Surviving on the Northern Front with Gukbap

Belkhaz and Dreyer

For an extremely long time,

I hadn't been able to clear Quest [2] and Quest [3].

That's how high a wall achieving 100% affinity with Ralph was,

And inheriting a 4th-rank felt equally out of reach.

So, I should have been happy to hear the quest completion notification.

I thought I would open the system window more joyfully than ever.

But in reality—

'It would have been impossible without the sacrifices of the two.'

My subordinate and soldier, Zaiya, who loyally served me,

And Ralph, who had been my regular customer, colleague, mentor, and friend.

And that wasn't all.

There were also Hank, whose fate—alive or dead—I couldn't know,

And Legion and Lantz, both unconscious and passed out.

Grrrt.

My teeth clenched involuntarily.

I knew better than anyone that my weakness was why I couldn't protect them.

I knew full well that if I had been stronger, those two wouldn't have needed to die!

'I'll definitely kill him.'

My anger toward Schutmann reached its peak.

Schutmann had significant injuries and had lost his weapon,

But it was clear he'd break through all ten patterns and come back.

Still, he wouldn't return as quickly as before.

As I was making this assessment,

"!!!"

I realized I was standing not on the northern frontline, but in an infinite space.

A place filled with light, but not dazzling in the slightest.

Directly in front of me there stood a mysterious figure, gazing at me with pity.

Although I couldn't see the face properly,

That was the feeling I got from this being.

'Damn it.'

It was just like when I'd inherited the 3rd-rank.

It seemed to be the 'voice of enlightenment' phenomenon that those who advance experience,

But since my adrenaline was still surging from head to toe, it wasn't welcome.

Even so, I spoke in the calmest tone I could manage.

"Belkhaz."

As soon as I uttered the name of the being who summoned me to this infinite space, and the god who brought me to the continent of Belkhazium,

I felt the veins on my forehead bulge.

"......."

But I didn't argue or ask to return to my original place.

I just barely managed to hold back.

My head was still burning hot,

But I remembered that time didn't flow in this infinite space.

'There's no need to rush back right away. So let's calm down first.'

Whether I return immediately or talk with the god and then return, the fight with Schutmann wouldn't be later or sooner.

In fact, regaining my composure here would be beneficial for the battle.

While I was repeating these thoughts to myself—

"I regret it."

"... Regret?"

The thread of my reason snapped, just like that.

His voice was identical to the 'system voice' I'd always heard, which made it even more unpleasant.

"So you've been watching everything."

Of course, I didn't use honorifics.

"Was it fun? Watching your creations struggle, killing and being killed?!"

There was no answer.

Instead, the god Belkhaz looked at me with a sorrowful expression.

"Are all gods like this?!"

When I was young and my father passed away,

I had wandered from one relative's house to another, praying countless times to the gods.

To please bring my father back.

To wake up and find myself in the past.

But, naturally, none of those wishes ever came true.

And now, in this world, Belkhazium, it's much the same.

'They're all the same. The gods just watch from above.'

As I was lost in this thought, the system voice echoed in my head.

"There are no gods on your home planet, earth. Planets like that are called godless stars."

Belkhaz's words, as though he had read my mind, jolted me alert.

Only then did it hit me that the being in front of me, whose voice matched the system, wasn't just a hologram,

But truly the god who created this continent.

'Come to think of it, he looks different than he did in the minor Demon Realm. Much clearer now.'

My head belatedly started to cool down.

Now wasn't the time to vent anger at the god;

It was time to ask the questions I'd prepared in advance.

'Questions I meant to ask if I ever met a god again after reaching 4th-rank.'

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Hooo.

I felt the blood that had rushed to my head subsiding a bit.

After repeating this a couple of times, I slowly opened my eyes and said,

"Forgive me for my rudeness."

"It's alright. I'm just grateful you refrained from cursing."

Belkhaz replied with a gentle smile.

Well, how many people curse the heavens or insult the gods when things go wrong?

Some informal language wouldn't matter.

'And I suppose it's the same with the deaths of creations.'

