Thoughts of an Outer God

It wasn’t just a metaphor or exaggeration.

The universe was literally moving.

Countless stars became the body, colorful nebulae became long hair, and the Milky Way intertwined to become clothes, forming the shape of a woman in the blink of an eye.

A being that seemed to embody the universe itself.

Its presence was so overwhelming that just perceiving it made his head throb.

Fighting through the headache, Yuseong spoke in a trembling voice.

“…Are you the Goddess?”

[Solver. Or should I call you User? It’s nice to meet you.]

‘She knows about users.’

Well, even Hae Cheongyeong who failed to become an immortal knew about users, so it would be strange if a being like a goddess didn’t know.

In that brief moment, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

He had considered the possibility of getting involved with the goddess.

He had messed with the hero who had received the goddess’s blessing.

He had expected the goddess would notice the situation and make contact either during the quest or at the latest when Han Jae-kyung lost his qualification as hero, and had made plans to use this to fulfill additional clear conditions.

However, when actually facing the goddess, he could do nothing.

‘I was thinking of beings on the level of Hae Cheongyeong or Lucifer but this is…’

An overwhelming presence that reminded him of the Outer God he had encountered in the [Unidentified Organism. Highly Hostile to Humans] quest.

Just a flick of the goddess’s finger would turn him to cosmic dust.

Was negotiation possible with such a being?

No, before that, was conversation even possible?

Humans don’t try to converse with insects.

And the gap between himself and the goddess was even greater than that between insects and humans.

‘Will I be able to return alive?’

Just as the Outer God’s cry had broken through the system’s limits and left an ominous trace called Forbidden Knowledge skill in a corner of his mind, he had a strong premonition that if he died to the goddess, it wouldn’t end with just a quest failure.

As Yuseong trembled in anxiety, the goddess’s voice echoed in his mind.

[You’re quite a worried child. I won’t harm you, so you needn’t be afraid.]

“…Is that true?”

[If I meant to harm you, I wouldn’t have bothered calling you here. If you’re still uneasy, I’ll swear on my name that I won’t harm you.]

Though he didn’t know what swearing on her name meant, Yuseong decided to trust the weight carried in the goddess’s voice.

“I apologize about the hero matter. I didn’t mean to blaspheme against you, but making Han Jae-kyung lose his hero qualification was my mission…”

[No need to apologize since I’m not angry. Rather, as I said earlier, I want to thank you for providing such interesting entertainment. I summoned a hero from another world hoping to see something new after so long, and it turned out far more entertaining than I expected.]

“Ha, haha…”

Maybe someone else, but not her.

To call it interesting entertainment when the hero she chose fell for deception, fought desperately with companions, and met a miserable downfall.

He couldn’t comprehend the thought process of transcendent beings at all.

“Then why did you call me?”

[Nothing special. I saw something interesting in your head and called you to take a look.]

The interesting thing in his head.

One word reflexively escaped Yuseong’s lips.

“Forbidden Knowledge skill?”

[If by Forbidden Knowledge skill you mean the thoughts left by the Outer God from beyond the universe, then yes. It’s truly fascinating. You seem to have been carrying those thoughts for quite a while, but how have you managed to resist becoming the Outer God’s minion? Is it because you’re a user and thus unaffected? No, that can’t be right, given how far the corruption has progressed…]

Outer God’s thoughts, minion, corruption.

Yuseong’s face turned pale as he listened to the goddess’s explanation.

Through recent experiences he had vaguely realized the Forbidden Knowledge skill was dangerous, but this was beyond that.

“Is there no way to remove the Forbidden Knowledge skill, or rather the Outer God’s thoughts?”

[There are two ways. Either become a transcendent being and remove it yourself, or receive help from a transcendent being.]

“If it’s not too presumptuous…”

[It is presumptuous.]

The answer came before he could even finish his question.

[Using enough power to remove an Outer God’s thoughts requires a considerable amount of karma. I barely have enough karma to intervene in the current world, let alone spare any elsewhere.]

“If it’s karma, I can pay.”

He still had nearly 200 million karma left since he had only purchased the negative dimension virus, virus research journal, and some stats from the [City Being Devoured] quest.

The goddess formed a smile by moving star clusters and said.

[About 2 billion karma would be needed to completely remove the thoughts. Can you pay that much karma?]

Ten times his current karma.

Yuseong could only silently bow his head.

[The viewing is over, so I’ll send you back to where you were. Sorry for calling you so suddenly.]

“Wait! May I make one request before that?”

[A request… Go ahead and speak.]

Yuseong spoke while watching the goddess’s reaction.

“Please choose Abel as the next hero.”

[Why should I do that?]

Yuseong closed his mouth at the goddess’s counter-question.

His original plan was to threaten that if she didn’t choose Abel, he would enter this world and interfere with every new hero.

But that was a plan made assuming beings like Hae Cheongyeong or Lucifer, not such a transcendent being who was the universe itself.

While desperately thinking of a way to make her choose Abel without provoking her, an amused voice was heard.

[Hoho, I was too mischievous. I’ll choose Abel as the next hero, so you don’t need to agonize so much.]

