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Officially Opened! (1)
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Bizarre occurrences suddenly happened one after the other on the continent. The continent was already in chaos and confusion upon hearing the news about the dimensional crack and the monster wave in the Northeast.
However, they expected the confusion to subside since the Northeast had overcome its crisis and the Emperor even personally went to visit them. In fact, the Emperor even planned an official party to announce the end of the Empire's crisis just to invite the heroes that the Empire had hailed as new stars, who fought and showed exceptional performances during the monster wave, to the capital.
However, the Emperor's ambitious plan collapsed even before it began.
'The Divine Nation's saintess has received a divine revelation!'
A shocking news hit the capital. The saintess had received God's divine revelation after not answering them for a long time.
The scholars were not pleased with this fact. They knew that a crisis always came after God had given his revelations. And the possibility of a crisis happening this time as well was extremely high.
The impact of the saintess' declaration was tremendous. It was as if, it wanted to prove the accuracy of the scholar's hypothesis and judgement.
[ God has spoken.
In the future, the continent will undergo great sufferings.
Special beings will come to this land so the continent can withstand the sufferings.
Their looks might be exotic compared to the natives, but they carry special abilities.
Help them and save the continent together. ]
The content of God's divine revelation spread quickly to all countries after the saintess had recited it.
Not long after, people who spoke and dressed strangely appeared one after the other all over the continent.
At first, the natives thought that they were just foreigners from another continent but they soon realized that it wasn't the case at all.
"A person from another world has appeared!"
"Ho? Not another continent? They're really from another world?"
"How can this be... Is God's revelation really coming true?"
Confusion once again descended as the citizens raised a commotion.
Just like God had predicted, special people had started to appear one by one. This meant that they would definitely be experiencing sufferings in the near future.
All kinds of religion including those who studied death and the afterlife appeared and predicted the destruction of the continent. Even the forces that were dissatisfied with the Empire began to rise one by one.
Before the country could fall into chaos and sufferings, the Empire and the aristocrats started to move busily. Since the special people had appeared just like they had predicted, they tried to start recruiting them one by one. After all, the more other-worlders they recruited, the stronger their power would become.
Those who had noticed this early on tried to entice them with sweet words. They wanted to use this opportunity to catch and tie down these people while believing that these other-worlders were still unaware and new to this world. However, contrary to their expectations, the other-worlders weren't that naive. They even knew this world surprisingly well. Because of this, the nobles and the opportunists failed to recruit them. Eventually, the other-worlders gathered together and united in a single front.
With the capital fraught in confusion and chaos, the party that the Emperor wanted to hold was inevitably postponed. The Emperor was a great opportunist and he knew that the interest of the citizens of the Empire would pay little to no heed if he held the party now. After all, they were all enamored and focusing their attention on the other-worlders.
The Northeasterners were, of course, disappointed. Since the party was postponed, the day when they were officially bestowed a noble title was also postponed.
"Hoo... I'm going crazy."
While many soldiers were filled with regret about the postponed party, Iron was troubled by something else.
Ever since he returned to the past, he knew that the official opening would come. However, he couldn't help but deeply worry. The events that were currently happening were completely different from what he had initially expected to happen.
"Fusion... what do you mean by fused together!"
Iron mumbled to himself as he recalled the notification about the official opening a few days ago.
― With the game's official opening, Lee Junghoo-nim's original body and Jaiden Leonhardt's body will be fused together.
When he first heard this notification, he thought that he had gone crazy for a moment to the point that he was hallucinating.
But the notification that followed completely dashed his hopes...
― Because you were the last survivor during the Beta Test, you will be able to receive a privilege. You can return to your original body once the main quest is completed.
― Your original body and soul have fused together. Your suppressed talent for divine power has now increased to the maximum.
― Some of Lee Junghoo's latent and slumbering talents have been awakened.
The fusion of Iron's body and Lee Junghoo's body had destroyed the last insurance that his real body would survive in his real world. He believed that it wouldn't matter whether he died here or not since his body was still, in fact, existing out there.
In fact, it wasn't that much of a shock if his original body had died since he was in a car accident before he came here but the shock that this 'life' that he was living with this body had become his reality was still quite considerable.
"But I still managed to survive."
He was also amazed by the fact that his current body was now fused with his original body. This meant that his original body was still able to survive. When he realized that he was in an accident, he already resigned himself to his fate. He accepted the fact that he would inevitably face his death.
But my body still survived until now.
'A contract between God and me.'
This was the reason why he was still alive.
He did not know if it was God's rewards or the perks of fusing his current and original body together, but the memory of the body, which his soul had escaped from, flowed in during the fusion process. Even though it was just a brief glance, he could see how time flew in his original world while he was busy rolling around in this place.
Two years.
That was the time that passed by in his original world while he was rolling around and working hard for 10 years in this place. The problem was that his original modern world had undergone tremendous transformations during those short two years.
― We are giving temporary rewards to Lee Junghoo-nim's body for completing the Beta Test.
This sentence did not make any sense when he first glanced at it since he had already received his rewards.
However, he thought that there was a point in them giving him another set of rewards. The rewards that he had received were only from the God of the Auzria Continent. And the rewards that his body received were given by the Earth's God. If he thought about it this way, then it would definitely make sense.
This hypothesis also made sense because of the other-worlders' performances.
