abcnovels
Chapter 71: God is Available All Year Round, Even in Dreams
Chapter 71: God is Available All Year Round, Even in Dreams
Chapter 71: God is Available All Year Round, Even in Dreams
Kwaaaa!
“Please, please get through!”
S-rank Hunter Baek Yoo-Hyun unleashed flames with all his might, creating something akin to a raging forest fire. In spite of that, the black dome surrounding the academy showed no sign of breaking.
“Move aside!” Choi Kang-San stepped forward. “Hyaaaaa!”
All of his muscles bulged, about to burst. His fists flashing bright golden with each swing.
Bam bam bam bam!
He rained blows on the barrier with a tremendous crushing force.
Nevertheless, the barrier stood unwavering, and nervousness crept across their faces.
A Russian S-rank Hunter, Sergey Brin, was scheduled to naturalize in South Korea. But later, he was reported dead, eaten by a monster. Thus, Choi Kang-San and Baek Yoo-Hyun, along with most of South Korea’s powerhouses, were assembled. The extermination team was dispatched to Gangwon Province.
They had the monster cornered.
But, the mysterious creature merely stared back at them, especially the S-rank Hunters, and spoke.
-This number is slightly troublesome. We’ll meet again, after I’ve harvested the sacrifice of god. Then, I’ll deal with you, one by one.
Flash!
Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light, and the monster vanished. He had used the teleportation skill that S-rank Hunter Sergey Brin was famous for. Not too long after, an urgent report announced that an S-rank or higher monster had appeared at the Hunter Academy.
At that moment, it felt as if the sky was falling. Baek Yoo-Hyun teleported them back right away. Upon arriving, they were met with another issue: Gustav’s impenetrable barrier.
The Hunter Association had made a miscalculation. This monster was at least SS-rank or higher—a National Disaster-level monster.
“Damn it! Eun-Bi! No!”
Choi Kang-San roared as he pummeled the barrier with his bloody fists. He shouldn’t have ignored Miracle’s words! Before losing consciousness, Miracle had personally warned him.
“Sooner or later, an inevitable misfortune will occur, depriving you of what you hold most dear. To prevent that, you must catch him.”
“What I hold most dear? D-do you mean my daughter, Eun-Bi? W-who is he?”
“Not sure. I couldn’t make out the details of him. Still, one thing is certain. He is the noblest of beings, but also the most vile. Whether he will save mankind or lead to its downfall, I do not know. But if it’s him, he should be able to prevent your misfortune. If you meet him, try to keep him in the academy.”
Yu Il-Shin’s oblivious face flashed across Choi Kang-San’s mind as he recalled the past. If he was really the man from Miracle’s prophecy...!
Please save my daughter and the students!
“Kang-San hyungnim!”
Just then, Baek Yoo-Hyun pointed at the barrier with a pale face.
Ruuumble!
A diagonal crack had appeared on the barrier. Despite going all out, they hadn’t made a single dent until now. Yet, the barrier was collapsing.
Boooom!
A horizontal trajectory was drawn, as if a giant sword had slashed from the sky.
***
-A mere undead dare to go against an apostle like me?!
Crack! Bam bam!
Gustav had been trampling on Hades for a while when, suddenly, a burst of energy erupted. He turned around in surprise.
-What is that?
“First Stance of the Demon Lord’s Heavenly Sword, Demon Lord’s Descent.”
Ssss—
Then, Yu Il-Shin initiated his strike. A strike so slow and futile, like a thin brush stroke in the air, even a child could dodge it. Just as Yu Il-Shin’s trajectory was about to come to an end...
Riiip— Clang!
His blade shattered into a million pieces.
-Hah!?
Fear instinctively kicked in, and Gustav shielded his face with both arms. But... even after some time had passed, nothing happened.
-What did you just do?
His question was met with silence.
Grit!
Gustav ground his teeth until it cracked.
-Bastard! Did you trick me?!
For an apostle to cower because of a mere bluff! Gustav was both furious and ashamed of himself.
“S-stop.”
-Get lost, you undead!
Hades tried to reach for him, but Gustav stomped on his hand, before striding to where Yu Il-Shin was.
Thud thud!
Even though Gustav had entered his attack range, Yu Il-Shin didn’t move whatsoever. Gustav’s reptilian eyes quietly observed Yu Il-Shin.
-...I’m speechless. Did you faint already?
Despite losing consciousness, Yu Il-Shin had maintained his sword-wielding stance.
-Keke. What is he even trying to do?
Gustav spread his mouth wide, aiming for Yu Il-Shin’s shoulder.
-Before I sacrifice you to God, I shall take your right arm! That’s what you get for humiliating me!
Thump! Plop!
But when Gustav was right in front of him, he found himself falling on all fours.
-W-what?
Gustav’s eyes widened in shock. His body had disappeared from the waist down.
-Gaaaaaaah!
Gustav cried, coughing up blood. But that was only the beginning.
Thud!
His right arm disappeared, and his face fell at Yu Il-Shin’s feet.
-Kiiiieeeeeeek! Bastard! What have you done to me?!
The pain was so excruciating, Gustav couldn’t help but scream. With his remaining left arm, he tried to grab hold of Yu Il-Shin.
Psss!
But soon, his left arm crumbled into dust and disintegrated. Just like that, he had lost his other limb. Gustav was overwhelmed by indescribable terror. He looked up at Yu Il-Shin, who stood still like a statue.
This man was clearly a puny human! Nothing but prey to satisfy a beast's hunger!
-...?
Briefly, Gustav saw it. Yu Il-Shin’s essence. What a huge miscalculation it was!
Is he even human?
No.
Grooooowl!
