Chapter 275
A replica?
Seong wondered if it was appropriate to call someone that.
But then again, he himself had a similar skill that could be used to create something akin to a clone—a homunculus.
As Seong realized this, his gaze toward Will shifted slightly.
Could it be that Will was a homunculus?
He looked at Will with a somewhat puzzled expression.
It seemed like Will could read his thoughts, and he nodded.
"Yes, you are correct in what you're thinking, my junior."
His tone suddenly became polite.
It made sense—Helena was right here, after all. Who would dare speak informally to an Overlord like Seong?
The sudden change in his tone wasn’t something Seong was unfamiliar with.
So, he simply accepted it and responded casually.
"I take it you're saying that you're a homunculus of the former Lord of the Dead, but still you?"
"Hm, to be precise, I don't think the soul has transferred over."
It was a bit strange even for Seong, who could see ghosts.
If the original soul had transferred to the homunculus, Seong would have noticed.
However, Will seemed just like any other ordinary person.
That led Seong to a sudden thought.
In this game world, could it be that a new soul forms when a personality is shaped from memories?
He pondered for a moment but then shook his head.
'Let's not think too deeply about it.'
The birth and disappearance of souls were beyond Seong's understanding.
He thought he had figured it out by now, though.
The memories and the body were the same, but the soul wasn't his.
Was that the case?
"I didn't feel the soul had transferred, so I could be said to be merely an entity with the same memories. After that, I quickly disguised the death of the Lord of the Dead. The Abyss was the perfect hiding place. There was no better place to deceive other Lords."
"Ah."
That’s why the breastplate was found in the Abyss.
Now it made sense.
But even so, Helena still had a questioning look on her face.
Will continued his explanation.
He wanted to know if his memories were fully transferred.
He spoke again.
"Before I transferred my body, my original self was deeply shaken by the death of Helena. Of course, unlike Helena, my original self was a Lord, but it made a big difference, and aging began to take its toll."
"Hm."
"......"
Helena quietly closed her mouth, realizing how much had changed in the world because of her death.
However, she listened intently, as if she could feel Will’s desire to atone.
As Seong and Helena listened in silence, Will continued to share his story, or rather, the story of who he once was.
"Of course, I don’t think our skills were lacking. But the truth is, we couldn't even reach the tips of Helena's feet. After her death, my original self decided to go to the Over Palace, founded by those zealots. But my aging body hindered that plan, so I sought to make a body that wouldn't age and then switch to it."
Seong could understand the backstory of the Lord of the Dead.
He had intended to go to the Over Palace.
After all, it was called the Tower of all Necromancers.
It made sense.
And so he created a body that would not age.
"That’s who Will is now."
"Yes, that’s right. But as you can see, my soul hasn’t transferred over, and once I woke up, I judged that being the Lord of the Dead would be meaningless. So, I immediately faked my death. Then I came here and established a new Tower to find a successor to the Lord of the Dead."
A successor to the Lord of the Dead?
Seong tilted his head in confusion.
If the memories were transferred, couldn’t he become the Lord of the Dead himself?
Then again, the fact that it was meaningless was also intriguing.
Curious, Seong looked at Will.
Will smiled faintly and lifted his robe slightly.
"I succeeded in creating a body that wouldn’t age, but unfortunately, the homunculus we made couldn’t withstand the Lord’s power for long."
With those words, he showed what was under his clothes.
Inside, a severely decayed body could be seen.
The flesh was desiccated and dried, like a scab.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
It looked grotesque and disturbing, but Seong didn’t wrinkle his brow when he saw it.
The body was crumbling under the Lord's power.
Wasn’t it said in movies that with great power comes great responsibility?
This must have been a consequence of not having the capacity to bear such strength.
"So, you made a new Tower in hopes of finding a successor to the Lord of the Dead?"
Helena spoke, and Will nodded in shame.
Then, Seong heard something unexpected.
"I feel nothing but guilt for not fulfilling the duty of the Lord of the Dead, which was given to me by Lady Helena."
The Lord of the Dead was given to him by Helena?
At those words, Seong turned to Helena in surprise.
Helena, slightly embarrassed, scratched her cheek and avoided Seong’s gaze.
Yet, since Seong was curious, she answered.
"...Well, I did create a few Lords."
"...Huh."
Seong looked at Helena, almost incredulously.
She was one of the Transcendents, but had there ever been anyone like Helena in the history of Eternal World?
Probably not.
After all, someone of her caliber chose death.
It was no wonder the world was shaken.
Seong thought that Helena was far more amazing than he had initially thought.
"I don't think the other Lords know. It was hard enough for me to manage my own body. That’s why I decided to hold this tournament. I thought that the bodies of outsiders might be stronger than expected, and I might find a suitable candidate."
