“Phew…”

Woohyuk came out of Sophia’s imaginary world with a sigh of relief.

Thanks to the negotiation, he had an easier time finis.h.i.+ng the epic quest.

However, Sophia’s parting words echoed in his mind and heart.

‘If you leave this place, I will disappear. This was the arrangement I made with the Creator.’

Her words meant that everything was going according to the Creator’s will.

The system was still fully under the control of the Creator. For Woohyuk, this was a big concern.

‘It wouldn’t be good to just follow the quest unconditionally.’

There was a need to show some anomalous movements, making it difficult for the Creator to exact his plans for the future.

Of course, it was difficult to take any unexpected moves.

[Epic Quest: ‘Roland’s Song’ has been completed.]

[You acquired Solomon’s Bracelet as a reward for completing the quest.]

[Solomon’s Bracelet].

Just from its name alone, it seemed to be a commensurate reward for completing an epic quest.

When a golden bracelet appeared on Woohyuk’s palm, the members of Etheria Rodinus, who were welcoming him back in the circular conference room, exclaimed, “Oh, is that the reward for this quest?”

“I’m curious, what kind of ability does it have?”

“Come on, check it out. I’m already getting dizzy!” they clamored.

They reacted quite pa.s.sionately since this quest was related to their organization.

Woohyuk immediately put on Solomon’s Bracelet.

[Solomon’s Bracelet] 

Type: Accessory 

Grade: S

Durability: 50,000

Effect: Intelligence +100. Any of the 72 Demon Kings can be called, one-by-one, once every 7 days (even if they are not sealed in Lemegeton). If someone from Solomon’s lineage accesses the Ark of Knowledge, one can prevent a catastrophe to come (however, Solomon’s Bracelet will be destroyed).

‘… The compensation is a tool to prevent the second catastrophe.’

As expected, the Ark of Knowledge was also a.s.sociated with the accessory.

However, it was an S-cla.s.s artifact that would disappear when used.

The stat bonus of +100 intelligence and the right to call any of the 72 Demon King would be wasted if he used the bracelet to prevent the coming catastrophe.

‘Shall I beat and collect the remaining Demon Kings before the Great Flood…?’

It didn’t seem like a bad idea, as many of his troublesome problems had been resolved recently.

Woohyuk explained the details and specs of Solomon’s Bracelet to the members of Etheria Rodinus.

“Hmm… Someone from Solomon’s lineage must enter the Ark of Knowledge…” a member muttered to himself while deep in thought.

“Who can do this? I don’t think it matters whoever it is,” Woohyuk said aloud.

“Only I can enter the Ark of Knowledge. So, hand the bracelet over to me,” Ibn Rusud said as he stood up.

Woohyuk shook his head.

“I haven’t sealed all 72 Demon Kings yet. I’ll keep Solomon’s Bracelet until the right time comes,” Woohyuk replied.

“You’ve sealed 50 so far, right? If you have 22 left, you still have a long way to go,” another member mentioned.

It was difficult to capture 22 Demon Kings in a short period of time unless they were grouped together like before.

Of course, if he used Solomon’s Bracelet, he could call one of the 27 every seven days.

Woohyuk felt that he needed more time to think.

“The quest is over, so I’ll be taking off. If anything happens, please contact me with the communication artifact I gave you last time,” Woohyuk said.

“You mean Steve’s Amazing Apple? The design is very nice. It’s a symbol that goes well with our organization, too,” Boetius stated.

Solomon’s divine lineage was the direct descendants of Adam and Eve.

Woohyuk let Boetius’ words go into one ear and out the other.

‘I’m not interested in someone’s lineage and family tree.’

There were still many troublesome problems left for Woohyuk to resolve.

The two most important facts that Woohyuk held onto, regarding Etheria Rodinus, was that Ibn Rusud could enter the Ark of Knowledge and Helena possessed the Holy Grail.

These were the only two things that were important regarding Solomon’s lineage.

After a while, Woohyuk left the conference room and headed to the artificial garden in the center of Neustein.

He was trying to keep his promise with Lyla, the Dryad he had met in the tutorial area.

‘It took quite a long time.’

He wanted her to be safe and for her to rest in an ideal s.p.a.ce.

When Woohyuk planted the oak seeds in the artificial garden,

SAh~

The oak tree seeds were engulfed with bluish energy, and soon afterward, Lyla popped out.

“Ah! W-What? Where the h.e.l.l is this?” she asked in confusion.

“You came back to life, as expected.”

“I’m alive? Well, I guess I definitely died before. From what I recall…”

Lyla died to help Woohyuk in the tutorial area.

She had to exchange her life because of the curse of the G.o.ds she carried.

But now that she revived, it seemed that she had no fear of dying from the curse again.

Usually, once one died, the curse would be lifted as well.

“Is there anything you can give me?” Woohyuk asked.

“What do you mean? I just resurrected,” she answered with a flabbergasted face.

“It’s very likely that your revival follows the arrangement made by the Creator. In other words, a quest should proceed from now on due to your revival.”

“Is that so? But I have no idea…”

Lyla sat down on the sprouting seeds and began to ponder.

At that time, a system message suddenly appeared before their eyes.

[Updates related to the Game of Divine Thrones has been added according to the arrangement of the Creator.]

[From now on, a total of four epic dungeons will appear across the Eeth Continent.]

[In Epic Dungeons, one can get S-grade items, but the difficulty level of completion is very high.]

