Chapter 106

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 106: Returning to Earth, Appointing an Apostle

"What is that?"

"It's a fragment of Chronos, the God of Time."

"Chronos... that insignificant presence, huh?"

Hades lifted a monocle to examine the fragment of Chronos.

"Heheh, I can feel my father Kronos’ aura in it as well."

"Aren't they the same god?"

"No, they're different. My father was responsible for agriculture. After being chased out by Zeus, he lost control of agriculture and was demoted to a mid-tier god in Olympus... Hmm, did he fuse with Chronos, the God of Time?"

Hades examined the fragment of Chronos from every angle, his eyes full of curiosity.

"Would you mind giving this to me? I'll analyze it and share the details with you."

Elprian agreed without hesitation.

"Sure, take it."

"Heheh, you're much more straightforward than some other folks. So, what does this have to do with independence?"

"I just heard about the agreement between Olympus and your faction of Chaos."

"Hmm, how did you... Ah, it must be because of the returnee. Heheh, you’re well-informed."

"I was debating whether to come or not, but seeing you cut down Achilles earlier made me decide it was worth talking about."

"Hahaha, a wise decision."

After handing over the fragment of Chronos, Elprian asked Hades seriously.

"I have a question. Regarding the act of repeatedly reversing time in some regions under your agreement."

"Yes, the other three Lords of Chaos agreed to share the SP with Olympus."

"Is that related to this fragment?"

"No, reversing time in those regions is possible without it."

"Then, I can assume the fragment of Chronos is used to rewind time on Earth?"

"Heheh, that’s a reasonable guess."

Elprian pointed at the fragment of Chronos with her finger.

"That fragment and the fragment of Urd, the Asgardian goddess of the past, are buried in Kevrian. If we can find and destroy all of these fragments, wouldn’t that free us from their time-reversal loop?"

"Hmm... Worth a try."

Hades nodded with interest, examining the fragment of Chronos again.

"Heheh, rather than watching time continue to rewind, I’ll help you. We need to deal with the Olympians as soon as possible."

"Will you really help?"

"Hahaha, I can’t openly assist you because of my contract with Olympus, but... If a god descends like earlier, I’ll handle it. When a god descends, the restrictions on my power are lifted, heheh."

"That’s good enough."

"I’ll even help you find the fragments. However, if you achieve independence, I’ll suffer some losses too."

Hades gave a sly smile.

"I agreed to share SP with them, so if it all disappears... Heheh, that’s quite a hit."

"But aren’t you enemies with them? Don’t you want to escape from the time-reversal?"

"Hahaha. Sure, but a loss is a loss. Compensation is necessary, isn’t it? Since you seem somewhat recovered and have access to the SP Shop... try searching 'Hades Loan Service.'"

Elprian’s expression froze instantly.

I’ve heard of that too.

A crazy loan shark scheme with a 1% daily SP interest rate.

Elprian opened the SP Shop, searched it, and was immediately shocked.

"An SP loan with a 1% daily interest rate?! That’s outrageous!"

"Ah, I forgot to adjust it. I’ll only charge a 10% annual interest rate. Haha, this is almost charity. Since we’ll be maintaining a good relationship, I’m offering it at a special discount."

"10% annual interest... That’s reasonable."

"The loan amount will be determined based on the SP you earn in this world, heheh."

Hades then glanced at me and Diana, gesturing for us to leave.

"Now that we have a contract to discuss between deities, outsiders should step out. Hehehe."

He smiled with a con artist’s vibe.

Isn’t this going to be a terrible deal if I just let it happen?

But Elprian was staring blankly at the system window, pressing buttons anxiously.

"Elprian?"

"Ah! Jiho, Diana. It seems I no longer need your protection. I also have a lot to discuss with him about our contract..."

Her tone clearly indicated she wanted us to leave.

"Elprian... Too much debt can be a poison,"

Diana tried to dissuade her, but Elprian shook her head firmly.

"Diana, that’s not true. Right now, SP is more important than anything. I need more power to reclaim my domain. Trust me on this."

"Understood..."

Well, she seems dead set on taking out a loan.