The other-worlders had their own abilities and considerable proficiency as soon as they moved to this world even before the official opening. But they came here with something new and they were learning quickly and shining brightly with their new abilities. This meant that the two Gods gave different rewards and abilities.
However, this was all the information that he currently had. Since he was confined in the hospital for the entirety of those two years in his real world, he did not know how much had changed and how much their powers had blossomed after the beta test.
To confirm their strength, he needed to meet these modern people that were now being called other-worlders. But this was dangerous. These modern people had entered the game with their original bodies but he had completely become Jaiden Leonhardt right now. He was sure that the other beta testers would find it difficult to identify him as one of the modern people.
With such a complicated situation, it would be extremely difficult and dangerous for him to tell them about his current situation.
"Should I go to the capital?"
The hottest place for the other-worlders right now was the capital. He did not know the exact situation in that place but they were in complete chaos and confusion. And since the power of the Imperial Family was becoming unstable, the nobles and aristocrats had begun to form factions. The situation was already chaotic in and of itself but the other-worlders even appeared and joined the fray.
'These other-worlders, with their unique and innate abilities, appeared just in time.'
'People armed with modern knowledge.'
'And those who have participated in the beta test have additional information.'
Their knowledge and skills could be used to take advantage of the current situation. But the beta testers did not come in droves. From the rumors that he had heard here in the Northeast, there were already enough people to exceed a 10,000-man army. But seeing that they still continued to appear one by one, he could tell that they would continue to appear and move in this place. They also did not come as a spirit or a parasite on another person's body, they came with their own original body. So of course, the people of the continent would see them as someone mysterious.
'What in the world happened...'
Iron tried to think and deduce about what happened but all he could do was frown. He couldn't find anything anymore because of the limited information that he had his hands on.
"Why are you so serious?"
Iron continued to have this solemn expression on his face. And it seemed like Lintel couldn't bear to see him like that anymore as he approached him and asked.
"Is it because you can't go to the capital?"
"Definitely not."
Iron answered firmly while shaking his head when he heard Lintel's question.
Lintel titled his head when he saw Iron answering him quickly and firmly. Seeing his reaction, Lintel knew that he was not feeling any regret that he wouldn't get a noble title. However, he couldn't understand why his expression was so solemn.
"Is it because of the saintess' revelation?"
"Uhm... That's right."
It wasn't entirely unrelated since the saintess' revelation was also related to the God Game.
"Other-worlders have appeared, right? I want to see them once too."
Lintel spoke about this as he thought about the other-worlders that appeared all over the continent.
Strangely enough, no other-worlder appeared in the Northeast. They mainly appeared in the Empire's capital as well as other kingdom's capital and dangerous areas of the continent. However, the only exception was the Northeast.
"Why aren't they showing up here?"
"Beats me..."
Iron answered vaguely when Lintel asked him.
To be honest, Iron thought that there would at least be a few people that would appear here. After all, the monster wave was still ongoing and the dimensional crack was still not yet closed.
"Maybe this means that our biggest crisis is over?"
"Is that so?"
Lintel tilted his head at Iron's words.
"Maybe... the more they gather in a place, the more likely it is to become a dangerous area."
"Hmm... That makes sense."
Lintel rubbed his chin in thought.
It seemed like it truly could be seen that way. Just like what the saintess had said, the other-worlders came to this world to help the citizens of this continent. If that was the case, then it was more than natural for them to deploy more other-worlders in dangerous areas.
"But why do you look like you're tangled?"
"Yes?"
"Your face looks like you have a mess in that head of yours."
Iron went silent upon hearing Lintel's words.
"When you have a lot of thoughts, it's best to move your body."
After saying this, Lintel forced Iron out of his room and brought him out to practice in the training area. Lintel aimed to demolish and make Iron fall but Iron had received his attacks on reflex.
"Let's have a spar. We have never done something like this ever since you woke up."
"Ah... That seems to really be the case."
Perhaps it was because they thought that Iron's body had not recovered yet or maybe due to some other overlapping reasons, but they never sparred and fought against Iron after he woke up.
"Do everything you can. I don't care even if you used your divine beasts. I'll show you how much my body has grown while you were slumbering."
Lintel smiled broadly as he said so.
Iron silently raised his mana when he saw Lintel moving. Black mana slowly gathered in Iron's sword.
"It still takes some time?"
"Yes."
Although he had already entered the 5th Stage, he was still categorized as someone who had not fully entered the stage because he lacked enough skills.
In his previous life, Iron had also forced his sword and mana to take on the flame attribute but in the end, he couldn't take natural control of it. In terms of the state of his sword, he was already in a state that was beyond his previous life. He only needed some time to make it seamless.
"The divine beasts?"
"Sleeping."
Iron rubbed his chest while Lintel rubbed his chin.
"Hmm... So, you only have your sword?"
Iron grinned when Lintel looked at him with disappointment.
"Just because my divine beasts are asleep does not mean that I can't use their powers."
"Really?"
Lintel looked at Iron curiously.
"Please be careful. You might lose to me if you make a mistake."
"No way."
Iron increased his mana as he watched Lintel's proud and smug look. Seeing this, Lintel also increased his mana as he prepared to attack any time.
Iron's eyes began to shine as soon as he confirmed that Lintel was ready.
"Huh? That..."
