Chapter 204

Artisan Hephaestus.

And the Designer, called the Supreme God. Though I still couldn’t remember his true name, now that I had reached the 9th Step using <Samantha>, I could at least recall with difficulty those three characters of his title—’Designer.’

Artisan Hephaestus was called the Designer’s representative and executor.

When the Designer created designs, the Artisan would build the world according to those designs. That’s why he was the executor.

When the Designer was too busy, the Artisan would coordinate the world in the Designer’s place. That’s why he was the representative.

He was the most trusted confidant. Though he seemed to rank lower than Terra Madre GAIA… he was probably just one step below her. A great god who was counted among the fingers of the ancient gods.

Indeed, the gift he left behind was extraordinary.

“[Creation]…”

[Creation]—true to its name, it was a gift that could create any kind of tool. Of course, its abilities would fall far short compared to the original… but even considering that, it was an absurd ability. Right now, if I used this [Creation], I could even create a magical device with my [Simulation] inscribed on it for Yuria.

“This is totally cheating, isn’t it?”

It was exactly the authority that had made Hephaestus the Supreme God’s representative and executor! If the gift [Simulation] that the Designer had left me was merely the Designer’s shell, then [Creation] was no different from Hephaestus’s essence. The image of a god who, to represent the being who designed worlds and to build the world according to those designs, created countless tools flashed through my mind.

“What the hell? How could someone possessing such an ability fail to seize control of the tower as druids?”

I grumbled with inexplicable frustration, but actually, I knew the reason all too well.

‘Right. This is different from ordinary gifts. What did they call it? The druid’s orb? The Artisan takes a different form from typical god’s fragments. While other god’s fragments attach to the soul and reincarnate together, Artisan Hephaestus is passed from person to person through the orb as a medium. He’s no different from a type of artifact himself.’

It seemed subtle, but it was a huge difference.

The difference between being ‘influenced’ by a god’s fragment bound to my soul and ‘using’ the power of a fragment I possessed.

However, an artifact is ultimately a tool.

No matter how great a tool might be, it would show vastly different capabilities depending on who used it.

Some users might not utilize even 10 percent of a tool’s potential, while others could make 200 percent use of that same tool.

So…

Having accepted Artisan Hephaestus, I had become capable of accomplishing things that previous Forest’s Balances had never even dreamed of.

For example, something like this was now possible.

“Let’s see. We’re almost there now.”

Passing through the blue atmosphere into the dusky sky, I gazed at the World Tree.

Before my eyes was a single slender branch swaying gracefully. Even though the World Tree was as massive as a continent, its very top was thin enough to grasp in my hand.

Perfect.

Grab.

I seized the World Tree’s highest branch,

And lifted my hand straight up.

Thump.

Following my hand, the World Tree was pulled up from the ground. A staircase the size of a continent… no, an entire world followed along in my grasp.

A mixture of anxiety, fear, and satisfaction bloomed in my chest.

‘Now… just one step away from the Outer God.’

When I first heard about the memorial tablets and World Tree from Beatrice, while I felt I absolutely had to obtain them, I was only vague about exactly what help they could provide.

But now I felt it clearly.

The World Tree.

The ultimate weapon that Hephaestus had poured everything into completing.

This thing would be the staff that would lead us to victory.

Rrrrrumble!

The sound of the world collapsing came belatedly. The druids who had been living within the World Tree fell out of the tree. Those who could use flight magic frantically took to the air, but those of lower realm or who hadn’t yet become mages—those who lived alongside them simply because they were mages’ families—clung to swaying roads and tumbling furniture, trembling in terror.

I could see them all.

Using wind, earth, and tree roots, I gently embraced them and set them down on the ground so that not a single one would be injured.

Eyes gone white with fear looked up at me.

Above their heads, the World Tree that had been their lifelong home, that had seemed like it would protect them forever, the fundamental sanctuary slowly rose into the air. In the middle of the great forest where endless trees leaned on each other’s shoulders, a massive, massive hole gaped open. Only black earth and the shadows left by the World Tree darkened the land.

