Chapter 461
Amelia readily agreed.
Taesan immediately began the Apostle’s contract.
[You have proposed the Apostle’s Contract to Amelia.]
“I accept.”
Amelia nodded. As the contract was fulfilled, the two began to connect with one another.
“Ugh—”
“Huh?”
Voices echoed. Taesan let out a groan, and Amelia was startled.
It was a strange sensation.
They were connected. Taesan’s power and essence enveloped Amelia.
“Ah—”
Amelia groaned. A thick, powerful, and alien force settled into her soul and body.
‘So this is what it feels like?’
Taesan repeatedly clenched and opened his fist. He, too, was feeling the sense of dissonance like Amelia.
Amelia was now inside him.
Through the Will of All Things, he had been able to grasp her thoughts and emotions, but now even the deepest parts of her were accessible.
[You have obtained the Apostle [Amelia Aerin].]
[She has sworn eternal loyalty to you.]
[You have created the first Apostle. She will protect you and act on your behalf in many things.]
[You may issue commands to your Apostle. If you truly desire it, the Apostle cannot refuse.]
Too many system windows appeared to take in all at once.
Amelia seemed to be experiencing the same, scanning the air quickly.
Amelia had become Taesan’s Apostle.
Once she had finished confirming everything, she looked at Taesan with a slightly awkward expression.
“Um, Taesan… sir?”
“Why the sudden formality?”
“Well, I became your Apostle, so I thought I should speak more respectfully.”
“No need. Just talk to me like you usually do.”
“…Alright.”
Though Amelia looked a little uneasy, she obediently spoke as usual.
“Still feels weird using casual speech. Isn’t this blasphemous or something?”
“Why fuss over things like that?”
What mattered wasn’t her attitude. It was what she had gained and what she could do.
“So, how does it feel to be an Apostle?”
“Strange. Feels like a part of you is dwelling inside me.”
“Then let’s put it to the test.”
Taesan drew his sword. Amelia grinned and readied her weapon.
Boom!
The two sparred.
Taesan held back his strength, observing her movements. As a result, he came to a conclusion.
“There isn’t as big a change as I expected.”
Amelia had become faster and more precise. Just this alone made her stronger than her pre-Apostle self.
However, for having become an Apostle, it wasn’t an extraordinary change. Amelia spoke up.
“They said your qualification isn’t sufficient yet to grant me the full power of an Apostle. But I did gain a skill called [Apostle Transformation].”
“Try using it.”
It was a skill Taesan also had. He activated [Apostle Transformation] for her.
[Amelia has activated [Apostle Transformation].]
“Ugh—”
Amelia let out a soft groan.
The essence and power of Taesan that resided in her surged and enveloped her entirely.
In an instant, she reached a realm she had never attained before. As she stared blankly at her own sword, Taesan motioned to her.
“Come again.”
“Ah, okay.”
Amelia stomped her foot.
Clang!
She became faster and stronger. At this level, she had a fair chance even against an S-class monster.
The duration was one hour, same as Taesan. And it had a one-day cooldown. Considering that Taesan had defeated powerful enemies thanks to [Apostle Transformation], it was a significant change.
“What is this?”
Amelia couldn’t hide her amazement.
She had instantly broken through a realm she had never managed to reach before.
And now, she could handle divine power.
Compared to Taesan, it was like a firefly before the sun, but in battle, being able to heal herself made it quite useful.
However, she hadn’t gained anything beyond that. While other Apostles could wield fragments of divine authority, Amelia had gained nothing like that.
“I don’t have any divine authority or anything. All I got was [Apostle Transformation] and divine power.”
Taesan tried to grant her divine authority by consuming his own power.
What he tried to bestow was the [Soul Skill: Destroyer].
But Amelia couldn’t accept it. She groaned in pain, unable to withstand the overwhelming power. In the end, Taesan gave up on granting her the authority.
“A restriction, huh.”
[You have not yet fully mastered the power and essence of your divine self. There are restrictions on various aspects of your divine authority.]
He had become the God of Earth.
But it was still an incomplete position, influenced by the faith of humanity.
With time, as faith stabilized and he reached a higher realm, things might change. But for now, he couldn’t wield divine authority perfectly. That was likely the reason Amelia’s [Apostle Transformation] had limitations despite being his Apostle.
Once he attained true qualification, Amelia would also gain the full strength of an Apostle.
But Amelia looked satisfied.
“This is already good enough for me. Honestly, this is the best skill I’ve ever gotten. But… it feels like this kind of power wouldn’t come without a price. Did it cost you anything?”
“There’s a cost, but it’s insignificant.”
A tiny, almost imperceptible consumption. Considering the gap between Amelia and Taesan, it was practically nothing.
‘The Apostle’s Contract.’
There were various restrictions now, but with more growth, they would disappear.
And then, it wouldn’t just be Amelia. He would be able to form Apostle Contracts with the other Solo mode players too.
As Taesan finished checking the newly obtained divine authority, Amelia, while reviewing the system windows, tilted her head.
“This is kind of weird. Why is this part blank?”
“What is?”
“Your divine name, or whatever it is? That part is blank.”
“…Explain it in detail.”
Taesan asked seriously.
Amelia’s explanation was simple.
She had received a system window that told her who she had contracted with.
But the front of Taesan’s name was blank.
[ ] Taesan
“It’s written like this.”
Taesan stroked his chin.
The god of Vekeseta, Harmon, was the God of Light born from the earth.
