Vulcan responded to Honus’s words, lowering his head slightly.
“Thank you,”
He then looked at Honus vacantly.
But Honus, after tossing the words, ‘congratulations’, had no more words.
Although he was gazing toward Vulcan, he looked unfocused and possibly was having another thought in his head.
Vulcan did not rush him.
Perhaps he was very surprised.
Just after his enlightenment, Vulcan was even surprised himself, feeling as if it were not real, so in this case, from a third party’s perspective, how surprising it would be.
He stood still as he was giving Honus time to fix his mind.
He then fell into his own thoughts.
‘150 years… no, I thought it would take approximately 200 years,’
He had thought to himself when he first came in the Light inside the Darkness.
When he came up to Act 2, he had only one experience of what he might call enlightenment.
It was only when Fire Mastery had increased from s to ss rank just before he entered the Lava Demon Cave, the hidden quest in the Lava Field.
Other than that, he had grown steadily with stable level-ups, internal contemplation, and repeated learning through continuous battles.
‘Ah, I did have a sharp spec-up before; I got greatly strengthened whenever I got the Blue Dragon"s occult arts, strengthened the item, gained a set of the Demon Duke, and succeeded in rebuilding the body,’
But he could not call it growth.
Moreover, now that he had reached the limit of being strong with the help of equipment or skills, Vulcan thought it was no longer possible to expect such luck.
Because of this, Vulcan thought that the only way to be strong was by hunting monsters and leveling up in the ’Final Trial’.
As if one had spent 100 years of time in the Origin of Evil to increase by 80 levels.
But it was not.
It was a change that came to Vulcan who had not antic.i.p.ated it at all, and had acc.u.mulated experience and accomplishments by dealing with powerful monsters on par with last 14 years.
Enlightenment suddenly came to Vulcan, just as a high priest, who had lived for many decades with his recurring performance, reached Nirvana all of a sudden.
When the magic that he used as his willing tool felt awkward, and fire and lightning that he thought he knew everything about and the spell of the two attributes felt unfamiliar to him, Vulcan were able to get away from everything that had been taken for granted.
It was to prepare the basis for a whole new way.
Lightning and fireworks burst at the same time from the body of Vulcan who had fallen into a completely unconscious world.
Like a ruthless calamity G.o.d who burns and destroys everything.
Vulcan, transformed into a completely different dimensional being than before, completely shook the inside of the Light inside the Darkness.
There was no one who could oppose him.
There was no monster that would dare to grab his ankle.
The monsters in the Light inside the Darkness were so helpless that they could not stop his G.o.dhood that had already reached the higher stage, above level 1,000.
Even the would-be G.o.ds dodged him.
Because the attack of Vulcan was poured indiscriminately, the frightened would-be G.o.ds could not help but escape to a far-away hunting ground and see what happens next.
Like that, a long time pa.s.sed.
During the time, although Vulcan did not eat or drink anything, and did not sleep, he laid the Light inside the Darkness in ashes.
He was able to come to his senses in a year and to fully gain enlightenment that came to him.
And the notification sound of SYSTEM being heard.
Tiiiiirng!
[Lightning mastery increased from ss to sss!]
[Fire mastery increased from ss to sss!]
Listening to the more playful sound of SYSTEM than before, Vulcan stared at his own getup.
And he looked at many of the would-be G.o.ds who, before he knew it, had gathered up and been watching him.
Their eyes were mixed with amazement, astonishment, jealousy and fear.
Seeing their att.i.tude, Vulcan was able to bring himself up to speed on the situation.
Enlightenment came to him indeed in a long time.
‘Though I did not achieve level 1,000 that I was aiming for…’
It did not matter.
Vulcan checked his level using SYSTEM.
[Demi-G.o.d Vulcan]
[988 Lv]
The level was also much higher than he had expected, because he had slain monsters at a terrifying pace for a year in the unconscious world.
Maybe it was possible to break through level 1,000 if he could spend another 2-3 years in the Light inside the Darkness.
But Vulcan did not feel the need to do so.
Currently, his actual level that he had estimated, was 1,200-1,300.
He would not know how difficult Hokulrus’s test is, but it seemed that pa.s.sing the test was not a big deal to him.
Having thought this far, Vulcan lifted his head and looked at Honus again.
His mouth was firmly closed, his brow was furrowed, and his gaze filled with anguish was lowered.
Vulcan took a shallow sigh.
It seemed it could go on like this forever.
In a cautious voice, he called out,
“Well… Honus?”
“Uh? Ah, right. I’m sorry. I was thinking of something else…’
Honus still had a flat face, but could not hide his puzzled look and his clumsy gestures.
Vulcan tossed him a question.
"Actually, as soon as I got out of the Light inside the Darkness, I used the return scroll to go back to Espoo City, but it did not work. By any chance, did you stop the scroll from working?”
“Oh yeah, I did. Because there are a lot of guys who would just go away without seeing me…”
“I see… so, what can I do to get to the Espo City? Should I get out of this field, in order to use the return scroll?”
Vulcan had splas.h.i.+ng sparks on his body as if to run in a no time
Seeing him like that, Honus hurried to speak.
“N, No. Let me open the portal,”
Wuuuuuuuuuuuung.
The circular dimensional door moved like waves.
Vulcan, who saw it, bowed toward Honus.