A beam of light flashed from Iron's eyes as soon as Lintel exclaimed in shock.
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Officially Opened! (2)
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Thanks to his reflexes, Lintel was able to raise his sword in time to receive the two beams of light. However, despite being able to receive tha attack, he was still pushed back by the sheer force of the light.
"Keuk! What destructive power..."
Lintel's hands trembled and shook. Iron took the opportunity to approach him and struck his sword.
Clang!
Although Lintel's hands were still trembling, he was still able to block Iron's attack thanks to his extremely fast sword. However, the force in Iron's sword was far stronger than what he initially thought so he was pushed back despite being able to parry it well.
Lintel was forced to discard his relaxed and confident stance. He quickly pulled up his mana in earnest as he swung his sword towards Iron. His sword moved at a tremendous speed as if he wanted to show him the true essence of his sword.
"You can still parry this?"
Lintel's eyes widened in surprise when Iron successfully parried his attack. Iron's defense even remained solid and steady.
He knew that his sword was extremely fast. Even Carl Gustav had a difficult time blocking his sword if he gave it his all. So, Carl always limited Lintel's radius of action with his shockwaves to stop him from expressing his sword to its fullest capacity.
However, Iron was able to easily block his sword without taking any precaution.
"You got something while being sealed?"
He thought that Iron's swordsmanship skills would remain the same since he was stagnant for those two years but it did not seem to be the case at all. He wanted to go deeper in his thoughts but the current situation did not give him the leeway to do so.
Beams of light once again flashed from Iron's eyes. But this time, it did not come out in a straight line. The beams of light followed his every move. He was just turning his head towards Lintel's direction but in Lintel's point of view, his gaze was something that could kill. He needed to avoid it if he did not want to die.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
As if to prove that his jjambap was not gained in vain, Lintel dodged the beams of light as he let off one attack after another towards Iron. He was trying to force Iron to make a gap by attacking him in earnest. But Iron's defense was no joke.
Strangely enough, the spar between Lintel and his extremely quick sword and Iron with his shining eyes took longer than what they had expected.
"Heok... heok... What's with you?"
Lintel looked at Iron in exhaustion. Iron just smiled at him as he showed him the green light that shone on his body. Lintel looked appalled just by watching Iron recover his strength like a zombie coming back to the surface.
"It's Baepsae's abilities."
"Are you overflowing with mana?"
Iron smiled when Lintel asked him incredulously.
"Divine power and mana are different."
Lintel collapsed on the floor in exhaustion when he heard Iron's words.
In other words, his mana was his mana and his divine power was his divine power.
"Phew... If you fight like this, then you'll eventually take the win."
Lintel looked at Iron as he spoke.
He could see that Iron's swordsmanship skills were still a bit lagging when compared to him. He also knew that he could block those beams of lights, his divine beast's ability. But that was only if they were not combined together. Once they were used together in a fight, everything became tricky. It wasn't that he couldn't win, it was just that he couldn't win right away. Because of that, their fight dragged on until it became a battle of stamina. And while he continued to get tired, Iron remained as energetic as ever. This was the factor that determined the outcome of their fight.
"Except for the captain, everyone would have a hard time overpowering you."
"That's because you're weak."
Billie Brandt appeared behind them with a smirk gracing his lips. It was clear that he was mocking Lintel for losing. Billie Brandt rarely smiled, but whenever he smiled it was usually when Lintel lost. So, Iron, who was watching by the side, kept his mouth shut and his face straight.
"You already lost to our youngest? That's pathetic."
"Ha! Do you think you'll win?"
"That's a given."
Billie Brandt confidently said so as he waited for Iron to fully recover.
Receiving his eager and burdensome stare, Iron had no choice but to agree. He immediately gave up and agreed to spar with him as he quickly restored his mana and divine power.
Hearing the news of this event, a crowd began to gather and flock around them. The Ghosts and even the Rangers, who got close to them, came to watch. Even Carl Gustav appeared and personally agreed to become the referee of their match.
Carl Gustav turned to look sternly at Billie Brandt and Iron before raising his hand up.
"Start."
Billie Brandt moved as soon as Carl's hand went down.
His mana, which was compressed to the limit, flew towards Iron in a huge display of attack.
Billie took advantage of Iron's weakness to the fullest. He knew that he couldn't convert his mana into steel mana as quickly as he wanted to yet so he used the opportunity to get a win.
"Boooo! You coward!"
"I can't believe such a guy is 2nd in rankings!"
"You play dirty!"
Despite the rain of curses, Billie Brandt just continued to move and send his attacks.
He was still not at the 6th Stage yet so he was still unable to attack at a high speed and reduce the process of converting and compressing his mana to his own attribute as of yet. However, he could still easily take advantage of Iron's weakness with his nimble attacks. He did not even give Iron any time to breathe as he continued to lay his attacks one after the other.
Despite being able to avoid Billie Brandt's attacks, Iron still couldn't gain enough time to launch his own attack. What was worse was the fact that Billie Brandt's attack could fly towards him at any time. Everyone could clearly see that Billie Brand would be taking an easy win this time.
However, an unexpected attack suddenly flew in.
Shiiiiing!
"Keuk!"
"Yeah! That's it!"
Lintel laughed happily when he saw Billie Brandt getting hit by the beams of light that made him suffer from their spar earlier. He was feeling happy that Billie was also getting beaten the same way he got beaten earlier.
