Chapter 101

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 101: Reunion with Diana

[Summoning A-Rank High Elf Diana. 2,000 SP will be consumed daily. Would you like to proceed with the summoning?]

2,000?

Drakina was only 500, so this is four times more?

But I’m now earning 600,000 SP daily.

What’s a mere 2,000?

Summon her immediately.

As soon as I pressed “Yes,” a bright light flashed, and Diana appeared.

“You succeeded!”

Diana immediately jumped into my arms upon being summoned.

Seeing her after a long time, her beauty remained unchanged.

I gently held her in my arms.

Diana looked up at me with lake-like, large blue eyes filled with joy.

“Was the place okay?”

“Jiho, please speak casually to me. I’m your Apostle, after all.”

“Oh, right.”

“It was a great place. It reminded me of the forest in my hometown. I waited there, hoping for your success. But I never thought you’d reach A-Rank so quickly…”

Diana gazed at me with eyes full of respect.

I thought a lot of time had passed since Diana entered the Apostle’s Garden, given everything that happened.

But in reality, not much time had passed.

She had entered during the Kevrian clear, and after that, humanity faced the crisis of extinction, followed by my regression.

“What happened during that time? Your face looks much darker.”

“Well…”

There were too many stories to tell, but this wasn’t the place for it.

I glanced at the dungeon portal.

It’s practically the place to go for secret conversations now.

“This isn’t the best place to talk, so let’s head into the dungeon.”

“Understood.”

We entered the dungeon.

This time, it was a basin-shaped terrain with earthy ground and hills all around.

No enemies were in sight, so it was time to share everything that had happened.

But before that...

Let’s take a look at the status window.

[Name: Diana

Class: Demigod, High Elf

Guardian Deity: Kim Jiho

Title: —

Level: 200

Strength: 170

Agility: 443

Magic: 321

Retrievable SP: 11,122]

Unlike Drakina, her stats were aligned with the Order faction.

I’m outclassed in every stat except strength.

Well, with status window stacking, our combined stats might be similar.

“What are you looking at?”

“Your status window.”

“Oh, really? You can see my status window?”

“Yeah, you’re my Apostle. Your stats are better than mine.”

Diana smiled.

“The Sun God Apollo chose me as Artemis’s new vessel and granted me various powers. He also gave me good things to eat.”

“Huh... That guy. He claimed he took over the virgin goddess’s body.”

I didn’t understand it back then, but now that I know about time regression, it makes sense.

Since the world keeps regressing, maybe the virgin goddess gave up her title for a while, had some fun, and then reverted to her virgin body at the right time.

That way, she could still collect SP tied to the “virgin goddess” concept, right?

She’d have to be a virgin for that.

I wondered if SP collection was possible even after abandoning virginity, but Apollo must have done it because it worked.

When I shared my theory, Diana was startled.

“Time regression?”

“Oh, I need to explain that first. Diana, now that you’re back, are you planning to return to Elprian?”

I hesitated to tell her everything because of her ties to Elprian.

Elprian might demand Diana back.

After all, Diana was only entrusted to me temporarily.

If I sent her back, all my information would reach Elprian, which felt unsettling.

“Why? Do you want me to leave?”

Diana looked hurt.

“No, I don’t want you to leave.”

“Then I won’t. My guardian deity is you, Jiho. I can’t leave without your permission.”

“Well... A-Rank Apostles can leave without permission.”

Just like I excluded Hermes and Loki.

Diana suddenly realized it too.

“Oh, right. Demigods can bypass their guardian deity. I hadn’t considered that. Then I’ll make the Elf’s Vow.”

“There’s no need to go that far.”

“No, I want to be clear. I vow never to abandon my position as your Apostle or leave your side until you cast me away. If I do, I will choose to vanish.”

Why talk about vanishing?

And why does this vow feel... excessive?

Diana’s eyes were burning with determination.

“Diana, why are you so intense today?”

“Of course. I don’t want to give you any reason to doubt me.”

“Uh... Jiho?”

“Yes, my partner.”

Her eyes sparkled as she gazed at me.

Was it because of that one night?

I didn’t dislike her, but calling her my partner seemed premature.

That night had been driven by necessity.

She’s definitely rare—beautiful, curvaceous, kind, and strong.

Honestly, I’d be grateful, but now’s not the time for romance.

Sensing my hesitation, Diana waved her hands nervously.

“Of course, I’m not asking you to be my partner because of that night. I’m just calling you my partner in my heart. But... please allow me to stay by your side.”

When she said that, I felt like the bad guy.

But now’s just a bad time.

There’s the Olympus-Asgard chaos and the newly emerging sealed gods on Earth.

Everything’s a tangled mess, and solving that comes first.

“Alright. Since you made the Elf’s Vow, I’ll tell you what’s been going on.”

I told her everything that had happened so far.

After listening, Diana clenched her fists in determination.

“No wonder you seemed troubled. I’ll dedicate my body and mind to supporting you from now on.”

Diana suddenly became fierce and disciplined, like when we first met.

It was reassuring.

I’d been feeling the lack of reliable “allies,” but now it felt like I finally had one.

“Jiho, you said Dragon God Drakia and Elprian were recovering through soul mediation, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then why not ask them for Skill Stones? One of them should have some.”

Skill Stones?

That’s a good idea, but given their situation, I wonder if they’ll have any.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“Hm… Elprian is running around with severed limbs, and Drakia is a god sucking the blood of his youngest daughter right now. Do you really think it’s possible?”

“It’s worth a shot. Convince them that the soul mediation upgrade cost needs to be reduced so the two gods can regenerate faster. They once ruled a planet, so I’m sure at least one of them will have it.”

