Chapter 428 – Part 2 – Dayna’s Request

[Request?]

Upon hearing the word request, Choi Seong-min couldn’t help but make a displeased expression.

He instinctively sensed it was something unprofitable.

[What kind of request?]

When he asked with the intention of at least listening, Dayna hesitated before speaking.

[Please save me, Min Do-jun.]

[Save you? What are you talking about?]

[I’m currently trapped in Derkius’s prison in the underworld. I’m unable to move freely.]

‘Trapped? An administrator?’

Choi Seong-min concealed his surprised emotions and asked calmly.

[Then are you talking to me from the underworld right now? Looking down at me?]

[That’s right, but I can’t see Min Do-jun. I just noticed the line I planted beforehand had opened and contacted your Elsis.]

[In other words, you can only communicate.]

[That’s about right.]

[And planting it beforehand means you set it up to notify you when synchronization rate reached 100%?]

[You understand quickly.]

[But there’s something I don’t understand. Why is someone who’s an administrator trapped in such a place? What wrong did you commit?]

[……]

After a long pause, Dayna spoke.

[I didn’t do anything wrong. If there’s a fault, it would be trusting Derkius, that guy.]

[Isn’t Lord Derkius a god?]

[God? Did that guy say that? Ha…!]

Having quite a lot of pent-up emotions, Dayna kept sighing deeply.

[Of course, humans might see him as a god. But Derkius is also a transcendent like me. Just another user utilizing Elsis, nothing more!]

At this newly learned truth, this time Choi Seong-min closed his mouth.

‘To think Derkius, whom I believed was a god, was just a simple transcendent…’

If he’s a transcendent, doesn’t that mean he’s the same level of existence as the current Choi Seong-min?

[The god… no, that Derkius fellow said he was the one true god.]

[God my ass! Don’t make me laugh. For us, the only god is the great Lord El who created Elsis and left. Not some demon-like bastard like him!]

[Then was the story about creating humans and Earth also a lie?]

[Of course it’s a lie. Does it make sense that someone who claims to have the power of creation can’t intervene in the world?]

Choi Seong-min nodded.

Something had seemed strange.

[Not only did he steal my achievements, but he also packaged the achievements of El, the creator and true god, as his own… It’s truly outrageous!]

[You seem too excited. Please calm down.]

[Ha… sorry. I got carried away.]

[What do you mean Derkius stole achievements?]

[Phew, it’s a long story…]

[Take your time telling me.]

Choi Seong-min calmed Dayna down with the intention of hearing more information.

[Derkius is a transcendent like me and a technician who participated in Elsis development. Actually, saying he participated is generous since his skills were quite lacking. Lord El and I participated in most of the work, and Derkius only helped as support.]

‘So he was at the bottom among Elsis developers.’

[First, to explain Elsis in detail, it’s a system that allows even non-gods to use transcendent powers. Lord El created it when he realized his lifespan wasn’t infinite, so he could implement some abilities.]

[So Elsis is a system that allows transcendents to use divine powers like gods.]

[Exactly. Humans have convenient calculators called computers, right? It’s similar to that, though much more advanced.]

You could feel the pride in her voice, truly befitting an Elsis administrator.

[Lord El intended to entrust the management of creations to us transcendents. So the world could run well even after his disappearance. That’s why he created Elsis.]

[So you two managed humans and monsters? Using the transcendent system called Elsis?]

[Right. Though it was annoying having to teach Derkius, who lacked ability, everything from A to Z, we enthusiastically continued management. But…]

Dayna sighed.

[It didn’t last long. We kept clashing over various trivial matters, so our motivation dropped.]

Choi Seong-min nodded.

‘That’s why they say you shouldn’t do business with partners.’

Though he’d never done business, he’d heard such sayings.

‘If Dayna had known that, this wouldn’t have happened.’

Choi Seong-min refocused on Dayna’s story.

[There wasn’t a single day we didn’t fight. We were both on edge and stubbornly insisted on having our own way. But I never thought Derkius would betray me…]

[Betrayal? You mean imprisoning you?]

