Surviving without God

The battlefield sank into a stunned silence. The guild head who had managed to make it outside. His daughter. The mercenaries and guards who had only just braced themselves to fight to the death. And most of all, the Holy Army, which had believed in its paladin with absolute faith. All of them stood frozen, mouths agape, shifting their gaze between the severed head of the paladin and the smiling Gunther.

— NOW! — Ryan’s sudden shout tore the silence apart. — HIT THEM!

He was shaken as well, but he understood instantly: there would not be a second chance like this. The dumbfounded Eddie immediately picked it up:

— Drive them off! Their commander’s dead!

Activating “Unconditional Attachment,” Eddie lunged into the attack. It was an exceptionally timely charge. Seeing the appearance of yet another contractor, some of the paladins finally lost all heart and fled.

— R-run!

— Demons, demons are coming!

Once a few deserted, the entire formation crumbled. Encouraged, the guards and mercenaries rushed in pursuit.

— .......

Gunther did not chase them. He stood still, staring at the corpse at his feet. The sword he had been using for the past several months crumbled in his hands into gray dust.

“...It’s over.”

He repeated it to himself once more.

“It’s all over.”

Standing before the paladin’s body, Gunther suddenly remembered what he had loved about . Something he had completely forgotten after inhabiting the body of a background character.

You could lose as many times as you wanted. But if you didn’t give up, you could win. A game where effort yielded its due reward, and that reward let you break through absurd difficulty. Karma and Return After Death... they had restored that very essence of the game to the life of a nobody.

— Ha, ha-ha... — Gunther laughed out loud.

Ding—!

At that very moment, a flood of delayed notifications came crashing down on him.

[You have defeated a powerful enemy that cannot be fought under normal conditions. Additional experience granted]

[Level increased! / Lv. 36]

[Level increased! / Lv. 37]

[Divine Descent has ended]

[Temporarily increased rank returns to its original state]

[Stigma decreases in size]

[Descent cooldown applied: one month]

The divine power left his body. Along with it faded the sensation of omnipotence. But Gunther’s face was still radiant.

Descent was “broken” for two reasons. The first was the overwhelming power in the moment. The second—

[The power of the god has left, but its trace is imprinted on your soul. Would you like to check the residual effects?]

Residual effects. Changes that occurred in the human body that had served as a vessel for a god.

[Residual: Physical Shock]

*The body has suffered significant damage due to the aftereffects of Descent.

*Strength, Endurance, Agility –50% (duration: 24 hours).

[Residual: Molting]

*While bearing divine weight, your muscles and nerves were reforged.

*Strength +3, Agility +3, Endurance +4, Mana +1.

[Residual: Insight]

*You used a sword technique beyond mortal comprehension.

*Skill mastery related to swords increases significantly. [Knightly Swordsmanship]

*Level: 2

*Mastery: 87.7%

Residuals were not mere side effects. Despite the penalties, they provided a colossal leap in growth.

“So this is how it works.”

A full 11 additional stats. And “Knightly Swordsmanship” was already breathing down the neck of level three. Honestly, Gunther would have been satisfied with just that. But the most important thing still remained.

[You randomly inherit one of the skills of the divine essence that resided within you]

A random skill draw. From the multitude of abilities possessed by the Knight-King, anything could drop. It could be a trivial, meaningless skill. Or it could be a great authority that would make 500 Karma seem like mere pocket change. The result depended purely on luck.

[Random skill draw begins!]

Gunther stared intently at the status window, when suddenly—

“...Huh?”

All at once, his vision swam and darkened. Strength drained from his body as if he hadn’t eaten for days. He barely managed to realize he was losing consciousness...

[The King of Ninety-Nine Defeats says that Descent will have minor aftereffects]

He remembered the conversation from a few minutes earlier.

“...You said minor?!”

[The King of Ninety-Nine Defeats clicks his tongue and grumbles that modern youth have no fighting spirit at all]

Damn it. Gunther’s body pitched forward.

[You have obtained one of the abilities of the divine essence “King of Ninety-Nine Defeats”]

.

.

.

[Active skill acquired: “Eyes of the Tyrant”]

[Eyes of the Tyrant]

*Rank: Epic

*Level: 1

*Type: Active

*Mastery: 0.00%

An eye born from countless defeats, despair, and the will to overcome them. Upon activation, cognitive abilities surge sharply; the skill analyzes the opponent’s movements and habits, automatically detecting the most fatal vulnerabilities. Exerts powerful suppressive pressure on the enemy.

Duration: 3 seconds (Cooldown: 1 day).

*Duration and cooldown are determined by the user’s potential.

***

“.......”

There was darkness all around. A place where the very concept of light seemed erased. A space saturated with gloom, dampness, and suffocating heat. An ordinary person would quickly go insane in such silence and ominous atmosphere.

— Oh, so how was your walk after such a long break?

Yet the voice that rang out from the depths was lively. High-pitched, but without a hint of frivolity or cheapness. On the contrary, it carried such vitality that it made one want to smile in response.

— Good. Couldn’t have been better.

The answering voice, however, was infinitely heavy and cold. If an ancient great sword were to gain a voice, it would sound exactly like this.

— Ah-h, I’m jealous. I wonder when it’ll be my turn to go out? Feels like I’ll cry if the wind touches my skin even once.

— It won’t take long.

— It should be that way. After all, the moment when I’ll be needed will come soon.

The conversation between Alphonse and the Knight-King continued casually.

— By the way, I’m surprised.

— About what?

— That you offered Descent right now. That was clearly overkill.

— Gunther is perfectly capable of withstanding—

— No, I mean you.

— .......

— Such pitiful Karma can’t possibly pay the price of Descent... You know that perfectly well. The losses are enormous.

