“Just what in the...” Ulcera could not understand what was happening right now.
The Church of Osric did not tolerate failures.
What was the main doctrine of the church?
To sow discord and chaos in the world that was rotten to its core and bring about its destruction!
The Church of Osric believed that the destruction of this world was going to bring about the birth of a new one, and this was the main driving motivation that caused them to do all sorts of destructive things. It was an organization that did not tolerate failure, and any failure was harshly punished by death.
But the Red Cardinal had not only spared Ulcera but even gave him another chance?
This was a punishment Ulcera could not understand, as he was very familiar with how the church punished failures.
‘Why are they showing such grace to...’
Ulcera could not come up with any plausible reasons he was spared, and this made him extremely confused. After all, humans were bound to be confused if the opposite of what they were ended up happening, right?
‘Haa...’
In the end, Ulcera decided not to ponder about it as he was not going to get an answer anyway. There could or could not be a reason behind this grace he was shown, and this was a piece of information only an executive would know.
Thus, Ulcera was forced to accept his graceful punishment while being utterly perplexed by the sudden turn of events.
***
Siegfried spent some time with his family—in the game.
Then, he went to Deus.
“Hoho! You cute little thing!”
“Gooo! Kyaaah!”
As expected, Deus only had eyes for Verdandi, and he was thoroughly enjoying the late years of his life through her.
‘So Master is still human after all...’
Deus was showing the human side of him, which was something Siegfried had never seen before and questioned if it even existed.
He was a being that was human yet not human at the same time. He was the only mortal considered invincible, and he was powerful enough to become a god whenever he wanted to do so.
Who would have known that this godly being could look so happy while playing with his granddaughter?
Siegfried smiled before he approached Deus and greeted him.
“I have returned, Master,” he said with a bow.
“I know,” Deus replied without even sparing him a glance.
“...”
Siegfried was flabbergasted and rendered speechless by Deus' indifference.
Yes, Verdandi was cute, but how could he be so indifferent when his one and only disciple came to greet him?
‘I think he’s enjoying being fully immersed in being a grandfather...’
Siegfried carefully spoke, “I have something to discuss with you, Master.”
“I’m not deaf.”
“...”
“What is it you want to discuss with me?”
“I want to become stronger, Master.”
This was the reason Siegfried came to Deus, to become stronger. He came to the conclusion that he needed to become stronger if he wanted to protect Verdandi from the likes of the Church of Osric.
Deus was the only being on the entire continent that could make him stronger.
“So, you want to become stronger?”
“Yes, Master.”
“Then you just have to become stronger.”
“Pardon me...?”
“I’m pretty sure that Rune of Transcendence of yours is not for show.”
“Hmm...”
“You Adventurers are able to become stronger consistently thanks to that ancient rune, right?”
“Yes, we are.”
“Then you just have to become stronger with that. I’m sure you can become stronger if you put in more effort, so what’s the problem?”
Deus was right. Adventurers had no limits, and they were able to reach Level 299 without a hitch as long as they invested their time and continued to hunt.
The problem was that leveling up was too slow at Siegfried's current level.
The Church of Osric was a constant threat to the destruction of this world, and he had to become stronger as fast as possible to protect Verdandi’s future.
“I wish to become stron—“
It was then.
Smack!
A formless energy smacked the back of his head.
“Ack!” Siegfried cried out in agony while grabbing the back of his head, and he retorted, “M-Master!”
“You need to learn how to be content with how fast you’ve become stronger. Why are you being so greedy?” Deus berated in a stern voice.
“Master...”
“I’m sure your growth speed so far is two to three times faster than most Adventurers.”
“But, Master... if I don’t become stronger then—“
“To go beyond is as bad as to fall short.”
“...”
“There is a time and place for everything. And what can you achieve by rushing? What you can’t do now won’t be resolved by being impatient, and impatience will only bring about your own destruction,” Deus said before he looked back at him and added, “You still have a long way to go.”