Levinenov was a goddess of love.
A divine name represented the true nature of a god.
He was now the God of Earth.
But that was a realm achieved through the collective faith of humanity. It wasn’t his true essence.
That blank space meant one of two things:
Either he hadn’t acquired a true divine essence yet.
Or, even the Labyrinth’s system couldn’t comprehend the essence he possessed.
‘My essence.’
He had to understand it. Taesan set his next goal.
“Alright. Let’s go back.”
“Ugh—”
Boom—
Taesan kicked off the ground. Thanks to him matching her speed, Amelia had no trouble keeping up.
She blankly stared at Taesan’s back.
‘…He’s too big.’ (T/N: WTF. Is my mind just dirty, lol.)
Now that they had formed an Apostle’s Contract, she could grasp Taesan’s power to its core.
Taesan was immense.
A power so intense it could reduce her to ashes in an instant—like the sun.
Amelia now felt the same emotions Taesan had when facing Transcendents.
‘…Huh?’
As she examined Taesan’s power, she noticed something.
Deep within his inner world—something resided there.
She was his Apostle. Closer to him than anyone else in this world.
Yet even she couldn’t comprehend what that thing was.
Amelia tried to examine it closely, but it vanished deeper within in an instant.
‘What was that?’
She tilted her head in confusion, but couldn’t figure it out.
* * *
Four days remained until their return to Earth.
In that time, Taesan used the demon’s domain to craft a few Black Magic spells that people could use effectively. The Magi cost was minimal, but it filled in their weaknesses well enough that people were deeply moved.
He also gave advice on skill acquisition methods and tactics. People listened to Taesan with serious expressions.
Meanwhile, Amelia and the other Solo mode players continued sparring.
Among them, the one showing the most change was Amelia.
Clang!
“Ooh.”
Diana let out a sound of admiration.
“You’ve gotten stronger.”
“Well, I became an Apostle. This much should be expected.”
“No, I don’t mean just that. You’ve really become stronger.”
Diana had always thought Amelia was impressive, but her talent didn’t surpass her own.
But the movements Amelia displayed now were completely different.
Having cast aside doubts about herself, she had begun to blossom.
“Now I really can’t sit still.”
Diana gripped her sword with a serious expression. Lee Taeyeon, standing beside Taesan, muttered.
“Amelia’s an Apostle now. Seems fitting. Looks like she resolved the doubts in her heart too.”
“You knew?”
“That’s my area of expertise, remember? Doubting yourself, devouring your own talent—that kind of thing.”
Lee Taeyeon spoke proudly. Taesan chuckled.
“That’s not something to be proud of, is it?”
“Who cares. I was wondering how to help her, but you handled it. So, lucky me.”
She let out a dry chuckle.
“You made an Apostle, huh… You really are a god. You’ve come a long way.”
“Yeah. And there’s still a long way to go.”
* * *
Then, on the final day before returning to the Labyrinth—
Taesan began his preparations.
Bzzzzzzzt!
Divine power swept across the entire Earth. People let out gasps and exclamations.
Having exerted great influence, Taesan made his declaration.
“Die.”
[You have activated [Declaration of Death].]
Craaaaack!
Divine power exploded.
The monsters remaining across the Earth were crushed and obliterated.
Though they struggled, the divine power that enveloped the world trampled them like divine punishment.
In an instant, all remaining monsters were annihilated. People cheered.
Having dealt with the last of them, Taesan gathered the divine power.
Then, he hurled it at the black hole torn open in the sky.
BOOOOM!
A clash of power.
Space warped and the world shook.
Taesan frowned.
The hole in the sky remained unchanged, as if mocking him.
‘Still not enough, huh.’
But next return, it would be different.
Taesan withdrew his power.
People’s bodies began returning to the Labyrinth.
Lee Taeyeon waved her hand.
“Then, see you next time.”
Taesan responded with a nod.
And they returned to the Labyrinth.
[Monster Kill Bonus +2443]
[Apostle Kill Bonus +3154]
[Old God Fragment Kill Bonus +6814]
[Victory Bonus +1115]
[Settlement Complete]
[You have received 15,876p.]
As they left Earth and returned to the Labyrinth, Taesan’s elevated essence and divinity began to fall.
He was the God of Earth. Leaving Earth imposed limitations on his power.
As his essence dropped, his omnipotent sensation vanished.
Taesan quietly assessed himself.
‘Barely clinging to Transcendence, huh.’
He had dropped to a level where he couldn’t even fully wield a Transcendent’s authority.
‘But I’ve surpassed immortality.’
He was still a Transcendent. It was less of a drop than he expected.
Taesan checked his link with Amelia.
She was stationed in the Labyrinth, reviewing her points.
[Can you hear me?]
[Huh?]
Amelia flinched.
She looked around the air.
[…Taesan?]
[I can hear you.]
The Apostle’s Contract was a Transcendent’s privilege that ignored even dimensional divergence. Though the community feature existed, being able to communicate in real-time was still quite attractive.
[This is amazing.]
[Keep pushing forward. If you need anything, pray and call for me.]
[Okay. Thanks.]
Taesan checked the points he had earned.
15,876 points.
Adding that to what he previously gained, he now had over 20,000 points.
What should he use those points for? He was just starting to consider when the Labyrinth shook.
“Balbamaba.”
Perhaps because he had become a Transcendent, he immediately sensed the signs of power gathering.
Before long, the Labyrinth’s administrator, Balbamaba, appeared.