Chapter 148

“The appointment of apostle… isn’t happening?” The game master looked at me with a playful expression.

‘What is this?’

My head was spinning. The appointment as an apostle wasn’t happening. In fact, it didn’t make sense. The Game Master was a god who didn’t force faith upon anyone. Believers of other gods, including those of Justice, Truth and Honor, could become priests of the Game God without any problem! Of course, if the relevant god disliked the authority of the Game Master and refused, then such a thing might happen but…this was only possible for higher beings. Most high-level gods were starving for faith, so how could this occur?

The Game Master stared at me intently.

“It is really amazing. No title or name… Only your level can be seen. Level 18 with plus alpha attached. Essentially, it’s like level 19.5.” He circled around me for quite some time, examining my appearance. “Hey, can you hear me?”

I could hear him. However, I couldn’t answer. I was aware of the stopped time but that didn’t mean I was free from it.

The game master spoke, “It seems you can hear but there is no control. Then focus on your senses. How do you see me?”

His words were incomprehensible. Of course, I saw him with both eyes, how else would I see him? Nevertheless, the game master shook his head. “Recognize properly. Right now, I am standing behind you. You can’t see me with your eyes.”

’…?!’

It was real. When I discarded my prejudices and focused properly, I could ‘see’ him standing behind me.

‘No way! How can I see like this?’

“How do you hear sound? Concentrate.”

I concentrated at his words, then realized it.

‘T-This is what?’

In stopped time, I wasn’t seeing the world with my eyes or hearing with my ears. In this fragment of cut-off time, what allowed me to perceive the world wasn’t physical senses. It was a perspective that had never been imagined before, something beyond sight, touch, and hearing.

“Doesn’t it feel like reading a book?”

“This doesn’t make sense!”

“Oh, you succeeded quickly. Do you have talent?”

“Pant…pant… What is this?”

I opened my mouth. This didn’t mean that time had resumed. My body was still stopped, and only my ‘Perspective’ remained facing the game master. The game master smiled with wonder.

“Having your own unique timeline is quite rare. Well, to be exact, it isn’t just a timeline? Based on the dimensional coordinates, it seems you possess a unique world.”

“Guan Dae-”

“Call me Guan Daeha informally.”

Despite his friendly approach, tension made my body stiffen. He was one of the highest-ranked Gods, transcending even their limits due to his divine lineage. A Savior who saved Earth from certain destruction, making his name resound throughout the universe—a figure straight out of textbooks.

He truly was a being straight out of a textbook.

‘I never thought I would meet him when I considered facing him inevitable.’

Ever since obtaining this ability, my thoughts had constantly been on him. It was only natural given how extraordinary the power I possessed seemed.

The ability to bring game items and abilities into reality through microtransactions—it inevitably brought to mind the concept of a Game Master deity.

“As you may know, your power didn’t originate from me.”

“I suspected as much.”

It wasn’t just about the nature of the ability but also its implications. Bestowing such immense potential upon someone like me, a mere social misfit…it raised questions.

“That’s correct. Lately, I’ve been too busy to focus on anything else.” His unexpected response left me puzzled.

“Busy, you say?” The game master hadn’t been officially active for quite some time. With his mere opinions capable of shaking the macrocosm, why would he claim to be busy?

“The highest-ranked Gods bear their own burdens. Even that idiot Grotesque couldn’t escape them, so how could I? For now, I’m content with occasionally visiting the material world… But finding you amidst my busyness was truly worthwhile.”

“It doesn’t seem like you were specifically searching for me.”

“Of course not. What I sought were clues as to why the sporadic incidents have suddenly increased dramatically… Ah, this conversation is becoming uncomfortable. Let’s sit down and talk.”

I was puzzled by Daha’s words and asked, “Sit down? You don’t even have a body.”

At that moment…

Pop!

Bang!

“Ack!”

With a scream, Daha collapsed. Surprised, I quickly supported him.

“Are you okay?”

“No, what is this feeling?! It feels like my head has been hit with a Go board!”

”…”.

His oddly specific description made me confused.

[Human!!! Human!!! Finally caught you!! I will kill you! Kill you!!!] A huge shadow covered us amidst the savage cry.

[I will kill you! Kill you! Kill you! Kill you! Kill you! Kill you! Kill you! Kill you! Kill you! Kill you! Kill you! Rip apart your limbs, hang your neck, crush your skull, burn your entire body…]

The monstrous dark figure was dozens or hundreds of metres tall with a terrifying appearance. Thousands of twisted heads screamed while tentacles-like darkness waved, seemingly ready to swallow everything. It had a savage look like a demon king from hell.

[Hahaha!! Now you can’t leave!! For an eternity…]

“Ah… my head.”

At that moment, Daha rose up.

[…]

Hyperion, who had been screaming wildly, became as stiff as stone. I realized:

“Oh, we entered the inner world.”

Of course, where else would Hyperion be waiting? After being left alone for 133 times accelerated time, it seemed they were very angry.

“Ahhh! Seriously! Isn’t this ajumma completely unreasonable? No matter what, games are my domain. How can she say I can’t even observe?”

The dark and angry aura surrounding Hyperion’s body rapidly diminished as she observed the agitated Daha. In no time, Hyperion transformed back into a small girl wearing a black dress and slowly retreated.