“But, Master! I cannot just sit by and watch as I lose everything precious to me!”
“Is that what you’re afraid of?”
“Yes, Master.”
Siegfried did not hide his fears from Deus.
“I am... so scared of losing my family that it is driving me insane.”
“You’re quite honest.”
“It seems the fear of losing my family will always be present no matter how much stronger I become...”
“That’s one of the few good qualities you have,” Deus said with a smirk, and then he said, “Being honest and having the courage to say you’re scared when you’re scared.”
“Yes, Master.”
“But it’s still too early.”
“What is... early?”
“Your time is yet to come.”
“What do you mean—“
“Continue to diligently train. I will open the path to true power to you once that time comes but now is not the time. Everyone has a role in different eras.”
Just how far could Deus see? What was he looking at?
Siegfried couldn't understand anything Deus was saying right now, but he knew that there was a depth to Deus' words that he couldn't comprehend at the moment.
“Stop worrying about your fears and commit yourself to training. Everything that you experience right now will become nutrients for your future growth, and you will, without a doubt, lose a lot of things if you try to go too fast.”
“Yes, Master.”
Siegfried decided to commit himself to training like Deus advised. He agreed that his growth was fast and his class was overpowered, but the threat of the Church of Osric destroying the world made his desire for power grow stronger.
***
Siegfried immediately acted on his plans to become stronger.
“My name is Bruce—Bruce Wood!”
He went to his personal training grounds and stood in front of the World’s Strongest and Most Terrifying Training Dummy.
“I’ll be in your care.”
“My name is Bruce—Bruce Wood!”
Bruce started bouncing from one foot to the other while motioning Siegfried to come at him.
“Owner punk...” Hamchi muttered before he smiled and said, “You’re working harder now that you have a child. Owner punk is becoming responsible.”
He was happy to see Siegfried finally grow into a responsible adult.
“Ack! D-Don’t hit my bones! That hurts!”
“My name is Bruce—Bruce Wood!”
“Ah!”
Ironically, he was still getting beaten to a pulp by Bruce.
***
While Siegfried was having the time of his life getting beaten up by Bruce, Cheon Woo-Jin was meeting another Adventurer.
But...
[Alert: You are unable to clear the Quest – Destroy the Suspicious Altar!]
[Alert: You are unable to clear the Quest – Destroy the Suspicious Altar!]
[Alert: You are unable to clear the Quest – Destroy the Suspicious Altar!]
That Adventurer was unable to clear the quest just like Siegfried.
The Adventurer who had ventured to the Great Woods in the northern region of the continent to destroy the altar set up by the Church of Osric asked, “Why won’t the quest clear?”
Fortunately, he did not grab Cheon Woo-Jin’s collar like Siegfried did.
“Is there something wrong?”
“I’m not sure... Even the Sky Tower quest is having issues,” Cheon Woo-Jin replied.
“Ah, I saw the Sky Tower video. That guy’s quite good. He’s a bit weak, but I think he will be on the outskirts of the Ranker list in a few month’s time.”
“Outskirts? That guy’s a monster,” Cheon Woo-Jin replied with a smirk.
“Oh? Really?”
“You guys will be seeing each other in the future, so keep that in mind.”
“Okay.”
“As for the quest... I think we have to wait and see. There’s definitely a problem, but I can’t put my finger on it yet.”
“Hmm...”
“I’m sorry for wasting your time.”
“Don’t worry about it. I owe you a lot anyway.”
“Thanks.”
“Then, see you later and call me if something comes up.”
“Sure, sorry again. I’ll call you.”
Cheon Woo-Jin now had another dilemma after the Adventurer left.
‘The Sky Tower and now the Great Woods... Two altars are destroyed, but the quest won’t clear... I wonder why... Just what’s going on...’
It was a dilemma with no clear answers in sight.
***
A week later, Siegfried finished his training with Bruce and left the Proatine Kingdom. He figured that was enough training, and it was now time to hunt in the Great Rift. Of course, he dropped by to see Brunhilde and Verdandi before he left.
