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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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The women and I huddled together while pondering on the reward choices for the “Half-Demon’s Karma” achievement.
“First… To change the future you saw as much as possible, it’s better to choose something other than Distorted Faith, right?”
Ye-won asked if it would be better to create a future as different as possible from the one I saw.
Indeed, as she said, to alter the future the most, choosing either the hammer or the cross was the right move.
“That’s true, but… I honestly like Distorted Faith…”
However, Ah-ram, who had experienced the power of a “Demon” firsthand, seemed to covet the bracelet.
When the demon’s horn sprouted from Ah-ram and she awakened as a half-demon, her physical abilities and magic absorption had increased drastically to the point where she could almost tear apart a demon-possessed individual with her bare hands.
‘I do think she’ll become incredibly strong if she becomes a True Demon… but…’
The phrase “may cause loss of control” bothered me.
If she lost control during battle and attacked indiscriminately, we would be in trouble. Especially if she attacked in her strengthened demon form… Probably only Merhere or I could stop a rampaging Ah-ram.
“Let’s go with the hammer. Unnie, you like smashing things with a hammer, don’t you?”
“Th-that’s true, but…”
Ha-young said while gently stroking Ah-ram’s shoulder.
“Wouldn’t it be cool to shoot a gun shaped like a cross too?”
“Would it?”
This time, Hee-sun chimed in, trying to sway Ah-ram.
They were each trying to influence Ah-ram according to their personal preferences.
“Hey, what do you think?”
“Me? Hmm…”
Personally, I thought “Excellent Means of Communication” would be perfect for smashing the giant skeleton’s head.
The description itself mentioned “massive size,” so it was probably ridiculously large, like something out of a game…
Moreover, such a ridiculously large blunt weapon… It was a weapon with a certain romantic appeal.
The raw power to mercilessly crush your enemies without any finesse or technique…!
“Let’s go with the hammer.”
“Okay… Then the hammer it is.”
Thus, the warhammer was chosen as the achievement reward.
Thump!!!
Suddenly, a ridiculously large hammer appeared before us…
It was so heavy that the rooftop floor shook slightly.
‘Can a human even wield this…?’
Its size was insane… The head of the hammer was almost as big as a human torso. And a blue gem-like object was embedded in the center of the hammerhead.
‘Is this the booster that activates when it absorbs magic? What even is a booster?’
If you were hit directly by this monstrous weapon, you would be turned into mincemeat.
“Wow… It’s ridiculously huge…”
“Crazy… Oppa, no matter how much I think about it… I think the cross would have been better…”
The women gathered around the hammer, each commenting on its size.
Who could possibly wield such a massive weapon?
“Ah-ram, may I try lifting this?”
“Ah, yes, Unnie.”
Merhere politely asked Ah-ram, the weapon’s owner, then grasped the handle of Excellent Means of Communication.
“Hnn… Haaaaaaaaa!!!”
Suddenly, massive muscles bulged from Merhere’s slender arms that were almost as thick as Ah-reum’s waist.
‘Crazy…! Hidden muscles…!’
She easily surpassed the limitations of her stats and began to lift the hammer.
Veins bulged on Merhere’s face that was usually expressionless or adorned with a gentle smile and her brow furrowed.
Her face contorted into a ferocious grimace as she clenched her jaw, exerting all her strength.
“Kraaaa!!!!”
She lifted it.
Merhere lifted that insane weapon!!
Rumble!!!
But she couldn’t hold it for long and placed Excellent Means of Communication back on the rooftop.
It must have weighed a ton…
“Phew… Phew… This… This is something else… Ha… Ha…”
Merhere collapsed, seemingly drained of all her strength.
“U-um, I want to try too.”
Ha-young, who had been watching with her mouth agape, grabbed the hammer’s handle with an intrigued expression.
Stat-wise, she was also quite strong. Her Vampire traits gave her balanced stats across the board.
“Hnnn…!”
Of course, it didn’t budge.
“Wow…”
“N-next!”
The women took turns trying to lift the hammer, exerting all their strength.
But only Merhere was able to lift it.
‘I… chose the wrong reward…’
I should have chosen Distorted Faith or the cross-shaped gun.
It was too late to regret it now…
“As expected of a former angel… Her base physical strength is different.”
“Haha… It’s nothing.”
Merhere waved her hand dismissively while smiling sheepishly at Hee-sun’s praise.
She had a rather satisfied smile.
“Now then…”
I also tried to lift the hammer, but I could only lift it slightly off the ground, not completely like Merhere.
It was a hammer that mocked me, as if saying this was the limit of human strength.
After my turn, Ah-ram finally stepped forward.
I felt sorry for her. She had received a custom-made weapon, but she couldn’t use it.
“It’s finally my turn.”
