Chapter 179 - Episode 24. Ancient God (4)
Chapter 179: Episode 24. Ancient God (4)
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Runald was the first to speak.
“Jaehwan-nim. Something feels suspicious. I have traveled through the 《Abyss》 for a long time, and everyone who smiled like that was a swindler.”
Maiad’s expression turned serious.
“I am a good person.”
“See? He talks like a swindler.”
Maiad looked to his Subordinates as if he had been wronged.
At his silent plea for them to defend him, the Subordinates exchanged whispers.
“To be honest, the boss does have that side to him.”
“But calling him a swindler is going too far, isn’t it?”
“Have you forgotten what happened to Mirel after listening to the boss and doing that weird training?”
“Still, Mirel did get stronger.”
“That is true.”
Maiad did not seem to be a boss who commanded much faith from his Subordinates. After an intense debate, they appeared to settle on calling Maiad a “kind-hearted swindler.”
Before they could reach their conclusion, Maiad hurriedly cut in.
“Anyway, I truly am a good person.”
“I understand.”
“Do you believe me?”
“No.”
“I see. It seems we are headed the same way. If you do not mind, I can show you the way. Is there somewhere you are looking for?”
Jaehwan did not trust people by nature.
Instead, he trusted Maiad’s actions.
If Maiad had meant them harm, the Allies would already have been in danger. He did not know whether this was a trap, but for now, accepting the favor and watching how things unfolded was the best course.
“I intend to commission a dream demon.”
“Ah, then I know who you are looking for.”
“...?”
“There is only one dream demon at this festival who accepts commissions in person.”
Maiad seemed familiar with the festival. He had apparently guessed which dream demon Jaehwan was looking for from those words alone.
It was funny, considering Manri Shintong had not told Jaehwan who that dream demon was.
“That works out well. I have an item entrusted to that dream demon too, so let us go together.”
Maiad casually joined the Allies, then took the lead and began guiding them.
Merchants who recognized him on the street greeted him warmly.
“Maiad. You came again this year?”
“Yes. Is business going well?”
“It has been a washout.”
The merchants laughed heartily.
Maiad bought fish skewers from street stalls and tried on newly released Parts designed as accessories. Jaehwan was not in any particular hurry either, so he strolled along while looking over the goods.
“This is a gift.”
Maiad gave him a small key-shaped necklace as a souvenir. Runald pressed close to Jaehwan’s side and whispered.
“Jaehwan-nim. It definitely has poison on it. The shop owner must be in on it too.”
After thinking for a moment, Jaehwan put the necklace around Andersen’s neck.
Andersen gave a quiet caw.
“It is a nice necklace.”
The Part was a useful necklace with an 「inventory」 Setting. They had needed a travel bag anyway, so it seemed useful to keep it on Andersen and use it as storage.
Maiad also bought each of his Subordinates useless bracelets and rings as souvenirs. The Subordinates accepted them with reluctant expressions, then began nagging him.
“You are spending money on useless things again.”
“You know we do not have much of a budget left, right?”
“At this rate, we are all going bankrupt.”
Despite their words, none of them seemed to dislike the gifts.
Watching Maiad grin while surrounded by those Subordinates, Jaehwan became aware once again that this man was completely different from him.
Someone who shone brightly no matter who he was with. Someone who made everyone feel at ease.
Yoonhwan, who had cleared the 《Tower of Nightmares》 with him, had been that kind of person too.
“Sorry for making you wait.”
“It seems you have good people around you.”
“They all recognized that I am a good person. They say good people naturally gather around other good people.”
“Good people do not say things like that about themselves.”
“Do you belong to an organization, Jaehwan-nim? With your reputation, I imagine you have been receiving plenty of offers lately.”
Jaehwan paused before answering.
“I prefer being alone.”
“I do too, actually.”
That was what he said, but Maiad did not look like a man suited to being alone. As he had said himself, he seemed like the sort of good person everyone could easily come to like.
“Until nine hundred years ago, I traveled alone too. I believed I could live well enough by myself.”
Maiad walked with his hands behind his back, his gaze fixed on the sky ahead. He was a man who especially liked to walk while looking at the sky.
