Chapter 78: Chapter 78

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Chapter 78: The Past That Only I Remember (2)

Negotiating souls with a dismembered god?

Do I even have the SP to mediate in the first place?

As I looked at her skeptically, she tried to convince me.

[I may have been defeated by Olympus and lost all my limbs to Zeus… but aren’t you curious whether mediating souls with someone like me could generate SP or not?]

“No, it seems pretty obvious that it won’t generate any SP.”

[Are you short on soul-mediation slots?]

“Not really.”

[Then let’s give it a try. I’ll include a clause in the contract to allow mutual cancellation if no SP is gained.]

Mutual cancellation?

Then I won’t really lose anything, will I?

“Alright, let’s do it. But I don’t offer this for free—what will you give me in return?”

[…I’ll increase your limits again, like last time.]

Not bad, but it still feels lacking.

Well, what could I expect to receive from a goddess who’s had all her limbs cut off?

Let’s just be satisfied with this for now.

“Alright, I’ll accept. Please go ahead.”

Then, roots emerged from the ground.

They wrapped around my body instantly.

It felt like they were gripping me more tightly than last time… or was that just my imagination?

[All of user Kim Jiho’s potential has permanently increased.]

[The maximum stats for all abilities in the Order faction have greatly increased.]

[The maximum stats for all abilities in the Neutral faction have greatly increased.]

I still haven’t hit my limits, though.

“I’m still not at my limits.”

[This time, I held back a bit. Last time, helping you got me caught, and I ended up on the brink of death. This time, I’ll play it safer. I’ll secretly save my power while bearing Zeus’ child.]

Once again, essence dripped from her eyes, just like last time.

But the gemstone this time was even larger than before.

“This is…”

[I’ll transfer all my memories before my death into this. You’ll also be able to contact me a few times if anything unusual happens.]

“I understand.”

As expected of a goddess.

She can create something like this with ease.

When I placed the essence of Elprian into the dragon heart, she spoke again.

[You’d better leave now. If you stay too long, Olympus might notice. Do you have a way to return?]

“Yes, I do.”

[That’s good. I’ll contact you if anything happens.]

“Alright, return.”

I used the Level 5 return skill I had upgraded from Heimdall to leave this world.

The light flickered, and the world around me changed completely.

“I’m back.”

The musty smell of a man’s studio apartment hit my nose.

Hmm…

This place doesn’t ventilate well, so the smell won’t go away easily.

At times like this, I miss the money I left sitting in my bank account.

I didn’t even get to spend it before coming back.

I sat in front of the computer and started thinking about what to do next.

“Leveling up is my top priority.”

The goal is to reach Rank A.

I need to raise my level by 56.

If I reach the level of a demigod, I’ll be able to summon Diana and move more freely.

But leveling up on Earth’s dungeons is practically impossible.

Looking at my titles, I still have the “Earth’s Number One” title, which gives me 1% bonus experience.

But with the current state of low-level dungeons, it’s hardly any help.

“In the end, I’ll have to go to the Broken World.”

But can I go there when the association building isn’t even complete yet?

Hmm…

First, I’ll need to re-register as a hunter with the association.

At the same time, I’ll save up 12.5 million SP, raise soul mediation to Level 7, and start smuggling in earnest.

Currently, I have 2.8 million SP…

It’ll take a while. Sigh.

Ten million SP, huh?

At a rate of 30,000 SP per day, it’ll take me a year.

I grabbed some damp-smelling clothes and put them on.

There used to be a housekeeper who did my laundry…

The fabric feels cheap, too.

I debated whether I should just go to the association and declare myself a Rank B.

I left the house, heading toward the old association building, taking the subway at a leisurely pace for the first time in a while.

When I arrived, the place was packed with people.

According to Jinseong, yesterday was for gathering Rank C hunters.

Today, it must be for lower ranks.

Looking at the big signs for F, E, and D ranks, I figured I was right.

People were lined up according to their ranks.

No C-rank hunters?

“Form a line here! The Valkyries will verify everything once again. Please check your status windows and line up!”

I approached an employee managing the crowd and asked.

“I’m C-rank. Where should I go?”

“Ah, C-ranks have a separate booth over there. The Valkyries will verify you.”

She pointed me toward a booth, where towering warrior women over 2 meters tall stood.

Their backs and helmets had white angelic wings, and they wore armor shaped like a dress that revealed their arms and legs.

At their waists hung large swords, and huge shields rested on their backs.

With snow-white skin, fiery red hair, and piercing blue eyes, these warrior women were stunning.

They seemed intimidating, but their beauty rivaled that of elves.

So these are Valkyries?

They’re beautiful, sure, but their size and bulk don’t really appeal to me.

They just feel like gorgeous giants.

“What brings you here?”

As I approached the booth, one Valkyrie asked me in an imposing tone.

Straight to informal speech, huh?

Elves are much more polite.

I’m firmly in the elf camp.

“I’m here to report as a C-rank.”

“We summoned you yesterday, but you’re late. Show us your status window.”

Oh, they want to see my status window?

I was debating whether or not to hide my Rank B status, but now it seems like it’s unavoidable.

As I hesitated, the Valkyries glared at me.

“Why aren’t you showing it? If you’re not C-rank, get out immediately.”

“There’ve been too many humans trying to pull cheap tricks since yesterday.”

The Valkyries muttered among themselves, glancing at me with disdain.

I debated for a moment but decided there was no point in hiding it.

I showed them my status window, partially concealed, hiding my name and level but leaving everything else visible.

The Valkyries looked at it with cold expressions before suddenly gasping in shock.

“Wh-what!? The level is…!”

“Kim Jiho! It’s him! The one Loki mentioned!”

“We’ll escort you personally!”