“I will be going now.”
“Please take care. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
The couple held each other and kissed.
“Papa will go now.”
“Papa! Papa! Kyah!”
Siegfried kissed Verdandi on her cheek before heading for the warp gate, but...
“Your Majesty.”
He was blocked by the captain of the knights as well as the commander of the army, Oscar.
“Hmm? Dame Oscar?”
“I, Oscar, greet His Majesty.”
“Hello, good morning. Are you going to work now?”
“No, sire,” Oscar shook her head and said, “I was on my way to request leave from Your Majesty.”
“Request leave?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Ah, is that why you’re wearing your official uniform?” Siegfried said as he noticed she was wearing her official uniform, which was something she only wore on official occasions.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“How long will you be away?”
“I am estimating it will be around a week.”
“I see... Oh well, I hope you get some well-deserved rest this time. You didn’t get any vacation recently, right?”
“Thank you very much, Your Majesty.”
“I will submit my official request later today,” Oscar said with a salute and left.
‘What was that all about?’
Siegfried found her actions to be quite strange.
‘Isn’t she exaggerating when she’s just asking for leave...?’
Who would wear their official uniform just to request for leave?
‘Oh well, she’s quite the elite, so...’
He remembered that she used to study at the academy of the Macallan Kingdom and decided to leave it at that.
On that same afternoon, Siegfried cleared the Great Rift: Troll Kingdom dungeon and ran into a familiar face as soon as he exited from the rift.
“Your Majesty!” Carell shouted and hurriedly ran up to him.
“Huh? Carell? What brings you here? I thought you were going home for a bit? How’s Sir—“
“Your Majesty! W-We have a big problem!”
“Hmm? What’s up?”
“D-Dame Oscar...! Dame Oscar is...!”
Siegfried’s eyes shot wide open as he asked, “What happened to Oscar?”
“We have to stop her! We have to stop Dame Oscar!” Carell exclaimed while looking quite serious.
“Just what in the...” Ulcera could not understand what was happening right now.
The Church of Osric did not tolerate failures.
What was the main doctrine of the church?
To sow discord and chaos in the world that was rotten to its core and bring about its destruction!
The Church of Osric believed that the destruction of this world was going to bring about the birth of a new one, and this was the main driving motivation that caused them to do all sorts of destructive things. It was an organization that did not tolerate failure, and any failure was harshly punished by death.
But the Red Cardinal had not only spared Ulcera but even gave him another chance?
This was a punishment Ulcera could not understand, as he was very familiar with how the church punished failures.
‘Why are they showing such grace to...’
Ulcera could not come up with any plausible reasons he was spared, and this made him extremely confused. After all, humans were bound to be confused if the opposite of what they were ended up happening, right?
‘Haa...’
In the end, Ulcera decided not to ponder about it as he was not going to get an answer anyway. There could or could not be a reason behind this grace he was shown, and this was a piece of information only an executive would know.
Thus, Ulcera was forced to accept his graceful punishment while being utterly perplexed by the sudden turn of events.
***
Siegfried spent some time with his family—in the game.
Then, he went to Deus.
“Hoho! You cute little thing!”
“Gooo! Kyaaah!”
As expected, Deus only had eyes for Verdandi, and he was thoroughly enjoying the late years of his life through her.
‘So Master is still human after all...’
Deus was showing the human side of him, which was something Siegfried had never seen before and questioned if it even existed.
He was a being that was human yet not human at the same time. He was the only mortal considered invincible, and he was powerful enough to become a god whenever he wanted to do so.
Who would have known that this godly being could look so happy while playing with his granddaughter?
Siegfried smiled before he approached Deus and greeted him.
“I have returned, Master,” he said with a bow.
“I know,” Deus replied without even sparing him a glance.
“...”
Siegfried was flabbergasted and rendered speechless by Deus' indifference.
Yes, Verdandi was cute, but how could he be so indifferent when his one and only disciple came to greet him?
