a person with a hand tremor.

At an overly fast pace.

The God of Light, who had been doing that for a while, came back towards me.

And he reached out both of his hands.

A very brightly shining sphere emerged in his hand.

I could see that it was a Zit Pop reduced to the size of a palm on his hand.

Making it small, it looked like a pretty little toy.

The problem is.

“… It’s blinding.”

Getting close to it, it was difficult even for me to look straight ahead.

When the God of Light heard me, he thought it was a compliment, so he clapped and flew in all directions.

Every time he clapped, light scattered.

I was annoyed at the sight of the God of Light flying around, obscuring my vision.

No matter how harmless it was, it was annoying.

To hold it for a moment, I reached out my hand as I flew toward the God of Light.

The God of Light was terrified by my sudden movement, so he flew like a blast in the opposite direction from me.

After that, a bunch of bright lights stretched long.

It was an exit that was as raucous and abrupt as when he appeared.

“I can’t catch that……”

I admitted it calmly.

The gods usually seem to be missing a screw somewhere.

Actually, I myself was like that.

However, it was the first time that I met a god that looked as crazy as this God of Light.

I felt like I’m in a mess for no reason.

I looked back.

The planet was collapsing.

The planet that failed to overcome the explosion that started from deep below the ground was facing death.

The death of a star.

Perhaps this was the most ideal solution that the God of Death wanted.

I can’t stop that.

To do that, I would have to spend too much power.

And even so, it wouldn’t be meaningful.

Because all the people who lived on that planet had already died.

Let’s go back.

I had no intention of getting caught up in the explosion of a star that was already dying.

* * *

The God of Order becomes a transcendent god and the world is destroyed.

Kirikiri destroys the world in the name of weakening the God of Order.

All had to be stopped.

[Challenge.]

The voice of the God of Order hovered in my memory.

I knew well where to go for the challenge.

The realm of the God of Order.

The Tutorial.

I had to go there again.

*

The end of the universe.

The end of the world.

There is an end to everything.

Even in this huge universe that you can’t even dare to measure.

And even for long journeys that didn’t seem to end.

Kirikiri thought about it as she looked at the entrance to the Hundred Gods Temple.

Finally, the end is approaching.

[It was a short adventure.]

Said the God of Slowness.

It was a long adventure.

[Did you get what you wanted?]

Kirikiri nodded her head.

It wasn’t the ideal shape she was thinking of, but it was able to fit to some extent.

She sent the God of Light, and she scattered all the gods.

Terrified, they will be scattered throughout the realm and hide.

Under the guise of pursuing them, it was possible to dispatch the gods of the Hundred Gods Temple all over the world.

Challenger Lee Ho-jae finally fully understood the situation.

In fact, when he cleared the Tutorial, she had to tell him everything, but she was concerned that he would challenge the God of Order without any preparation.

The God of the Sky, who was against her opinion until the end, was weakened by the power of the God of Order.

She couldn’t even find a trace of the God of Hope since it seems as if he had completely disappeared.

In the Hundred Gods Temple where it was required to maintain one incarnation, he must have been completely destroyed.

For one thing, she suppressed Lee Ho-jae with force, but she couldn’t help it right away.

After all the preparations were over, she believed that Lee Ho-jae would also challenge the God of Order according to her plan.

Knowing that his divinity is aligned with the results.

“It can’t be helped. Adventures don’t always go perfectly as planned.”

[Yes, adventure always comes with unexpected variables.]

Kirikiri felt a little uncomfortable.

Would she overreact if she felt as if he was teasing her at the words of the God of Slowness?

Kirikiri tilted her head for a moment, then flew back to the entrance of the Hundred Gods Temple.

As she moved closer to the entrance, she met the God of Balance.

The God of Balance, in the form of an old man, seemed to have gotten older while she was gone.

Of course, since gods cannot grow old, it would mean that he only looked tired.

To the point that it can be seen in the appearance of his incarnation.

“Did it go well?”

“Huh.”

Kirikiri asked the God of Balance, who was guarding the room of the God of Slowness, about his job.

“Fortunately, the God of Slowness seems to have no intention of moving.”

“I guess so.”

Kirikiri answered briefly and opened the door.

“Then, good work.”

The God of Balance nodded his head without a word.

Kirikiri escaped from the room of the God of Slowness and entered the Hundred Gods Temple.

The door started closing behind her.

Kirikiri, who looked back without thinking, was amazed at the unexpected sight.

Apparently, Lee Ho-jae, who should have been unable to move, was running around in perfect condition.

“… N, no!”

*

“Oh, are you here?”

Hochi asked.

It was a question out of peace and boredom.

