Chapter 2004 – 2004. God’S Atlantis
「You have astonished the gods and overcome the trials of Olympus.」
「The gods of Olympus have acknowledged your trials.」
「You have acquired the title ‘Honorable Olympian’!」
「All stats have increased by 1.」
「The myth you have built is as false as a dream of one night. However, your myth has resonated strongly with some gods. A false myth blesses you!」
「Luck stat has increased by 10.」
「The remnants of ■■■■■ bless you and vanish.」
「Cosmic luck has descended upon you.」
「Luck stat has increased by 10.」
「You have overwhelmingly overcome the trials of Olympus, and 1,300,000 AP is awarded.」
「As a reward for overcoming the trials, Astrape’s rank has increased to EX rank.」
「Astrape
Can wield the lightning of the gods.
Type: Divine Seat Skill
Rank: EX」
「To perfectly wield Astrape (EX), the rank of Lightning (SS) must be higher.」
「The power of Astrape (EX) is reduced due to the low rank of Lightning (SS).」
I quickly read the notification windows that popped up. I never tire of reading them, no matter how many times I do. A smile crept onto my face.
‘It didn’t seem like a particularly difficult trial… but the rewards are so sweet.’
I held back the urge to test Astrape. There were more rewards to receive.
「You have obtained dominion over the 4,010th district, Hera’s Garden.」
「You have acquired 500,000 AP.」
「As the ruler of Hera’s Garden, you will acquire 200,000 AP every 30 days.」
「A golden apple tree grows in Hera’s Garden. As the ruler, you will receive one golden apple each month.」
「You can receive a golden apple. Would you like to receive it?」
‘I don’t have to go and pick the golden apple myself. That’s convenient.’
For reference, there were golden apples in the [Savior of the Academy] world as well. Although, their effects were a bit different.
I received the golden apple. First, I was curious about what effects the golden apple would have.
The golden apple was, true to its name, an apple whose surface shone like gold.
「Golden Apple
When you eat a golden apple, your stats will randomly increase once for the first time.
Eating a golden apple makes you one year younger.
Rank: S」
‘Stat increase? That’s awesome!’
On top of that, there was even an effect that made you one year younger. And it seemed this effect was triggered every time you ate one.
‘It’s not the stat effect, this is the real deal.’
I thought of the wealthy nobles. Time is equal to everyone. The nobles, who have more power and money than others, would be the most displeased with that. They would want to live longer to enjoy their power for longer.
‘I could make a lot of money if I sold it.’
Even though I thought that, I wasn’t short on money. It might be better to gift them to my women. I wonder if I should give one to Joo Seo-hyun, since she worked hard last time.
‘…No. Joo Seo-hyun is always trying to take my life. There’s no need to make her stronger.’
Even now, I wasn’t confident I could beat Joo Seo-hyun if we only fought with swordsmanship. She was getting stronger at an incredible rate, as if she had gained some kind of enlightenment last time.
‘I’ll eat the first apple.’
Crunch!
After eating the apple, I shivered.
It was delicious. The refreshing taste quenched my thirst and invigorated my whole body.
‘It’s incredibly delicious! I don’t want to give this to anyone else!’
「Luck stat has increased by 2 due to the effects of the golden apple!」
「Luck stat has reached 100!」
「An achievement that cannot be accomplished unless the universe helps you!」
「You have acquired Great Fortune (EX).」
「Great Fortune (運數大通)
Activates randomly.
Type: Skill
Rank: EX」
‘An EX rank skill?!’
I was surprised. I didn’t expect a skill like this to appear just because my luck stat had reached 100.
‘It’s true that luck isn’t a stat you can raise just because you want to.’
If someone had a proper mind, they wouldn’t try to raise their luck stat. Other stats are more helpful for survival.
‘It’s a bit underwhelming for an EX skill.’
Great Fortune. The ability is probably just to make luck better, as the name suggests. The problem is that I can’t use it actively.
‘Still, it’ll be useful someday, right?’
After roughly coming to a conclusion, I continued what I was doing.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch, crunch!
I was mindlessly eating the golden apples when I realized I had eaten all the flesh and became depressed. All that was left were the golden apple seeds.
‘…Seeds? Can I mass-produce golden trees with these?’
You never know. I took the golden apple seeds for now.
「You have obtained the right to use Hephaestus’s forge.」
「Would you like to use Hephaestus’s forge?」
Originally, I came all this way because of Hephaestus’s forge.
I readily nodded.
“Use it.”
Zzzzzzzzz.
The space in front of me distorted, and a portal appeared.
Inside the portal was a huge forge with red lava flowing. The volcano was constantly erupting, sending its heat to the forge. More precisely, to the furnace behind the forge.
I swallowed hard and tensed up.
If it were Zeus, he would have entered without hesitation… but I wasn’t Zeus right now. I protected my body with mana and entered the portal.
「You are entering the 4,016th district, Flowing Steel.」
「You are using the right to use Hephaestus’s forge.」
「You have temporarily become the ruler of the 4,016th district, Flowing Steel. Your dominion will last until you leave the district.」
It wasn’t as hot as I expected. It was like early summer in Korea.
‘It doesn’t make sense with lava flowing next to me. Is it because I have dominion?’
I confidently walked towards the forge in front of me.
I forcefully opened the forge door.
There was no one inside the forge. That didn’t mean it was quiet. The huge furnace connected to the volcano was constantly burning.