Not that she’s wrong.

It’s probably better to max out the loan to restore her domain rather than risk being sealed again from SP shortages.

Since Drakia said Elprian is cunning, I’ll trust her to handle it.

"Diana, this seems beyond our concern now. Let’s go. I’ll perform the reverse summoning."

"Yes, Jiho."

After Diana was reverse summoned, Elprian looked at me.

For someone so obsessed with loans, she now wore a serene expression.

"Jiho Kim, has Diana chosen to follow you?"

"Yes, but..."

"Diana has found a good companion. Please take care of her."

"Uh, sure..."

Elprian gazed at me fondly.

She seemed happy that Diana was with me.

But something about her stare felt... odd.

"Hahaha, is that High Elf your daughter? She’s looking at you like a mother-in-law sizing up her son-in-law."

"All elves are my children."

"Heheh, let’s skip the cliché deity talk. There’s something going on, huh? Still, you’re lucky. I had a hard time, you know, hahaha."

The story of Hades kidnapping Persephone and angering her mother, the Goddess of Earth, was famous.

"Wait... Isn’t the Goddess of Earth your sister? So, your niece is..."

"Hehehe. Love knows no bounds. Besides, I’m not the only one tangled in the Olympian family tree. Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She’s the product of a sibling relationship."

Wait, seriously?

What a messed-up family tree.

Considering how many children Zeus had, it makes sense.

Suddenly, the idea of Zeus ruling Earth with only women hit home.

A world ruled by Zeus... terrifying.

I strengthened my resolve to stop Olympus again.

As I prepared to leave, Hades spoke.

"If you find any more fragments of Persephone, contact me. I’ll give you something good in exchange."

"Sure, as long as there’s payment."

"Heheh... I’ll look forward to it."

Hades waved as I left.

Surprisingly clean farewell.

I expected him to hassle me as a soul awakener, but he didn’t.

Maybe he’s avoiding the system’s retribution for attacking a soul awakener?

"Elprian, I’m leaving."

"Take care, and look after Diana."

I used the return spell and went back to Earth.

My familiar bedroom came into view, and I collapsed onto my bed.

Time to review what I gained from Kevrian.

First, skill stones...

I managed to get two from the two Lords and kept one.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

I haven’t decided where to use the remaining one, so I’ll keep it for now and watch the situation.

Also, I activated the Soul Sword in my inventory.

I should ask about where the Soul Sword came from—maybe from my father’s side, sealed by the gods.

Since it’s a growth-type weapon, I should raise it well and use it.

Then there’s the SS-rank skill, Avatar Swap.

I heard it’s good because you can pretend to be dead with it...

Hmm, will there be a situation to use it?

If we end up on bad terms with Asgard, I’ll keep it as an escape option.

I haven’t been in Kevrian for long, but I’ve already acquired quite a lot.

However...

“I’m too weak.”

I still can’t stand up to enemies at the level of gods.

I couldn’t even see Achilles’ movements.

Of course, my stats and rank are far inferior, so it’s understandable...

In the end, to increase my rank, I’ll have to kill a god.

Focusing only on SP income has left my stats lacking.

It’s like producing only workers in a game without making any soldiers.

When I upgrade the Soul Mediation this time, I should invest in my stats too.

I’m earning 600,000 per day, so I can upgrade it in just over 30 days.

Should I go back to Hercules’ dungeon for more grinding?

Before that, I wondered if there was anything to do on Earth.

Hmm, come to think of it, didn’t someone suggest expanding the Apostles?

I should ask for Diana’s opinion since she brought it up.

“Diana, summon.”

I went to the living room and summoned Diana, and she appeared.

She was wearing tight green clothes, with water spirits surrounding her.

“Oh, I was just bathing…”

“Oh, sorry.”

“It’s fine. The spirits do the bathing for me anyway.”

Right, she was fully dressed anyway.

Too bad.

“Is this your Earth house, Jiho?”

The water spirit disappeared, leaving her all fresh and clean.

She curiously looked around the house.

Then she noticed the dust piled up on the TV next to the sofa.

“Have you been away from home for a long time?”