Was Belkhaz's regret really genuine?

That idle thought almost surfaced, but I steeled myself and asked,

"How long can I stay here, with you?"

Last time, as soon as I met him, the vision went noisy and I returned to reality.

How much time I could spend with the god would determine which questions I'd ask, and in what order.

But—

"I don't actually know myself."

Such an absurd answer.

This was not something a god—the god of gods, who could even read my present thoughts and emotions—should be saying.

"Sadly, I've lost most of my authority."

I was beyond dumbfounded; I was nearly struck speechless.

A god who'd lost their authority—

It was like a bowl of vegetable soup without any meat.

'Damn. Now I'll have to ask only the most essential questions.'

As I was thinking this, Belkhaz spoke in an embarrassed voice.

"There's really no need to rush. When the time comes for our meeting to end, I'll be the first to know."

His tone seemed strangely similar to mine,

But I put aside that random thought and spoke.

"Who's the one behind giving Schutmann his orders?"

That was the thing I wanted to ask most upon meeting a god.

My theory was that there was another outsider from my planet Earth in the Northern Duchy.

Knowing just this would let me get close to the core of the Granfen threat.

However—

"I'm sorry, but I can't intervene in the causality of my creations. I can only answer within the limits that don't disturb causality."

A clean refusal.

Still, it was fine.

I'd somewhat anticipated that even gods wouldn't tell me everything.

Quickly recovering from my disappointment, I moved to my next question.

"Why do people in this world hate and abuse Outsiders?"

That was something I'd been curious about ever since I arrived in this world.

So I had asked many people, starting with Jeros,

And the responses were always the same.

― Because you're an Outsider.

Baseless hostility, thick and unquestioned.

I had come to conclude it was just human instinct to fear the unfamiliar,

But over time, I started to wonder if that really explained everything.

Because—

'Surely there isn't only one special-case Outsider like me.'

Outsiders came from outside this world,

And had 'foresight'.

They knew where labyrinths would sprout up across the continent of Belkhazium,

And what major events would occur in which era.

Not only that, but they possessed 'special perks,' too.

With all that, surely some people would want to use Outsiders, or at least protect them.

'Just like the battalion commander used me.'

So the phrase I heard most often at one point was 'You don't seem like an Outsider.'

There had to have been other Outsiders whose presence changed the perception of Outsiders.

Thus, I imagined this hypothesis:

'Before I arrived in this world, during the forty years from the game's starting point, some incident must have occurred involving Outsiders.'

As these thoughts that preceded my meeting with the god flashed by,

Belkhaz smiled softly and said,

"That's correct. The Outsiders who came before you caused major problems."

"... Just what did they do?"

"It's hard to go into details. That section of human history was intentionally erased. But if you visit the imperial archives, you'll likely find the answer."

Even if it wasn't entirely satisfying, this was still a decent lead, I thought,

And maybe because he'd opened up, Belkhaz continued.

"I may not be able to talk about the creations because of causality, but I can answer any questions about us gods."

As luck would have it, my next questions were indeed about the gods, so I spoke quickly.

"So why are Outsiders from Earth summoned here?"

I felt my eyes narrow.

Trying to hide it was pointless; my animosity toward the gods would inevitably leak out.

'By now I'm used to this world, but at the core, all my hardships began because of the gods.'

That's why thinking of the gods always stirred up my anger,

Yet I also suspected there had to be some reason to summon Outsiders.

"It might be a long story, is that alright?"

I replied, looking at Belkhaz's wry smile.

"As long as you can finish before I return to reality."

Should be fine, as long as it's not a cliffhanger.

At that, Belkhaz raised his right index finger and pointed skyward as if to say, "Very well."

"Do you know why this world has three moons?"

"?!"

At some point, the space around us changed into a vast grassland,

And I followed Belkhaz's pointing finger up to the nighttime sky.

"The moons are called the abodes of the gods."

Belkhaz pointed at the large blue moon at the center.

"That one is mine."

Next, he pointed at the reddish one to the left.

