Chapter 117

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 117: Forest Manifests (1)

“Oh, I’m fine with that, but I was just planning to drink and relax today.”

Do elves drink alcohol too?

I think I saw them drinking when we won the battle at Kevrian.

“Then let’s drink together!”

“Sure, sure, I wouldn’t mind a drinking buddy. But why are you so eager today?”

“Well…”

Diana trailed off at the end of her sentence.

Then, she looked at me with eyes full of admiration and awe.

“When I saw you in your spiritualized form earlier, my heart wouldn’t stop racing. You looked so amazing, so dignified, as if you were overwhelming the entire world… You were like a god…”

Her face turned red as she spoke.

She was completely mesmerized.

Hmm… Having a beauty like Diana act this way really feels nice.

Even after becoming a god, I still get flustered by the gaze of a beautiful woman.

Ah… A god?

“Diana, isn’t it just because you’re my Apostle? I’ve ascended to divinity, after all.”

“Oh! That explains why you looked so divine!”

Her golden eyes sparkled with excitement.

Her ears perked up, twitching slightly in her excitement.

“I usually try to keep my distance so I don’t become a burden… But after seeing you like that, I just couldn’t hold back… I really want to be with you today.”

She pleaded with me with an intense gaze.

Well, I don’t mind at all.

I guess I’ll spend the night drinking with Diana and relaxing.

“Alright then, I’ll go buy some drinks. Wait here for a bit.”

“Yes! I’ll be waiting.”

After telling Diana to watch over the house, I stepped outside.

I was waiting for the elevator when a sudden thought crossed my mind.

Have I ever had a beautiful woman over at my place, just the two of us, drinking together?

“…Never.”

No, I’ve never had anything close to a romantic event in my life.

Even when I lived alone in a small-town university, there were no such opportunities.

It was the same when I was studying for the civil service exam.

And after becoming a Hunter, I was too busy getting thrown around from place to place to even think about it.

There were a few moments that might have turned into something, but I never made a move.

Even with Kang Shia, it was unclear if it was even a thing…

Wow, I really had nothing going on.

The only thing that comes to mind is that one accident with Diana…

Man, life…

I’ve ascended to divinity, and yet I feel kind of empty.

Maybe that’s why…

Diana’s gaze from earlier kept replaying in my mind.

She clearly has feelings for me, and we’ve already had a physical relationship.

Now, it’s just the two of us, a drinking night with an incredibly beautiful high elf…

I swallowed unconsciously.

I may have lost all memories due to my infinite stamina… But tonight…

Hmm…!

Isn’t tonight my ‘chance’?

As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, I sprinted toward the convenience store.

I had to be careful since my stats had increased dramatically.

“Welcome.”

As soon as I entered, I headed straight for the alcohol section.

Originally, I was just going to drink some soju or beer by myself, but then I spotted some whiskey.

Hmm…

Diana is a demigod, and I’ve ascended to divinity too—so beer and soju probably won’t even make a dent.

Yeah, whiskey is the way to go.

Before I knew it, my hand was reaching for the whiskey bottles.

“Can I get a bag, please?”

I started grabbing bottles left and right, and before I realized it, I had cleared out all the whiskey from the store.

“Do you have more whiskey in stock?”

“Uh… That’s all we have… But how are you planning to carry all that…?”

The cashier looked at me like I was insane.

I guess it makes sense.

I did just buy out their entire whiskey supply.

Hmm… Weak alcohol won’t even make me feel tipsy, so I need all of this.

“Please ring it up.”

As the cashier swiped my card, I stored all the bottles in my inventory.

The cashier’s eyes widened in shock.

“What… What just happened? Magic?”

“Oh, yeah. Something like that.”

I was about to brush it off, but the cashier kept staring at me with wide eyes.

“That’s strange… I’ve never heard of mages using magic like that…”

Ugh.

Is this guy a Hunter enthusiast?

Most combat mages focus on offensive spells, not inventory magic…

Tsk.

I didn’t want to use a Dragon Words on a civilian, but I guess I have no choice.

“‘Forget about the inventory.’”

The cashier’s eyes lost focus for a moment before nodding.

With that taken care of, I left the store, suddenly feeling impatient.

I wanted to get home as soon as possible.

