101st Floor (1)
I stopped walking.
Weâre almost there.
âSeregia.â
[Yes, warrior.]
âThank you. For following me this far.â
Seregia said she was fine.
With her usual tone of voice that doesnât show her emotions.
In fact, I had a lot of regrets.
In the decision to make Seregia a sword and carry her around.
I thought she would be an ego sword with no problems with communication, just like Ahbooboo.
She just loses her body, but sheâs no different from when she was a human.
There was a vague idea that one day even her body would be recovered.
However, contrary to expectations, Seregia has become a real sword.
I couldnât even communicate properly with her for a while.
When she reached a stable period, she began to think of herself as a sword rather than a person.
Of course, the other Seregia was repeating the tutorial like the repeat sign in sheet music.
But the things she went through were tough enough to think she would have been better off not leaving the tutorial stage.
âAnd Iâm sorry.â
[I said it was okay.]
It was cold.
But there was also an opposite case from her.
[Warrior, for me, for meâ¦.. I suffered too. Didnât you do a lot of bad things to me too? You were rolling me very hard. Put me in your inventory every day.]
Ahbooboo sniffed in.
âNoisy.â
[Wow, you are discriminating against people, no?]
Yes, discrimination is right.
It would have been great if Ahbooboo could cut that chatter in half.
[Hng, itâs because of the lack of cuteness. I know it all. Itâs been a while since Iâve done a cute shot. Eh, I⦠Wow, itâs been a long time since Iâve done this, so itâs not good. Now, letâs try again.]
âDonât do it. Iâm really angry.â
That damn cuteness induces peopleâs anger whenever they hear it.
Why do I have to listen to you whine in a low male voice?
Ahbooboo chuckled.
[Are there any odds?]
Ahbooboo asked.
I nodded.
âAre you asking something obvious?â
[Oh, you said you became the God of Victory.]
Ahbooboo talked about my divinity.
It was natural.
My divinity was victory itself.
The fact that I was approaching the God of Order while embracing divinity also meant that I had a sufficient chance of winning and believed in my own victory.
[Is that even objectively true?]
Ahbooboo asked again.
It was a stupid question.
In matters involving divinity, if you can distinguish between the object and the subject, you cannot become a god in the first place.
Although he was a being who had been close to the gods for a long time, he did not seem to feel it because he had never become a god himself.
I need to reassure Ahbooboo.
Aside from his belief in me, Iâll have to explain the reasons for the victory that Ahbooboo can understand.
âWhatâs certain isâ¦..â
[Yes?]
âHe hasnât become a transcendental god yet.â
God of Order.
He was not yet a transcendental god.
It certainly seemed close to that, but it certainly didnât go beyond the scope of a general god.
It was a little different from Kirikiriâs explanation, who said that he was nothing less than a transcendent god.
The reason for the misjudgment was obvious.
It must be because of the powers of the God of Order, including that gold.
The powers of the God of Order were all focused on restraining and attacking divinity.
To put it simply, it was an existence that could be said to be the Supreme Being of Divinity.
It must be because it is a mechanical god created from the beginning to control and restrain the gods.
With such an existence, the God of Order seemed even more powerful to the other gods and seemed closer to the transcendent God.
But I was sure.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The God of Order has not yet transcended everything.
Being so close to its essence that I knew it.
I stood in front of the door.
The huge door had a number written on it.
[101]
In a sense, Itâs really funny.
Itâs the 101st room on the 101st floor.
It was a door that had been built up in an empty space.
As I got closer, the door opened.
Only pitch-black darkness could be seen through the cracks in the door.
[â¦Are you going in that way?]
Of course.
[Should we not think about it again?]
âNoisy.â
Ignoring Ahboobooâs words.
I walked into the door.
The moment I took a step into the darkness that started from the door, the darkness embraced me.
The next moment I felt I was transported to another world.
* * *
It was not an unpleasant darkness.
I couldnât see anything, I couldnât feel anything.
Still, it wasnât surprising and it wasnât scary.
Rather than feeling trapped in dark solitary confinement, it felt more like being asleep in a dream.
I have felt this feeling before.
When I went to the temple of the God of Slowness.
Yes, it was then.
As a stage clear reward, I wanted an interview with the God of Slowness.
I had this feeling when I visited the holy land of the God of Slowness.
Is it something common that appears because I am close to the Transcendent God?
Or was the God of Order itself created from the power of the God of Slowness?
I couldnât figure it out
[Challenger.]
A voice echoed in a world where there was nothing.
One eye hung in the air with it.
It was the God of Order.
As the self of the God of Order was revealed, my body, which had been shrouded in darkness, was also revealed.
This was different from the God of Slowness.
The God of Slowness exists in space and has no symbols to express his ego.
The God of Order had the shape of a huge eye.
It was huge, but at first glance, it looked like an ordinary eye.
A huge black pupil in a huge white sclera.
The shape of the black pupil looked identical to the darkness surrounding the pupil, and on the contrary, the ring-shaped white appeared to be contained within the huge pupil.
The pupils themselves did not hide their trust in order.
Having seen the God of Order several times already, I could be sure that it was the God of Order.
âHoo.â
I took a deep breath.
It was a long, long journey.
And in the end, I came all the way here.
Maybe this is how a climber feels when he is near the top of a mountain.
I said to the God of Order.
âIt was like that before. Iâll see you again someday.â
It was something Iâve been waiting to say for a very long time.