Ah-ram sighed deeply and rolled her shoulders, loosening up.
Then, she reached for the hammer.
“Hnn…”
As expected, she couldn’t lift it…
“Haaaa!!!”
Suddenly, a dark blue aura erupted from Ah-ram’s hand.
It was the magic she had absorbed from the demon-possessed individuals.
Woooong
Her magic was sucked into the gem in the center of the hammer.
Hiss!!!
The hammer opened slightly, releasing steam, and began to float.
“I-it’s floating…!”
This hammer could only be truly wielded by those who possessed the right magic.
It was a weapon exclusive to demon-related classes.
“Hnn…”
Thump!!! Crack…!
A crack appeared on the rooftop as Ah-ram put down the hammer.
“Alright… Alright. This is the real deal.”
Ah-ram now had her own specialized weapon.
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“Now, about this…”
I took out the Invitation to the Pantheon of Myriad Ghosts*.
“Finally…”
Ha-rin’s eyes lit up with anticipation as she saw the ticket.
“Is everyone okay with Ha-rin going?”
“Yes. I agree.”
“Me too.”
Everyone agreed. And Ha-rin was the one who wanted to go the most.
Since we didn’t know when we would encounter a field boss, we had no way to level up, so we had to find other ways to become stronger. That’s why I was planning to use the Invitation to the Pantheon of Myriad Ghosts.
‘If I go… Ugh.’
I had already been in several precarious situations in the Black Market and the dream world due to my recklessness, so it was best to let Ha-rin go this time.
I didn’t know what kind of trouble I might get into if I tried it myself. And if the Dullahan appeared while I was away… it would be disastrous.
‘But what kind of beings are the ancient gods…?’
The evil gods were crazy beings obsessed with human sacrifices, like something out of the Cthulhu Mythos, and the good gods were hypocritical pieces of shit.
‘I’ve already seen two precedents… The Pantheon of Myriad Ghosts must also be a bunch of lunatics…’
I thought that they were probably beings centered around the World Tree.
As befitting of the name “ancient gods,” they were probably nature-related deities.
The evil gods were embodiments of cosmic horror, and the good gods were personifications of human concepts like justice, order, and hope. So the ancient gods were likely closer to totemic, primal deities.
Trees, animals, or dragons perhaps.
I wanted to meet them in person, but… if the ancient gods were truly centered around the World Tree, I couldn’t go.
‘Even when I wore the Living Flower Ring… the World Tree tried to kill me…’
I didn’t know the reason, but the World Tree had genuinely tried to kill me back then.
Thinking about it, it was probably because I had devoured a Druid.
Then wouldn’t I be torn apart the moment I entered the Pantheon of Myriad Ghosts?
“Hee-sun noona.”
“Yeah?”
“Do… Do gods ever talk to you?”
“Gods? Ah~ those strange good gods or whatever that Joon-ie talked about?”
“Yeah… Like the World Tree?”
“Well… Sometimes when I’m meditating… I feel like someone is talking to me… but I’m not sure. I’ve never directly spoken to them.”
“I see…”
I had actually considered sending Hee-sun.
‘But I have a feeling that if I send Noona… she won’t come back…’
I had a feeling that the World Tree would try all sorts of tricks to steal Hee-sun, the Druid, from me.
‘But I’m also worried about sending Ha-rin alone.’
I looked at Ha-rin, her eyes filled with anticipation.
She seemed excited, believing she could become stronger through this opportunity.
“Ha-rin, are you sure you want to go?”
“Yes. I want to go… I feel a strong pull… Something has been calling me… since a while ago…”
“My goodness… a divine calling… Ha-rin, I hate to say this, but the gods I’ve met are mostly insane or… crazy…”
Just as I was about to tell Ha-rin more about the reality of gods…
[What? You… thought of me that way?]
[Well, we are a bit scary from a human perspective.]
Kashnax asked while sounding shocked, and Indikron replied as if it was obvious.
[Scary? What did I do…?]
[Are you seriously asking that?]
“Ugh…”
These crazy gods were arguing again, using my head as a medium.
My head felt like it was going to explode, so I quickly stopped them. If I didn’t intervene, they would argue endlessly.
They hadn’t been this human-like before… How did this happen?
As I wondered this, Bothamili answered me in a barely audible whisper.
[Because… our favorability has increased.]
[We… are beings beyond the realm of perception.]
[We change… according to how you perceive us.]
[Of course, this is also because… we cherish you.]
[You are the one who will fulfill our desires, Cultist.]
Several voices spoke in turn, as was Bothamili’s nature.
‘Increased favorability… They change according to how I see them…’
So they became more human-like.
They weren’t planning to become human and descend to this world, were they?
“Sigh…”
More importantly, the three evil gods didn’t object to Ha-rin going to the Pantheon of Myriad Ghosts.
