Lone Walk, Preparing For The First Step (1)

Violentia’s departure from Exorsus with over three thousand representatives confirmed that the rumor about needing to leave Exorsus wasn’t mere gossip but the truth.

Representatives who had been holed up in homes or inns began entering the Garden of Gods one by one; they met their gods and were told they absolutely had to go.

Representatives who couldn’t join Violentia’s or Benialis’s camps were advised by their gods to head to the barren north, and they left the Garden of Gods.

The representatives felt as if they’d been living like nobles just days ago, only to be cast out onto the streets overnight.

Moreover, after learning from their gods about the representatives’ unique skill called “absorption,” they realized they could no longer trust just anyone.

Some humbled themselves and went to Benialis’s camp, but for reasons unknown Giorgio accepted only those he considered strong.

The most furious—those pounding the ground in rage—were the representatives expelled from Violentia’s camp.

If they’d stayed in Violentia’s camp, they would have been able to leave Exorsus and, instead of worrying, march into the Dark Empire under her lead and live ostentatiously.

There was nowhere to vent that overflowing anger. If they openly took it out on continentals in Exorsus now, they could end up like the representatives recently hung on the wall of Kim Han’s mansion—unaware it was the Rebound Legion House.

Anger built with no outlet; they resented Violentia for leaving first, and the thought of former comrades who had followed her to the Dark Empire and were likely living large filled them with envy.

“Bitch!”

“Hey—watch your mouth, no matter what.”

“What did I do!! That bitch kicked me out just for disobeying an order to gather once? And then they all trotted off to the Dark Empire, grinning and laughing!!”

“…We did do something wrong too.”

“Wrong my ass!! Fuck, that dog of a woman! Let’s see how well she lives now!”

They were venting loudly in the tavern when a surly voice spoke from the next table.

“Hey, did you rent out the whole tavern!?”

The three representatives turned their heads in unison toward the voice.

He was clearly a mage—robe and all—but he wasn’t a representative; he was a continental. The Azure Tower’s mark was stamped on his chest.

“What?! You bastard…”

“Hold it!”

The man trying to calm his companion uttered a single word—“Red Rule.” At that, the other man sank the divine power he’d raised and left the tavern with his party.

The three representatives returned to their inn and resumed complaining.

“Damn it. I can’t take this anymore!”

“Hold on. So are you going to take on that monster, Red Rule?”

“Even if we can’t handle Red Rule, we can pick off a few of his companions who go out separately and run. We’re supposed to head north or south anyway. We can take one or two heads and bolt. How’s he going to find us?”

“Really…?”

“How big is the Battlefield of the Gods continent? Besides, imagine moving around and picking off other idiots to ‘absorb’—we might stock up plenty. Who knows? We could end up stronger than Red Rule later!”

“That could happen?”

“Alright, I’ll gather people.”

“Yeah, there are plenty of dissatisfied representatives.”

Thus, in the early days of the Battlefield of the Gods, the incident that would make representatives tremble at the mere mention of the name Kim Han began in a small tavern in the mercenary district south of Exorsus.

At the hour when the sun went to work, turning the garden’s dew into jewels, the Rebound Legion House lay quieter than usual.

Because Kim Han wasn’t there.

With Makiala leaving the Rebound Legion mansion and Violentia departing Exorsus, the city had become noisy and chaotic, so Kim Han had retreated to the underground training hall for a week.

Those preparing meals or opening the mansion for the morning looked listless for reasons that weren’t only the early hour.

Underground training hall.

Before he opened the neatly wrapped five-year package in his inventory, he took out a scroll and a book—what had the Heavenly and demon gods prepared?

“Long-distance relationship? Lover? Handwritten letter?”

The Garden of Gods Visit Pass is actually a fairly common ‘Setting’ item—gods who are not on good terms with their representatives dislike it, but it sometimes appears in Battlefield of the Gods events.

However, the magic book was something even I had never seen before.