And along with Lintel's shouts, the Ghosts, who were usually beaten by Billie Brandt, also shouted loudly.
"Beat him up well!"
"Keuhahaha! Look at him rolling around!"
"Kekeke! It feels nice to mock him for once."
Billie Brandt was flustered at the sudden unexpected attack. All he could do was roll all over the ground to avoid the consecutive attacks of the beams of light that came from Iron's eyes. And the Ghosts that watched this were laughing wholeheartedly.
Before they knew it, Billie Brandt was already covered in dirt. Billie stood up while gritting his teeth in annoyance.
Meanwhile, Iron flew in and directly attacked him with his steel mana sword. Just like what Billie Brandt did earlier, Iron was also pushing forward as hard as he could. He did not want to miss this gap and lose his chance of winning.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Billie Brandt parried Iron's attacks. He knew that Iron was trying to take advantage of his momentary fluster to close the gap and fight him at close quarters. So, he quickly jumped back and widened the distance between them.
But, without missing a beat, another beam of light flew from Iron's eyes. Iron also supplemented this attack with his sword as he struck again and again to put pressure on Billie Brandt.
In the end, it was Billie Brandt who got tired during their fight.
"You..."
Billie Brandt's eyes widened when he saw that Iron was still fine and energetic despite constantly fighting against him.
"Fufufufu~ You look like you ate some shit after suffering?"
Lintel teased Billie Brandt, but the other Ghosts couldn't laugh at all. This was because they had realized that they could also be beaten like that after watching the fight between Iron and Billie Brandt.
Despite Iron's inexperience, the rest of them knew that they would not be able to overpower someone who could easily reinforce and restore their mana and vitality. Once the fight dragged on, it would be them who would lose. There were even those deathly beams of light that flew out every once in a while.
"Ha..."
Billie Brandt looked at Iron in exhaustion.
If they were fighting with their lives on the line, he might have a chance of winning especially with his experience. After all, variables always happened during those desperate battles. However, he knew that winning against him during a spar was nigh impossible. In addition, as time flew by, he would get used to the 5th Stage and would make it even harder to win against him.
"Did you catch up already?"
Billie Brandt had a bitter look on his face as he asked Iron.
He thought that he would still have enough time left despite Iron reaching the 5th Stage already. They weren't in the same state so he thought that he still needed a lot of time to reach their levels but it seemed like it was not the case at all. Iron was strong even without his divine beasts.
Billie Brandt finally admitted his defeat as he asked Iron for a handshake. After shaking hands with Billie, Iron felt shy after hearing his comrades' cheers and congratulations.
"By the way, what happened to your divine beasts?"
Carl Gustav asked Iron curiously.
"Due to the seal's aftermath... they're still asleep."
"That... But can you really use that much power even though they're asleep?"
"I think this was possible because I got closer with the divine beasts."
Carl Gustav nodded at Iron although he looked a bit regretful. He thought that he wouldn't be able to have fun if the divine beasts weren't here if they fought. Of course, he knew that it was not possible for him to fight against Two Moons, let alone phoenix, but the stronger his opponents were the more his desire for a challenge was stimulated.
It was unknown whether the other Ghosts had the same intentions as Carl Gustav but they all looked disappointed too.
"Do you know when they'll wake up?"
"I don't know yet. In phoenix's case, it took a long time to clean up the dimensional crack so it would take a long time for it to wake up. And for Two Moons, fighting against the witch and being sealed with me overspent its strength so I think it would still take a long time before it woke up..."
"What a pity."
Carl Gustav placed his hands on Iron's shoulder as if he was really disappointed.
"So, I have to undo this regret and relieve it with you."
" ...Yes?"
Carl Gustav smiled at Iron when he saw him staring at him blankly. It seemed like the boy did not realize his intentions.
"You fought pretty well earlier. But... I don't think your swordsmanship skills are good enough... So, from today onwards, I will personally watch you and train your swordsmanship skills."
"Huh... You don't have to do that..."
"I feel responsible as the head of the Ghosts. So, as soon as you recover your mana, you'll fight me."
Iron's expression hardened when he heard Carl Gustav's words.
I barely won against a full-pledged 5th Stage, but you want me to confront Carl Gustav himself?!
This was like telling him to go and die by himself.
And just like what he expected, Iron was beaten like crazy during his spar with Carl Gustav.
There was a huge gap between the 6th Stage and the 5th Stage that could never be overcome by any power.
Unlike those on the 5th Stage who still took time before they could fully use their abilities, the 6th Stage would have shockwaves at each and every swing of their sword. This was not something that he could easily cope against. In addition, he did not have enough time to recover his stamina and mana using his divine power due to the severity of the attacks.
Carl Gustav smiled as he beat Iron here and there for the first time. He couldn't help but smile proudly as the boy endured with his steel mana and persistently stood up using his mana and stamina recovery ability.
Because of this, the people watching in the surroundings cheered for Iron. They shouted loudly as if they were having fun watching this unilateral beating. They kept on shouting, hoping that he could hang in there longer just so he could get beaten longer too.
"Iron! Are you only at this level?"
"Hey! It's only been 30 minutes."
"You should endure it a bit more! Shouldn't you at least let the captain eat one attack from your mana sword?"