“There was a dream demon I was close to back then. That friend told me, ‘No matter how great someone’s imagination is, they cannot fill this entire world alone.’”
“...”
“I only laughed at the time, but these days, I often think of those words.”
“Is that the dream demon we are going to meet now?”
“No. That friend left this world long ago.”
“I am sorry.”
“Do not be. They are probably watching me from beyond a distant sky and laughing at me right now.”
Maiad shook his head with a faint smile, then pointed ahead.
“We have arrived.”
At a glance, it was a stall that looked as though it had been thrown together just to meet the bare minimum.
Unlike the other brands, the shop had no advertisements. A small nameplate hung above it.
[Ignel]
Ignel? Jaehwan felt as though he had heard that name somewhere before.
Andersen spoke.
“Good heavens. This is a forge run by Ignel?”
‘Do you know that dream demon?’
“That... um... Strange. Why can’t I remember it?”
Perhaps the gifted necklace truly had been poisoned, because Andersen had not seemed well since earlier.
Jaehwan approached the shop first.
A long line had formed along the roadside outside its entrance. It seemed to be a queue waiting to enter.
“What do you mean, ten minutes before entry? When is it opening?”
“I am sorry, but Ignel-nim is still... You in line there, take a numbered ticket first!”
A craftsman at the entrance was diligently handing out numbered tickets.
When Maiad approached and greeted them, the craftsman bowed deeply.
“Maiad-nim. It has been a long time.”
“It has been a while, Heukryun. Where is Ignel-nim?”
“Preparing inside.”
Maiad abruptly tried to enter the shop, prompting complaints from the customers in the back.
“Wait a second. I have been waiting since yesterday! Who the hell is that?”
“He has a reservation.”
“Still...!”
The aura of the customer approaching while releasing rough World Force was far from ordinary.
At that moment, Maiad’s subordinates all turned their eyes toward the customer.
As though red paint had been spilled all at once over a colorless background, a thick scent of blood filled the entire street.
It lasted only an instant, but Jaehwan clearly sensed the moment Maiad’s subordinates revealed their World Pressure.
He was surprised.
Each of the Subordinates, who had concealed their World Pressure all this time, was close to the level of the Metaverse Six Gods.
The giant standing directly behind Maiad, especially, was a supreme powerhouse whose victory Jaehwan could not guarantee. At the very least, they were equal to the Leader, if not stronger.
“That is enough.”
With Maiad’s voice, the bloody scent vanished from the street as though it had been washed away.
Maiad smiled kindly at the customer.
“I am sorry, but I made a reservation first.”
“Y-Yes. If you made a reservation, there is nothing to be done.”
The customer retreated while trembling. Though they tried not to show it, they appeared deeply shaken.
Strangely, no one except that customer seemed to have sensed the killing intent from before at all.
Jaehwan frowned and was about to speak when the craftsman asked Maiad.
“Um, Maiad-nim. Who are the people with you?”
“They are my Allies.”
“Only one person may enter with Maiad-nim.”
Maiad rubbed his chin with a finger as he looked at Jaehwan and Runald.
“Hmm. Could you make an exception for this little one too?”
“By little one, you mean...”
Runald looked up at the craftsman with the eyes of a rain-soaked cat.
The craftsman looked Runald over for a moment, as if appraising a counterfeit, then nodded.
“All right. This little one may come too.”
Jaehwan and Runald were about to follow Maiad into the shop when the craftsman looked at the crow on Jaehwan’s shoulder.
“I am sorry, but pets are not allowed inside.”
Jaehwan took a large dumpling out of the necklace inventory around Andersen’s neck and held it up.
“She’s storage.”
* * *
While Runald soothed the fuming Andersen, Jaehwan looked around the inside of the shop.
It was his first time entering a dream demon’s personal space since he had visited Sirwen’s workshop. The shop was more spacious than it looked from outside, and weapons that seemed to be dream demon creations hung on every wall.
Jaehwan looked at a greatsword hanging on the wall.
“I thought dream demons mainly made Towers.”
Maiad, who had been examining the weapons beside him, nodded meaningfully.
“They do mainly make Towers.”
“This is a Tower too.”
“You are quick to notice.”
