230 Prologue 2: Encounter
Chapter 197
Thunder rained down on the world as the sky rumbled.
Strong winds blew trees from the root up out of the ground, even some abandoned stone structures in the forest were blown away by the sheer force of the wind.
A roar shook the world, making even the strongest apex predator cower in fear.
Ordinary folk, from the village outside the forest, closed their windows and locked all their doors while shaking in their homes. To them it would seem that god was coming down to smite them for their wrongdoings, committing sin and sullying their great name.
The source of all that carnage was a bolt of light that seemed to be moving by its own free will. It landed in a certain part of the forest, decimating any and all life that was within several yards of it.
"—I will take back what you have stolen from me, Thief! You have committed a great sin and sullied the names of the Lords of the Ring!" a voice boomed, its ferocity so powerful that you could feel it echo at the bottom of your stomach.
It sounded like a young man. Could a youngster truly possess such power that he could cause the whole world to rumble from his presence alone?
No ordinary being could cause something like this.
Then what is he?
He is a god.
"Haaa… Haaa…" Arnold's gaze was hazy from overexertion of his aura and physical fatigue. The only reason he wasn't passing out was because of Gergois supplying him with power and buffs.
"W-We need to go while he's busy, Arnold," Rafaela was trembling next to him, "There's no reason to confront him again."
"Hahaha…" Arnold merely laughed.
'The developers didn't need to make hidden bosses this fucking strong… I could barely manage him in his second phase.'
Arnold stood up with difficulty. Every bone in his body was screaming for rest. Luckily his armor prevented any bones from breaking even after tanking the heaviest blows.
"Arnold…"
"Although he's after both of us, you can still escape." Arnold said while looking straight ahead. The light in his eyes were slowly fading but within those eyes was a burning passion.
"You want me to just leave you here?"
"Would you prefer I leave you behind? There's nothing more I'd like to do than avoid this fight. If you'll sacrifice yourself then by all means do it in my stead."
What a heartless thing to say. But he didn't care.
Rafaela didn't answer.
"Then again, you're not able to use your power after losing your halo."
The halo was what gave Rafaela the ability to use her divine power. You could say it's what made her an angel. Without it, she's just an ordinary mortal.
No human or Elf can withstand that amount of divine power easily unless you're a Transcendent whose limits has a high ceiling.
Rafaela was just an ordinary Elf now. She was nowhere near as gifted as a Transcendent. Which is why she's struggling to use her powers. It's temporary, at least. Arnold knows this because Angelica went through the same thing when she awakened her powers. Players learn this in a cutscene about Angelica's childhood.
"What about you? Didn't you say earlier that you used all your aura?" Rafaela inquired.
"I can still use the recovery rune on my armor to recover some aura and use my demon lord energy to multiply my aura. If even that fails, I still have this." he clutched the necklace around his wrist.
It was the Cardinal artifact of Hecate.
"Shouldn't we just tell him that Siana has the artifact?" Rafaela suggested as she glanced around the tree they were hiding behind. The god was slowly inching closer on his divine beast.
"Even if we tell him that Siana has the artifact, he'll still slaughter us in the end," Arnold looked down at Rafaela.
This was probably the first time that he had seen true fear in her eyes. Hell, he's only seen her make a few expressions ever since they met.
"The gods—Melis especially—won't forget that he almost killed innocent people. He thought that we stole the artifact when, in fact, it was Sceptim and Siana. While she's an incompetent piece of shit, she cares about all her creations, even the bad ones. That's why I'm sure Melis will side with us if we take this to the divine order of gods, assuming we can even make it there with this guy on our trail and all the other obstacles along the way."
"He'll get rid of the evidence then…"
"Exactly." Arnold pushed Rafaela back.
"Eek."
She almost fell over by that action.
"W-What was that for?"
"Get out of here. If both of us fight him then both of us will die anyway. I'll hold him back."
"B-But…"
"If you really want to help me, you should tell your master to come down here and help me fight this guy."
"Even if she agrees, you won't last long…"
Arnold chuckled.
"Then let's make a promise." Arnold stared into Rafaela's curious green eyes.
His hair slowly turned silver then ashen white and his eye colour shifted between red and gold.
A black aura surrounded Arnold's body.