I looked down.

‘Poor things.’

And pathetic things.

Humans born in a world where gods had died had entrusted their fate to the World Tree and lived their lives. For those who called themselves mages, they were quite naive.

No. I didn’t particularly want to blame them. Everyone had their own way of living.

But…

What will you do now? That World Tree is in my hands.

Creak creak.

From afar, it must have looked like my hand was devouring the World Tree.

The topmost branch in my grasp. Centered on that most delicate and slender branch, the World Tree kept forcing its body inward. Human-sized leaves and elephant-sized leaves of all shapes and colors folded and condensed layer by layer. Next came the smaller branches, then the larger trunks, endlessly being sucked in.

Creak! Crack! Groan!

Tree against tree rubbed together, mashing like clay as they formed an increasingly elongated shape.

Finally, when even the roots had all folded inward, only a staff emanating dawn light remained in my hand.

The World Tree the size of a continent had become a staff.

Then, they moved.

To my feet,

To my shoulders,

Through my hair,

Above the staff,

Between the staff and me,

Embracing both the staff and me—

Magical powers swirled in whirlwinds.

They showed a reaction I had never seen in my entire life.

-Sob… sob sob…

-Ahhh… sniff.

-Hic! Hic!

They said not a single word. Usually, they would have rushed forward saying things like ‘As expected!’ or ‘Right here!’ or ‘Ahh, how I’ve missed this…’, but they said nothing and only wept.

I embraced them and comforted them. Before my eyes, the broken memorial tablets floated up gently.

‘They must have been hidden in the World Tree.’

The memorial tablets were drawn along with the magical powers toward me. I quietly examined those precious objects.

Ah, now I understand. These are masses of magical power. And god’s fragments. Among them, the purest magical power corresponding not to flesh but to will—that is, souls—was gathered within these memorial tablets. Of course, they weren’t particularly great fragments. Nothing compared to Gaia or Hephaestus, or even the Grim Reaper—they were like dust. But… there were so many of them. God’s fragments filled the memorial tablets like flying sparks, like red-hot coals.

How should I use this…

No. First, should I fix it?

[Creation]

With a single word, the broken memorial tablets stuck together and became whole. While the memorial tablets themselves, which contained the souls of gods, were something that even [Creation] couldn’t dare imitate… repairing something that had been broken in two was entirely possible.

“Can I use this as an unlimited power source for now?”

It might be a crude method, but with memorial tablets gathering the will and magical power of countless gods, I should be able to draw out the World Tree’s power without reservation.

I held the now-complete memorial tablets in one hand,

Gripped the staff that had become the World Tree in the other,

And looked up at the sky.

The people trembling with fear were far below my feet.

The weeping magical powers nestled in my embrace.

I trembled at the power of the World Tree in my hands. Even combined with <Samantha> and having reached the 9th Step, it was a fundamental and divine power I couldn’t fully control.

The power that Hephaestus had forged in his final years to end the Outer God was exactly…

‘Dimension.’

* * *

Thunk!

The staff bounced away.

Mm… this isn’t right. Again.

Thoom!

The staff I drove into the ground with all my strength bounced away again. The white magical power of <Samantha> wrapped around my hand was crushed with recoil.

This time was also a failure. I could feel the gazes of my Pathfinder companions. They were both afraid and excited. So was I.

I looked at the space spread before me. The 73rd floor. With the World Tree—the tree staircase that had prevented dimensional distortion—gone, only the ‘time horizon’ remained here. You couldn’t tell just by looking with your eyes. It simply appeared as if the great forest stretched on endlessly. But this was the boundary that separated floor from floor. A space where time stopped. A mysterious realm that could only be crossed through staircases. If you looked carefully, you could see beings from the distant past who had carelessly set foot in that place. From small birds to massive dinosaur-like creatures that were now extinct. They were motionless like specimens. Originally, they would have remained there forever like that. Until the world’s destruction.

