Chapter 222

Merhen looked up at the tower. Pantheon. Officially ninety-nine floors high, but only those deemed worthy could ever hope to ascend. According to Seojin, even entering the eightieth floor required an immense amount of divine power. Fortunately, players ranked within the divine job class could just barely manage to enter. However, for them, and everyone else, the floors beyond remained a steep challenge.

Especially

‘He said there’s a hundredth floor.’

The hundredth floor, accessible only to Seojin, served to be a severe challenge.

“Nobody’s getting in?” Merhen asked.

“…No. No one,” replied BunnyRabbit, shaking her head. They were searching within the raid team for someone with the three Qualifications, ample divine power, and sufficient Dharma points. But, unsurprisingly, no one but Seojin met those criteria.

“One thing or another’s always missing. Dharma’s the real kicker,” she noted.

The three Qualifications.

Divine power.

Dharma points.

The first two weren’t an issue for those who’d reached level 200 and accomplished significant feats. But Dharma was different.

“There was someone, but the highest was around two thousand… ten thousand is way out of reach.”

Merit points, after all, could only be earned by those who’ve had a substantial impact on the continent’s NPCs.

Seojin had impacted the continent to that extent. And unsurprisingly, no other player had matched his score.

“So, what now?”

Merhen asked, with a troubled look on his face. With Seojin in his current state, the problems seemed insurmountable.

“We’ll need NPC assistance.”

“…Is that possible?”

“It’s a bit complicated, and I’m not fully clued in myself… hard to ask around right now.”

It seemed there was a way, despite the abrupt shift in plans, leaving even Seojin’s closest confidants in the dark. At the very least, BunnyRabbit had connections to the company and could glean some information.

“It’s good there’s a way at least,” he said.

“Seojin is the type of person to find a way” she finally said, a firm belief in her voice. Merhen could only agree.

“That’s right. We… don’t have much choice but to wait.”

* * *

Flappy looked at Seojin with worried eyes. To anyone else, he appeared no different from a corpse. The curse of a god was a dreadful thing, but Flappy found some solace in the fact that Seojin was an adventurer, and there was still a role for him to play.

-I’m supposed to teach?

-Just show him the way. That’s all.

-Fine. I’ll try.

Seojin was unable to speak at the moment. Though adventurers could communicate among themselves, Flappy’s teaching wasn’t meant for another adventurer.

“I’ll be the one to teach you. Can you follow along?”

“I’ll do my best to learn.”

Staff of Faith Harry responded, his hand on his hip, addressing the solemn elemental. This task was uniquely his, deemed insufficient even for the high priests of many orders or even Saint Aikora.

“Use your divine power here,” the elemental spirit pointed at a chunk of ore.

As Harry used his divine power, Luna’s gift radiated intense light in all directions.

“Oh…”

It was beyond anything Harry had imagined. Luna’s gift: a divine power amplifying ore. After hearing her explanation, Harry admitted how much he had lacked.

“No time for your ramblings.”

Flappy cut him off, moving on to the next step, and handing over specially crafted equipment that would further enhance his overflowing divine power.

“I’m not sure if this will suffice.”

“Seojin believes it will.”

“If he says so, then it must be.”

Harry meekly accepted it. He felt it wasn’t just a matter of divine power. But if Seojin said it was necessary, then that was all there was to it.

“Ah, and this message: Your divine power is a bonus, but it’s your tower that has freed many humans.”

“Ah.”

The key to entering the hundredth floor was Dharma, a score earned by bringing about good to the world. Divine providence was about overseeing not just the immediate, straightforward path, but also ensuring the unseen corners were cared for. Seojin had reduced harm, but his discovery of the moonstone and the existence of the Pantheon, prepared by the Staff of Faith, had made it possible.

“I’ve finally become somewhat useful to this land!”

Joy filled Harry’s heart, having achieved what he had longed for.

“No time for admiration, either. Come on, let’s create the stairs. I think we can do it now.”

Nodding, Harry left his longtime home on the ninety-ninth floor. A stairway of light allowed him to remain suspended in the air. This was familiar territory for him, but now, his purpose wasn’t to descend but to ascend.

And then

“Ah.”

The stairs leading upward appeared, a path of light previously unknown to him, revealed only by adventurer Seojin.

* * *

Seojin remained trapped in darkness, his only window to the world, a chat box. Unable to see, hear, or speak, the shattered stats in his status window suggested his physical condition was far from normal. For all he knew, he might be on the brink of death.