For this moment.
âGive me my source, you thief bastard!â
[⦠Was that what you were talking about?]
Ahbooboo murmured.
This is important.
When I cleared the 59th floor, the God of Order stole the power of the source that I had created at the time.
This bad bastard.
I remember it clearly!
On top of it, that was the first source power I ever made!
[Challenger, you must choose.]
said the God of Order.
Is he not going to talk at all about the thefts he committed in the past?
He was more arrogant than I thought.
[Challenge and abandonment.]
Challenge and give up.
It was just as Kirikiri told me.
The last gateway to seal the God of Order.
This is a question to test the existence of the challenger that entered.
A test to prevent the challenger from bringing more chaos to the world by controlling the God of Order.
It was said to be a gateway to test the sincerity of the challenger.
[You must choose. Can you give up your divinity yourself?]
âWhat?â
What to give up?
A completely different story from what I had heard from Kirikiri came out.
[Can you keep your will even by giving up your divinity? Please choose.]
The space is distorted.
Beyond the distorted space, Hochi, Yongyong, and Old Man were seen.
They were being attacked by monsters armed with gold.
They were fighting hard, but I didnât seem to have any spare time.
My hands were clenched tightly.
[If you enter that space, you lose your divinity. But you might be able to save your friends.]
âWhat if I refuse?â
[You can fight me without losing your divinity. But can you do that?]
Damn it
It was a completely different test from what Kirikiri had heard.
No matter how far out of Kirikiriâs control, his autonomy was not perfect.
The monsters appearing in between were added with a golden weapon with the power of the God of Order.
Of course, that was a serious problem.
There was not much of a difference between the appearance of this place and the one that Kirikiri had described.
But at the end of the day, a gate like this was added.
I watched Hochi, Yongyong, and Old Man fighting over the gap in space.
I wondered why they followed me.
Perhaps.
âDid you make them come here?â
[I did not. Challengers come here to be tested whether they can give up their divinity. I needed them to test you. They followed you according to logic. They must believe that they came in by their own will. But youâve attracted them.]
That sounds crazy
The causal sequence was messed up.
[If not, are you going to refuse the test and fight me? Thatâs not bad either. Wouldnât it be more convenient for you?]
The voice of the God of Order was filled with laughter.
F****** bastard. Heâs getting worse and worse.
It is unwise to refuse the test.
The reason that the God of Order is still here and speaking stupidly is that it proves that he has not yet been able to escape from the role that Kirikiri has given him.
However, if I, the challenger, ignore the rules, he can be released freely as well.
Whatâs more, if I refused the exam.
A scream was heard from beyond the space.
The Old Man wielding the lava sword was collapsing.
Will they be able to survive while I fight the God of Order, who has freely wielded all my powers?
[Warrior.]
Ahbooboo whispered.
[⦠Is it really that easy to lose your divinity? It may be a lie.]
âNo.â
If I go beyond that space, I will really lose my divinity.
This is not the power of the God of Order.
The fact that I myself took my own steps to the âplace where I lose my divinityâ declared by that damn bastard will shift my divinity.
If I go into that place and seek Yongyong, Hochi, and Old Man, I will really lose my divinity.
[Warrior.]
Seregia said.
[What are you worried about?]
Yeah, what was I thinking about?
It was an unbelievable worry.
It was a question with a fixed answer from the beginning.
[Have you made a decision? Challenge or abandonment?]
I made a decision.
* * *
Gold-clad birds flew.
It felt like bees were flying all over the place as they touched the hive.
The whole world was filled with golden birds.
âWaaaaaa!â
Hochi inflated his arms wide.
Bigger than a giant.
His huge arm was swung around, and the birds struck by it fell to pieces.
Hundreds of birds died, but there were so many birds that it was barely noticeable.
Hochi swallowed his saliva.
It was an anxious situation.
That damn gold was the problem.
For some reason, that gold did no harm to Hochi himself.
Just like the golden blade that Kirikiri swung.
However, it was fatal to Old Man and Yongyong.
If a powerful enemy appeared or they were fighting in a narrow space, Hochi could block the enemy and fight while protecting Old Man and Yongyong.
However, Hochi alone could not stop the numerous enemies flying in the open air and open land.
Old Man also vigorously swung his sword, and Yongyong, who woke up from his sleep, was holding out by swinging his tail and wings.
But Hochi didnât seem to be able to hold out for long.
Hochi felt like he was about to cry without knowing it.
He was fighting with his best, but he couldnât stop Yongyong and the Old Man from getting hurt.
âWaaaaaa!â
With a meaningless shout, he waved his arm again, Yongyong stopping the birds flying nearby.
That was then.
The space is open.
A familiar face walked out through the gap in the open space.
With the same face as Hochi himself, he was trying to say something.
â Kaaaaak!
â Kaak kaaak!
But because of the noise made by the flock of birds, the voice was not heard.
He picked up the sword and threw it.
A pounding sound like thunder rang out.
The sword was divided into thousands or tens of thousands, and the divided sword engulfed the air.
More than tens of thousands of golden birds were likewise stabbed by tens of thousands of swords and began to fall to the floor.
Eventually, the surroundings became quiet.
âWell, I told you to wait at home. You donât listen very well.â
Itâs been a few months since Hochi has seen him, but he was with the same tone as always.
With such a grunt, Lee Ho-jae approached.
Hochi wiped the water from his eyes because of the relief, joy, and regret that he was alive.