With the Ghosts' support, the hell-like beating under the guise of a spar ended after his body was stretched to its limit. They only stopped an hour after since Iron's body was already spent and exhausted.
"Hoo... It's been a long time since I've warmed up this well."
Carl Gustav looked at Iron in satisfaction.
"From now on, I will take responsibility for you and guide you well."
Iron did not know whether he was satisfied that he worked his hands after a long time but he only disappeared after giving Iron a gaze full of desire to guide him.
The Ghosts gathered to comfort Iron after hearing that he was scheduled to undergo a hellish spar with Carl Gustav every day. Of course, Iron just glared at the Ghosts. After all, they were smiling and laughing while he was being beaten like a dog.
The next day, during their first day of spar. Carl Gustav took his time to train and coach Iron. Iron thought that it was just empty words but he really did take the time to guide him well.
Carl's training routine was simple. He pushed him hard in order to make Iron focus deeply and convert his mana faster into his steel mana. It was just that Carl kept on saying that it was guidance but Iron was in fact just getting beaten like some sort of punching bag.
However, it was not without merits. The more he got beaten, the faster his mana conversion progressed. And his body started to react naturally. His mana did not fit well before but he could now instinctively convert it. His mana efficiency and management also progressed and accelerated.
In order for him to cope and withstand Carl Gustav's insane shock waves, his body in and of itself adjusted and adapted from his mana, to his physical body down to his swordsmanship skills. All of them began to develop one by one. And the more Iron got used to this feeling the quicker his strength increased. However, it was still hard for him to endure the pain of getting beaten up everyday.
One day, he couldn't endure it and asked Carl Gustav when his suffering would end. Carl said that they would only part ways once he rose to the average level. Iron felt desperate when he heard those words. He felt like he would be in trouble for a few months at the least.
Perhaps God felt sorry for Iron?
An incident suddenly occurred that stopped Carl Gustav's insane guidance.
"What's the problem?"
Lintel asked Carl after he and the other Ghosts were called in from their own training. Hearing Lintel's question, Carl spoke with a solemn look.
"A dimensional crack has opened... in the Center."
Strangely enough, the spar between Lintel and his extremely quick sword and Iron with his shining eyes took longer than what they had expected.
"Heok... heok... What's with you?"
Lintel looked at Iron in exhaustion. Iron just smiled at him as he showed him the green light that shone on his body. Lintel looked appalled just by watching Iron recover his strength like a zombie coming back to the surface.
"It's Baepsae's abilities."
"Are you overflowing with mana?"
Iron smiled when Lintel asked him incredulously.
"Divine power and mana are different."
Lintel collapsed on the floor in exhaustion when he heard Iron's words.
In other words, his mana was his mana and his divine power was his divine power.
"Phew... If you fight like this, then you'll eventually take the win."
Lintel looked at Iron as he spoke.
He could see that Iron's swordsmanship skills were still a bit lagging when compared to him. He also knew that he could block those beams of lights, his divine beast's ability. But that was only if they were not combined together. Once they were used together in a fight, everything became tricky. It wasn't that he couldn't win, it was just that he couldn't win right away. Because of that, their fight dragged on until it became a battle of stamina. And while he continued to get tired, Iron remained as energetic as ever. This was the factor that determined the outcome of their fight.
"Except for the captain, everyone would have a hard time overpowering you."
"That's because you're weak."
Billie Brandt appeared behind them with a smirk gracing his lips. It was clear that he was mocking Lintel for losing. Billie Brandt rarely smiled, but whenever he smiled it was usually when Lintel lost. So, Iron, who was watching by the side, kept his mouth shut and his face straight.
"You already lost to our youngest? That's pathetic."
"Ha! Do you think you'll win?"
"That's a given."
Billie Brandt confidently said so as he waited for Iron to fully recover.
Receiving his eager and burdensome stare, Iron had no choice but to agree. He immediately gave up and agreed to spar with him as he quickly restored his mana and divine power.
Hearing the news of this event, a crowd began to gather and flock around them. The Ghosts and even the Rangers, who got close to them, came to watch. Even Carl Gustav appeared and personally agreed to become the referee of their match.
Carl Gustav turned to look sternly at Billie Brandt and Iron before raising his hand up.
"Start."
Billie Brandt moved as soon as Carl's hand went down.
His mana, which was compressed to the limit, flew towards Iron in a huge display of attack.
Billie took advantage of Iron's weakness to the fullest. He knew that he couldn't convert his mana into steel mana as quickly as he wanted to yet so he used the opportunity to get a win.
"Boooo! You coward!"
"I can't believe such a guy is 2nd in rankings!"
"You play dirty!"
Despite the rain of curses, Billie Brandt just continued to move and send his attacks.
He was still not at the 6th Stage yet so he was still unable to attack at a high speed and reduce the process of converting and compressing his mana to his own attribute as of yet. However, he could still easily take advantage of Iron's weakness with his nimble attacks. He did not even give Iron any time to breathe as he continued to lay his attacks one after the other.
Despite being able to avoid Billie Brandt's attacks, Iron still couldn't gain enough time to launch his own attack. What was worse was the fact that Billie Brandt's attack could fly towards him at any time. Everyone could clearly see that Billie Brand would be taking an easy win this time.
However, an unexpected attack suddenly flew in.
Shiiiiing!
"Keuk!"
"Yeah! That's it!"
