On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons

Chapter 176: #Dungeon Raiding Il-Ho (1)

The asteroid field N521X321, also known as the Graveyard of Stars, had a long, notorious history in the universe. However, that changed the day it was blessed by a certain great god. In the distant future, it’d be honored as the legendary birthplace of the emperor of the Great Cosmic Alliance.

Swoosh! Swoooosh!

Thousands of battleships scattered across the universe warped to the asteroid field. Upon arrival, they surrounded the half-destroyed battleship Esméralda II like an entourage. No wonder, as it housed the most esteemed figure in the universe.

A woman with long, enigmatic blonde hair, luminous as starlight, appeared. Clutching something that seemed precious, she walked between the camera drones that were broadcasting to the people of the Great Cosmic Alliance. She was Princess Esméralda, head of the Great Cosmic Alliance.

Countless races inhabited the great universe, yet all stood in awe of her newfound beauty. Now that the curse of the God of Destroyer had been dispelled, her beauty had transcended all races. She was the most beautiful being in the whole wide universe. However, she wasn’t the star of the show today.

“Warrior Il-Ho.” Princess Esméralda called out the name of the hero who saved the universe from the clutches of God of Destroyer. Staring at him tearfully, she continued, “Are you sure you won’t stay? I’m sure you’ll make a great emperor...”

Il-Ho shook his head, determined. “Haha! A musclehead like me is unfit to be an emperor. The title belongs to you, O’ beautiful and wise Princess Esméralda.”

She blushed slightly at his compliments. How happy she was! This must be how a maiden in love felt like!

“I still have a mission to fulfill.”

“By that, do you mean helping God Yu Il-Shin save the whole world?”

“Indeed!” Il-Ho vigorously puffed his chest muscles.

At first, he had challenged the Tower of Warriors to gain the strength needed to protect Saintess Anty and his brothers in the Gayami Nation. However, as he conquered numerous trials, he saw countless suffering and pain inflicted by the greedy, abominable God of Destroyer and other evil gods.

Furthermore, during the recent trials, where he had to save the Divine Beasts of Eden and the Great Cosmic alliance, he’d come to realize his own weaknesses. If not for the help of God Yu Il-Shin, he’d have been done for.

“I’m still too weak. I have to grow even stronger to help our great and merciful God Yu Il-Shin!”

This would sound blasphemous, but he aspired to grow stronger and become God Yu Il-Shin’s shield.

Entranced by the light in Il-Ho’s eyes, Princess Esméralda recalled the God Yu Il-Shin she’d met before. A god so wretched that she dared not meet his gaze, yet so powerful that he could stand shoulder to shoulder with the legendary God of Destroyer. She had seen how he destroyed the disastrous asteroid shower with a snap of his fingers and dispelled the curse that had plagued her for her entire life.

How could weak and insignificant beings hope to assist such a mighty god? But if it were her little hero, the unyielding Il-Ho, in her hands...

“I believe in you.”

“Thank you for your support, Your Highness! I’ll be leaving now! Be sure to train your muscles!” Flexing his muscles, Il-Ho bade her goodbye, about to proceed to the next trial.

“Warrior Il-Ho,” Princess Esméralda’s red lips spoke, her gaze wavering. “I have one last favor to ask. Could you please close your eyes for a moment...?”

“Sure thing.” Puzzled, Il-Ho still agreed and shut his eyes tight.

Princess Esméralda stared at him tenderly, leaning closer.

Feeling a touch of hot, soft lips on his face, Il-Ho opened his eyes.

“Y-Your Highness?”

“I’ll always be waiting for you, Warrior Il-Ho. When you’ve completed the trials, please come back to me.”

Thump thump!

Dazed by her heart pounding smile, Il-Ho disappeared from the universe of the Forty-Fourth Floor.

[Congratulations! The Forty-Fourth Floor of the Tower of Warriors: Trial of Space and Time has been cleared.]

[The challenger has been rewarded with the Blessing of Survival.]

[Blessing of Survival: Grants the challenger the ability to survive in any adverse environment.]

The messages brought Il-Ho back to reality. He calmed himself down—he'd soon be transported to the next floor, so he needed to stay focused.

[Transporting to the Forty-Fifth Floor of the Tower of Warriors... Tzz! Tzzz!]

However, the message distorted like a broken, static radio.

“Huh?”

He’d never experienced anything like this before!

Ding!

[Tzz...! Eternal Seeker spent his own causality to... Tzz...! Intervene in the trial...]

[Tzz...! The Forty-Fifth Floor of the Tower of Warriors... Tzz... has been urgently changed to God of Harmony's Ruins... Tzz...!]

[Tzz! Tzzz! Clear conditions...Save... Tzz!]

Although he couldn’t hear the messages clearly, the words “Eternal Seeker” and “God of Harmony's Ruins” were etched in his mind.