“That’s true. I should ask. But, Diana, is it okay to ask Elprian for it?”

“It’s fine. The faster Lord Jiho levels up his skills, the faster Elprian can recover. Besides, a husband is more important than an ancestor.”

Ancestor… She must be talking about Elprian?

Man, this is why they say raising kids is pointless…

Anyway, I have a solid ally now.

“Alright, I’ll ask as soon as we leave the dungeon.”

“Also, I think we need to recruit more apostles.”

“Apostles?”

“Yes. You said there weren’t enough strong hunters during Earth’s destruction, right? Even if they turned back time, my level and rank remained the same. It seems that when the guardian deity, Lord Jiho, goes back in time, the apostles follow as well. Why not recruit capable Earthlings as apostles and have them help defend the planet?”

“Diana, do you think we’ll go through another time reversal?”

“I hope not, but we should be prepared just in case.”

Hmm…

Recruiting capable Earthlings as apostles…

But Earthlings already have guardian deities.

“Won’t it be hard since Earthlings already have guardian deities?”

“Lord Jiho, they won’t care about something like that. The value of a soul mediator is enormous, so you can push your limits a little.”

“Push my limits?”

“Yes. If Asgard says anything, just boast that you’ll side with Olympus. Honestly, they won’t be able to say much.”

Diana continued confidently.

“You said their ultimate goal is for Zeus or Odin to become the Creator, right? That makes them rivals in the end. Do you think they’d reject Lord Kim Jiho, who has the potential to help win that competition, just because you snatched a few apostles? I’m certain they won’t.”

Diana.

I thought she was a bit clueless during the Kevrian incident… but turns out she’s sharp.

“Diana, that’s a good idea. Earthling apostles…”

I thought about the time of destruction.

Back then, just one more person like me could have subdued an A-rank dungeon.

But if the dungeons continued to multiply after that?

Even two might not be enough.

“I should think of some candidates.”

“Understood. Shall we clear the dungeon, then?”

Diana pointed to a hill.

Is she itching to move around after being back in the world?

When I nodded, she disappeared with a swoosh.

Soon, screams of death echoed from beyond the hill.

She’s killing them off quickly.

[Will you take me to Elprian?]

As I was mulling over potential apostles, Drakia’s voice suddenly echoed.

Had I already reached 20%?

I checked the quest window and saw that my awakening level was at 20%.

“Alright. I have business there too.”

[Good. Drakina and I will wait outside the dungeon.]

Good.

I’ll bring up the skill stone.

After about ten minutes, a gust of wind blew, and Diana landed gracefully from the sky.

“Phew, so this is the power of a demigod. I’m much stronger than before.”

“That was quick.”

“I can summon the Spirit King now. I actually took longer because I was experimenting with different things. Would you like to destroy the dungeon core yourself?”

Diana handed me the dungeon core.

I shook my head and told her to take care of it herself.

“No, you handle it.”

“Understood. Sylphid, take care of it.”

At Diana’s command, the spirit quickly destroyed the dungeon core.

We returned to the mountaintop.

“You’re back? Whoa, who’s the pointy-eared one? Oh, she’s strong…”

Drakina, who had been waiting, waved her hand.

She trailed off as she looked at Diana.

“Pointy-eared? Dragons really have no manners.”

“What? It’s true you have big ears. But how is she that strong? Even High Elves aren’t that powerful.”

[She’s a demigod. But she doesn’t feel like she has the bloodline of a direct Elprian descendant.]

“I’m not a direct descendant, Dragon God.”

[You know who I am?]

“One moment. Let me reverse summon you and take us to Elprian.”

I cut off the conversation before it dragged on.

To get to Elprian, I reverse-summoned the two and used the item she had given me.

A flash of light, and we arrived in a forest.

Not underground this time?

“Who goes there!”

A group stood in one part of the forest.

They wore red armor that covered their faces and held spears and shields.

They reminded me of Leonidas’s soldiers from before.

[Why did you come at this time…? Run! They’re an Olympus pursuit team!]

Elprian’s urgent voice rang in my ears.

An Olympus pursuit team?

There were about a hundred of them.

Each had an overwhelming presence.

They’d be tough to handle at B-rank, but I could manage them now.

The only concern was whether killing them would reveal our location to Olympus.

“If we kill them, will that erase all traces of us?”

[Yes? Yes, it will. They’re a scouting party that trespassed into my domain.]

“Understood. Diana, summon. Drakina, summon.”

I summoned the two and drew my sword.

The enemies had already prepared to throw their spears.

“Throw the spears!”

The spears flew like beams of light.

They were definitely more powerful than Leonidas’s crew in the A-rank dungeon.

But I’m stronger now, too.

No need for Aegis’s shield—I just imbued my sword with mana and swung it, snapping the spears like twigs.

At the same time, Diana and Drakina charged in.

“Are they enemies?”

“I’ll take them down.”

Without a word, the two women charged at the enemies.

Drakina spewed flames from her mouth, and Diana summoned the four great spirits to subdue the enemies.

I tried to join the battle, but the two women slaughtered them so quickly that there wasn’t even an opening.

Wow.

I understood Diana being powerful as a demigod, but Drakina, at just B-rank, was incinerating everyone with her breath.

Once the enemies were wiped out, one of the trees in the forest began to transform.

It shrank rapidly and took the form of a wooden doll resembling Elprian.

This time, it was made of wood instead of earth.

Her legs had regenerated, making her about the same height as Diana.

Though her arms were still missing.

“Diana! I can feel the power of the dragon god, too. What happened?”

The armless wooden doll Elprian approached with a cheerful voice.

However, her expression soured at the voice that followed.

[Elprian, it’s been a while. You look pathetic.]

“That voice… Drakia.”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]