“Did you bring Jun-seok?”

Come to think of it, Hochi only knew that I had gone to pick up Lee Jun-seok.

I thought about what I had to do to explain all the things I had experienced in Thanatos.

I decided not to.

It was too long to explain right away.

Hochi was fiddling with his system window.

He seemed to be looking at the church’s situation.

Since the church has grown to a global scale, I had been told that it was difficult to manage.

This is unavoidable because the number of managers was insufficient compared to the sudden growth.

Without the system window, the essence of the church would have been altered.

The sects are divided, and pseudo-religious people who mistake themselves as gods appear.

The system window was a great help not only for the growth of the church but also for its management.

As expected, I thought it was well done.

“Ta-da!”

The neck pillow on Hochi’s neck suddenly began to move, and it changed to Yong-yong.

Yong-yong stepped on Hochi’s shoulder and jumped into my arms.

I asked while holding Yong-yong.

“Why did you turn into a neck pillow? To get rid of dandruff?”

The words angered Hochi.

“Hey, I don’t have dandruff.”

“I was bored.”

Yong-yong seemed to have been bored a lot while I was gone.

Hochi must have been busy working too.

I hugged and patted Yong-yong, who was whining.

“Let’s go, Yong-yong. There is somewhere you need to go with me.”

I didn’t have much time.

I had to move before any useless disturbances came in.

“Hmm!”

Fortunately, Yong-yong accepted without asking where I was going.

Hochi, who was staring at me and Yong-yong, stood up from his seat.

“… I’ll go too.”

“Okay, then.”

The passage to the 61st floor was opened.

Yong-yong and Hochi passed over first, and I stepped forward to follow.

It was then.

I heard Kirikiri’s voice.

[Stop!]

I looked around to see where I was hearing it from.

Without my knowledge, the quest window opened.

[… Why, why are you doing this!?]

Why are you doing this?

I had no intention of letting the world perish because you wanted to increase the odds.

[So reckless!]

Kirikiri said I was reckless.

As proof of that, I couldn’t move because of the power of the God of Slowness.

“I got out, like this.”

I said with open arms.

Kirikiri shouted again, apparently understanding what I was saying.

[Still!]

Whatever, though.

[Can you handle it? If you fail, everything will be over!]

[The world will be completely destroyed without even the last hope. All the futures and possibilities ahead of us will disappear!]

Kirikiri shouted one after another.

Rather than being angry, she seemed desperate.

[Please don’t go in. It won’t take long. If you try and die like this, there are no more chances left.]

“I just have to win.”

The odds are low, not none.

Never.

[If you don’t win!]

I laughed at her words.

*

I sent Yong-yong and Hochi to Grandmother at the Ice Palace.

I walked towards the volcano alone.

Soon I was able to reach a huge door.

When I opened the door and entered, I saw Old Man lying halfway soaked in the lava.

Giant warriors gathered near Old Man and looked at him with anxious eyes.

Is he in bad condition?

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Old Man replied nicely.

However, the answer resembled that of a patient lying in a hospital room.

Old Man wasn’t just a little out of steam, he had a fatal inner wound.

The loss of divinity was such a great loss.

It will probably take a long time to settle properly.

If not, it was to regain confidence and divinity and restore health.

“Are we going?”

Old Man asked.

“Everyone noticed. I didn’t say anything.”

“Because I can feel it.”

“What.”

“Your excitement. And tension and determination. I can see it at a glance. Has the time finally come?”

I nodded.

“It’s a shame. We promised to be with you. And I only looked at that promise and came this far.”

Old Man slowly lifted himself up.

As his enormous body stood up, lava poured down like a waterfall.

It was Old Man’s body that always boasted a huge presence, but today it only seemed to be somehow sad.

“In the end, we can’t help with anything.”

I don’t think so.

They won’t be able to come with me at the last minute, but they made it this far.

Their efforts never meant nothing.

“I’m waiting for you. You will win and come back.”

*

A stadium with a strange interior mixed with lava and ice.

It’s a place I’ve been to before.

When I cleared the 61st floor.

It was the arena summoned when clearing both the Lava Palace and the Ice Palace.

“Dad!”

Yong-yong called out to me and eagerly ran towards me.

I thought while holding Yong-yong.

I headed to the Lava Palace, and Yong-yong and Hochi to the Ice Palace.

And that means we met again here.

I was able to clear the 61st floor through Yong-yong.

However, I had given up on exiting the 61st floor using Yong-yong as a challenger.

And that’s probably the best choice I’ve ever made in my life.

I gave a kiss to Yong-yong’s cheek.

Yong-yong laughed at the ticklish feeling.