His factor was now at full power, evident by the red veins pulsing on his demon sword and the blue rune on his cheek. He hadn't released this much demon energy since his fight with Lancelot.
What was different from that fight was the black horn now coiling around his head, giving him the appearance of a demon and his sharp teeth.
Arnold took out his helmet and placed it on Rafaela's head.
"I'll come back for my helmet. Promise me that you'll protect it until that day comes." Arnold walked out from behind the tree.
"Ah, wait—"
"You finally show yourself, scum!" the young man shouted and his mount roared when they spotted Arnold.
The young man's face distorted when he laid eyes on Arnold.
"A demon… How expected of your kind to steal artifacts from gods. Your brethren lack the knowledge and wisdom to craft artifacts that could rival your own in power, so you resort to stealing from gods. Loathsome creatures, the lot of you! I will make sure to punish that traitorous angel as well! How dare she side with a demon and take part in the theft of the Fragment!? I shall first take your head to the Divine Realm and claim the prize for retrieving the Fragmented Ring!" His golden spear was struck by lightning.
Luxtivin manifested in Arnold's left hand. He was now dual-wielding Praise and Luxtivin.
"Grant me the [Essence] of a [Hydra]." A cold wind surrounded Arnold before he was submerged in a sky bluish aura that resembled water. It didn't mix with his blackish red aura.
"Haaa… Haaa…" Arnold staggered a little. His vision was even more unfocused than before.
His stats had increased by 150%. This doesn't mean that he could handle this level of power without difficulty.
He was on the verge of coughing up blood and falling flat on his face. Were it not for Gergois' rejuvenation runes then he definitely would've passed out.
Arnold gritted his teeth and charged at the young god with the Speed of Sound skill.
The young god charged at him with the same speed and ferocity.
How did things get to this? Well, it all started a few days prior to this encounter…
◇◇◇
The Divine Realm has a vast order of gods, each with a different name that correlates to their duties.
The god who created humans, Melis is known as the Goddess of Life and Beauty, a title she received after sculpting humans in her image and breathing life into them.
Many of her children also hold titles that convey their role in the Order of Gods.
One of them was known as the "God of War", Gederick the Golden. He was a mighty being who held the gates of the underworld with his raw strength for several days during the Demon King's awakening. He tamed several divine beasts with his battle prowess alone and had children with one of the now-deceased Dragon Gods. He withstood the power of two collapsing black holes with raw power alone.
Besides those feats was his duty to protect the Ninth Gate of the Nine Realms that led into the Divine Realm. He repelled many entities that wanted to breach that gate. He had an army of two million strong by his side to ensure that the mortals and demigods alike are safe behind the Ninth Gate.
Alas, his power dwindled in old age when war was no longer happening in times of peace. The need for a god of war vanished when the Demon Human War concluded in the Mortal Realm.
His title as God of War was stripped from him, as was the power that came with that title, weakening him even more, reducing him to a mere human with the strength of a demigod.
However…
His mother gave him a trial to prove his worth to the Divine Realm. That trial was to protect the World Ring Fragment which had been abandoned by its Lord.
"Protector of the World Ring Fragment" was a title that holds equal worth to that of a god, essentially proving his worth to granted a divine status.
As such he was able to procure riches and support from the other gods.
Almost a thousand years has passed since he was banished from the Divine Realm. Meaning he's been living amongst mortals for that long. It's been centuries since his mother entrusted the safety of the fragment in his hands.
What a terrible mistake she made to leave such an important artifact in his hands.
◇◇
A soothing melody echoed when the bard in the corner of the inn, next to the entrance, picked up his violin. He matched the rhythm of his hums with the sound of his music. He also spoke of all sorts of tales, some perhaps fabricated, to keep the small crowd entertained.
It was a calm atmosphere for such a rowdy crowd that consisted of mercenaries and adventurers.
An old man with a grey scruffy beard and long unkempt hair held up his hand:
"Another!" he shouted.
A waiter appeared next to him. She looked uncomfortable.
"Uhm, sir. Isn't this like your third round?"
"So what? I can drink however much I want! It's my money! Now get to it!" his thunderous bellow was even louder than the tavern music.
"…." The woman sighed, "Very well. But please don't vomit on the floor again."