Lintel laughed happily when he saw Billie Brandt getting hit by the beams of light that made him suffer from their spar earlier. He was feeling happy that Billie was also getting beaten the same way he got beaten earlier.
And along with Lintel's shouts, the Ghosts, who were usually beaten by Billie Brandt, also shouted loudly.
"Beat him up well!"
"Keuhahaha! Look at him rolling around!"
"Kekeke! It feels nice to mock him for once."
Billie Brandt was flustered at the sudden unexpected attack. All he could do was roll all over the ground to avoid the consecutive attacks of the beams of light that came from Iron's eyes. And the Ghosts that watched this were laughing wholeheartedly.
Before they knew it, Billie Brandt was already covered in dirt. Billie stood up while gritting his teeth in annoyance.
Meanwhile, Iron flew in and directly attacked him with his steel mana sword. Just like what Billie Brandt did earlier, Iron was also pushing forward as hard as he could. He did not want to miss this gap and lose his chance of winning.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Billie Brandt parried Iron's attacks. He knew that Iron was trying to take advantage of his momentary fluster to close the gap and fight him at close quarters. So, he quickly jumped back and widened the distance between them.
But, without missing a beat, another beam of light flew from Iron's eyes. Iron also supplemented this attack with his sword as he struck again and again to put pressure on Billie Brandt.
In the end, it was Billie Brandt who got tired during their fight.
"You..."
Billie Brandt's eyes widened when he saw that Iron was still fine and energetic despite constantly fighting against him.
"Fufufufu~ You look like you ate some shit after suffering?"
Lintel teased Billie Brandt, but the other Ghosts couldn't laugh at all. This was because they had realized that they could also be beaten like that after watching the fight between Iron and Billie Brandt.
Despite Iron's inexperience, the rest of them knew that they would not be able to overpower someone who could easily reinforce and restore their mana and vitality. Once the fight dragged on, it would be them who would lose. There were even those deathly beams of light that flew out every once in a while.
"Ha..."
Billie Brandt looked at Iron in exhaustion.
If they were fighting with their lives on the line, he might have a chance of winning especially with his experience. After all, variables always happened during those desperate battles. However, he knew that winning against him during a spar was nigh impossible. In addition, as time flew by, he would get used to the 5th Stage and would make it even harder to win against him.
"Did you catch up already?"
Billie Brandt had a bitter look on his face as he asked Iron.
He thought that he would still have enough time left despite Iron reaching the 5th Stage already. They weren't in the same state so he thought that he still needed a lot of time to reach their levels but it seemed like it was not the case at all. Iron was strong even without his divine beasts.
Billie Brandt finally admitted his defeat as he asked Iron for a handshake. After shaking hands with Billie, Iron felt shy after hearing his comrades' cheers and congratulations.
"By the way, what happened to your divine beasts?"
Carl Gustav asked Iron curiously.
"Due to the seal's aftermath... they're still asleep."
"That... But can you really use that much power even though they're asleep?"
"I think this was possible because I got closer with the divine beasts."
Carl Gustav nodded at Iron although he looked a bit regretful. He thought that he wouldn't be able to have fun if the divine beasts weren't here if they fought. Of course, he knew that it was not possible for him to fight against Two Moons, let alone phoenix, but the stronger his opponents were the more his desire for a challenge was stimulated.
It was unknown whether the other Ghosts had the same intentions as Carl Gustav but they all looked disappointed too.
"Do you know when they'll wake up?"
"I don't know yet. In phoenix's case, it took a long time to clean up the dimensional crack so it would take a long time for it to wake up. And for Two Moons, fighting against the witch and being sealed with me overspent its strength so I think it would still take a long time before it woke up..."
"What a pity."
Carl Gustav placed his hands on Iron's shoulder as if he was really disappointed.
"So, I have to undo this regret and relieve it with you."
" ...Yes?"
Carl Gustav smiled at Iron when he saw him staring at him blankly. It seemed like the boy did not realize his intentions.
"You fought pretty well earlier. But... I don't think your swordsmanship skills are good enough... So, from today onwards, I will personally watch you and train your swordsmanship skills."
"Huh... You don't have to do that..."
"I feel responsible as the head of the Ghosts. So, as soon as you recover your mana, you'll fight me."
Iron's expression hardened when he heard Carl Gustav's words.
I barely won against a full-pledged 5th Stage, but you want me to confront Carl Gustav himself?!
This was like telling him to go and die by himself.
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Officially Opened! (3)
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The Ghosts' expressions hardened when they heard Carl Gustav's words.
They couldn't believe his words. After all, there was nothing in the newspaper or the other information media that talked about this topic. If this was true, then the headlines were not enough to discuss this catastrophic event. However, strangely enough, everything had been quiet.
Carl Gustav sighed as he spoke amidst the strange expression of the Ghosts.
"Hooo... This fact is something that is yet to be known outside."
Their brows furrowed at Carl's explanation.
This meant that the government was firmly controlling the fact that a dimensional crack had opened in the Center. In other words, they were hiding the fact that the Empire's Center was not safe and that they were in full chaos.
What would happen if the Center was in danger while dimensional cracks were still opened in the Northeast? The only conclusion that the masses would make was that the entire Empire was in danger.
"Is there only one dimensional crack?"
"...No. There are three places that have been discovered to have dimensional cracks."