“Yong-yong, I think Dad should go somewhere for a while.”

“Will it take long?”

“Probably, I guess.”

“Can I come with you?”

It’s a weird thing.

No matter how much I devoted my passion and hard work to Yong-yong’s education, it was surprising that both me and Hochi at the time raised Yong-yong into such a pretty and kind child.

Maybe Yong-yong had grown up well on his own.

He was such a very blessed child for us.

“No.”

So I didn’t want to expose Yong-yong to danger.

Yong-yong was sullen, but he didn’t ask me to take him away.

“I’m sorry.”

Hochi said so.

“What.”

“Just. Because I couldn’t help.”

I felt strange

I didn’t expect to hear this from Hochi.

I was always angry with Hochi for being useless, and Hochi had told me that it was none of his business.

“No, you helped a lot.”

Hochi kept frowning.

I didn’t like the worries and anxiety that stood on that face.

“Hey, don’t worry. You still can’t believe in me.”

“I believe in you.”

“Then?”

“I’m still worried.”

Hochi said so.

“Bye. Don’t get hurt.”

“Yes.”

Thanks.

After swallowing the last words, I stepped back to the portal.

My body was engulfed in a bright light.

The next moment, I was standing in a beautiful garden.

Not a terrible garden that oozed blood from the floor, but a garden filled with the smell of grass and a gentle breeze.

There was an angry rabbit in the garden.

“Kirikiri.”

“Hmph!”

*

“I’m not stopping you anymore.”

I thought that as soon as Kirikiri saw me, she would try to hold me back again.

“You can’t stop me.”

At my words, Kirikiri said, stepping on the floor with her feet.

Her way of expressing her dissatisfaction was more childish than Yong-yong.

“I can’t stop you on my own!”

I guess so.

If she does, she will be caught by the God of Order like the God of the Sky.

“And Hooooo Jaaaeee is an unconvinced idiot!”

“What a bummer, that’s a bit too much to say.”

“The strange name Hooooo Jaaaeee is worse!”

Hoo, even personal attacks.

“I’ll buy you a cake instead.”

“Won’t eat it!”

This was a little shocking.

Don’t you love cakes?

Kirikiri suddenly sighed, then sat down.

“I’ll give you some helpful information.”

“Can you do that?”

“… That’s my role.”

This way, it felt the same as when I was doing the previous tutorial.

Before entering the stage, I got brief advice and information from Kirikiri.

Kirikiri gave all the details.

At the time of the Tutorial, I could see that she was giving almost all the information for my growth.

I memorized the information Kirikiri told me bit by bit.

I had never lost money by taking her advice.

After her story, Kirikiri bowed her head to her knees in front of me.

“Hing, if you go in alone like this, you will surely die.”

You are still worried.

A portal has already appeared in front of me.

And a faint voice came from the portal.

[Challenge.]

It was a voice I’ve heard several times already.

The voice of the God of Order.

Perhaps it was funny to think that the rush to challenge was encouraging me to challenge before it went according to Kirikiri’s plan.

“I’m going.”

After saying so, I stepped up on the portal.

I left Kirikiri behind, and the familiarity that was felt in the simple actions as I stepped up on the portal.

And the familiar tension.

“Don’t die!”

Listening to Kirikiri’s farewell, I was moved.

[Welcome, challenger Lee Ho-jae.]

The message that appeared before my eyes greeted me.

It was a narrow and dark passage.

It was an atmosphere reminiscent of the first floor of the Tutorial.

I checked my condition.

There was nothing wrong.

My clothes were the same as what I was wearing, and the swords on my waist were the same.

[Mayday, Mayday.]

I’m with Seregia, who speaks erratic words without end.

[Wa, warrior… ? Why am I here?]

Ahbooboo is confused.

I comforted Ahbooboo’s whining of his resentment, by saying that I would return him to the God of the Sky when this was over.

And I looked ahead again.

As if until now it was just a tutorial.

As if this was the true game, I felt the ominous and dangerous energy from the walls of the narrow passage.

And from afar, the God of Order was felt.

I spoke towards that place.

“I said it. The power that you stole, I’ll go back someday to get it back.”

The God of Order did not respond to my words.

One step forward.

And I paused for a moment at the chills that I felt.

The hideous energy felt on the other side of the dark passage felt just as dangerous.

But I took another step forward.

There were long and long steps I had walked before, so I was able to walk one step at a time during this moment without hesitation.

It was a long tutorial.

And it was a very difficult tutorial.

That’s why I was sure.

Now that I have finally finished all preparations and put my goals in front of me.

I will not be defeated, nor will I give up.

-END-