"Shuddup and go get my rum!"
The woman left after telling a co-worker: "Tsk, tsk. Washed-up old man. He drinks ale and rum like they're the most delicious water he's ever had. I'm started to believe the rumours of him being a god aren't true at all."
The man felt like he wanted to cry.
'I'm not washed up!' he screamed as he tried to hold in his tears, 'It's not like my fellow gods kicked me out of the divine realm! I left because I didn't want to be the God of War anymore! Humph!'
Who exactly was he arguing with?
This man was none other than the former God of War "Gederick, the Golden Majesty".
The man who could once destroy thunderstorms with his roar and punch falling stars into dust was now an old drunk being ordered around by the boy sitting next to him.
Said boy was actually his Divine Mount. In other words, his divine beast. He was actually the only one to stick by Gederick's side after being exiled.
The boy has the blood of a human and a demigod so he can transform between human and divine beast at will. It was a gift he inherited from his people.
"Hey, Fiannei." Gederick called out to the boy who was silently reading a book, "You got any money left? I'll rub you with the grooming brush if you pay master's tab."
He spent all his money a long time ago. So much for bragging about money to seem relevant.
"Hm, what is that odd odour, I wonder? It smells like sewage and faeces. Surely it can't be coming from a divine body who once ruled an army of giants and demigods?" the boy said monotonously with a cute expression of pondering.
Gederick has a feeling that his own mount doesn't respect him.
"A warrior doesn't bathe after fighting harsh battles! Scrubbing off his enemies' blood on the same day he killed them will sully his honour! Of course a beast wouldn't understand such a thing!"
Fiannei was so absorbed in his book that he didn't even spare Gederick another glance.
"…." Gederick looked around the tavern since Fiannei will continue to ignore him.
'There don't seem to be any strong youngins tonight. What happened to the young folk? Are they that weak these days?'
Even the toughest looking guy currently in this tavern looked like an ant to Gederick. While Gederick was low-levelled in divine terms, he was far stronger than a human on the same level as him. Level-scaling between gods and humans works differently.
Was this all this world had to offer?
'Hmm, maybe I should've listened to Yorm and put my foolish search for a strong opponent to rest.'
He was good friends with the guardian of the Yoleheid Realm. Their friendship started when he was an injured soldier escaping pursuing enemies. He somehow ended up near the castle of an alchemist who he had never heard of before.
She let him into the safety of her home and treated him. She even chased the invaders away since no one is allowed near the rune bridge(well, Gederick was an exception). She gave Gederick potions that aided him in battle. This led on to him winning the war against their enemies. He came back to thank her for her help. The two celebrated with her very own homebrewed ale.
Gederick fell in love… with that ale and constantly pestered her to make more.
The taste, the texture, the smell… it was all perfect and fit for a warrior. He fought his very best in every battle and would always visit Yorm to get some of her ale as a gift. This continued for hundreds of years before Gederick was revoked of his position because of his age.
There was a saying that goes: a god's power weakens with each passing century.
Mortals believe that a god can continue growing stronger. However, if that were the case then the Timeline gods wouldn't have been the only strongest sentient beings that ever existed.
The God of Order would've been their equal if that were the case. However, the Future Timeline God implemented this rule to preserve the realms. Exceptions are those who have important roles in the divine realms like Melis, who created mortals after their image or Aedri (the Goddess of Death) who controls the dark forces. Their powers never weaken because it's necessary to the realm and there isn't another replacement.
A God of War, however, can easily be replaced by a stronger candidate.
Gederick was now a mere demigod. It had been almost a century since he was kicked out.
"Here's your ale, sir." The waitress from earlier brought a huge mug of ale. The mug was even bigger than her head.
Gederick's eyes widened when he tasted the ale.
A burning sensation went down his throat, accompanied by a sweet aftertaste.
"Hahahahah, now that's what I'm talking about!" he slapped her butt when she put the ale down, "You make this old man very happy!"
The woman scowled at him before walking away.
Gederick began gulping down the water like a sailor who was stuck at sea for weeks.
"You know, the only reason these people put up with you is because you serve the gods who created them. Not because you were once a god who fought for the realms." Fiannei closed his book and stared intently at Gederick.