"That moon belongs to Dreyer, the evil god."

Lastly, the moon on the right was yellow, just like Earth's.

"The owner of that moon left this world long ago."

With those words, I understood the god's earlier explanation.

'So that's why Earth, with only a moon like that one, is called a godless planet.'

Earth was a planet abandoned by gods, where the creator left their creations behind.

Realizing the prayers of my childhood had been utterly useless—

"Whoa!"

Belkhaz and I found ourselves floating in the sky.

For a moment, I thought it felt like wearing a VR headset,

But then I was amazed at what I saw on the ground below, where Belkhaz was looking.

"This is..."

It felt like a live-action version of scenes I saw often in the game.

And it was the highlight among them:

'The demonkin war.'

Humanity and the demonkin were fighting a life-or-death war.

It was on a different scale than the small conflicts of Granfen and the Nest of the Red Rooster.

Explosions erupted, the earth split, and thunder roared.

Each time, countless lives vanished instantly.

As I watched this ghastly scene, I began to sense the god's grief.

'He is sincerely heartbroken.'

Belkhaz looked at me with the same genuine sorrow as when he'd told me he regretted everything earlier.

"I gave most of my authority to my children."

...?

What followed felt almost like a primordial myth.

The god did more than simply create life.

He built OOPArts and artifact labyrinths for their convenience.

And still unsatisfied, he made it so anyone could use mana,

And if one's powers reached their peak, that person would ascend and become a human-god.

Aureon, whom Legion worshipped, was one of these human-gods.

In this way, Belkhazium became a world of diverse races and human-gods living in balance.

"Then Dreyer appeared."

Dreyer, called the god of chaos or evil god, brought forth the demonkin.

Demonkin, unlike Belkhaz's creations, were simple lifeforms,

"They were designed to kill everything except other demonkin."

The problem was, these demonkin could also use OOPArts and artifacts,

And Dreyer additionally granted overwhelming authority to select higher-level demonkin.

As a result, the continent of Belkhazium was destroyed,

"And I used my last remaining authority."

The god, who had given away almost all his authority, still had one power left: "time".

After the destruction, the god rewound time to the moment Dreyer appeared.

With a small butterfly effect, if the creations grew stronger,

And the human-gods tried more varied efforts,

One day, humanity would be able to defeat the demonkin—so he believed.

However,

"I have watched these deaths and destructions more than tens of millions of times. Again and again."

No matter what he tried, no matter how many times he rewound time, the outcome didn't change.

So the god decided on a different approach.

If no internal change in the planet could alter the result,

"I decided to bring in a variable from outside."

... I could only imagine the look on my own face right then.

*

Doing my best to stay calm, I spoke.

"To protect your creations, you used your last authority to open a gate and spread it on godless Earth... is that right."

That gate became the infinitely repeating roguelike game, "Belkhazium".

"Yes. That's right."

Which meant every Outsider was a victim swept in by the god, Belkhaz.

But then,

'Why isn't this making me angry?'

To my surprise, I found I wasn't angry—

And it didn't take long to understand why.

'Is it because I've formed a sense of identity as a member of this world?'

I had my own shop,

I had employees,

I grieved for Ralph's death,

And I worried about the comrades still alive.

Having become such a person, I could accept this matter-of-factly.

"H-hold on. This is...?"

Light in the space began to dim.

It looked like my time with the god was almost up.

'There's still so much I want to know!'

I wanted to know more about the perk system given to Outsiders,

And ask about Harper's parallel Earth too.

"Looks like this is it for now."

Belkhaz also spoke with regret.

"All the authority I had left is contained in the ability you received. So, always be mindful to use your perks well."

As Belkhaz faded away into the infinite space,

It felt strange to hear only his voice in the white emptiness.

'So that's why the system voice always sounded like Belkhaz.'

It was then that I suddenly recalled the [Quest] messages in my system.

Back in Step 1 for survival, I'd been told to prepare for a coming "war",

And in Step 2, to prepare for a "conspiracy".

Perhaps Belkhaz had been watching me and left hints by way of the perk system.