Carl had a troubled look on his face while he answered Iron's question.
"What's the size?"
"Fortunately, they aren't as big as the ones in the Northeast. Furthermore, we believe that the dimensional cracks are still not yet completely open."
"Are you saying that they are incomplete?"
Lintel tilted his head in confusion when he heard Carl's answer.
"No. We don't think that's the case either."
Everyone now had their heads tilted in thought as they listened to Carl's answer.
If it's not incomplete, then how come it's not completely opened?
While everyone was busy staring at Carl in doubt, Iron looked like he had already guessed something. It was something that he had also seen in his previous life.
"Are they temporarily opened?"
Carl nodded his head when he heard Iron's mumbles.
"That's right. The wizards said that the dimensional cracks staying for a long time was a highly unlikely possibility. However, even though it was temporary, the size of the crack was still quite large."
"That's even possible?"
Lintel asked. It seemed like he couldn't understand how such a thing was possible.
"It's possible."
"How?"
Lintel's expression was strange as he continued to ask.
"It's possible to open up a temporary crack if you forcibly tear up the space with an enormous force."
If the objective was just creating a dimensional crack and not connecting the dimensions, then it was more than possible to tear up the space with an enormous force. Using force and without any medium could only allow them to maintain a temporary dimensional crack.
The problem was how they got the enormous power to tear up the space like that.
"Where did they even get that enormous power? Even grandmasters could only split the space for a split second before reaching their limits, right?"
In reality, creating a dimensional crack alone was a feat that was next to impossible. Take the witch as an example. She had taken a long time to open a dimensional crack and that was with the help of a medium and at the expense of her entire being. If there were no divine beasts to use for a medium, they would usually use mana cores. But despite the use of mana cores in the creation of the cracks in the Frost Mountain Ranges and the Historical Great Rift, the sizes of the created dimensional cracks still paled in comparison to the cracks in the Winter Mountains and the Black Forest. This just showed that it was extremely difficult to open and maintain dimensional cracks.
Most of them would give up since it was extremely difficult to open it let alone maintain it. After all, there was a reason why there were so many evil forces that did not even toyed with the idea of opening a dimensional crack despite existing for a long period of time.
"If you pay the price, it's possible to temporarily tear up the space."
"Pay a price? To whom?"
"It's possible if it's with a divine being."
Iron's face turned solemn as he spoke.
If the God Game was a game between gods. Then, other beings would have definitely come over to this continent. It was only natural that they would pay a price to the gods if they wanted to open a dimensional crack.
Just like Lintel had said, it was impossible for a grandmaster to even open up a dimensional crack perfectly. So, Iron had no choice but to believe that a god had intervened. However, the other Ghosts did not know about that fact so Iron only mentioned about a divine being.
"It would be difficult to maintain for a long time since there's no medium. However, it's possible to temporarily tear up the space. And since it only gradually decreases the more you widen it, they would be able to maintain it for some time."
Carl nodded his head as if Iron's expression fit what he had been told.
"The wizards also said the same thing. However, there wasn't any divine being in their explanations. They just said that it was most likely to be someone in the demon king's level or a transcendent of an extremely high level."
Carl looked at Iron as he spoke. He could see that Iron had an expression that he was certain. Iron sighed when he saw Carl looking at him suspiciously.
"I heard it from the witch."
"The witch? Is she still alive?"
Iron shook his head at Carl's surprised reaction.
"She's dead."
Iron and the Ghosts had witnessed her death.
Her body and soul disappeared and became powder after she used all of her strength to open that dimensional crack, right?
"Well... She told me before she died. She said that she was feeling a bit fickle."
"Fickle... When?"
"While fighting with Owl and the Commander. But we talked only with our consciousness."
"Talk?"
The Ghosts were surprised to hear Iron's words. Once again, they realized how strong the witch was for her to be able to afford to talk while fighting against a master and Two Moons.
"She was curious about the person who signed a contract with the divine beast. So she told me this and that in exchange for asking me this and that."
"A witch is a witch, huh?"
Even asking for something trivial required a price that they needed to pay. Iron thought that they were one of the ancient beings that were most sensitive and obsessed with contracts.
"That's all?"
"No. There were a few more."
Iron looked at Carl.
"She also informed me that there wouldn't be any dimensional cracks in the Northeast."
"Why?"
"According to the decision of the force that the witch was allied to, they believe that they would unlikely be able to succeed in the Northeast. And even if they did succeed, they thought that the chaos in here might not be enough to bring confusion to the entire continent."
Carl nodded heavily upon hearing Iron's words. It explained why there were no dark elves or other forces that appeared after the witch's death. Despite searching for two years, they weren't able to find any suspicious force in the Northeast.
"Then, did they go to the Center?"
"I think that's probably the case."
"Is there anything else?"
Iron hesitated a bit before opening his mouth when Carl asked him if there were more.
"According to what she said, there was a high possibility that the situation right now is due to the fight of the transcendentals."
"A fight between transcendentals?"
"Yes. To be honest, I also couldn't believe it when I heard it from her back then..."
With the current situation, Iron thought that there was enough grounds for him to talk about this matter. Although it was something that he was certain of, it was still a topic that the others wouldn't believe so easily. However, the situation right now could make them fully understand the severity of his words.
'God's revelation through the saintess.'
'The appearance of the other-worlders.'
