/
3.
We were ready to enter the next floor.
In the last stage, everyone had successfully completed their quests, which made it difficult to determine who would be eliminated. But one of our companions chose to withdraw on their own.
“If you have to pick someone no matter what, then pick me.”
The person who lifted their hand was the Crusader.
When I considered protesting against her choice, the Crusader shook her head.
“It’s fine. One of us has to head down to the first floor to set up Black Knight anyway. And I don’t feel comfortable leaving the Civil Militia for so long. Also, I’ll say this now… I don’t want the mermaids to become the hegemon of the continent. It’s enough for me as long as they can live peacefully.”
This was just like her, who would donate most of her income to an orphanage.
“Hmph.”
The Black Dragon Master seemed to think differently.
“Is that really the reason?”
“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Is it just that? I think you’re just starting to feel lonely.”
The Black Dragon Master smiled like a cheshire cat.
“In any case, I’ll leave the establishment of Black Knight to you. If any of my guild members try to bother you, just tell them [the cafe run by the witch in the semi basement(1) located in the alley after the three way intersection]. When they ask what the menu is, say [pumpkin latte with no ice].”
“Is that the Black Dragon’s secret code?”
“Mhm, for this month. It shouldn’t have been updated yet.”
“Your tastes are still as unique as ever….”
The Crusader shot a bitter smile at me.
“Sorry for leaving the attack team first, Death King. To make up for it, I will lay the foundation of the guild well. On the day you return after clearing the 40th floor, everything will be ready for you.”
“Umm. If you’re really sorry, then could you do me a favor?”
“Of course. Tell me.”
“When this attack is over, please teach me music.”
The Crusader’s eyebrows rose and she let out a soft ‘ah’.
“So that’s what it was. Do you want to play it for Princess Ivansia?”
“Yeah. When I confessed to Raviel, I promised that I’d learn to play music.”
“Great. Jazz is love.”
The Crusader smiled as if that made her feel much better.
“Since you’re such a romantic lover, you’ll definitely need to learn to play music. I’m not very good at teaching others, but I’ll do my best.”
“Then I’ll be in your care, teacher.”
“Mm.”
We shook hands.
“I’ll leave it to you, Gong-ja.”
With a smile, the Crusader disappeared in a flash of light.
[The Crusader has been eliminated from this stage!]
[The Lady Who Walks Through the Mirage settles the points.]
[You have received 1510 race points!]
[You currently have 7112 race points.]
The Crusader’s points were distributed to the rest of the group.
Since the races were basically our children, these points could be called child support.
So it would be better for me to use these points not just to help the goblins, but all the races.
‘However, the safety of the race isn’t that urgent right now.’
I clenched my fist.
There was a child who had waited hundreds of years to meet me.
‘Wait for me, Uburka.’
White light engulfed my vision as we moved to the 35th floor.
‘Daddy is coming!’
4.
Right after entering the era of the 35th floor.
I begged the Black Dragon Master to help me.
“Hurry! We have to go to the highest mountain on this continent!”
“You really… you’re not treating me like a taxi are you?”
“I will always respect you from the bottom of my heart!”
“You didn’t even deny it….”
With a sigh, the Black Dragon Master agreed to my request. It was much faster to use the Black Dragon Master’s [Instant Transfer] than to wander around as a mental body.
“Is that it?”
After crossing the sky for a long time while using the clouds as stepping stones, we finally arrived above a mountain range. The High Mountains. The deeper we went in the mountain range, the white the peaks became.
“……I think this is higher than the Himalayas.”
The Black Dragon Master looked at the mountain range with a solemn expression.
“Just looking at it makes me shiver. Hey, are you sure your apostle is here? That doesn’t make sense.”
“The Lady showed it to me in an illusion.”
This was definitely the place.
I looked around.
“He must be nearby….”
Suddenly, I had an ominous feeling.
There was a 150 year gap between this stage and the previous stage.
Maybe Uburka hadn’t managed to survive those 150 years.
“…….”
My heart began to ache. If that was true, then it would mean that I had missed my last chance to reunite with Uburka.
Clench.
When I thought about Uburka, who had endured this solitude for more than 200 years, I subconsciously clenched my teeth.
‘……it’s alright.’
I instinctively lifted my hand to my shirt.
In my chest pocket was a handkerchief that carried the scent of a blue rose.
0
‘Even if you’re gone, I’ll bring you back.’
We landed on the highest peak. As I searched the peak carefully, I contemplated how I would get Raviel’s permission to return.
I stretched my aura as far as I could, but I couldn’t sense any signs of life.
“Death King.”
However, something caught my eye.
“There…….”
In the direction the Black Dragon Master was pointing, a mummy sat cross-legged on the ground.
“…….”
My breathing stopped.
The mummy was completely dry and it looked like nothing but a shell.
Like the corpse of a cicada that died and fell on the ground.
I couldn’t feel any signs of life from the mummy.
‘I was late.’
My chest tightened.
‘I was too late.’
The mummy’s face was severely wrinkled, but I could still feel Uburka’s traces.
His expression was calm.
The heavy winds blew his hair.
I couldn’t even shed a tear when I looked at the face that seemed to have cast aside all the troubles of the world.
‘Sorry….’
Just as I stretched out a hand to touch the mummy.
“Daddy?”
A familiar sound entered my ears.
I stopped stretched and turned my head.
“Ugor.”
It was a voice that seemed to have experienced all the vicissitudes of life.
The voice, which seemed like it would burst into laughter at any moment, flowed across the snowy mountain and entered my ears.
“It’s really you, Daddy.”
Uburka stood tall in the pure white snow.
