Chapter 331 Part 1
331
How strange.
Nothing comes to attack me.
And the weather is also suspicious.
Cumulonimbus clouds are building up like a wall, and I can barely squeeze my way through the spaces between them.
I’ve been flying while having both my wide area map and magnetic compass constantly displayed, but…
As expected, it’s strange.
It almost seems as if my direction has changed along the way.
It is true that I’m flying in a zigzag pattern between the clouds, so I won’t be flying directly to the west at all times.
But it’s impossible not to notice if you’re flying towards the east, completely in the opposite direction!
This place looks familiar.
It’s the border between the W6 and W7 Maps.
Probably so.
So, what to do?
Let’s lower the altitude.
There might be a key to overcoming this.
As the clouds part, I see an Island.
Moreover, it has a temple.
Upon closer inspection, it’s not an island floating in the sea…
It seems to be an island floating above the clouds.
I don’t understand how it works, but there are several waterfalls cascading down from the island into the clouds.
Sunlight is pouring down from the sky, revealing multiple rainbows.
What a sight!
It’s surreal.
Well, this is a world inside a game, not the real world.
It boasts a beauty completely different from the many different similar worlds I’ve encountered so far.
So, does this mean I should go there?
I’m sure that’s the idea here.
I have to be prepared.
It wouldn’t be strange if there was some kind of deity or something comparable to it there.
Let’s use Sense Magic.
Horus ???
??? ??? ???
???
Heimdall ???
??? ??? ???
???
Omoikane ???
??? ??? ???
???
Durga ???
??? ??? ???
???
Epimetheus ???
??? ??? ???
???
Hayagriva ???
??? ??? ???
???
I don’t understand.
Their appearances are completely different, and their sizes vary.
But there’s something I can see clearly.
All six are god-class, right?
Their markers are yellow.
At least they don’t seem to be hostile entities.
Their immense magical power is incomparable.
Some of these names I’ve heard before, while others I’m unfamiliar with.
Horus…
Wasn’t he a messenger with the head of a hawk?
The disciple of a god?
No, it’s clearly on a different level.
He’s definitely one of the Egyptian gods.
Heimdall…
A mighty man holding a horn.
I think I’ve heard the name in Norse mythology.
Yeah, that’s right.
Wasn’t he the watchman god who would alert the coming of giants by blowing his horn?
Omoikane…
Isn’t this Omoikane-no-kami?
The god of wisdom in Japanese mythology.
Despite being much smaller than me, he exudes a tremendous presence.
Durga…
I don’t know about this one.
A beautiful woman, but probably twice the size of Heimdall.
Clearly, a goddess from India.
She has ten arms.
Her face is beautiful, but with an extremely stern expression.
Epimetheus…
A giant.
I think it’s the counterpart to that Prometheus.
The giant whose wife was the famous Pandora.
Even though he’s sitting, it’s several times taller than Durga.
Huge.
Just huge.
Finally, Hayagriva…
His whole body is bright red.
Although he is huge as well, he doesn’t stand out because Epimetheus is here.
Well, he does stand out thanks to his color.
He has an angry expression on his frontal face.
He has two more faces on both sides of his head.
He also has six arms, but those don’t stand out as much because Durga is here.
There’s a horse-shaped decoration on his head.
So he’s similar to the image of Asura, with three faces and six arms, huh?
『A human, huh?』
『This is the resting place and prison of the gods.』
『We are here unable to fulfill my role.』
『And it would be the same even if we were not here.』
『This is no place for humans. You’d better leave.』
Umm…
I have a bad feeling about this.
And I don’t even know who’s saying what!
「Where am I? And why are gods like you here?」
『We are gods, therefore we are here.』
『And the same goes for not being there.』
『We cannot intervene in this world.』
『So it would be the same if we were not here.』
『Because we are idle.』
This is going nowhere fast.
It seems to be some kind of Zen dialogue, but I don’t understand it!
Should I just limit myself to self-righteous questions?
「I’d like to go west through here. Do you know the way?」
『If you are alive, it would be better for you to go by boat on the sea.』
『If you’re dead, your soul and body will be taken away naturally.』
『If you’re a god, you will be trapped here.』
『If you’re a demon, you will either vanish like mist or disappear into the darkness』
『Those who have transcended will only laugh.』
As expected, there are many things they’re saying that make no sense to me, but some things do.
So I can go by boat across the ocean?
「So flying at a low altitude is no good?」
『It would be impossible.』
「How about swimming?」
『It would be reckless.』
「How about taking some kind of alternative route?」
『The sea would be the same everywhere.』
「Isn’t there a way out somewhere?」
『To the north, and to the south. Those should have been the farthest ends, but whether they’re usable now is unknown.』
「Is it possible to disable this structure itself?」
『Had such a plan existed, we would not be here now.』
Right.
I feel bad for asking.
If that’s the case, why don’t I ask them about stuff I personally want to know?
「What is a Majin?」
『We do not know the details either.』
『Probably weak entities.』
『However, they do violate the realm of the gods.』
『And command over the realm of the demons.』
『You cannot ignore the living and the dead alike.』
Nope.
I can’t make anything out of this.
So… what about small talk, then?
「I met a giant named Prometheus in the west.」
『He is my brother.』
The giant turns his face towards the sky.
There seemed to be a certain expression on his face.
Is it some kind of envy?
『Where there is sin, there will be punishment. But that is just one way of looking at it.』
「What do you mean?」
『There are many different gods. And we cannot resist the urges dwelling within.』
「Huh?」
『Fear and anger. The manifestation of the power one possesses due to being a god is a tremendous thing.』
「I think it’s a cruel treatment.」
『There are no means of salvation for me. Only regret.』
Wait.
Although it was only for a moment, I felt a power that seemed to blur even that of the other gods.
Was it anger?
Was it grief?
I don’t know.
Perfect gods probably wouldn’t show any emotions.
But it seems that gods, like humans, are not free from joy, anger, and sadness.
I leave the extravagant prison of the gods.
I find it weird that while I have the freedom to come and go, gods like this cannot leave this place.
But still…
This game has mixed up the settings of every world a little too much!
Let’s try again.
According to my wide area map, I’m in the border between the N1E7 and N1E6 Maps.
The direction I’m heading is, of course, west.
I thought about descending in altitude to try low-altitude flight.
But it feels ominous.
Black clouds start to gather at low altitudes.
Thunder runs within the clouds.
This is bad.
Let’s turn back.
But just continuing on the original route is not a good idea.
「Return Home!」
That’s right.
All I have to do is return to Defense Valley.
Time to make a fresh start!
I have a few options.
I’m currently in the N2E12 Map.
I could head east from here.
According to the information I’ve gathered, there are strong monsters in that direction.
That in itself has its risks.
Will I be able to handle monsters of the Lesser Dragon class?
Alternatively, I could go fishing for pearls underwater, and have my aquatic Summoned Monsters earn some experience points in the process.
Or I could continue hunting here in the N2E12 Map.
Hmm.
All options are tempting.
The time is 2:30 PM.
So I still have some time to spare, don’t I?
Let’s head east.
I should stick around that area a little longer
I’m hunting Snow Wyverns while heading east.
No sign of Cloud Dragons.
Just in case, I’ll be using Call Monster here and there.
Lesser Dragon – Dark and Lesser Dragon – Ripper are dangerous.
Just knowing where they are changes my mindset.
Fortunately, they don’t seem to be present in the direction I’m heading.
The most tense moments are whenever I’m looting the Snow Wyverns’ corpses for items.
My past experiences of being attacked are to blame for that.
I’m fundamentally a cautious person.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
Summoner is Going
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 80 Hours
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