His essence was like an abyss, a black hole consuming everything.
-Hyiiiieee!
Every single dragon scale on his body shuddered. Why didn’t he teleport when he first saw Yu Il-Shin?! It was too late now. Web-like cracks formed on the dragon scales granted to him, and his body crumbled like a sandcastle.
During his last moments, Gustav recalled the eggs he’d left in his lair.
-My dear children...
Only his head was left. Gustav cried out while shedding tears of blood.
-Please...
Just then, God-Maker reacted.
Ding!
[Gustav, God of Destroyer “???”’s apostle, has died.]
[Absorbing sacrifice.]
-Huh? Kyaaaaaaak!
Psss—
Along with his final cry, Gustav’s head fell apart completely. Then, a black smoke in the shape of a crocodile billowed, screaming.
Psss!
Then, it got sucked into Yu Il-Shin, unable to resist. More messages from God-Maker appeared.
Ding!
[Congratulations, God Yu Il-Shin. Gustav, God of Destroyer “???”’s apostle, is a high-ranking sacrifice equivalent to five S-rank beings.]
-----
[Quest: Low-tier Malevolent God Promotion (In Progress)]
Sacrifice of S-rank or higher intelligent beings with potential for transcendence: 2(+4)/10
-----
Ding!
[You fulfilled the earnest wish of your temporary apostle and successfully showed her the feat of god.]
[Congratulations. Sung Mi-Na has become the fourth follower of the Earth branch.]
[Sung Mi-Na is a high-ranking follower equivalent to two S-rank beings.]
-----
[Quest: Low-tier Benevolent God Promotion (In Progress)]
Follower of S-rank or higher intelligent beings with potential for transcendence: 5(+1)/10
-----
***
I opened my eyes. Did I dream again?
I asked that because I stood in an endless space filled with swords. At the center stood what appeared to be a symbol of the Hall of Sword God: a giant statue impaled with numerous swords, resembling a hedgehog.
Is it a giant statue embedded with swords? Or is it a giant statue made of swords? Hard to tell.
Then, one of the stalkers, the owner of this place, spoke.
-All-Cutting Heavenly Sword sneers, saying it’s the latter. He claims that his body is made of swords.
Ha, I’ve heard of that childish line many times before. Isn’t this just plagiarism?
-All-Cutting Heavenly Sword exclaims in anger that his body has been this way for thousands of years!
I sighed heavily. Lately, whenever I fell asleep, I’d be forcibly dragged into one of my stalkers’ territories. I didn’t like this one bit. Still, nice timing, since I had a question for Mr. Heavenly Sword.
“Mr. Heavenly Sword, the sword you gave me is broken. Are you sure it isn’t defective?”
-All-Cutting Heavenly Sword mockingly asks, what did you expect from a freebie?
Uh, Mister? You were the one who tempted me with the freebie to begin with! How dare you say that!
“Give me a refund, then.”
-All-Cutting Heavenly Sword says there’s no backing out of a trade.
“So, this is how you’re going to play, huh?”
Fine, then! I’ll never bargain with you again, ever!
-All-Cutting Heavenly Sword is taken aback. He suggests in a friendly manner that you repair the sword.
-All-Cutting Heavenly Sword offers to fix your sword for only 10,000,000 Gcoins. He’ll also throw in a sword for Sword Demon.
Hmph! Did he see me as a pushover?!
-All-Cutting Heavenly Sword says that if you accept this after-sales service, he’ll throw in another freebie as a bonus.
The mention of a freebie piqued my interest once more. At first, I thought the Demon Lord’s Heavenly Sword was a sham, but I was wrong. Although I lost my consciousness shortly after using it, I recalled that the Demon Lord’s Descent had disintegrated the crocodile.
“So, what’s the freebie this time?”
-All-Cutting Heavenly Sword hypes you up. The free gift this time is...
“Is?”
Then, another stalker chimed in.
-Eternal Seeker adamantly complains that it’s his turn. He asks why All-Cutting Heavenly Sword cut the line!
-Eternal Seeker tears through the fabric of space in the Hall of Sword God, snatching you away.
Grab!
In the next moment, a giant, muscular hand ripped through space, grabbing me. Knowing where Eternal Seeker was going to drag me to, I paled and struggled against his grip.
“W-wait! I don’t want to go there! Why should I train my muscles in my dream?!”
-Eternal Seeker shakes his head, saying that even in dreams, one must work hard to attain a strong mentality.
“Eek! What nonsense is that!”
My efforts were futile. Eternal Seeker yanked me out of the Hall of Sword God.
Flash!
Then, I was surrounded by mountains of iron, hundreds of times larger than myself. In the middle of it all was a stone statue of a shredded macho man in a cringe pose.
It was the Hall of Muscles, the self-proclaimed Temple of Seeker.
-Eternal Seeker laments having to struggle with his apostle despite his esteemed status as a god. He flogs you, saying if you’re a god, why aren’t your muscles as good as Il-Ho’s?
Crack! Crack!
“Arghh!”
By the way, that wasn’t a figure of speech, but a real whipping. This might be a dream, but it still hurt like hell!
-Eternal Seeker compliments your muscle mass and suggests using two-ton dumbbells for a light warm-up.
Two-tons for a warm-up?! Is he nuts?!
I doubted my ears.
“Fuck no, you muscle freak god!”
-Eternal Seeker says this is all for your own good. He whips you back into muscle training.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
“Arghhh!”
The hellish whipping began once again.
***
On the 29th floor of the Tower of Warriors...
Il-Ho had been praying fervently for Yu Il-shin’s victory for quite some time, when he suddenly opened his eyes.
“Muuuuscles!”