Gederick glared at him, "Whut, you sayin' they down't respekt mii!? Hnnngh! I'll teech em' respekt!" Gederick was about to stand up but Fiannei pushed him down by the shoulder.
"Acting like a complete buffoon will only serve to embarrass me."
"Guh, you little! You down't respekt… hic.. me eether…!"
"You don't deserve anyone's respect, you pathetic, washed-up, drunkard, plebeian, old man." Fiannei said monotonously, "The only relevance you had was protecting the Fragment, which you failed to do. I fear going to Goddess Melis to tell her this disappointing news."
"Kuh…" Gederick sank back in his chair.
"You can't even utter a response. You're beyond saving, Master. Please accept your punishment when Goddess Melis judges you. Don't make a scene when we get there. This will be the first time in 200 years since you've set foot in the holy lands. Please finish your… drink. We need to head out before Lady Yormilia closes the First Gate. May I remind you that she's the only one who allows us to travel through her Rune Bridge Gate since the other Guardians despise you. Don't anger her by wasting her time."
Gederick solemnly nodded. There was no point arguing with Fiannei. He was right. No, he's always right.
Gederick was about to drink out of his mug again but his nose picked something up—a sort of unique presence. His tipsiness immediately vanished when he focused all his senses on this presence.
There was a burning sensation in his nose.
A divine artifact is nearby and approaching this inn. He could sense its presence.
Gederick was not born with any great gifts like most of his other siblings. He only had his strength to brag about in his glory days.
However, he was blessed with something else—the ability to smell the divine essence of artifacts (items created by the hands of gods).
Every artifact has some divine essence surrounding it since it's crafted by gods. He could tell which artifacts are fake and which were authentic. This ability of his also helps him find thieves who steal artifacts.
It appears one such thief is approaching this inn.
Gederick silently stood up from the table.
"What's wrong?" Fiannei noticed the serious expression on his face.
"How many artifacts found here were reported to the Divine Realm?" Gederick asked a question instead.
"None. No god has ever offered their artifacts to humans on this world. None have ever been found either from what I know."
"I thought so. I can sense an artifact's presence approaching the inn."
Fiannei's eyes narrowed.
"Do not disturb the peace on this world. To us it might be a regular world in the Nine Realms but to explorers who discovered the Sky God's dungeon, it'll be a dungeon world. There are several portals and space pockets in this world, after all. Whoever's approaching this inn might've brought an artifact from that dungeon."
"Hmm, you're right." Gederick sat down while his gaze was fixated on the door.
'Still, this scent smells familiar—'
At that moment a bell rang when the inn's front door was opened.
The inn went silent when they felt the pressure emanating from the front door.
Calling the knight who walked in "strong" was an understatement.
A knight with silver armour with a blue mantle, carrying what seems to be a slumbering young woman in a princess-carry, stepped foot into the inn.
Everyone's eyes were fixated on the knight and the sleeping beauty. The knight walked up to one of chairs and put the woman down.
He then walked up to the counter.
"—One bedroom for the night," he threw a gold coin at the innkeeper, "Do you offer assisted cleaning services? Like attendants helping residents clean themselves?"
"…Those services are usually only meant for customers looking to spend the night with the workers in the inn. Would you like me to book one for you tonight?"
"Spend the night, as in prostitution? I'm not here for that." He pointed at the slumbering woman, "I need someone to clean her while I head out. She's too weak to do it herself. Plus, she's been drifting in and out of consciousness for a few hours now. I doubt she'll wake up anytime soon."
"I suppose that's fine. But the fee stays the same even if neither of you will sleep with one of my workers."
"I don't care. You can keep the change. I'll take her up to the room then head out."
"Uhm, okay. I will guide you there." The innkeeper walked with the knight, who went to pick the young woman up again.
The two of them headed up the stairs.
"…Master, what's wrong?" Fiannei asked seeing Gederick's expression, which was even more serious than before.
"I found our little thief."
Part 2
"Status, show me a partial overview of what level I am and how much experience is left until I make it to the next level." Arnold, now standing on a street corner, chewing on an oily chicken sandwich, spoke to the system.
He was still wearing his armour. One never knows when trouble might find you.