The rugged mountain range continued to stretch over this child’s shoulder.
Since this was the highest point in this world, there was no one else who could share this atmosphere with us.
“U-,”
I opened my mouth.
“Uburka……?”
“You’re finally here. It’s been roughly 365 years and seven months, Daddy. You even brought someone I’ve never seen before with you.”
“Oh my God.”
I looked back and forth between Uburka and the mummy as if I’d seen a ghost.
“Wh-, what happened? When I saw this mummy, I thought you died….”
“Ah. You mean this?”
Uburka walked towards the mummy with an indifferent expression.
“It’s a corpse, but also not a corpse. After all, in order for caterpillars to become butterflies, they have to first endure the prison-like cocoon. This is my cocoon.”
Uburka stretched out his hand and tapped the mummy with a finger.
Then, the mummy seemed to lose its support and collapsed.
My mouth fell open when I saw it collapse like a bag of skin onto the snow.
“S, skin…?”
“After immersing myself in meditation for 60 days, I reached enlightenment. Ugor. At that time, a dream-like landscape appeared in front of me, and as soon as I stepped into it, I began living the dream.”
Uburka was talking about something I’d never heard about before.
“In that dream, I was born into a prestigious warrior family. However, I was born with a constitution that made it impossible for me to practice martial arts. Even though I was the eldest son, I was scorned and ignored for not being able to use aura. Ugor. In the end, I was able to win the position of family head through politics and schemes.”
“Th-, that’s a very detailed dream.”
“I think that was probably my previous life. Because of my weak body, I fell ill at the age of 26 and died. When I woke up from the dream, my original body cracked like a shell.”
Uburka smiled brightly, revealing his fangs.
“Originally, I’d planned to keep it as a souvenir, but it doesn’t matter now that Daddy has returned. I want the joy of our meeting to be the only evidence of my wait. Seeing you again has already filled me with joy.”
“Uburka…….”
The tip of my nose stung.
This child had grown up so beautifully.
“Death King.”
The Black Dragon Master tapped my shoulder.
“As heartwarming as your little show is, haven’t you noticed something strange?”
“Huh?”
“We aren’t using any items right now.”
The Black Dragon Master’s gaze was solemn as she looked at Uburka.
“We’re not using [Animal Possession] or [Person Possession]. We’re still in our mental forms, so the natives of this world shouldn’t be able to see us. So how can this kid see us so easily?”
Ah.
It was only then that I realized this.
‘How can he do it?’
No one should be able to see us in our mental forms. This was something that we’d proven countless times in the 31st to 34th floors. However, Uburka talked to me as if it was natural, and had even noticed the Black Dragon Master as well.
More importantly.
‘I definitely searched the surroundings with my aura and didn’t find any signs of life.’
It was bizarre.
I looked into Uburka’s eyes.
“Uburka, how can you do it…….”
“Ugor.”
Uburka stretched his neck a few times.
The sounds of his bones popping resounded.
“After reaching enlightenment and breaking free from my present life, I began to see things I’d never seen before. I saw the ultimate truth about the world. And by recognizing the truth of the world, I became a being that was comparable to the world.”
“Uhh.”
I wasn’t sure what this child was talking about.
My brain has a habit of going blank whenever I hear something I don’t understand. I didn’t understand anything that Uburka was saying.
“Hey. What are you talking about?”
“To put it simply, this is what I mean, Daddy”
Uburka then snapped his fingers.
[The Constellation ‘The Musclehead Who Dreams of Sinning Against Heaven’ is looking at you.](TL: In chapter 175, Gong-ja told Uburka that attacking him was a sin against heaven)
What?
[The Constellation ‘The Musclehead Who Dreams of Sinning Against Heaven’ is delighted to be reunited with you!]
Oh my God.
I stared blankly at Uburka.
I felt like someone had hit me in the back of the head with a shovel.
“Y-, you…….”
“There are many mysterious principles in the universe.”
The smile on Uburka’s lips continued to grow larger as he looked at me.
“Seeing Daddy’s lost expression, I can’t help but feel that all my hard work has paid off. How is it? As far as I know, there is no other being in this world that has or will reach a higher level than me. I have become the strongest warrior of all time both in name and in reality..”
“No…….”
I couldn’t believe that a hobgoblin had ascended to become a Constellation.
I knew he was a genius, but I didn’t think it would be this exaggerated.
“By the way, Daddy.”
My son, who had become a constellation, let out a hearty laugh.
“We can have our conversation later. Today is the day Daddy and I finally got to meet again. Don’t you think we should resolve the regrets of the past 350 years first?”
“A-, ahh. Right. Yeah, you’re right.”
Although it hadn’t been that long from my perspective, for Uburka, it was an incredibly long time.
The joy that parents and children felt when meeting each other after a long time was much better expressed through gestures, not through talking.
I opened my arms wide.
“Come, Uburka. Although I’m much smaller than you, Daddy will gladly give you a hug…….”
“Ugor. Then I won’t hold back.”
[The Constellation ‘The Musclehead Who Dreams of Sinning Against Heaven’ is requesting to duel you!]
Huh?
“Get ready, Daddy.”
Uburka clenched both of his fists.
“I… have been looking forward to this day for a long time!”
And charged towards me.
The mountain range shook with every one of Uburka’s steps. The snow atop the highest peak collapsed and poured down, and the heavy winds reversed and soared into the sky.
“W-, wait a minute, son. Wait a min-.”
“350 years ago, I suffered an unexpected defeat, but today will be different!”
Uburka sent forth a punch.
[The Constellation ‘The Musclehead Who Dreams of Sinning Against Heaven’ lets out a roar.]
At that moment, the sky began to shake.