[Yes… After trapping me there, Derkius began managing creations as he pleased. All obstacles had disappeared.]

Dayna sighed once more.

[How thrilled he must have been. No one to say anything even if he did as he pleased. He must have felt like he’d become a god. If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have taught him about Elsis…]

[By the way, what do you mean about stolen achievements?]

Though it was unfortunate for the frustrated Dayna, Choi Seong-min wanted to get to the main point quickly.

[Have you ever heard from Derkius why he connected human and monster dimensions through dungeons?]

[Yes. I heard it was to save both races by connecting humans facing extinction due to energy depletion with monsters suffering from food shortages.]

[You know well. Then you probably know why the awakener system was introduced.]

[Yes. I heard it was introduced to balance things since humans were weaker than monsters.]

[I created that awakener system.]

[Ah…?]

Dayna spoke proudly.

[I developed it using Elsis. I referenced many games humans play on computers.]

[I heard the awakener system was created by Derkius himself.]

[Nonsense!]

Dayna screamed as if having a fit.

[That traitor has been spreading lies as if he were a real god. He can’t do anything!]

[So the stolen achievements referred to the awakener system.]

[That’s right. What other lies was he telling?]

[Umm… That he’s the god of death and that humans and monsters are races he created and loves equally…]

[Wow… That’s really absurd.]

Dayna’s emotions were genuine.

Insight analyzed the trembling in her voice and confirmed it was true.

[As I said, he’s neither god nor anything else. Just an incompetent transcendent using Elsis to imitate a god. Humans and monsters are naturally creations of Lord El, and he’s just using them to earn Divine Force.]

[Divine Force?]

Choi Seong-min already understood Divine Force through Insight but pretended not to know.

To get more definitive information.

[It’s the energy needed to use Elsis. Even transcendents can’t use Elsis’s powers infinitely.]

[So there must be a price to use abilities.]

[Yes. It’s like mana in games.]

[Does this Divine Force also naturally recover?]

[No. That’s different from mana. Divine Force can only be obtained through souls.]

[Souls?]

To Choi Seong-min’s question, Dayna asked back.

[Do you know there’s a Spring of Oblivion in the underworld?]

[Yes. I’ve seen it directly. It was surprisingly beautiful.]

[How much do you know about the Spring of Oblivion?]

[I know it’s a place where memories are erased and souls perish. Anyone with a soul must enter it.]

[That’s a complete lie.]

[…!]

[The Spring of Oblivion is nothing more than a workshop for extracting Divine Force. That’s why souls perish there.]

‘A workshop to obtain Divine Force?’

Choi Seong-min’s mouth fell open at this completely unknown fact.

[Part of Derkius’s reason for imprisoning me was probably to monopolize the underworld. To make all souls perish and monopolize Divine Force.]

[Then could the reason for preventing the end of humans and monsters also be…]

[Did you guess? That’s right. Derkius’s reason for wanting to preserve creations isn’t love at all. It’s to continuously obtain Divine Force.]

This was a fact even Insight couldn’t reveal.

‘So when he said souls were worthless trash, it was all lies.’

If both races perished and no creations remained, transcendents could no longer obtain Divine Force.

‘What Derkius wanted was only Divine Force. He planned to repeatedly cycle birth and death, gathering souls to the underworld to continuously fill his belly.’

For Choi Seong-min who had only believed Derkius’s words, it was shocking.

[…Everything he says is a lie.]

[That’s right! He’s a damn bastard!]

Unlike the excited Dayna, Choi Seong-min was quiet.

Due to sudden doubt that arose.

‘To think I was performing assassination missions believing in a transcendent nobody who wasn’t even a god, was a betrayer, and lied as naturally as breathing…’

If he was this greedy for Divine Force, he probably wouldn’t keep his promises even if he ascended to the underworld.

Souls were nothing more than prey for extracting Divine Force to him.

‘Ye-rin… Su-ho, Seo-yeon… Please be safe…’

Then, suddenly struck by a thought, Choi Seong-min put his worries aside and asked.

