The Goddess of Deathâs silhouette glimmered from beyond the purple veil.
âBegin with Mayanes Diabol!â Her resplendent voice filled the room. At the same time, a quest popped up in front of Kang Oh.
[Goddessâs Quest 1: Kill Mayanes Diabol.]
The Mayanes were favored by the God of Creation, yet they arrogantly revolted against the Primordial Gods.
Use Demon Sword Ubist to slay Mayanes Diabol, who is located in the western region, and retrieve the God of Creationâs âsourceâ.
If you complete the goddessâs quest, then you may choose one of these rewards.
1. Raise one skill or spell to master-rank.
2. A weapon imbued with the Goddess of Deathâs power.
3. Transcend your limitations as a human.
Difficulty: Nightmare.
Minimum Requirements: Demon Sword Ubist.
Reward: Goddessâs Quest 2.
Failure: You will automatically fail the quest if you lose Demon Sword Ubist.
âLeave it to me!â Kang Oh yelled.
[You have accepted the Goddessâs Quest.]
âYou must kill Mayanes Diabol with your jet-black demon sword. That is the only way to bypass his immortality.â Deborahâs brilliant voice rang out.
âI will keep that in mind. Is there anything else youâd like to tell us?â Kang Oh asked.
âPlease tell me more about Diabol!â
âCyndia, my faithful servant.â
âCyndia?â Kang Oh wanted to ask âWho is that?â, but Deborah didnât give him the chance.
âEder.â Her calm, yet firm voice could be heard everywhere.
âYes, Supreme One,â Eder said, maintaining his reverence and politeness.
âThere wonât be a second chance.â
âI promise you. I will complete my mission.â
âIâll be watching.â
Whoosh.
The purple veil disappeared and Deborahâs marble statue returned to normal. The goddess had left this realm.
Soon after, the priestess thatâd led them here returned.
âThe Supreme One asked that I assist you,â she said.
âYour name isâŚâ Kang Oh asked.
âI am the goddessâs faithful servant, Cyndia.â
âMm!â So this was who the goddess was talking about!
âPlease follow me.â Cyndia took them to the priestsâ living quarters. âPlease sit down.â
Kang Oh, Eder, and Cyndia sat around a table.
âThe Supreme One told me that you are to kill the Mayanes,â Cyndia said.
âYes. She told us to start with Mayanes Diabol,â Eder said.
âThe Church of Death has long since looked for a way to kill the Mayanes. I will tell you what weâve learned.â
âWhat do you mean?â Kang Oh asked.
âThe God of Creationâs power has been divided amongst the eight Mayanes. In other words, they are similar to gods. Thus, in order to use their divine powers, they require believers, worshippers, prayers, faith, etc.â
âBelievers? There are people that worship the Mayanes?â Eder asked.
Cyndia shook her head. âNo. At least not here.â
âThen?â
âIn order to use their power, the sealed Mayanes capture people and drain their life force. The more life force they have access to, the more powerful they become.â
âMm.â
âAre the Kalma connected to the Mayanes?â Kang Oh asked.
âThe Kalma provide the Mayanes with humans.â
âPutting this all together, the Kalma supply the Mayanes with people, and the Mayanes drain these people and slowly get stronger?â
âYes.â Cyndia nodded her head.
âIf I save the prisoners, will the Mayanes become weaker?â Kang Oh asked.
âThen we should save as many people as we can, and then strike when theyâre at their weakest.â
âWe should deal with the Kalma first. Saving the prisoners is pointless if we let the Kalma keep rounding up people,â Eder said.
âThatâs true. But how do we deal with them?â Kang Oh stroked his chin.
âIf you manage to kill their leader, Malak, then⌠you should be able to freeze their operations for a while,â Cyndia said.
âPlease tell us more.â
âKilling Malak will cause internal strife. They wonât have the manpower to capture humans until theyâve completely dealt with their leadership issue.â
âWhile theyâre busy infighting, save the prisoners and then kill the Mayanes,â Kang Oh said.
âYes.â Cyndia nodded her head.
âWe have a basic plan nowâŚâ
âPlease tell us more about the northern and western regions, the Kalmaâs stronghold, and everything you know about Mayanes Diabol. Please donât leave out anything; tell us everything you know, even things that you might consider trivial,â Kang Oh said.
Now, they needed to gather as much information as possible, formulate a plan, and execute said plan.
* * *
Kang Oh and Eder left the temple, and rejoined Sephiro and Deul outside.
âWhat happened inside? Did you meet the goddess? What about Mr. Ederâs body?â Sephiro barraged them with questions.
Kang Oh glanced at Eder. He was basically saying, âYou explain!â.
âSo what happened wasâŚâ Eder then explained everything that went on in the temple.
âHoh, a quest from the goddess! Moreover, the reward is amazing!â Sephiro desperately stared at Kang Oh. âCan you share the quest with me?â
âI donât think I can.â Kang Oh opened the quest window and checked, but there was no âShare Questâ option there.
âYouâre not lying to me, are you?â Sephiro stared at him suspiciously.
âIf I could, I wouldâve sold it to you at a price. Isnât that right?â Kang Oh asked.