Finally noticing her presence, Daha asked, “Who are you?”

“Greetings. I am the maiden Hyperion.”

“So what is that supposed to mean?”

[A mere spirit residing within a stick, insignificant and lowly trash like myself. Although my perception may be limited, your overwhelming majesty reveals your true greatness. Wh-whoever you may be, it is truly an honor of three lifetimes to behold someone as magnificent as yourself. Such grace bestowed upon a wretched being like me feels undeserved.]

“Wow, sounds like rap poetry.”

The excessive praise made me feel embarrassed, but Hyperion didn’t seem to hear it at all and didn’t turn towards us. Haein bowed deeply, her head almost touching the ground while still wearing the dress.

“It is truly an honor to meet you. Don’t waste your precious time on someone insignificant like me when you have business to attend to. Then! I will be going now. Farewell.”

She retreated with stiff formality that wasn’t even amusing.

Daha asked, “Is this creature being raised by you?”

At this question, Hyperion looked at me, his gaze filled with desperate tears.

I responded, “It’s the evil spirit of a demonic sword.”

”…!”

“So, as expected? Since we’re here, let’s kill it and transform it into a holy sword.”

”…!?”

Seeing her eyes widen in shock, I nodded affirmatively.

“That sounds good too.”

“Yes, and I can also create a mage-type sword spirit capable of ultimate magic spells. How about one with the appearance of a mature woman?”

[Spare me…!!]

Suddenly, Hyperion raced back from the distant horizon, knelt before Jinwoo, and slammed his head on the ground.

[I am not evil! Peacefully living in darkness, wicked mages captured me and sealed me within this blade! It’s true that many unfortunate events occurred while I was trapped inside, but it wasn’t by my design! The blame lies solely with those humans who fell to ruin after capturing me!]

“Oh, I see.” Daha nodded as if understanding everything. “So you’re saying the holy sword imbued with healing magic?”

[Huhhng! No! I was wrong! Being trapped in this narrow space after roaming the vast universe made me angry! At first, I didn’t even realize it was wrong! Waaahhh!!] Hyperion burst out crying, making me inwardly click my tongue.

‘Wow, he is scared to death?’

I also felt nervous because I knew about his deeds, history, and power. If you erased all biases, he just appeared as a young man in his early 20s. However, Daha seemed not to see him that way.

“Hmm. This is difficult.” As he spoke these words, Daha turned back towards me. The expression on his face showed me that he was joking around.

Thus, I roughly accepted it, “Well, you must be busy so there is no need to trouble yourself.”

[…!] Hyperion raised his head from despair. Daha tilted his head.

“There isn’t much trouble?”

[…!] He fell back into despair again. I laughed.

“It doesn’t cause me any harm. If there is a problem later, I will let you know then.”

“Yes, we will see each other occasionally.” With that said, he waved his hand. In no time, Hyperion disappeared and a tea table appeared between us.

‘Wait, this is my inner world?’

I was amazed but what couldn’t the highest ranked Gods do? Daha started explaining while drinking prepared cola.

“Hmm. Where should I start… Yes. In the beginning, there was emptiness.”

My mouth dropped open automatically.

“Wait, you’re starting from that point?”

Isn’t this too grand of a story? However, Hyperion seemed composed as he continued:

“It is related. You have a rough understanding of the birth of the universe and the Creator, right? Since it’s part of the curriculum, you should know.”

“I always wondered why ‘Macrocosm and Earth’ was a mandatory subject…”

Originally, this universe had nothing. It wasn’t just empty space; it was complete nothingness, devoid even of the concept of existence—the commonly known void.

And within that void, “He” was born.

A magnificent existence that couldn’t even be named. Everyone knew of its presence, but no one could meet it - the Supreme Being, the Creator.

“You know quite accurately,” Daha laughed before continuing, “It is said that ‘He’ suffered from loneliness. Naturally, even such a great being couldn’t endure countless ages alone. So, ‘He’ created this world.”

However, creation here wasn’t akin to crafting something with tangible materials. This was because, at that time, only ‘He’ existed in the universe.

Daha explained:

“In extreme terms, it is like an isolated loner with no friends imagining companionship from a corner of their room. It was purely a flight of fancy. A vast world filled with countless beings, various incidents and accidents…”

If a mortal attempted such a feat, it would merely be delusion. However, “He” was the absolute Creator of the universe. His imagination became reality, shaping the entire world.

“Yes. This world is but a dream conjured by ‘Him’. It’s a book penned by ‘His’ thoughts, filled with diverse imaginings.”

The characters imagined by Him became masters of the universe. His concepts transformed into laws. Dimensions created, abandoned projects, and discarded ideas were cast aside as Unnamed entities.

“Essentially, it means that only one person existed in this world.”

Many people were shocked when they learned this from textbooks. Some felt disillusioned, thinking our existence was just an illusion. Teachers explained that we weren’t illusions but creations of a divine being powerful enough to imagine and create the world.

“No, wait a moment.” Suddenly, I realized there was something strange about his words. “Only one person…”

“Yes. It isn’t like that anymore. ‘He’ is no longer alone,” Daha replied with a deep sigh. “[She] has appeared.”