Swoosh!

“This is?”

Moments later, Il-Ho was transported to a strange dungeon filled with enigmatic murals.

***

"Keke! It just happened! I’m not sure how, but the great muscle god, Eternal Seeker, did this. He must have had his reasons!"

Sizzle—

Il-Ho flipped the meat of the rat monster that he threw into the fire. According to Il-Ho, he’d arrived here two weeks ago, about ten days since I played the asteroid Beat Game. Did time pass differently for us?

Wait, that’s not the point here.

Il-Ho, my favorite follower after Anty on God-Maker, was now standing before me. Moreover, even though he was supposed to be ant-sized, we were of equal height. I didn’t know how this was even possible at all.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Uhm, Il-Ho. Do you know who I am?” I asked, hoping that he’d recognize me.

“Hmm. Unfortunately, I have no clue. My training made my head harder, but not wiser.” Il-Ho apologetically scratched his head.

I was a bit upset, but then I considered another possibility. The creatures in God-Maker always freaked out whenever I showed up, so I must have had a completely different appearance.

“Have I met you on other floors before? What is your name?”

His question made my heart pound in excitement. Should I reveal my identity? Wouldn’t he consider that as blasphemy? What if he beat me up with all those muscles?!

N-no, Il-Ho wouldn’t do that...

Putting my faith in him, I spoke, my voice wavering with anxiety. “I-I am Y-Yu Il-Shin...”

“WHAT?!” Il-Ho yelled, jumping to his feet.

I flinched, cowering in fear.

“Keke! That’s a great name!” Il-Ho chuckled merrily, slapping my shoulder so hard it almost dislocated.

“As expected of the almighty God Yu Il-Shin! His glory spread far and wide! Your parents must’ve given you this name out of reverence for him! I’m sure of it!”

“Y-yeah.”

Well, he was right, my parents did name me.

Il-Ho nodded in satisfaction.

“I was unsure at first, but I think this trial is about saving you,” Il-Ho said.

“M-me?”

“That’s right! Saving someone with the same name as our great god! Fate must be at work! Somehow, I also feel a kinship with you, as if you’re my brother from back home. Well, since we believe in the same god, we’re fellow followers!”

Il-Ho balled his fists. “Don’t worry, Brother! I’ll surely get you out of here and send you home safely!”

I was thrilled. Despite being disappointed that he didn’t recognize me, I was proud that I raised him right.

“But Il-Ho, what should we do to get out of here—

“Before that, I think the meat is done.” Il-Ho interrupted me with a solemn expression. He took out the meat from the fire and raised them toward the ceiling. “Thank you for bestowing my daily meal, O’ great and merciful God Yu Il-Shin! Puck puck!”

Then, he glanced at me. “What are you doing? Are you not a follower of Yu Il-Shinism?”

Feeling a sudden shift in his expression, I followed suit and raised my arms.

“Thank you for bestowing my daily meal, O’ great and merciful God Yu Il-Shin! Puck puck!”

Il-Ho nodded in satisfaction. “That’s the right attitude. You’re a brother indeed!”

Watching the people of Gayami Nation praying to me all this time was worth it...

“Please, dig in.”

Il-Ho tore off a chunk of the meat of the monster that was about to devour me earlier, offering it to me. I was hungry, but my appetite was gone.

“Yeah, uh, I’m fine, Il-Ho. You can have it.”

Il-Ho gave me a crushed look, yelling, “No! Brother! Are you crazy?!”

Gosh, he shocked me! Did I do something wrong?

“You have to eat meat!”

“Huh? Why?”

“You’ll lose muscles if you don’t! How can you not eat meat when you’re this scrawny?! Brother! Do you worship God Yu Il-Shin with such a body?!”

I thought I’d gotten better after all the exercises I’d done, but I guess I was still an anchovy by Il-Ho’s standards.

“Alright, thanks for the meal.”

Well, I was hungry and Il-Ho, who nagged me for my potential muscle loss, wasn’t helping. In the end, I squeezed my eyes shut and took a bite of the rat monster’s meat.

Chew chew!

Oh?

“How is it? Isn’t it good?”

“Yeah, it’s delicious.”

Unlike what its appearance suggested, it had a chewy texture reminiscent of pork shoulder.

“The rat monster’s meat is the best in this dungeon. The snake’s meat has a very fishy odor, and those with pointy ears are hard to stomach because of their stench. Oh, the pill bug isn’t too bad...”

I couldn’t help but laugh as Il-Ho shared his testimonies of the various food sources available in the dungeon. I didn’t know having Il-Ho around could be so relieving. My anxiety about my current situation and disabled skills went down.

In fact, I was even enjoying our current situation—but it turned out to be short-lived.

“Argh! Brother, run!” Il-Ho yelled at me with an arm missing.

-It shattered into pieces the moment the owner of this dungeon appeared.