‘I think he’s enjoying being fully immersed in being a grandfather...’
Siegfried carefully spoke, “I have something to discuss with you, Master.”
“I’m not deaf.”
“...”
“What is it you want to discuss with me?”
“I want to become stronger, Master.”
This was the reason Siegfried came to Deus, to become stronger. He came to the conclusion that he needed to become stronger if he wanted to protect Verdandi from the likes of the Church of Osric.
Deus was the only being on the entire continent that could make him stronger.
“So, you want to become stronger?”
“Yes, Master.”
“Then you just have to become stronger.”
“Pardon me...?”
“I’m pretty sure that Rune of Transcendence of yours is not for show.”
“Hmm...”
“You Adventurers are able to become stronger consistently thanks to that ancient rune, right?”
“Yes, we are.”
“Then you just have to become stronger with that. I’m sure you can become stronger if you put in more effort, so what’s the problem?”
Deus was right. Adventurers had no limits, and they were able to reach Level 299 without a hitch as long as they invested their time and continued to hunt.
The problem was that leveling up was too slow at Siegfried's current level.
The Church of Osric was a constant threat to the destruction of this world, and he had to become stronger as fast as possible to protect Verdandi’s future.
“I wish to become stron—“
It was then.
Smack!
A formless energy smacked the back of his head.
“Ack!” Siegfried cried out in agony while grabbing the back of his head, and he retorted, “M-Master!”
“You need to learn how to be content with how fast you’ve become stronger. Why are you being so greedy?” Deus berated in a stern voice.
“Master...”
“I’m sure your growth speed so far is two to three times faster than most Adventurers.”
“But, Master... if I don’t become stronger then—“
“To go beyond is as bad as to fall short.”
“...”
“There is a time and place for everything. And what can you achieve by rushing? What you can’t do now won’t be resolved by being impatient, and impatience will only bring about your own destruction,” Deus said before he looked back at him and added, “You still have a long way to go.”
“But, Master! I cannot just sit by and watch as I lose everything precious to me!”
“Is that what you’re afraid of?”
“Yes, Master.”
Siegfried did not hide his fears from Deus.
“I am... so scared of losing my family that it is driving me insane.”
“You’re quite honest.”
“It seems the fear of losing my family will always be present no matter how much stronger I become...”
“That’s one of the few good qualities you have,” Deus said with a smirk, and then he said, “Being honest and having the courage to say you’re scared when you’re scared.”
“Yes, Master.”
“But it’s still too early.”
“What is... early?”
“Your time is yet to come.”
“What do you mean—“
“Continue to diligently train. I will open the path to true power to you once that time comes but now is not the time. Everyone has a role in different eras.”
Just how far could Deus see? What was he looking at?
Siegfried couldn't understand anything Deus was saying right now, but he knew that there was a depth to Deus' words that he couldn't comprehend at the moment.
“Stop worrying about your fears and commit yourself to training. Everything that you experience right now will become nutrients for your future growth, and you will, without a doubt, lose a lot of things if you try to go too fast.”
“Yes, Master.”
Siegfried decided to commit himself to training like Deus advised. He agreed that his growth was fast and his class was overpowered, but the threat of the Church of Osric destroying the world made his desire for power grow stronger.
***
Siegfried immediately acted on his plans to become stronger.
“My name is Bruce—Bruce Wood!”
He went to his personal training grounds and stood in front of the World’s Strongest and Most Terrifying Training Dummy.
“I’ll be in your care.”
“My name is Bruce—Bruce Wood!”
Bruce started bouncing from one foot to the other while motioning Siegfried to come at him.
“Owner punk...” Hamchi muttered before he smiled and said, “You’re working harder now that you have a child. Owner punk is becoming responsible.”
He was happy to see Siegfried finally grow into a responsible adult.
“Ack! D-Don’t hit my bones! That hurts!”
“My name is Bruce—Bruce Wood!”
“Ah!”