‘It’s excessively huge.’
It was so huge that I didn’t even want to get close to it.
“Lord Hephaestus. I have completed the mission.”
The heat from the furnace leaked out and took the shape of a person.
「You have completed the mission of the limping one who shakes the earth.」
「Receive the mission rewards directly.」
Hephaestus opened his mouth as he looked at me.
“You did well. It was a difficult task, but I didn’t expect you to accomplish it so quickly.”
“I was lucky.”
“I have been watching your myth. It was something my father would like. …I also know what you think of me.”
Oops.
During the trials, I used Hephaestus to the best of my ability. I used him like a slave. I didn’t think about the consequences at all.
At that time, I was so engrossed in being Zeus that I forgot that the other gods were watching.
“Well, I didn’t originally intend to do that….”
“It was all part of the trials anyway. The gods of Olympus are not so petty as to scold you for what happened during the trials. Trials are just trials. It was also quite fun to watch another version of me build a warship.”
“Do Hera and Hestia think the same way as you, Lord Hephaestus?”
“…I don’t know. I don’t know the hearts of the goddesses.”
Hephaestus’s voice was somber.
In the original history, his relationships with women weren’t good. He was abandoned by Hera and betrayed by Aphrodite.
“However, they didn’t seem to dislike or hate you. Aphrodite seems to be completely smitten with you… As for my mother, I can’t even begin to guess what she’s thinking.”
“Um. About the thing with Aphrodite….”
I sweated and stammered. Hephaestus had to repair the Hwaryeon Bido. He could hold a grudge and intentionally fail the repair. I would have done that if I were him.
“The myths you know are very old stories. Nothing is eternal in this world, and even the immortal gods change. The relationships between the gods of Olympus are already very different from what you know. There have been many incidents and accidents that were not recorded in the myths.”
“I said something unnecessary.”
I took out the Hwaryeon Bido from my inventory. I looked at the red blade and paused. There were cracks all over the blade. Something was leaking from the cracked parts.
“…It shouldn’t have been this badly damaged.”
“My vision was temporarily shared with it. This sword has accumulated too much evil karma. It has accumulated evil karma even when I wasn’t watching.”
“Um. Do you think it would be better to just break it? Do you think that way?”
“There’s no need to read my mind. I am not a god who hides sin. And what sin does a tool have? The sin lies with the owner of the tool. Take out the materials.”
I took out Fafnir’s heart. Hephaestus nodded.
Then, I took out the additional materials.
「Fate Destroyer
Can destroy fate exactly once.
Rank: EX」
“This is not something that can be used as a material.”
Hephaestus said firmly. I clicked my tongue in disappointment. Since it was an EX rank, I thought something amazing would be created if I used it as a material.
「Black Heart
A perpetual motion machine that constantly moves and generates energy.
Rank: SSS」
I took out a black orb. Inside the orb, hundreds of gears were meshing and constantly turning.
“You’re going to use this? As far as I know, this is….”
It was also the key to ruling the 57th district, the city of lights, Etin.
There were many other legions around the 57th district, so it was impossible to carelessly rule the 57th district. And now, I didn’t have any particular attachment to the 57th district.
“Wouldn’t an amazing item be created if a perpetual motion machine was put into a sword? Like being able to use sword energy infinitely.”
“Well. I can’t guarantee the effect as much as it’s used as a material. In the first place, a perpetual motion machine isn’t something that was made to be used as a material. Are you really going to use this?”
“Yes.”
There was no hesitation. In my mind, I was picturing the Hwaryeon Bido emitting infinite energy.
Hephaestus looked at me with a strange expression and then nodded.
“I respect your choice. Then let’s begin. Entrust your body to me.”
“Yes? What, what do you mean by that?”
“The sword you have does not recognize you. So, I will enter you and wield the hammer. I swear on the River Styx that I will not have the slightest influence on your mind.”
I didn’t like it at all. But I couldn’t refuse after coming all this way. I had to repair and strengthen the Hwaryeon Bido.
“…Come in.”
Hephaestus entered me. He naturally moved my body. He held a hammer in his right hand and the Hwaryeon Bido in his left. Fafnir’s heart and the Black Heart floated in the air and followed behind me.
Surprisingly, Hephaestus entered the boiling furnace. Inside the furnace, molten metal and lava swirled and emitted heat. There was no ceiling, and the starry night sky was visible.
‘The space itself has changed. Is this the real Hephaestus’s forge?’
Hephaestus began to heat the Hwaryeon Bido and hammer it with the divine hammer.
Clang!
A clear metallic sound rang out.
He repeated that several times. The Hwaryeon Bido was not being repaired, but rather breaking. Hephaestus didn’t panic and hammered it until it was on the verge of shattering. Only after it had truly reached its limit did he melt Fafnir’s heart and feed it into the Hwaryeon Bido.
The hammering began again.
It was when Hephaestus turned his gaze to the Black Heart.
「Great Fortune (EX) is activated.」
‘It’s activating already?!’
Stars fell from the sky.
Thousands of meteors drew silver tails in the night sky as they fell to the ground.
Stars mixed with the volcano and lava. Sparkling stars were added to the red furnace.
“I can’t use the Black Heart.”
The blacksmith god refined the flames, lava, dragon’s heart, and star fragments, and hammered the Hwaryeon Bido.