'The appearance of dangerous beings like dark elves.'
'Plenty of dimensional cracks.'
All of these things appeared so suddenly.
"Perhaps there would be more dimensional cracks appearing in places where more other-worlders are gathering right now."
"Did they summon the other-worlders to the most dangerous areas?"
"That's what I think."
The Center was the place where most of the other-worlders had gathered in the continent. Then, dimensional cracks appeared there. If dimensional cracks appeared in the places where many other-worlders had gathered, then Iron's hypothesis would be proven correct.
"God..."
Carl Gustav felt an oncoming headache after thinking about the transcendental beings.
"Hoo... Just thinking about it is giving me a headache. Well... Let the gods tell the other gods that they can do whatever they want. Let's just do what we have to do."
Carl Gustav said this as he handed a piece of paper to Iron.
"What's... this?"
"It's a request from the Center. They wanted to take you away."
"Is it a transfer order?"
Iron asked as he looked at the paper. But it wasn't an order. It was just the Imperial Family's invitation to Iron.
"The Commander is strongly against this. Because of that, the Imperial Family wants to get you more."
Carl looked at Iron as he said so. His eyes were clearly and desperately telling Iron 'Please refuse!'. The other Ghosts also had the same expressions on their faces. Iron smiled bitterly at their threats(?) as he opened his mouth.
"It's not a formal order so I don't think there's a reason for me to go."
The Ghosts nodded their heads strongly at Iron's answer. Even Carl Gustav nodded as he answered him.
"That's right. This is not even an official order. However, you can't be careless just because of this."
Then, Carl carefully took out another piece of paper.
"What's this?"
Iron looked at Carl Gustav strangely. Seeing his look, Carl could only cough to reduce his embarrassment.
"That's a request from the East. They have been suspecting the existence of a dimensional crack in a certain place. They have also officially sent a request for support to the North."
"Huh... But I think this is for an individual?"
Iron looked at the request letter silently before asking this. Carl coughed once again before continuing his words.
"The Eastern Command said that the place they wanted to investigate is a place where a divine beast is located."
"Ah..."
"That's why they're asking if we can personally send you there."
Iron shut his mouth tightly when he heard that the request was only for him and not for all of the Ghosts. He felt that he had suddenly become popular both in the Center and the East.
'Was I this popular?'
Carl Gustav carefully asked Iron who was drunk on his own popularity.
"Will you be going?"
Iron shook his head and tried to refuse but stopped.
"Ghost Island?"
This was the name of the place that he needed to investigate as per written on the request.
[ Voghren's Ghost Island ]
Although it was only the name of the place that was written on the request letter, he felt something unusual. He felt as if he had to go there.
Then, he asked Carl Gustav.
"By any chance... Is this a place where storms and lightning always strikes?"
Carl Gustav's eyes widened in shock.
"How did you know? I heard that the operation period is extremely short because of that. If you did not finish the operation within the set time frame, you don't need to finish it and just have to come back. But if you miss that time frame, you may be forced to live there for a while."
Iron looked at the letter once again after hearing Carl Gustav's words.
"Ghost Island..."
He looked at the request letter for a long time before speaking to Carl once again.
"I think I have to go here."
Carl remained silent for a moment after hearing Iron's words.
"You didn't even want to go to the Center... Do you really have to go to the East?"
Iron nodded at Carl's question.
"If divine beasts are involved... then, I could be of some help."
Carl sighed at Iron's words.
"Even if you go there, you won't be able to take the lead."
"Yes?"
Iron's eyes widened when he heard that.
"I heard that there's a divine beast contractor there."
"There is?"
Iron tilted his head at Carl's strange explanation.
"They're an other-worlder."
"Ah..."
It seemed like an other-worlder had received an ability related to the divine beasts.
The Ghost Island was related to the divine beast and there was an other-worlder who was a divine beast contractor. Because of these two things, Iron's decision tilted more towards the East.
Seeing Iron's wavering heart, Carl Gustav hurriedly and anxiously spoke.
"And it's not only you. They will continue to gather divine beast contractors and spiritualists. Even if you go... it would be hard to take the initiative in doing something."
Iron went silent upon Carl Gustav's words. He contemplated for a moment and made a decision before opening his mouth.
"Still, I have to go."
Carl Gustav closed his eyes upon hearing Iron's decision.
"But you don't need to work hard at all?"
"Even if you go there, there will be many talented individuals who can solve the problem in Ghost Island."
"It's a place where they secretly discriminate against outsiders."
"If they're in a hurry, shouldn't they ask for official support from Ghost instead?"
Carl Gustav and the other Ghosts hurriedly tried to persuade Iron to change his decisions.
He was a divine beast contractor and a key figure in the Northeast. He even had an extraordinary head on his shoulders. So it was clear to them that if he ever tried to get out, the commander would definitely grab the back of their heads for letting him go out.
However, Iron just looked at them apologetically. It seemed like he had already made up his mind.
In the end, Carl Gustav failed to persuade him. All he could do was sigh deeply. Because he couldn't persuade him, he could see his bleak future once he went to the Commander's office.
Iron felt sorry seeing Carl's appearance. However, this was a matter that he couldn't yield to.
'The next divine beast...'
The Ghost Island was a place where the divine beast, who might possibly be his next divine beast, was sleeping.
He wondered what kind of existence lay slumbering in that place.