“Thank you. I’m going now,”
“... yeah,”
As Honus nodding with a stern look, Vulcan threw himself into the portal.
At the same time, the blue portal was gradually shrinking.
Honus, who was watching it, kept silent again.
But it was a bit different from before.
There was no Vulcan who had faced him anymore. He did not have to force himself to behave with grace.
He had a much more distorted look than before and wandered about like a child with anxiety.
It was because he was so shocked that he could not stand still.
With a trembling heart that was not calm yet, he thought,
“That’s why… he gained the Greatest G.o.d’s interest?”
The growth was beyond imagination.
After facing the insane growth rate, he felt something that had remained as a question, was somehow convincing.
The first one who had cleared Act 2 in the shortest time was Powell from Dragonians. It was 385 years.
Given that 1,500 years were spent on average by those who cleared Act 2, this was a gigantic outcome defying common sense.
By the way, Vulcan advanced the time by 135 years.
250 years.
In just a short time, less than 300 years, he crossed the wall of Act 2, which had frustrated millions.
‘Oh, he didn’t cross it just yet, as there is a test for him to take…’
Having thought this far, Honus chuckled.
As long as he had already reached that level, it did not matter if he had to take the test.
If only he had a willingness to take the test, it would not be unreasonable to let him pa.s.s it straight away.
‘Well… since he was about to go to the Espo city, it seems like he is going to take the test right away without doing anything else.’
Honus, who was sorting his thoughts while spinning around his place, suddenly stood up.
A puzzled face like someone who missed out on something very important.
‘I should have informed him of 38 habits to be a good G.o.d…’
***
Shuuuuuc.
Vulcan who arrived at the Espo City via the portal created by Honus.
His vision got a little wider than before.
Various people and buildings came into his view.
Now it looked more familiar than his home country, Korea.
But he felt a bit different from before.
Is it because of the idea of leaving here soon?
Vulcan could not help but see everything with a much more sentimental eye.
Step. Step.
Absentmindedly, he walked along the streets of Espo City.
At a slightly slower speed than usual.
Just as a greenhorn from Act 1 tries to adapt to Act 2, Vulcan turned his head here and there to take in the landscapes of Espo City.
Not that he can not come forever.
He has the Dimensional Cross Teleportation Technique, so he can come back whenever he wants.
‘But it could be hundreds of years from now…’
The cooling time for the Dimensional Cross Teleportation Technique.
And considering the time scales of Earth and Asgard, it takes five years to come here and then back to Earth.
Vulcan had no intention of being away from his family and new acquaintances for such a long time.
Eventually, he would not return to this place at least unless the lives of the acquaintances a.s.sociated with him came to an end.
Like that, a building came into his eyes as he walked contemplating everything in the streets of Espo City.
A mysterious building with a entrance decorated with various s.h.i.+ning crystals.
It was Oracle.
Vulcan, who saw it, crumpled his face slightly.
It was because he remembered what Oracle had done for him.
‘Maybe… he cast spells on and was spying on me…’
Something never dreamed of.
Vulcan is a mage who has been able to use a fairly high level of magic since he came to Act 2.
Of course, if someone uses magic, he is sharp enough to and has the ability to parry it.
It was the surveillance magic that, cunningly and tactfully, had deceived him.
Vulcan shook his head.
‘It would be impossible ... unless it was the magic cast by a mage who nearly reached the Blue Dragon rank.’
Why the one who has reached such rank is doing such a useless information play?
Vulcan could not make sense of it.
‘...’
Having stared at Oracle"s building with a quick glance, he shortly turned his head away.
Then he headed to the center of Espo City at a little bit faster speed.
He decided to eradicate Oracle from his head.
Indeed, Oracle were such b.a.s.t.a.r.ds.
After more than a hundred years, a little bit of emotion died down, but if he met the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds outside of the city, he could very well break their necks at a breath.
But he did not intend to go on a rampage in the city.
What was important to Vulcan now was not that.
‘If I get entangled with those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, the delay will cause much more damage.’
If, under the same circ.u.mstances as Act 1, all the keepers are on the side of Vulcan, he might consider it.
Vulcan, who walked along the streets while having such thoughts, suddenly stopped at one point.
A gigantic temple.
He stood in front of the temple whose size can not be compared with the one of Act 1"s Baeron, and made a determined look.
He then unsheathed the Heavenly Lightning Blade and approached forward.
“Uh?”
“Who the h.e.l.l,”
“Why the blade... in the City?... Does he mean to open the door of the test…?”
The people, who were startled by Vulcan’s sudden action, began to talk in whispers.
Defeating the door of the test is the minimum condition for taking, the supreme manager of Act 2, Hokulrus’s test.
Because of this, sometimes people came and tested their strengths, and other people also came to watch them.
But Vulcan did not even give them the time to talk.
An achromatic, thick door made of unknown material.
Approaching closer to the door whose size was as big as a building, Vulcan wielded the blade as a flash.
Slice.
And the door was cut down.
‘...!’
He did at a speed at which anyone gathered here, and even those who were near level 900 could not recognized.
Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaang.
The door was cut in half and collapsed instantly.
And the people were not able to say anything with their mouths wide open.
At the center, Vulcan slowly caught the aura of the Thunder G.o.d Blade that was surrounding the Heavenly Lightning Blade.
Then he slowly walked toward the inside of the temple.