[I understand the background of how you were imprisoned. And how bad Derkius is. But how could you make me a transcendent when you can’t even move freely?]

[Derkius came to visit one day. He said humanity in the original world had perished because of a mind control trait he had recklessly created. Ah, do you know about specimen worlds and original worlds?]

[Yes. I know. The specimen world is Choi Seong-min’s dimension, and the original world is the dimension where I lived as Min Do-jun, right?]

[Right. Derkius added traits to the original world as he pleased, calling it a new version. Without even testing them in the specimen world. As a result, the fraudulent trait called mind control caused humanity’s destruction.]

[That’s why Derkius hired me. To regress and stop Adam.]

[Right. That’s when Derkius told me about the situation too. He wanted to regress a human named Min Do-jun to prevent destruction, but needed to create a trait that surpassed mind control. But he said his technology had limitations and asked for help.]

[Then the one who created the Hunter Slayer trait was…]

[Yes. I designed and created the Hunter Slayer trait. You need to understand the overall mechanism of the awakener system to absorb traits and items, so expert hands were necessary. Plus, it had to be made to imprint on the soul, so Derkius had no choice but to ask me. Though it was practically blackmail.]

[So you did some work when creating the Hunter Slayer trait. Without Derkius knowing.]

[I’ve been noticing this, but you’re really perceptive.]

Actually, he was grasping it through Insight, but Choi Seong-min kept quiet.

Somehow Dayna seemed unaware of this fact.

‘There’s no need to give away information and lose out.’

The admiring Dayna continued.

[As Min Do-jun said, when creating the Hunter Slayer trait, I secretly added one more hidden ability without Derkius knowing.]

[What ability?]

[I made it so you could harvest a certain amount of Divine Force from hunters’ souls when you kill them.]

[That was the true nature of synchronization rate.]

[Right. Of course, it’s a small amount and made to be absorbed directly into the soul, so Derkius wouldn’t notice.]

[Absorbed into the soul… So that’s why. When I first committed murder after possessing this body, the synchronization rate wasn’t 0%.]

Choi Seong-min remembered.

He had been puzzled by starting with 12.8% synchronization rate.

[Yes. Since the soul remained the same, the synchronization rate accumulated in the original world would have transferred over as is.]

[But synchronization rate wasn’t displayed in the original world.]

[It wouldn’t have been. I only set it to display in the old version. Since there was a chance you might fail.]

[Failure… you mean filling the synchronization rate?]

[Yes. What if I had displayed synchronization rate but you couldn’t fill 100%? You would definitely have asked Derkius what synchronization rate was. Then my escape plan would have been ruined too.]

Choi Seong-min nodded in agreement.

If synchronization rate had been displayed, it certainly would have ended in failure.

[But I’m curious how a mere human like me could become a transcendent. Can anyone become one by absorbing some Divine Force?]

[No. No one else can ever become a transcendent. Only Min Do-jun who has the Hunter Slayer trait imprinted can do it. Because I designed the trait that way. Synchronization rate is just the minimum structural condition needed for a transcendent.]

[A transcendent can create another transcendent… How is that possible?]

[I told you. I participated in Elsis development. It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible either.]

Choi Seong-min nodded.

It wouldn’t be impossible if borrowing Elsis’s transcendent technology.

[Now I understand the situation to some extent. Except for one thing.]

[What?]

[I understand up to making me a transcendent by reaching 100% synchronization rate through the Hunter Slayer trait. But what’s the reason?]

[The prison where I’m trapped can only be opened by a transcendent. That’s why I had to make you, human Min Do-jun, into a transcendent.]

Dayna pleaded in an earnest voice.

[Min Do-jun, please get me out of this prison. Let’s join forces to drive out Derkius.]

[……]

[It wouldn’t be a bad proposal for you either. How about it? You’ll save me, right?]

Choi Seong-min remained silent as if pondering.

For Dayna who desperately needed his help, this was an anxious situation.

[Hello? Please answer…]

[My answer is…]