<Chapter 57: The Godless One Who Regressed to Level 2>
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[Can you hear me?]
"I can hear you now."
[Good.]
"Can you understand what I'm saying?"
[Of course. I am the avatar of the Throne. I can easily understand the language of lower races.]
"โฆUncle?"
Yun Seo-a tilted her head in confusion beside him, and Seo-ji-han pointed to the black sun with an embarrassed look.
"Well, it might be hard to understand, but it was talking to me."
"Is that so? Did your condition change or something? Can you recognize me?"
"I'm not suffering from amnesia or hallucinations, so don't worry."
"Hmm, if Uncle says so, then it must be. If anything happens, let me know. I'm going out!"
As Yun Seo-a left the room, a voice came from the black sun again.
[I have a question.]
"What kind of question?"
[Before the promotion battle. The players behind you died. The main body is curious about this.]
You tied them up so they couldn't move, so how did you kill them?
That's a curious thing.
"I have a question too. If you promise to answer my question, I'll tell you."
[Alright.]
Seo-ji-han, hearing the Throne's firm response, began to speak.
"I cut off the blood vessels of their hearts in advance."
[Heart...]
"Yes. They were only connected by the power of the Force."
If he succeeded in provoking the Shadow Queen, he wouldn't know what kind of attack she would launch.
Seo-ji-han prepared for any situation by setting up a device on the four players he kept alive in advance.
By cutting off the blood vessels of their hearts and only connecting them with the power of the Force, if a situation arose where he couldn't use the Force, the connected blood vessels would be severed, causing instant death, ensuring his first place.
[Just that for instant death?]
"Yes."
[...Not even a lower race, but the lowest race.]
The tone of the voice, which had been expressionless, became even colder.
[Even if you are irregular, the lowest race?]
"Lowest race?"
[The decision has been made. The main body has decided not to support you.]
Perhaps the 'human' race itself was deemed useless.
The black sun pronounced this with a high-handed attitude.
However, Seo-ji-han was unperturbed.
"Well, that's fine."
[...?]
The support of the Throne.
While it certainly provides great benefits, the losses are not insignificant.
'There's no need to cling to this side.'
Moreover, once the tutorial period ends, there will be a surplus of Thrones eager to support Seo-ji-han.
There's no need to lament over quickly obtaining the power of the Throne when he can wait a few months.
'And this isn't my goal right now.'
The wandering godless one.
To understand the strange actions of the former Throne, which were completely different from his previous life, he needed information from the same Throne.
Seo-ji-han spoke in a nonchalant tone.
"Let's drop that. Can you answer my question?"
[Understood. The connection with the main body will soon be severed, so ask quickly.]
"It's nothing much. Tell me what you know about the 'wandering godless one.'"
[...]
At Seo-ji-han's question, the Shadow Queen's words momentarily halted.
"You don't know?"
[The wandering... godless one.]
"Why is that?"
[Is it a godless one? Not a deity?]
"Yes. A godless one."
[Among the masters of the stars, deities are abundant, but there is only one godless one. Is it really a godless one? Is that the correct expression in your language?]
The voice, which had been calm, became urgent, pressing Seo-ji-han for an answer.
"Yes."
[...The main body is flustered. It keeps asking if you mistook it for a deity.]
"It's a godless one. So, can you tell me what you know?"
[The main body hastily asks you if the power that surpasses your league level is related to the godless one.]
"I asked the question."
At that, a black aura spurted out from Seo-ji-han's left arm where the black sun resided.
The smoky aura soon coalesced and shrank to the size of Seo-ji-han's palm, forming a shape.
"Dark elf?"
"Ariel."
A translucent, small dark elf floating in the air.
Unlike other elves with large, beautiful features, this one had a compact, cute appearance.
However, with a blank expression and black eyes without whites, it gave a creepy feeling.
"Only the main body can answer questions about the existence of the godless one. So, the main body is trying to reconnect with you properly... "
"But?"
"GP is needed. About 10 million."
"..."
At that, a system message appeared.
[Do you want to provide 10 million GP to 'Shadow of the Sun - Ariel'?]
10 million GP.
100 billion won.
The amount he made by securing first place this time would be about 10 million GP.
To use that money to hear the identity of the wandering godless one?
'That's not possible.'
This GP had a specific use.
"Alright. Just tell me after the tutorial ends."
"...Wait. 10 million GP is not just for the connection."
"Then what?"
"If the connection is made, the Throne 'Shadow Queen' will directly support you. The Throne has chosen you."
Oh, look at that?
Seo-ji-han's lips curled into a slight smile.
Just a moment ago, it seemed like the Throne had lost interest in him, but now that the topic of the wandering godless one came up, its attitude had completely changed.