Perhaps Jaehwan’s assumption that a Tower had to take the shape of a building had been a prejudice.
Whatever shape it took, if its creator called it a Tower, then it was a Tower.
Still, if every Tower was made for cultivation, then what did this Tower exist to cultivate?
Runald’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Jaehwan-nim. Look over here.”
Runald was examining weapons displayed in a corner of the shop. They were enclosed in glass cases, and even at a glance, they were far finer than the other weapons.
The first thing to catch Jaehwan’s eye was a white sword displayed in the case at the front.
[GOD’S COLLECTION.03 ― Coexistence]
Dokbul at his waist began to hum.
At the same moment, the white sword in the glass case began to emit a faint light, as if it were responding to Dokbul.
“Interesting. This is the first time I have seen God’s Collection react.”
“God’s Collection?”
“It is Ignel’s signature line. Ignel’s own masterpiece, meant to challenge the Three Divine Artifacts of the Three Ancient Gods.”
“You seem to know a lot about weapons.”
“I know as much as most gods. When you live long enough, you naturally pick up one idle hobby or another.”
Maiad tapped the glass case a few times with his fingertips, as though soothing the sword inside. The sword stopped humming as if by magic.
“Few dream demons make Parts that challenge the Three Divine Artifacts like Ignel does these days. They have all turned their attention to other fields.”
“Why?”
“Well, naturally...”
Maiad had been speaking casually, but he tilted his head when he saw Jaehwan’s expression.
“Do you not know much about the Three Divine Artifacts?”
“I know they are powerful weapons.”
“If you do not mind, may I talk a little about them? I have always enjoyed explaining things.”
Jaehwan had not even given permission, but Maiad began explaining the Three Ancient Gods’ Three Divine Artifacts as though he were a museum guide.
“To explain the Three Divine Artifacts, we must first talk about the Three Ancient Gods.”
According to Maiad, before 《Big Brother》 appeared, three gods were called the strongest in the 《Abyss》.
Legendary gods who had reached the pinnacle of the 《Abyss》 alone, without anyone’s help.
The Abyss called them the Three Ancient Gods.
God Slayer Catastrophe.
Plausibility Destroyer Deus.
Illusion Executioner Gestalt.
“The Three Divine Artifacts are their primary Parts, left behind before the Three Ancient Gods disappeared. Catastrophe’s Void Sword. Gestalt’s Eye. Deus’s Deus Ex Machina. You have probably heard of them at least once.”
Jaehwan looked down at the white sword, said to be Ignel’s masterpiece.
“This does not seem to be on the level of the Three Divine Artifacts.”
Having used the Void Sword, one of the Three Divine Artifacts, himself, Jaehwan could say that with certainty.
“Of course it is not. The Three Divine Artifacts were made by the greatest Masters in history.”
Maiad continued in a voice filled with strange reverence.
“It was an extraordinary era. Every dream demon struggled to create ‘a single Tower.’ Even now, no Part has surpassed the Three Divine Artifacts...”
Then someone interrupted Maiad.
“Do you think the Three Divine Artifacts became what they are because they were such incredible weapons? They became the Three Divine Artifacts because the people who wielded them were the Three Ancient Gods.”
Maiad laughed heartily.
“That is right. The one who determines a weapon’s worth is its owner.”
“You still laugh like an idiot, Maiad.”
A small blacksmith walked out from the back of the workshop.
A dream demon with a small frame and brilliantly shining eyes.
Yet there was something familiar about the dream demon’s appearance.
At nearly the same time, the dream demon recognized Jaehwan too.
“You...”
More precisely, the dream demon recognized Jaehwan’s scabbard.
“Who made that scabbard for you?”
Jaehwan had never met the dream demon before him.
But he had seen a portrait of this dream demon once.
Slowly opening his mouth, Jaehwan felt a brief pang of longing.
“Meikal Garnad.”
He had once gone to a forge in 《Chaos》 to find this dream demon.
〈Twilight Dusk〉, the greatest forge in 《Chaos》.
The Workshop Master had been absent, but Jaehwan faintly remembered the name.
“I see. Is my disciple doing well?”
Ignel of the Deep Dusk, the greatest Master Craftsman of the age.
Footnotes:
Chapter discussion