That’s when he had found Seong.
Seong nodded, understanding the situation.
"That’s why you called me here?"
"Because the Overlord is the Lord of Lords."
With those words, Seong could clearly understand what Will wanted to say.
And that was reflected in the system message.
[Hidden Almighty Quest, "The Legacy of the Lord of the Dead" has been completed.]
[Hidden ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) Almighty Quest, "The Succession of the Lord of the Dead" has been created.]
[Conditions for "The Succession of the Lord of the Dead" will now be generated.]
[When all conditions are met, you will acquire the Almighty Skill, "Lord of the Dead."]
If the quest is to succeed the Lord of the Dead, it must be of Almighty grade.
Seeing such an opportunity, Seong couldn’t just sit still, and he nodded upon reading the message.
His response, filled with the intent to take on the succession, made Will smile slightly and speak.
"As you might expect, even if I wanted to immediately grant you the succession, I cannot."
"Yes."
"First, it seems one of the conditions will be unlocked if you win the tournament."
At that, Seong nodded again, since the first condition that stood out to him was exactly that.
[Obtain a weapon infused with magic. (1 / 5)]
A condition to collect five of them.
It might seem difficult, but there was an opportunity right in front of him.
Forbiddenz had three weapons infused with magic.
The prize for the tournament was one magic-infused weapon.
And finally, Seong already had the magic sword, Nemesis.
It all fit perfectly.
"I’m lucky. The first condition should be completed soon."
With a confident tone, Seong spoke, and Will nodded, continuing with the rest of the details.
After listening to the explanations, Seong nodded in agreement.
Of course, the most important thing now was winning the tournament.
‘Then, shall I start preparing?’
Seong thought to himself, quickly leaving the Serul Spire Tower.
While simply finding the Lord of the Dead’s traces would be beneficial, the possibility of actually succeeding him was now in front of him.
Although he was slightly overwhelmed by the unexpected gain, he still had to acquire the remaining four magic-infused weapons, so the tournament came first.
0.
As the tournament approached, both players and NPCs filled the streets in excitement, and the atmosphere was festive.
The fact that the one causing havoc with the magic bow had disappeared made people happy, but most were simply thrilled by the intense feeling from the previous survival event.
They couldn’t wait for the tournament to begin.
Each person had their own favorite team to cheer for.
- "Ah, I’m really looking forward to today."
- "Haha, is it for real that there are already 30,000 people waiting to watch?"
- "Haha, is there anyone who won't watch the Demon King match for free?"
- "I saw that live yesterday and immediately subscribed to the Rapid Guild's paid stream."
- "Haha, same here!"
- "The quality of the paid live stream is definitely better than the free one."
- "I agree."
Even though the broadcast hadn't started yet, thousands of people were already waiting in the Eternal World channel’s live waiting room.
By the time the tournament was about to start, the number of viewers had skyrocketed, reaching hundreds of thousands.
As so many people crowded the live broadcast, the chat was scrolling so fast that it became difficult to read.
But it wasn’t only the players who were excited.
"Who do you think will win?"
"Hahaha! Didn’t you see the last one? Team 133 is definitely going to win!!!"
"Really? Do you think the Knight Order will lose? It's the Order of the Kingdom of Rieiskan!"
"Hmm, if we live in Septem Arcana, shouldn't we be rooting for the mages of Serul Spire Tower?"
NPCs were also discussing who would win the tournament, with some supporting the Demon King Seong, while others supported the knights or the mages.
Of course, NPCs didn't know the full extent of Seong’s achievements, so it made sense that they would be divided in their support.
However, some of them had heard rumors.
"Huh, didn’t you hear? The guy from Team 133 was granted the title of knight?!"
"What? Wasn’t he an outsider? He’s been knighted!?"
"Wow, what an impressive person."
"And not just that! I heard he’s being protected by the Over Palace!!!"
"Over Palace!? What!?"
"Yeah, he's someone really important!!!"
NPCs were discussing such things among themselves.
Amid these talks, some NPCs began to subtly hide their black crown symbols as they spoke about Seong, but no one seemed to notice.
Either way, as the festival atmosphere reached its peak, the participants began gathering in front of Serul Spire Tower’s plaza, just like before.
However, unlike yesterday, there was a strange atmosphere around some of them.
First, Forbiddenz had a slightly different vibe than the day before.
But the most noticeable change was in the Featherwing Order.
Their leader, Gamm, in particular, looked significantly different.
The once fiery and bold expression was now replaced by one of deep fear, and the other knights following him were visibly trembling in fear.
At that moment.
[Hello!!! This is the broadcasting spirit, here to give you coverage today as well.]
The broadcasting spirit appeared, and the tournament was about to begin.