"Chosen? I'm the one who makes the choice."
Then, he should change his attitude too.
The one who took the initiative was not him but the other side.
"What?"
"If you want me to be your Throne, offer something interesting."
"Are you serious? The lowest race?"
"And 10 million GP isn't much to the Throne, right? Don't ask Silver for it; invest from your side."
"...The tutorial world cannot be interfered with from the outside."
"You already came to me even though this is the tutorial world."
"This is a special case..."
"Fine, then."
Seo-ji-han's firm words made Ariel blink.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Really, really? You'll regret it?"
"I won't say it again."
"...Understood. Then, farewell."
Ariel, floating in the air, nodded and began to disintegrate.
Soon, her body, now a black aura, was sucked into a pattern.
At that moment.
Flash!
A bright light flickered from Ariel, who was about to disappear.
"...Main body?"
Ariel looked greatly flustered.
"Active cooperation? For the lowest race? Main body, are you serious?"
"..."
"Just disappear. Can't? Don't like... an order?"
Ariel repeated to herself.
Her existence, which was about to disappear, was becoming clearer again.
Moreover, she grew from the size of a palm to about twice that size.
"...I will follow the order."
Ariel, now fully formed, had a very displeased expression.
"What's going on?"
"The main body has ordered me to cooperate with you."
"The Throne said that?"
Seo-ji-han recalled the information about the Throne.
Extremely arrogant, the masters of the stars who looked down on humans.
Especially since Earth was in the Space League - Bronze, which could be demoted at any time, the Thrones were focused on exploiting players.
For such beings to show favor to a human?
This was the first time he experienced such unilateral goodwill since the wandering godless one.
'Was the wandering godless one that significant to the Thrones?'
In any case, there was no need to refuse the cooperation.
"Still, the Throne has a keen eye."
"...To have the lowest race as my master."
"Stop lamenting and tell me your usefulness."
Then, a message appeared before Seo-ji-han.
[The avatar of the Throne 'Shadow Queen', 'Ariel', grants the Sword Shadow stat.]
[There is little space left in the status window. Do you want to accept the Sword Shadow stat?]
[If you accept the Sword Shadow, you will not be able to add new stats.]
The ability space in the status window, as shown by the system message, was mostly filled with Power and Force.
Power was a three-line stat created by erasing the original Strength, Agility, and Vitality stats, and Force was a three-line stat created by combining Magic and Holy Power.
There were only two lines of stat space left.
But if accepting Sword Shadow meant he couldn't add new stats, it seemed Sword Shadow was a two-line stat.
'If the status window expansion function wasn't available in the achievement shop, I would have thought about it more.'
However, since the status window could be expanded by paying achievement points, there was no problem in accepting Sword Shadow.
Therefore, Seo-ji-han decided to accept the stat.
[Sword Shadow stat has been created.]
"Good. Sword Shadow... what kind of ability is this?"
"The ability to control shadows and transform them into swords."
A simple yet ambiguous answer.
But Seo-ji-han immediately understood what this ability was.
During the promotion battle, all the players' shadows transformed into swords and stabbed them from behind.
So, Sword Shadow, the shadow of a sword.
"The enhancement of the SS-grade sword, Eclipse, is also possible."
"Do you mean the sword that cut off my arm?"
"Yes."
The dark sword he saw in the TOP 100 promotion battle.
Its intense momentum as it soared into the sky seemed quite useful.
'Until now, I didn't have a decent weapon. This is good.'
Until now, he had been using Phoenix Arrow, which was only effective when launched.
Compared to the SS-grade Eclipse, it was a completely different weapon.
"Does the possibility of enhancing Eclipse mean it can grow beyond the SS grade?"
Ariel nodded, as if it was obvious.
"Up to the EX grade."
"Wow."
Beyond the SSS grade, the transcendent grade.
The 'achievement point exchange voucher' that Seo-ji-han received upon regression was also EX grade.
The growth potential was more impressive than he thought.
"From now on, focus on investing in the Sword Shadow stat."
"Maybe. But there are abilities I need to prioritize first."
"Stop being arrogant, lowest race."
The special stat granted by the Throne, Sword Shadow.
What could be more important than this for a lowest race?
Ariel looked at Seo-ji-han, who was nonchalant, with disdain.
"Sword Shadow is a rare stat. I doubt the lowest race knows what a rare stat is. It's on a different level from regular abilities."
"I know that. But what if I have unique stats?"
"...Unique... stats?"
"Yes. Two unique stats, and now one more rare stat."
"Two of them?"
Ariel showed a dumbfounded expression for the first time.
Unique stats?
That a lowest race, especially a Bronze, had them?