Ironically, he was still getting beaten to a pulp by Bruce.
***
While Siegfried was having the time of his life getting beaten up by Bruce, Cheon Woo-Jin was meeting another Adventurer.
But...
[Alert: You are unable to clear the Quest – Destroy the Suspicious Altar!]
[Alert: You are unable to clear the Quest – Destroy the Suspicious Altar!]
[Alert: You are unable to clear the Quest – Destroy the Suspicious Altar!]
That Adventurer was unable to clear the quest just like Siegfried.
The Adventurer who had ventured to the Great Woods in the northern region of the continent to destroy the altar set up by the Church of Osric asked, “Why won’t the quest clear?”
Fortunately, he did not grab Cheon Woo-Jin’s collar like Siegfried did.
“Is there something wrong?”
“I’m not sure... Even the Sky Tower quest is having issues,” Cheon Woo-Jin replied.
“Ah, I saw the Sky Tower video. That guy’s quite good. He’s a bit weak, but I think he will be on the outskirts of the Ranker list in a few month’s time.”
“Outskirts? That guy’s a monster,” Cheon Woo-Jin replied with a smirk.
“Oh? Really?”
“You guys will be seeing each other in the future, so keep that in mind.”
“Okay.”
“As for the quest... I think we have to wait and see. There’s definitely a problem, but I can’t put my finger on it yet.”
“Hmm...”
“I’m sorry for wasting your time.”
“Don’t worry about it. I owe you a lot anyway.”
“Thanks.”
“Then, see you later and call me if something comes up.”
“Sure, sorry again. I’ll call you.”
Cheon Woo-Jin now had another dilemma after the Adventurer left.
‘The Sky Tower and now the Great Woods... Two altars are destroyed, but the quest won’t clear... I wonder why... Just what’s going on...’
It was a dilemma with no clear answers in sight.
***
A week later, Siegfried finished his training with Bruce and left the Proatine Kingdom. He figured that was enough training, and it was now time to hunt in the Great Rift. Of course, he dropped by to see Brunhilde and Verdandi before he left.
“I will be going now.”
“Please take care. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
The couple held each other and kissed.
“Papa will go now.”
“Papa! Papa! Kyah!”
Siegfried kissed Verdandi on her cheek before heading for the warp gate, but...
“Your Majesty.”
He was blocked by the captain of the knights as well as the commander of the army, Oscar.
“Hmm? Dame Oscar?”
“I, Oscar, greet His Majesty.”
“Hello, good morning. Are you going to work now?”
“No, sire,” Oscar shook her head and said, “I was on my way to request leave from Your Majesty.”
“Request leave?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Ah, is that why you’re wearing your official uniform?” Siegfried said as he noticed she was wearing her official uniform, which was something she only wore on official occasions.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“How long will you be away?”
“I am estimating it will be around a week.”
“I see... Oh well, I hope you get some well-deserved rest this time. You didn’t get any vacation recently, right?”
“Thank you very much, Your Majesty.”
“I will submit my official request later today,” Oscar said with a salute and left.
‘What was that all about?’
Siegfried found her actions to be quite strange.
‘Isn’t she exaggerating when she’s just asking for leave...?’
Who would wear their official uniform just to request for leave?
‘Oh well, she’s quite the elite, so...’
He remembered that she used to study at the academy of the Macallan Kingdom and decided to leave it at that.
On that same afternoon, Siegfried cleared the Great Rift: Troll Kingdom dungeon and ran into a familiar face as soon as he exited from the rift.
“Your Majesty!” Carell shouted and hurriedly ran up to him.
“Huh? Carell? What brings you here? I thought you were going home for a bit? How’s Sir—“
“Your Majesty! W-We have a big problem!”
“Hmm? What’s up?”
“D-Dame Oscar...! Dame Oscar is...!”
Siegfried’s eyes shot wide open as he asked, “What happened to Oscar?”
“We have to stop her! We have to stop Dame Oscar!” Carell exclaimed while looking quite serious.