Flipping the luxurious cover, the first page bore the elegant script “Ludicer.” Turning the page, a single line was written at the top of the white empty space.

Font size 15pt, relative size 100%, width 100%, letter spacing 0%, position 0%, line spacing 160%.

“…Feels like it’s ordering me to hand in a report.”

It didn’t seem to require a special pen—I didn’t even have a normal pen in my inventory.

On a whim I extended my index finger and scribbled on the book, and words automatically appeared in 15pt font.

―Ludicer?

Then, on the right, a demure handwritten reply that unmistakably looked like Ludicer’s handwriting slowly appeared like magic.

―Yes, Kim Han.

―Is this how you use it?

―Yes, that’s correct.

―Alright, thanks. I’ll use it well.

―You’re welcome.

Even though the answers were terse, the handwriting on the right strangely looked embarrassed.

As I put the book back into my inventory, a sudden realization hit me.

“Ah!”

No wonder Benialis in that life had seemed such an idiot—this must be why.

Wasn’t it this book, which could get advice from Amor, that allowed them to oppose that monstrous Violentia in the previous life and manipulate Musing Proy Rium from behind the scenes?

Of course, the book’s pages were limited, so it couldn’t have been used forever. That might explain why the Heavenly God’s faction suddenly lost power and collapsed mid-game. After all, the animosity between Benialis and Giorgio began abruptly after the mid-game.

It all made sense.

It explains why Benialis—who in a past life had been called a dirty schemer rather than a compassionate star among representatives—was an idiot in this life.

I put the book back in my inventory and decided to use the neatly wrapped package on top.

A small light flashed in the inventory, and new items appeared in five slots at the bottom.

Sometimes that happens—when you read a user manual in your own language and still don’t understand it at all. That’s exactly how I felt now.

I took out the magic book again and began writing with my hand.

―Ludicer.

―Yes.

―So, what am I supposed to do with this?

―Are you referring to Fluxum?

―Yeah.

―Fluxum is most often used in the Latens Cube. It’s a material that’s hard to obtain even among the divine realms. However, as I mentioned before, its grade is judged low only because it’s a crafting material. I don’t know what kind of weapon you have in mind, Kim Han, but make a weapon out of Fluxum first, and later absorb a weapon you craft or obtain. It has better divine power conductivity than any metal in the world and is the best material for equipment.

―Make a weapon?

―Yes. That’s why I enclosed a recipe. The ‘Recipe—Predation Fang’ is, as far as I know, the best-performing weapon among those made from Fluxum. As I said, because it’s a crafting material its grade was downgraded, and a recipe downgraded it another step, but it’s an excellent recipe.

―I get that from the explanation alone. But are you okay?

―I do not understand the question.

―No matter it’s a crafting material, its grade is extraordinary—are you sure this is okay? Can we do this?

―As I said earlier, because it’s a crafting material its grade has been adjusted downward and the power required is also very small. Less power is used than for a Unique-grade weapon. In the first place, the item I gave you has the significant restriction in its ‘Setting’ that it is useful only if you have crafting techniques capable of using high-grade crafting materials. Don’t worry and please be careful. Manus said he’d be silent for six years, but who knows what schemes he might be plotting. Don’t let your guard down.

―Alright, thanks. I’ll use it well.

After saying thank you, I closed the book, put it into the inventory, and took out a blunt staff that shone like white moonlight.

Unlike when it was in the inventory, the staff outside was long and quite thick—over three meters in length and about the width of a finger in diameter.

It was heavy enough that considerable strength would be needed to lift and swing it.

I put the Fluxum into the inventory, took out the ‘Recipe—Predation Fang,’ infused it with divine power, and tore it.

“The weapon Predation Fang’s crafting recipe has been successfully registered.”

Along with the message floating in the air, the weapon’s materials and crafting method appeared in my mind.

“What…? All of this goes in?”

“What on earth are you planning to make…”