âProbably.â That convinced him.
âMr. Deul,â Kang Oh called.
âYes?â
âIâd like to buy a house in Latnia.â
âA house?â
âYes, a house!â
He needed a safe location to set up a transfer magic circle. Thus, he planned on buying a house.
âMm, I know a real estate agent here.â
âI see. Could you please take us to them?â
âYes.â
Sometime laterâŚ
Kang Ohâs party bought a two room house. They planned on using one room for the magic circle, and the other for them to rest in.
Eder bought the house of course. There was no reason for him to pay when he had Eder here.
âThen, if youâll excuse me.â Deul said farewell.
âTake care.â Kang Oh clasped Deulâs hands and vigorously shook them.
âThank you for everything!â
Once Deul leftâŚ
âAh, thatâs right. Eder,â Kang Oh said.
âYes?â Eder stared at him blankly.
âWhat is it?â
âWe have to write a contract.â
âWhat for?â
âA contract that states that youâll pay me 30,000 gold after we clear the goddessâs quest and you get your body back!â
âEh, do we really need a contract? Do I look like someone whoâd lie to you?â
âYou never know. People look different before and after they use the bathroom.â
âIâm undead, so I donât think that applies to me,â Eder joked tastelessly.
âThatâs not funny.â Kang Oh gave him a look, pulled out a Sabraâs Contract from his inventory, and began to fill it out.
When the latter (Eder) regains his body, then he will pay the former (Kang Oh) 30,000 gold.
It also contained a clause stating that whoever violated the contract would have to give up their entire fortune.
âHere, sign it.â Kang Oh passed him the contract.
âTch.â Eder signed the contract against his will. With this, the contract had been established!
âHehe.â Kang Oh laughed when he saw the contractâs dim light. 30,000 gold!
âIâll begin setting up the transfer magic circle.â Eder entered the room.
Heâd set up this magic circle many times before, so he was done rather quickly. Kang Ohâs party then entered the magic circle.
âTo Altein!â
* * *
âIâll see you tomorrow.â
âIâll be going.â
Once there, Sephiro and Eder left. Then, Kang Oh sent Man Bok a message.
â Mr. Man Bok.
â Yes, Mr. Kang Oh?
â Please get some supplies ready for me.
â How much?
â A weekâs worth for me, Eder, and Sephiro.
â Understood. Ah, and I have something to tell you.
â What is it?
â The Black Hammer Dwarves wanted a word with you. If you have the time, please go and see them.
â Understood.
Kang Oh closed the message window, and his eyes gleamed.
âDid they do it? Did they finally get a blacksmith skilled enough to handle adamantium? I really hope so.â
Kang Oh went through the intercity transfer gate.
âThe Black Hammer Dwarvesâ Hideout!â
The environment instantly changed, and Kang Oh was greeted by a dwarf guarding the magic circle.
âMr. Kang Oh. Itâs been a while,â the Dwarven Warrior said.
âYes, it has. Could you please tell me where Chieftain Randelhoff is?â
âThe Chieftain should be in his room.â
âThank you.â
Kang Oh immediately headed for Randelhoffâs room.
âChieftain Randelhoff.â
âOh, youâve come.â
Kang Oh was a friend of the Black Hammer Dwarves. It was only natural that theyâd welcome him.
âI heard that you were looking for me. Youâre not ready to make the sword, are you?â Kang Oh said, his voice filled with excitement.
Randelhoff shook his head. âNo, thatâs not why I called you.â
âThen what did you need?â
âI want to ask a favor.â
âA favor?â
âCould you leave the adamantium gemstone with us?â
âThe adamantium? Why?â
âSeeing good materials motivates us dwarves. The adamantium will serve as good motivation for our blacksmiths,â Randelhoff said.
Kang Ohâs eyes glinted.
âSeeing good materials motivates them, huhâŚâ
He had a good idea. The more precious materials he brought them, the faster theyâd produce a blacksmith skilled enough to make him a demon sword.
âAlright.â Kang Oh nodded his head.
âThanks.â
âIâll bring it to you immediately.â
âMm.â
Kang Oh returned to Altein and immediately went to Ederâs house.
âHuh? Why are you here?â Ederâs eyes widened. He was currently in Arumodeâs body.
âIt hasnât been that long since we split?â
âI came to take the adamantium from your safe.â
âWhy?â
âThe dwarves wanted it.â
âAh, are the dwarves making you your sword?â
âNo. Apparently, dwarves draw inspiration from seeing precious materials, which makes them work harder or something.â
âI see.â Eder pocketed the gold coin, which was engraved with a 1403. This was the key to his safe!
âOh, and by the way, Eder.â
âYes?â
âYou still have the Dragon Bone, right?â
âWhat?â
âThe Dragon Bone that the Bone Dragons dropped.â
Eder had bought Eclipseâs Scythe, the Immortal Monarchâs Clothes set, etc. from the auction, but had also bought the Dragon Bone too.
âAh, yes. I have it.â
âI want to borrow it!â
âIâm sorry?â
âI want you to lend it to me. Dragon Bone is a rare material. If the dwarves see the adamantium and the Dragon Bone, then theyâll be a lot happier.â