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The Valkyries abruptly switched to honorifics and began leading me somewhere.

Did someone tip them off about me?

The Valkyrie, who had been so defiant earlier, looked like a completely different person.

The place they took me to was a room on the 32nd floor of a building—

The president’s office.

“I’ve heard much about you, Mr. Kim Jiho. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Aria, a Valkyrie.”

Standing there was another Valkyrie in white armor, like the others.

Unlike the red-haired Valkyrie, this one had blue hair.

Her face was gentler and more beautiful than the others.

Her stature was smaller too, closer to mine.

Perhaps because of this, she felt a bit more approachable than the others.

She gestured for the Valkyries who had escorted me to leave.

“You may leave now.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The Valkyries saluted in unison and exited the room.

Aria watched them leave for a moment before speaking again.

“How was it? Were you shocked, Mr. Kim Jiho?”

“Well… I didn’t expect you to turn back time. It’s… surprising.”

“To fight against the overwhelming force of chaos, it was a necessary step,”

She said, emphasizing the sacrifices they made to achieve this feat.

Apparently, reversing time for the entire Earth was such an enormous task that even gods like Loki and the chief gods overexerted themselves and would now be sealed away for a year.

So that’s why communication had been cut off.

Aria smiled softly and asked again.

“Was there nothing else that surprised you?”

“They’ve forgotten everything about me. My friends assume I’m still a C-rank.”

“Loki deeply apologizes for this. There were complications during the process of reversing time.”

“Complications?”

“Yes. Your presence was too overwhelming for Earth’s people.”

My… presence?

How was that a problem?

“I’m not sure I follow. What do you mean?”

“With Earth on the brink of destruction due to dungeons, you alone were able to suppress them. Despite countless prayers, no help came from the gods, and you became humanity’s sole hope. People began to revere you as a god.”

“They… worshiped me? Really?”

Well, now.

I mean, I did show off some serious thunder as Zeus’s Apostle, but I didn’t expect it to go that far.

“Yes. It caught us off guard. As it is, reversing time for all Earth’s people was already over budget. Losing their faith on top of that would’ve been catastrophic for us.”

So they erased their memories of me?

“Wait, so you erased their memories of me to fix that?”

“Yes… But there is still an opportunity to restore things. Loki asked me to offer you a proposal.”

“A proposal?”

“If you agree to maintain this state for just one year, we’ll remove the penalties from the Broken World.”

“Penalties? You mean the level-down upon death and the tenfold experience loss?”

“Yes. For all Earth’s people, the penalties would be halved as well.”

Interesting.

That offer caught my attention.

Right now, leveling up is my top priority.

Without the penalties, I could grind levels in higher difficulties even if I died repeatedly.

Plus, if the penalties for others are reduced, they could level up faster too.

I didn’t gain much from being worshiped anyway. Searᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

If anything, it just brought me unnecessary attention and stress.

“What exactly does ‘maintaining this state’ entail?”

“It simply means hiding the fact that you’re a B-rank Hunter. Just for one year.”

“Hmm…”

“After one year, you’re free to reveal your power as much as you like.”

“And even if I do, people won’t recover their original memories, right?”

“That’s correct.”

So I’d just need to flex my abilities again.

Got it.

“What happens if I refuse?”

“Then you’ll return to being a subject of worship. Loki said that if you reject this offer, he will restore everything to its original state.”

“Hmm. Being worshiped doesn’t sound bad, though. Isn’t there some kind of benefit to it? The gods all seem to seek it.”

“Yes, there is. You gain SP from their faith. But…”

Aria answered every question kindly, smiling all the while.

She must’ve been prepped by Loki or something.

“You’d need to be S-rank. Only upon reaching divinity can faith provide SP.”

So I need to be S-rank to benefit from faith.

Well, that explains why I didn’t receive any SP during Earth’s apocalyptic days.

Fine, I’ll accept the offer.

For now, my priority is leveling up.

I’ll choose the option that helps me the most.

It was a bit disappointing to let go of the status I’d built up, but it was also a relief.

The burden had been too heavy for me alone.

With a year’s time, that weight could be redistributed a bit.

But there was one problem—my weapons rental business.

Strengthening the C-rank Hunters’ capabilities relied on that.

As I mulled over what to do, I realized there was someone right in front of me who could handle it.

“I’ll accept your proposal. But could you take over my weapon rentals?”

“Weapons… rentals?”

After explaining my Earth-based weapon rental system, Aria agreed without hesitation.

In exchange, payment would only be made after the weapons were rented.

“Unfortunately, we’re setting up our branch and are short on funds,”

She said with a sheepish grin.

Even so, I secured an advance payment of several billion won before handing over the weapons.

Time to move houses with this money.

But first, let’s get to work.

“I’ll head straight to the Broken World.”

“Already? You could rest a bit, you know…”

“No, I need to hit A-rank as soon as possible.”

“We’ve set up a system on the 40th floor of this building. It won’t accommodate others yet, but it’ll suffice for you.”

Aria gestured for me to follow her, and I trailed behind, lost in thought about the Broken World.

Wait.

This is the Neutral Faction, isn’t it?

The guides were based on Neutral Faction strategies too.

Ambush the elves and dwarves, manipulate events to corrupt Diana…

All those hardcore tactics outlined in the guides—those would actually work here?

Could I finally use them properly this time?

“Hah…”

“Uh, Mr. Kim Jiho?”

Oh. No, those methods are way too extreme.

Better to prevent Diana from being taken by others myself.

Yeah, purely for her protection, of course.

Resolving myself, I headed toward the Broken World’s portal—

and froze.

Something was off.

The number of portals was far fewer than expected.

And…

“What… Where’s Kevrian?”

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