As soon as I thought about spiritualizing and turning invisible, my semi-transparent body faded completely.

I merged with the world around me.

Like a complete ghost.

“I’ll leave these here…”

When I entered the house, I saw Diana.

She was setting up the sofa table in the living room.

Plates, cups, spoons, and chopsticks were neatly arranged.

She shouldn’t even be familiar with chopsticks in her world, yet she knew how to use them?

But… there was no food on the table.

I didn’t really need food anymore, so my fridge was empty.

Whenever I did take a break, I usually just ordered delivery or drank…

Hmm.

Did I buy too much alcohol?

I left the house again in my transparent state and flew to a nearby market in a hurry.

I grabbed some bread, salad, chicken for myself, and even stocked up on more whiskey.

By the time I returned, everything was already set up.

Diana was sitting on the sofa, fidgeting restlessly.

Her face was slightly flushed.

Then, she even summoned the spirits for consultation.

“Alcohol… Now that I’m A-rank, I probably won’t get drunk… Should I pretend to be drunk? What should I do?”

The elemental spirits of fire, water, wind, and earth—who looked like tiny people—were all nodding or shaking their heads in response.

Hmm… If I just suddenly appear now, I might come off as a rude guy.

I quietly went to the front door, materialized into my physical form, and opened it.

“You’re back, Jiho?”

Diana immediately ran toward me, unable to hide the flush on her face.

“Yeah, I brought some more food… Oh, you set everything up?”

I acted surprised as if seeing the setup for the first time, then took out several bottles of whiskey and food from my inventory.

Diana received each item with both hands and placed them on the sofa table.

There was so much whiskey that we had to line it up on the floor.

“That’s a lot of alcohol.”

“Our ranks are so high. I figured we wouldn’t get drunk easily, so I bought a lot.”

After dealing with all the drinks, it was time for food.

I handed her some chicken and asked,

“Diana, you don’t eat meat, right?”

“Oh, I can eat it, but I don’t really like it. But since Jiho brought it, I’ll eat it.”

“Nah, I got salad for you too. Here, have this.”

Her eyes sparkled.

“Thank you for thinking of me, Jiho.”

Wait… Is this the power of being a god?

She’s looking at me like that just because I gave her a salad…

Are all my apostles going to act like this?

If Jinseong looked at me like that, I’d probably want to punch him.

“Well then, shall we drink?”

And so, the drinking session began.

Since I didn’t even have a proper wine glass at home, we just poured whiskey into regular cups.

It tasted strong but oddly bland.

I didn’t feel like I would get drunk at all.

When I looked over at Diana, she was tilting her head in confusion.

“Earth’s alcohol is weak.”

“Maybe we’re just too high-ranked? This just tastes like bitter water. Should I use magic to make it easier to get drunk?”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“Oh! Jiho, try using a divine command.”

I got curious and decided to give it a try.

“‘Get drunk more easily.’”

A faint light flashed, but I didn’t notice much of a difference.

Did it work?

“Try drinking.”

“Alright. Cheers, cheers.”

Clinking cups with a high elf over a sofa table…

This felt so cheap compared to her elegant appearance.

I should have bought some wine glasses.

When I drank again, it felt slightly better.

I still had to chug whiskey like it was beer to feel anything, but at least it didn’t taste as bland as before.

Diana, on the other hand, was getting red much faster.

“Oh…? I think it’s working on me.”

“That’s good. Let’s eat then.”

We kept passing drinks back and forth.

As we chatted about the past, reminiscing about our first meeting, the buzz slowly crept in.

After an hour or two, Diana started swaying.

The divine command seemed to work better on her than on me.

But still, a slightly tipsy Diana looked… a little too alluring.

She kept trying to match my drinking pace.

“Ah… I-I’ll drink too.”

“You don’t have to keep up. You’re already a bit drunk.”

“I-I can drink…!”

Her tongue was already getting twisted.

She tried to pour herself another drink but suddenly lost strength and collapsed forward.

She ended up leaning against me.

With all that drinking, she should have reeked of alcohol, but instead, she had her usual refreshing scent.

“Jiho…”

As she leaned on me, she slowly lowered her head.

Is she asleep?

I looked at her face—her eyes were closed, and she was breathing softly.

Ah, whatever.