Perhaps they didn’t care about what would happen since I wasn’t the one going…
“Be careful. Don’t get hurt.”
“Yes. I’ll… definitely come back stronger.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”
“Yes, Unnie.”
We took turns hugging Ha-rin as she prepared to leave with her weapon.
Lately, she seemed to have been feeling insecure, thinking she was the weakest and most useless member of the group.
She was plenty strong, but our party members were exceptionally capable. With her relatively ordinary skills, she always seemed a bit down.
So she probably wanted to become stronger by becoming an avatar of an ancient god through this opportunity.
Her Slave Brand might be removed in the Pantheon of Myriad Ghosts… but if that happened, I would just find her again and make her mine once more.
“I’ll be back!”
Ha-rin tore the ticket slightly.
Whoosh!
A beam of light descended from the sky, just like when the Peddler teleported, and took Ha-rin away.
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“Ugh…”
Sung Ha-rin opened her eyes in a dark forest.
“Wh-where…?”
An unfamiliar place.
She felt a momentary fear of being alone, but…
“Phew… I can do this… I can do this…”
She gripped her axe tightly and stood up.
‘Should I try to get out of the forest first? They said I would meet one of the ancient gods belonging to the Pantheon of Myriad Ghosts…’
She looked around and slowly walked forward.
The trees gradually thinned, revealing a vast meadow under a full moon.
A large blue moon and a yellow moon hung in the sky, intersecting.
“Wow…”
She was mesmerized by the beautiful scenery that looked like a scene from a fantasy world and stared up at the moons.
“Kyaaaaa!!!”
Suddenly, a beast’s roar echoed through the forest and meadow.
Rustle!
Flutter!!
The forest she had just emerged from rustled, and black, shadowy monsters with glowing yellow eyes rushed out.
The stench of blood emanated from them.
“Th-this…!”
Sung Ha-rin tightened her grip on her axe.
She had no intention of being a sitting duck.
“Uaaaaa!!!!”
A barbarian’s war cry erupted from her lips.
The black beasts, which had been trying to surround her, hesitated and retreated slightly. She seized the opportunity and brought her axe down on the nearest beast, splitting its head open.
‘I can win…!’
Sung Ha-rin was confident in her victory.
She always fought with the belief that she would win.
Because of her straightforward personality, she never considered defeat.
‘I can’t die to these beasts after coming all this way.’
The black beasts snarled, bared their fangs, and lunged at Sung Ha-rin.
Just then.
Thump!
The forest shook.
-Awooo!!!
-Awoooo!!!
Wolves emerged from the forest, dashing through the air.
They attacked the black beasts surrounding Sung Ha-rin, tearing them to shreds.
“Wh-what is this…?”
Sung Ha-rin, who was still holding her axe aloft, faced the wolves.
Each one was the size of a large car.
They looked down at Sung Ha-rin as if appraising her.
Then, the forest rustled, and something walked towards her.
‘D-damn it…’
An overwhelming presence.
Much larger than the other wolves.
Sung Ha-rin felt her will falter as she met the gaze of the beast looking down at her.
But she couldn’t drop her axe.
The moment she let go of her weapon, she would lose.
The moment she gave up, it would be over.
Her pounding heart wouldn’t allow it.
It urged her to fight.
[You still intend to fight?]
[Indeed.]
[A courageous one.]
The wolf smiled.
Looking down at the small human who, despite her trembling hands, refused to lower her axe, her eyes burning with the fierce determination to fight and win.
[I like you, human.]
The Queen of the Meadow then asked the still-small wolf…
[The one who will receive the blessing of the full moon. State your name.]
She was the goddess of valiant warriors.
The leader of all wolves.
The vanguard of the battlefield, always running ahead.
Garia of the Blue Moon, Master of the Azure Moon, revealed herself before Sung Ha-rin.
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T/N – Upgrade time for Ha-rin. Honestly, she isn’t really weak, it’s just that she’s pretty plain compared to the others. But that’s the nature of the Barbarian class anyway. Punch until the enemies are all dead.
Also, I’m glad they chose the hammer for the sole reason that I find the name hilarious.
If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.
*This was “Invitation to the Pantheon of Myriad Devils” in the older chapters. I changed the name to ‘Invitation to the Pantheon of Myriad Ghosts’ as it fits the theme of ‘Ancient Gods’ more. This is due to the original text, Man-gwi-jeon (만귀전), which translates most literally to either “Ten Thousand Ghosts Hall” or “Hall of Ten Thousand Demons.” And I can’t use ‘Demons’ anymore since the term is already related to the ‘Evil Gods’ and their kin (Myriad Demons) as well as the ‘demons’ (lower case) that the evil gods seem to disdain.