· Level 60
· 12600/2500000
"Hmm, I have a long way to go. Only a mid to late-game boss could give me a million experience points. But those kinds of bosses are usually insanely powerful. What to do…"
He had slain countless monsters in the past three days, which was about the same time that he and Rafaela left the 62nd floor.
He made it to the 90th world after killing over three hundred monsters. Alas, the XP he earned was reduced due to the restriction on his potential.
He wasn't upset by any means since this is how the game works for players who grind too much. There are some ways to lift the restrictions placed on him but they won't be accessible while he's only in the first arc of the story.
Things will get easier if he unlocks a way to travel between realms. Only the World Tree would allow him to do that since its roots has the ability to bend space and open portals to other worlds.
To gain access to the World Tree he'd need to gain the favour of the Elves and Fairies.
The quickest way to do this is to start a questline that involves the Fairy Millennium.
"Hmm, I'll need to speak with her first. But how will I go about doing that? From what I remember about Feldina Ulsian, she's not easily approachable despite how she might act in public."
Meaning she doesn't trust people easily. Or at least people outside the World Tree Alliance and the Great Nobles.
The good thing is that Arnold can visit her anytime since she's a resident of the empire and rarely goes back home more than twice a year. There's no hurry.
"If I bring up the fact that I can create a Divine Fertilizer… Yeah, that might work in gaining her trust. But that'll have to wait." He stared back at the status screen, "Open up all active quests."
· Queen of a Timeless Future(S)
· Help Lyra recover her former self(S)
· Reward: Any Martial Skill(s) of your choosing, 1200+ MP, Stat points (amount will be given based on succession rate)
· Bonus reward has been added - Shard Remains: Unlock Villain Arnold and Vulris Queen Lyra's memories.
"Shard Remains? What's that?"
· System updated!
· Patch notes: Interaction between Arnold from an alternate future and present-day Arnold unlocked a new benefit for completing the Vulris Queen's questline. User can relive the alternate timeline in fragmented segments.
"Why was the reward added to Lyra's questline in particular?"
· System updated!
· Patch notes: Fragmented memories and a Fragmented soul have something in common.
"Both are fragments of something which was once whole..."
It's almost like comparing broken shards of glass and shards of a broken porcelain vase. They have the same thing in common: both are broken into pieces(obviously). In other words, there's correlation between the two.
Arnold received some of those pieces when alternate Arnold gave him his past memories. However, the future of that world still remains a mystery to him.
This will be useful to fill in the gaps of the main story that he missed out on back when he played the game. This depends on if the main story stayed the same as this timeline's story.
"Can't I just ask him what happens using the Future Letter?"
· System updated!
· Patch notes: Every being that has ever lived in that timeline is either dead or has gone to another plane of existence, thus Future Letter is unable to communicate with individuals from that timeline.
"Hmm… Interesting. Can you locate Lyra's fragments? I'm kind of interested how differently the main story turned out in that timeline now."
· System updated!
· Patch notes: No
"How the hell am I supposed to complete a quest if I don't know where to look… Alright, it's nothing to worry about. I'll find a way. I'm going to go see Lyra at the academy anyway." Arnold walked out from behind the alley and continued walking down the bustling road.
He didn't have a destination in mind, only wandered aimlessly.
'Where is Ladiath's quest? I recall telling you to show me all active quests.'
· System updated!
· Patch notes: NPC Ladiath's questline is not active yet. Go to the abandoned High Elf Village in the World Tree Forest, enter the ruin that leads underground and seek audience with the NPC.
'I see. He did say that I should go see him first… That aside, can't you chat with me normally? It's annoying to hear that ding from the system update notification.'
Another ding sounded.
· System updated!
· Patch notes: Communication is limited due to user not using a player profile. Log in to existing profile or create a new one to gain access to communication integration.
How the hell will he do that? It's not like he's on his gaming system where he could just log in.
He'll just have to get used to that annoying "ding" whenever he interacts with the system.
· Extreme malice has been detected.
Arnold came to a stop. He was currently in a deserted area with not many people around. He could already sense that malice even if the system didn't warn him.
Arnold turned around.
An old man with golden eyes calmly looked at him. He wasn't that far from Arnold.
'So the source is this old guy.'
"Did the nursing home staff forget to lock the door when their shifts ended?" Arnold spoke loud enough for him to hear. He's old so his hearing might not be as good as when he was younger.