I wouldn't know for sure until I met him again.

'If I reach 5th-rank one day, I'll surely uncover new truths.'

Gathering my thoughts, suddenly I found myself back on the battlefield.

The smell of dust and blood stung my nose, and once again my adrenaline spiked.

At the same time, as I acclimated to the euphoria and new vision the Fragment of the Firmament brought—

"?!"

Mana particles flashed and twisted in the air, and something appeared amid them.

Pop!

It was a pink gift box the size of a fist.

I reached out with both hands and caught it.

"... Ah!"

So, the 4th-rank quest reward was a random artifact box.

I quickly grabbed the ribbon, wanting to secure the prize before Schutmann returned.

'Is it an accessory artifact?!'

If so, that would be amazing.

Accessory artifacts were usually powerful and incredibly valuable.

But—

"What... is this?"

Inside the box was a palm-sized object that looked like a clock.

No, not a clock.

It only had a single hand, which I'd thought was the minute hand.

'A roulette wheel?'

Just as it said 'random box,' it seemed I had to spin the roulette to get my artifact.

There were five sections evenly dividing the circle,

But the name of one in particular caught my eye.

No—I actually had to rub my eyes in disbelief.

'Weird Candy?'

It even said 'perk-exclusive'—an artifact name I'd never heard before.

Of course, there was no description.

It had been like that during the [Upgrade] too, so I wasn't dissatisfied,

But my heart was pounding for a reason.

'Consumable artifacts are even rarer than accessory artifacts!'

They were akin to elixirs in martial arts stories.

Consumables would often permanently raise one's stats.

Of course, nothing like the OOPArts-level Fragment of the Firmament,

But permanent stat increases are as attractive as it gets!

"Hoooh."

Steeling myself, I put my thumb and middle finger together.

Now, if I just flick them, the roulette hand will spin.

"Please!"

Snap!

I flicked my fingers, and the roulette arrow began spinning around and around.

'O holy god! Please give me the Weird Candy!'

Whirl-whirl. Maybe I'd spun too hard, because it wouldn't stop spinning.

Then it hit me—I'd made a mistake.

'I should've grabbed it before Schutmann arrives, what the hell am I doing, you idiot!!'

I bonked myself on the head! Once, twice! And as I did, the wheel finally started to slow down.

Slower and slower, until I could now see it plainly,

And the pointer was—wait,

'It's landing on the Weird Candy?!'

Thump. Thump. Thump.

My eyes went wide and I felt a chill from the intensity.

So, as the pointer...

Touched the Weird Candy!

"Let's GOOOO!"

Though my feet stayed on the ground,

I felt my whole body jolt upward.

This was going to be the best result ever—until...

"Huh?"

Wait. Stop. Hey. Arrow, stop!

Damn it. Did my jerking my body cause a problem?

"No, don't..."

Right at the boundary for Weird Candy, the arrow ticked past by a microscopic amount and stopped.

Pop!

Before I could even feel disappointment, the roulette vanished and a scroll of parchment appeared in the air.

"Haaaah."

My feelings were seriously mixed, but—

'It's fine. If it was called "Weird Candy," it was bound to be a weird artifact anyway.'

Remembering the fable of the fox and grapes,

I grabbed the string in the center of the parchment and tugged it open.

Ah, wait. Let me wipe my eyes first.

Ssshrk.

I started reading the very top of the parchment, written in the imperial language.

"Artisan's Certificate?"

I assumed it was a scroll-type artifact, and read the text below.

"The artisan completes not with tools, but with their fingertips..."

──────────────

〔Artisan's Certificate〕

An artisan completes not with their tools, but through touch.

Though blades may differ in form, there is but one edge that severs true.

A true artisan never blames their instrument.

Even the weapon in your hand may serve as a kitchen knife on the table.

Be it called a sword, or called an axe,

Today, it will serve in the hand of a cook.

- King of the Forge Spirits, Callista -

───────────────

"Don't tell me this..."

Is this a scroll that allows any weapon to be regarded as a kitchen knife?