“Well, I’ve basically been living at Hercules’ dungeon in Eshtar.”

“Oh, no wonder there’s some dust. Can I have the spirits clean it?”

“That’d be great.”

Then wind and water spirits appeared and began cleaning the house.

In fantasy novels, spirits are always great cleaners.

They swept the floors, gathering up dust and small bits of trash.

While they were cleaning, I explained various modern things to her as she showed curiosity.

I turned on the TV and showed her my phone.

Before I knew it, over 30 minutes had passed.

When I turned the TV to the Hunter Channel, Diana pointed at someone on the screen.

“That person—he’s supposed to be Earth’s strongest, right? How about making him your Apostle?”

Looking at the TV, I saw the American Hunter, David.

“Him? He used to act cocky around me, asking if I was Earth’s best Hunter.”

“You’re still the strongest Hunter on Earth.”

“They told me to lay low for a year in Asgard, and it’s almost up.”

Well, Earth is still peaceful with no high-level dungeons appearing...

Even if a year has passed, I don’t feel like bragging about being the best.

And I’ve been too busy in Eshtar for that.

“Do you have any awakened people among your acquaintances? There were lots of awakened Earthlings at Kevrian.”

Several people came to mind.

But aside from Jinseong, I have no connections with the rest anymore.

Oh, right.

Maybe I should offer it to that guy?

“I have a friend who’s a big, bald guy.”

“Oh, I think I saw him. The one who rode the spirit horse?”

“Yeah, he came when we cleared Kevrian... I should give him a call.”

I immediately made the call.

[What?]

“Hey, it’s important. Come to my place.”

[No way. I’m not going to that cursed apartment. If it’s about drinking, let’s meet outside.]

“Hey, I can increase your stats by 10%. This is not something to talk about outside.”

[What? 10%? Stop talking nonsense.]

“Seriously, I’m not kidding. This is really important and can’t be discussed outside.”

After emphasizing it two or three times, he finally said he’d be over in 10 minutes, grumbling all the way.

While waiting with Diana, the doorbell rang.

“Ah, what the... Whoa!?”

“Hello, I’m Diana.”

Diana stood up and greeted Jinseong politely, leaving him with his mouth wide open.

“Uh... An elf? Wow…”

He was completely mesmerized.

Well, I’m used to seeing Diana now, but when I first saw Liana on TV, I had a real culture shock too.

I dragged the dazed Jinseong over to sit down.

Then I explained that I could appoint him as an Apostle, and that becoming one would give him 1% of my stats.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Hmm, I expected that reaction.”

I opened my status window and showed him the Order faction’s stat screen.

And once again, Jinseong’s mouth dropped open.

“What the… Over 200? A-rank? Hey... Hey! What is this? Is this a scam? Wow, I didn’t think you were the type to scam your friends.”

Hmm... He’s not easily convinced.

If I were in his shoes, I’d think it was a scam too.

I just went ahead and appointed him as an Apostle.

Then Jinseong’s expression suddenly changed.

“What’s this message window…? It’s asking me if I want to become an Apostle? Whoa, is this real?”

“Yeah. I’ll explain everything.”

I told him about the gods’ conspiracy and the time regression, explaining how the world had changed.

He looked at me like I was insane again.

“Hah! You know what? I’ll just do it. You’re spouting nonsense anyway.”

Then he moved his hand.

[C-rank Awakened ‘Warrior Jinseong’ has been added as an Apostle.]

“Argh!”

The moment the message appeared, Jinseong suddenly grabbed his chest and collapsed.

He started hyperventilating, drenched in cold sweat.

What?

What’s happening?!

Is this a side effect?

I should heal him first!

“Heal!”

As I gave the command, white light enveloped Jinseong’s body and then faded.

His convulsions subsided a little.

But he was still trembling intermittently.

Ugh... What’s going on?

Should I cancel the Apostle contract?

Just then, Jinseong spoke.

“Ugh... Am I... alive?”

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah… Jiho. Didn’t you go to clear an A-rank dungeon? Ugh… Valkyrie? What is this... These memories?”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]