“Thank you!”

[I should be the one thanking you for providing such entertaining viewing.]

As soon as the goddess finished speaking, his vision brightened once again.

Realizing he had returned to Dice Fortress, Yuseong lay spread-eagled on the ground.

Though Abel tried speaking to him, he didn’t respond.

While the goddess hadn’t done anything in particular, just perceiving and conversing with a cosmic being had accumulated severe mental fatigue.

[You have cleared the quest ‘The Hero Who Couldn’t Become a Hero’]

[Analyzing clear process, please wait a moment]

[Fate Change Rate 212.1%, Otherworld Skill Usage 32.6%, Otherworld Artifact Usage 54.4%]

[Final Evaluation SSS Rank]

[Amazing! User Han Yuseong has achieved the feat of changing a transcendent being’s mind and greatly altering fate! Rewards will be given!]

[Basic Clear Reward: 40,000,000 Karma, Elixir×1, Blessed Mithril Long Sword×1, Blessed Mithril Full Plate Armor Set×1, Supreme Holy Water×50, True Judgment×50]

[Additional Condition Clear Reward: 100,000,000 Karma, Divine Artifact Blessing×1, Seed of Divinity×1]

[SSS Rank Clear Additional Reward: 100,000,000 Karma]

[Return to original world will begin shortly]

The rewards were so splendid it was hard to believe this was a quest chosen as an escape.

However, instead of rejoicing, Yuseong quietly closed his eyes.

Though he wanted to collect items from the dead party members or make some quips to Abel about regret, he had no strength left to maintain consciousness.

[Initiating Deus Ex Machina Program]

[Ariadne’s Thread tracking complete]

[Initiating spirit particle transfer]

* * *

The first thing Yuseong felt upon regaining consciousness was an oppressive heaviness over his whole body.

It wasn’t hard to understand the situation.

When he tried to breathe, a handful of dirt entered his nose and mouth.

‘I’m buried underground.’

Like the experienced user he was, Yuseong responded calmly without panic.

He held his breath, protected his whole body with internal energy using Infinite Origin Force, then slowly raised his arms.

Thud.

His arms rose more easily than expected, suggesting he was buried in a shallow spot.

Crunch!

Like a scene from a zombie movie, an arm burst from the ground.

Shortly after, a dirt-covered Yuseong emerged.

“Ptui ptui. Ahem.”

After spitting out the dirt in his mouth and roughly dusting himself off, Yuseong looked around and gave a bitter smile.

The beautiful city he had last seen before escaping was completely gone, leaving only ruins of earth and stone.

‘Did Harnak die?’

Though he didn’t think anyone could survive that attack, he couldn’t be certain since he hadn’t seen it directly.

‘Ah, whatever. If he’s alive, the other users would have dealt with him.’

Yuseong shook his head.

There were more important things than that right now.

[Current Karma: 421,100,000]

[Product List]

-Holy Avenger(S-): 300,000,000

-Wind Spirit Ring(A+): 30,000,000

-Acceleration Crest(A): 25,000,000

-Andrei Family Treasure Sword(A): 25,000,000

-Light of Dawn(A): 10,000,000

-Andrei’s Mana Training Method(A): 10,000,000

-……

-……

-……

Upon entering the karma shop, Yuseong immediately purchased the item at the very top without hesitation.

The pure white sword that Han Jae-kyung had used.

Of course, he hadn’t bought it planning to change weapons.

<Holy Avenger>

-Rank: S-

-Type: Weapon

-A weapon made with the sole determination to destroy evil. Exhibits fatal power even against holy beings, and as it was made using pure light essence, its form can be changed according to the user’s will using magic power.

-Has Evil Destruction and Evil Breaking attributes.

-100% additional damage when attacking evil or demonic attributes.

-All stats of evil or demonic beings within 1km of owner decrease by 20%.

-Durability recovers when infused with magic power.

-Form changes when infused with magic power.

-Health recovery speed increases 30% under sunlight.

-Magic power recovery speed increases 30% in darkness.

-All stats +300.

Though each option was extraordinary, the form change option was definitely his favorite.

“Good thing I didn’t dismiss it just because it was a sword.”

After transforming Holy Avenger into gauntlet form and storing it in Thousand Hands’ second slot, he could feel power filling his whole body.

After finishing purchasing useful items and skills, Yuseong was about to check the community when he stopped moving and listened to sounds coming from far away.

The sound of something exploding and people shouting.

Putting the goggles in his chest, Yuseong tensed his legs and jumped.

After several jumps brought him to where the sounds were coming from, Yuseong wore a puzzled expression at the scene before him.

‘Are they excavating something?’

Many people were searching around with devices similar to mine detectors or digging enthusiastically with shovels.

After clearing his throat a few times to announce his presence, Yuseong waved lightly at the blonde youth who turned his head.

“……”

“Excuse me?”

“F-found him!”

The moment the youth shouted, a heavy silence fell as if by magic.

A silence so deep you could hear a pin drop.

And soon after came cheers from people that seemed about to blow the place away.

“…What exactly is going on?”

Those were the only words Yuseong could barely manage while being tossed in the air by countless people.