This is just how I am.

Might as well put her to bed and drink more whiskey.

I decided to carry her to the bedroom.

After gently placing her on the bed and turning to leave, suddenly, her arms wrapped around my neck.

Huh?

“Heh. I can’t lie to a god, huh…”

Diana, who had been pretending to sleep, opened her eyes with a smile.

“I’m not actually that drunk.”

Then, she pulled me closer.

As our lips met, her tongue slipped in.

But the thought that popped into my head wasn’t about her soft tongue or refreshing scent…

Ah, you dumbass!

That was it.

I had secretly been expecting something like this anyway.

If Diana hadn’t made the first move, I probably would’ve just kept drinking whiskey that wasn’t even getting me drunk.

Then later, I’d probably have ended up punching a bathroom wall.

Tongue met tongue.

Back and forth.

Ever since I attained a divine body, my temperature has remained constant...

But suddenly, my body felt hot.

The room was warm.

I kept kissing her endlessly before finally pausing and lifting my head.

Diana, lying beneath me, gazed up at me.

Her blue eyes were so beautiful that it took my breath away.

Phew, she set this all up—if I just sat here doing nothing, I’d be an idiot.

"I'm not drunk at all."

"That's a relief."

"I'm not sleeping tonight."

"Am I... receiving a blessing?"

"Yeah, the first blessing of the God of Souls. Consider it an honor."

Fearing that I might lose my memory like last time, I turned off my infinite stamina skill.

Yeah, I’m an S-rank now.

A body that has reached divinity.

That silly skill… I don’t need it!

I can be strong even without it!

The morning was refreshing.

Next to me, Diana was sleeping peacefully.

Ha, she really is...

A goddess.

More than reaching S-rank yesterday, the thing that truly makes my heart swell is the night we burned together.

The rising sun illuminates the room, making me feel strangely sentimental.

Maybe I should have some coffee.

I get out of bed.

And then, suddenly, a message pops up.

[Danger detected—Foresight has activated.]

Huh?

Now?

Not in a hundred days?

Along with it, a semi-transparent screen began to appear before my eyes.

It feels just like watching TV.

Bzzzzzzzt.

A white screen, like when a TV is on the wrong channel, appeared before suddenly playing a video.

The first image showed a massive hall engulfed in pure white flames.

Inside, the Einherjar I saw before were melting away, consumed by the white fire.

This flame... it’s familiar.

It’s the same as the White Flame that appears when I unleash my soul energy.

The focus shifted from the burning Einherjar, slowly moving.

A vast staircase that seemed to stretch on forever.

The screen followed it upward.

More Einherjar and Valkyries, burning and vanishing.

How long had the ascent lasted?

At the top of the stairs was a space resembling the hall from earlier.

The ceiling was open, allowing rain and lightning to pour down.

And in the center of it stood a colossal figure.

Too large to be human, yet too small to be a true giant.

Long, flowing white hair and a beard that reaches the ground, a billowing white robe.

A massive staff in his right hand.

One eye covered with an eyepatch, the other glowing red.

That eye—it’s similar to the All-Seeing Eye that Odin used against me.

Is this man... Odin?

“Heh...”

He lets out a twisted laugh.

“Is this how it ends?”

His gaze dropped downward.

The white flames rapidly climbed the staircase.

With his power, he should be able to suppress them, but Odin merely chuckled bitterly.

“So this is how the great cycle ends. The Awakener of Souls... I confirmed that he had reached divinity... I sealed him away...”

Odin’s voice was hollow, yet the words struck a nerve.

If he’s talking about the Awakener of Souls, then he’s talking about me.

Confirming that I had reached divinity—that must mean my S-rank ascension.

He confirmed it... and sealed me away?

My drowsy mind snapped wide awake.

I need to listen more.

Whoosh!

The White Flame had already reached the top.

Odin watched it, then pointed the end of his massive staff forward.

Suddenly, crimson flames rose before him.

It looks like he was trying to counter the White Flame with another fire.

The two flames clashed—but the White Flame effortlessly devoured the crimson fire.

“Heh... what power.”

Odin clicked his tongue at the sight.

Then, as if dumbfounded, he let out a sigh.

“To collect debts using SP... Is this truly my end? Is this the end of Asgard...?”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]