A brief silence. Alphonse chuckled, as if he could see the Knight-King’s expression.

— Seriously, you’re downright fond of this Gunther.

— He’s worth it.

— Agreed, quite an unusual and capable fellow.

Even setting aside his astonishing strength of spirit, willpower, persistence, and staggering breadth of knowledge, Gunther was undeniably “special.” To survive Descent and get away with nothing more than a simple faint? The soul and body of anyone else would have been torn to shreds.

“As expected... the talent hasn’t gone anywhere.”

Resistance to the divine. In this world steeped in myth, the talent to endure the mental and physical pressure of supernatural beings was an exceedingly rare gift. It would surely prove invaluable in future trials. ...If he continued to grow at this pace, he would be able to give those cowardly monsters a real scare.

— A ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) true successor. I can’t help but place my hopes in him.

Muttering this under his breath, Alphonse called out to someone else:

— And why are you so quiet? Say something at least. What, did the drugs stop working?

From the darkness came a very faint, fragile voice, like that of a small bird.

— M-me? Sniff A-and w-what should I say?

— Well... your impressions of the recent events, for example?

— I... I’m just glad that our Gunther won’t have to endure such pain anymore. Watching him suffer through all those lives was so painful-... so painful-oo... sniff-sniff-sniff.

The Saint couldn’t hold it in and burst into tears. Alphonse clicked his tongue.

— Good lord, even when she was human she was like this — hasn’t changed one bit.

— One’s innate nature isn’t so easily changed.

— Yeah, that’s why for several hundred years now all you’ve done is put on airs.

— Shut up.

As they talked, they couldn’t help but recall the distant past. The time when they were human. The days of their shining lives. Then they looked at the bottomless darkness surrounding them.

— Damn it...

— .......

At the moment when the Knight-King and Alphonse let out heavy sighs—

— Oh?

— The Saint stopped crying.

— ...He woke up!

Something stirred on one side of the dark space.

— Gunther woke up!

[M-m-m...]

Gunther’s tightly shut eyelids trembled and began to open.

***

Jolt—

The shaking of the carriage roused his foggy consciousness. For a while he lay still, feeling pain stab through his entire body. His bones ached as if he had just stepped onto a heavy construction site for the first time.

[The Drug-Addicted Saint waves her hand and says she’s been waiting]

[The King of Ninety-Nine Defeats advises you to check the situation, since you’re awake]

...Fair point. He opened his eyes with difficulty and looked around.

The first thing he saw was the luxurious interior of a carriage. Sitting across from him was the guild head, Kalian Ladenbach. It seemed he was the one who had placed the unconscious Gunther into the carriage. Yor was nowhere to be seen; the two of them were alone inside. At that moment, their eyes met.

— Awake? How do you feel?

— Fine.

As he lifted himself slightly, a damp towel slipped off his forehead and plopped onto the floor.

— Yor asked me to tell you that she really did her best while taking care of you.

— ...Where is she?

— I asked her to step outside. I wanted to speak with you alone.

Kalian smiled kindly. Gunther silently looked at the face of a “good guy.” ...A private conversation, then.

— But before we get down to business, there’s something I must say.

Kalian paused and bowed deeply.

— Thanks to you, not only my daughter, but my loyal people, and I myself, are alive. I will never forget your kindness.

Then he held out a small leather pouch, richly adorned.

— A merchant should not scatter empty words of gratitude. Please accept this, even if it isn’t much.

Gunther took the pouch without false modesty. It felt lighter than expected... but it was too early to be disappointed. Inside were three platinum coins. Their value was 300 gold. Converted to real money, that was roughly 300 million won. Kalian smirked.

— I see you’re satisfied.

— Have you ever seen a mercenary who doesn’t like money?

Considering how much funding it would take to play the role of the “main character” in the future, this was like rain in a drought. And the amount was more than he had expected. In the game, if he remembered correctly...

— Your friend was very persuasive in his demands.

— ...Friend?

— He told me to be fair, said that if not for you, we’d all be crow feed by now. And he’s right, so I shook my purse dry.

So Ryan had helped out. Gunther chuckled.

Ding—!

[An additional reward is granted due to Affinity level]

This time, Kalian unfastened a sword with its scabbard from his belt and held it out.

— .......

This turn of events hadn’t existed in the game. Apparently, the “Affinity” that had grown thanks to “easter eggs” had taken effect. Gunther silently accepted the sword. The patterns on the scabbard looked unusual. At the very least, it was of “Magic” rank.

[Item acquired! “Ladenbach’s Fortitude”]

— You... accept gifts without unnecessary ceremony.

— ......?

— It’s a compliment.

Kalian glanced at the sword with faint regret and added:

— I saw that you were using a sword clearly unworthy of your level. This one won’t break so easily.

...At that point, his mood soared completely. Watching the expression on his face, Kalian continued:

— Well, calculations are finished. Now let’s move on to my business.

— I’m listening.

Silence fell. The smile never left Kalian’s face, but his gaze changed completely — serious and deep.

“It’s started.”

Gunther waited for the words that would mark the true beginning of the main scenario.

— ...Would you like to work for me once more?

Ding—!

[Your choices and actions have altered the course of the scenario]

[A story branch has emerged!]

[Entering a new branch]

[Branch: Under the Raven’s Wing]

*Kalian Ladenbach, codename “Golden Fox,” considers you a prospective new member of “Night Raven.”

*“Night Raven” is a secret organization opposing the conspiracies of the Luthien Theocracy.

*Will you become part of them and change the fate of this world?

1. The secret organization “Night Raven” is extremely cautious in accepting newcomers.

2. Complete an additional task from Kalian in the border city to earn their trust.