‘To think he endured this.’

He thought of Grand Emperor Kalus.

Seojin, being an adventurer, was able to find his way, but as an NPC, enduring was the only path available.

‘He even managed to grow the empire to this extent. It’s truly remarkable.’

As he admired him internally, a message from Flappy arrived.

-We’ve arrived. What should we do?

It seemed they had successfully reached the 100th floor.

It was time to summon the god.

-Tell them to find Luna. Add that with Harry’s current state, it should be possible.

Luna was likely watching the situation unfold in real-time.

Hoping to be of some assistance,

‘She’s probably pacing back and forth. Nothing’s changed since then.’

Luna always felt sorry.

To humans, a god might appear omnipotent, but the deities themselves were bound by numerous restrictions.

Even giving a worthy human being a reward required immense preparation, and it was the gods themselves who had to pay a heavy price for even attempting to descend.

At that moment

‘Are we here?’

A blur flashed across Seojin’s vision.

Not much had changed.

Identifying objects was nearly impossible.

But the complete darkness that had fallen meant one thing for sure.

-You’re here!

-Just wait now. Ah, just you Flappy. Let Harry do whatever he wants.

The Staff of Faith was also a remarkable NPC.

A human who had chased a single dream for decades.

Seojin wanted to offer him a moment of thrill, although lifting the debuff was urgent.

But then,

-Harry is asking to take care of you first. Saying it’s all thanks to you that we’ve come this far, and so on.

The Staff of Faith had a conscience.

He yielded his long-awaited moment for Seojin.

Seojin’s vision brightened a bit more.

Gramaticus is suffering!

Gramaticus is enraged!

He ignored the messages that appeared.

Perhaps Luna was dealing with Gramaticus in real-time up there.

The change was steady.

Luna did her best to help Seojin, and the curse of Gramaticus quickly lost its power.

The first thing to return was his sight.

SYSTEM: You can now see!

Moving was still difficult. Seojin rolled his eyes around to survey his surroundings.

He saw Luna’s avatar he had seen once before, a worried-looking Flappy, and Harry, on the verge of passing out from excitement.

His hearing returned after a bit more time.

“Just hold on a little longer, my dear.”

Luna’s voice could be faintly heard.

He had lost the trait of a Silver Tongue, but the current conversation was happening at the expense of Harry’s dharma.

After some time, Seojin was able to speak.

“…It’s nice to see you again. As promised.”

Gramaticus’s curse was lifted by Luna. It still existed, but it no longer affected Seojin.

“Truly…”

“Go give that naughty brat a good thrashing. I’ll wait here.”

Luna’s eyes fluttered for a moment.

She started to say something, then stopped. Seojin didn’t miss her nodding.

“…Mr. Seojin?”

Harry’s voice was full of tension because Luna had disappeared.

“Wait. I’ll be back soon.”

“…Yes.”

Harry closed his mouth again. Even Flappy wisely chose not to speak at this moment.

And when Luna returned,

Debuff: Divine Punishment has been lifted!

Gramaticus despairs.

Gramaticus suffers from pain.

Gramaticus has stripped you of the title of Apostle!

After a thorough beating, Gramaticus gave up everything and retreated.

Seojin was the only Apostle of the evil deity on this land, and the result was clear.

Main Quest: Root of Evil complete

A quest message popped up across the Camilton Empire.

Looking over the message, Seojin said,

“Oh Moon God, thanks to your aid, we have eradicated the root of evil. This should give us ample time.”

“For what purpose is this time given?”

“To share our thoughts. This moment might seem fleeting to you, but for us humans, it fills our short lives and then some.”

Luna was silent for a while, only showing a compassionate smile, then slowly shared her thoughts.

“My child, I see… the will of a non-human overlapping with yours.”

“Do not project someone onto me. I am merely a human. It’s just that there are many humans you might find familiar.”

“How could I consider all of you as the same humans?”

“I had to borrow the power of another deity to defeat a god.”

“Anyone on this land would do the same. Even if they are not human.”

“One of the individuals you just mentioned is me. If calling me a human is uncomfortable, let’s correct it to adventurer. We are…”

Seojin hesitated.

It was obvious Luna was expecting something. Seojin wanted to meet that expectation, but now was not the time.

He could only leave a sliver of possibility.

“I have not yet reached where you are.”