I raised the World Tree staff high once more. I concentrated my mind on Artisan Hephaestus’s orb dwelling within me. The great and mighty god. But the god who had reduced himself to an artifact to stop the Outer God. I broke into a cold sweat trying to control his tremendous power.

-As expected… your intelligence is far too low. Though you’ve faithfully restored it, it’s biased. Even the ancient demigods, while their bodies may have been shabby, had intelligence superior to yours. Focus and focus again. With your current level of intelligence, you cannot handle my delicate power.

Hephaestus, who had been silent all along, sent me his thoughts. It was practically an insult to my intelligence.

Ha! Low intelligence? I’ve never heard such a thing before!

-But isn’t it the truth?

…Damn it. I couldn’t find words to argue back. The intelligence he spoke of meant divine intelligence—the realm of the 10th Step.

Wait. I’ll reach it soon. But right now I have no choice, don’t I? I have to move forward with what I lack! If intelligence is insufficient, then with senses; if senses are insufficient too, then with instinct!

Thoom!

I swung the staff once more.

Riiiiip!

There was a reaction!

Ripples spread across the invisible time horizon. The beings that had been stopped in the distance moved slightly. The wildcat that had been suspended mid-air for thousands of years finally touched the ground with its front paw, and the pterosaur that had been descending for tens of thousands of years shot up into the sky with its wings.

-Crude, but… quite good. But can you continue wielding that power without proper intelligence?

I can. You bastard.

I’ve got the hang of it. Using tools isn’t something you memorize with your head—it’s something you engrave into your body!

“Uwaaahhh!”

CRASH!

Finally. The time horizon’s edge shattered under my swinging staff. It was the moment when the absolute barrier that had separated floor from floor partially crumbled under the World Tree’s ‘dimensional’ power. The wildcat walked freely, and the pterosaur cried out ‘Crrrrr’ as it flapped its wings. The beings trapped in stopped time were set free.

The 73rd and 74th floors were connected without a ‘staircase.’

“Whoaaa… that’s insane.”

Thud. Beatrice sat down with a sound. But she cleared her throat and quickly stood back up.

“Ahem… Cough! I, I wasn’t surprised at all! What kind of being is a mage! Huh? We’re administrators who follow in the gods’ footsteps, so of course we can grab the World Tree with one hand and, you know, use the staff to smash through time horizons! That’s only natural! Of course!”

Tris, with nothing but pride, nodded her head exaggeratedly in agreement.

Her white hair stood up ridiculously, her cheeks were dirty with soil, and her fingertips still trembled, but she acted like it was no big deal even if it killed her.

Of course,

The magical powers showed considerable interest in Tris’s bravado.

-Really? Really?

-Can we expect something?

Tris’s magical power increased rapidly. But her expression wasn’t good. She touched her forehead with a rotten smile.

You should watch your mouth. Receiving the magical powers’ expectations is a good thing, but the deeper the abyss you’ll fall into when you disappoint them, right?

“Haha.”

I chuckled bitterly. It was because of the reality I suddenly realized.

‘Who am I to worry about whom right now? I haven’t even reached the 10th Step…’

What the World Tree handled was ‘dimension.’

Not just any dimension, but something much deeper than dimensional layers—power that touched the very concept of ‘universe’ itself.

The fundamental power that even gods couldn’t ignore.

The key that would open a straight path to the Outer God and the dagger that would stab it.

With this, everything needed to fight the Outer God was now complete.

‘So now… only the final stage remains.’

Everything had been faster than expected.

The World Tree and memorial tablets’ power exceeded my expectations, and the apostle’s rear assault was something I hadn’t anticipated.

Thump thump.

My heart beat.

It wasn’t excitement.

With everything now prepared…

Only one thing remained.

So,

I just had to do well.

Only me…