"You little brat! I'm not that old that I need people to look after me!" the old man retorted.
"Oh, you heard me."
The old man's glare intensified.
"What do you want?" Arnold hurried the man up so that he could finish his business with Arnold.
'His energy signature feels strange… Inhumane almost. Is this guy a human or something else entirely?'
"A thief deserveth not to question the actions of a god." A golden light embraced the man. His clothes burned away like particles of light.
The light engulfed his body. The next moment he emerged with bronze-coloured armor. A spear made of pure golden light was in his left hand.
"Today you shall face the hand of the Golden Majestic."
"!"
The old man appeared in front of Arnold in a second. He swung his spear with incredible speed.
Arnold stopped the spear with the back of his hand. He could feel the heat through his gauntlet.
'Divinity.'
He pushed the spear back with Aura Force, slamming it into the ground. Arnold head-butted the old man and punched him in the stomach so hard that he flew away and crashed into one of the buildings.
"You're surprisingly weak for a god. Status."
· Level 33
· Gederick, the Bronze Majestic
"Gederick?"
'I've heard this name before. Gederick was supposed to be included in the Divine Realm Arc but was cut from the final release.'
The developers planned on adding this mysterious Gederick in a new expansion. Unfortunately, it never released so this Gederick was lost forever in the game files.
'There's no way this ant is Gederick, the God of War who could command millions of demigods and giants.'
The supposed "god" coughed up blood and used his golden spear to help himself stand up.
"H-How… How can a m-mortal—"
"Shut up with that condescending attitude of yours." Arnold grabbed the old man by the mouth, "The only time I beat up old people is when they show aggression even when I don't know what I did wrong. I'm giving you the opportunity to talk. Is there some kind of bounty on my head? Are you a player?"
It's not an impossible scenario. This "Gederick" could be imitating the real Golden Majestic for unknown reasons. This might be why his title is "Bronze Majestic" and not "Golden". The system probably didn't let him choose the title because it was already in the game's code, so he must've stuck with "Bronze".
Besides, from what Arnold knows, Gederick the Golden Majestic was a young man who wore golden armor and rode a Divine Beast.
Plus, he was level 99.
Arnold strengthened the grip on the old man's jaw.
"!!!" The old man's screams was muffled in Arnold's hand.
Arnold shoved him aside.
"Huuk!" the old man tried to pick up his spear but his hand was crushed under Arnold's boot.
"Talk."
"Aghhhh!!!" he tried to punch Arnold but the other hand was also crushed.
Arnold lifted him by the collar.
"Why are you after me?"
What did he do to provoke "Gederick" assuming he's even the real Gederick from the game?
The old man gritted his teeth and roared. Arnold punched him in the mouth, sending a bunch of teeth flying.
"Wake up." Arnold slapped his face, "Ugh, your breath stinks."
The toxic vapour hit him like a storm when the old man lifted his head and exhaled.
"Hic… Hic… Rold… Wring… Eef ai don get it back… Hic… Am dun fooorrr…." Tears streamed down his face. He hiccupped uncontrollably.
"What the hell… You're just a regular drunkard looking for a fight."
Arnold had no idea what he just said. Something about getting something back or whatnot.
'…I guess it's not impossible for it to be a coincidence that this guy has Gederick's name. Maybe the title having "Bronze" in it might be a bug.'
Arnold scratched his head. The old man collapsed on his back. Despite Arnold only throwing a few punches, it appeared as if the old man was in some big boxing match. His face was all bloody.
'He must be some retired cleric. His spear stance was pretty good. He must've been quite strong in his youth.'
If this were the real Gederick then Arnold's head would've been sent flying.
Gederick was not only a god but also level 99. He was leagues above a mortal on the same level as him. This is due to the fact that his vocation was blessed with divinity and he was birthed from a god.
"Pick your battles wisely next time, old man Gederick." Arnold turned around and began walking away.
"G-Get back here! Kugh! Arghh….!" The old man tried to get up but coughed up blood, "H-How dare you sully the face… hic… of a god!?"
Arnold ignored the old man's ranting and continued walking down the road.
"Just go back to your nursing home and we'll forget this ever happened." Arnold waved half-heartedly.