[In addition, angels are summoned as managers of each epic dungeon.]

… It seemed that the Creator was fully implementing his plan.

Epic dungeons, which hadn’t been mentioned for 40 years before his return to this world, were suddenly created and opened.

Considering that there was a total of four, the epic dungeons seemed to be related to each of the confined G.o.ds.

“What, what? What the h.e.l.l is going on?” Lyla barely stammered in confusion.

“Oh, you probably have no idea what’s going on,” Woohyuk said before telling Lyla of the events so far.

Her pupils started shaking as if she was in an earthquake.

“Then you mean that this is all the tyrannic plan of the Creator?”

“If we’re not successful with the Odyssey Plan, everything will proceed by his will.”

“Is there anything I can do to help? I’m just an ordinary Dryad…”

For some reason, she was given the administrator position in the tutorial area, but this time around, she wasn’t given any authority or t.i.tle at all.

When Lyla started crying, Woohyuk pulled out the Fire Wing Bird’s feathers from his pocket.

“If the system hasn’t a.s.signed you anything, that’s fine. You don’t have to help. I wanted to just keep my promise with you. Anyway, take this. It’s my gift to you.”

“Wow! Beautiful! Isn’t that the feathers from last time?”

Lyla’s expression brightened up like a child’s.

While stroking the feathers, she said, “When I think about it, there was something Eve said in the tutorial area. When all the empty Divine Throne seats are filled, the second Demon War will take place.”

“Demon War?”

“Yeah. I guess it’s not the ultimate goal to simply choose new G.o.ds.”

Her story made sense.

In the first place, all stories started with the advent of the Odyssey Plan.

The Creator’s main objective was to correct the system that was systematically unstable and eliminate future threats.

The G.o.ds were just tools to help with this objective.

Of course, the demon race was always a wildcard because they weren’t subordinate to the system.

‘I need to accelerate the talent training plan.’

If a vacant Divine Throne seat was occupied by a hostile force, such as Marcus, the Light Lord, he might be put in a difficult position if the Second Demon War took place.

Three of the seven G.o.ds were already on the Creator’s side.

He had to fill the remaining four empty seats with his own people to keep the Creator’s side in check internally.

‘I have to consider who to select as candidates for each seat.’

Sea G.o.d. 

Earth G.o.d

Wind G.o.d

Blacksmith G.o.d

Among them, he had already chosen Dexter, the runesmith, for the position of the Blacksmith G.o.d.

And the rest…

“I’ll choose whoever I have on hand and manage them accordingly.’

After making a rough plan, Woohyuk asked Lyla, “Did you hear anything else? Anything at all…”

“I don’t remember anything else. I was probably only given information regarding the tutorial area.”

The tutorial area had already been destroyed a long time ago, so information related to it was unnecessary.

After conversing with Lyla a bit longer, Woohyuk said his goodbyes, “I’m going to be a little busy now. As I said before, there are many problems left to be solved.”

“… Alright. Will you come back often?”

“Of course.”

Lyla was one of his inner circle colleagues with who he could share his concerns.

He promised her that he would return and then left the artificial garden.

At the outskirts of Inotia, the City of Magic.

Woohyuk was spending some time alone with Leifina.

“What will you do now, my Lord?” she asked.

“I’ve entrusted the va.s.sals of each region to conduct a search for the epic dungeons. If an epic dungeon is found, it will have to be controlled with a perimeter so that no one else can enter.”

At least for the western part of the Eeth Continent, he was able to effectively exercise his influence.

The problem was the eastern regions.

Due to time restrictions, they couldn’t leave for the eastern conquest plans yet. To make matters worse, there were no people he knew there.

‘Except for the Frost Giants.’

If he asked them, he’d at least be able to control the ruins in the Aize Kingdom.

For the rest of the world…

‘I should send out the Demon Kings sealed in the Lemegeton to do some legwork.’

However, he didn’t know if others would be waiting to catch the Demon Kings, which would cause a larger headache down the road.

When Woohyuk fell deeper into thought, Loengreen appeared.

“It’s been a long time,” Loengreen said.

“What’s brought you here, Loengreen?”

“My lord, Agares, the 2nd ranked Demon King, wants to meet you.”

“… Agares?”

Agares was a demon woman belonging to the moderate group amongst the 72 Demon Kings.

Based on what he knew, Woohyuk felt that he’d be able to converse with her.

Woohyuk nodded happily.

“Good. Where is the meeting place?”

“It may be somewhat uncomfortable, but she’d like to meet you at the Isle of Chaos.”

According to Loengreen, not only Agares, but the 21 remaining Demon Kings would also be in attendance.

Since it was such an important meeting, the Demon Kings decided to choose a secret and safe place.

“When does she plan to meet?” Woohyuk asked. 

“Tonight. Is it possible?” he replied back.

“It’s possible. I still have some time to spare.”

In fact, he had to restore the Nag Hammadi Chronicle and finish the epic quest related to it, but he couldn’t miss this great opportunity.

When Woohyuk came out positively, Loengreen smiled.

“For reference, all the remaining Demon Kings are showing a friendly att.i.tude toward you.”

“Why are they friendly? I’m trying to seal all 72 of them in Lemegeton.”

“That doesn’t matter. Even if you seal them, they’ll still be under your influence and tied to your fate. Rather, they are more uneasy about the Creator’s intervention.”

Compared to the Creator, who suddenly gave orders to the world beat the demons down, and set an entire continent against them, Woohyuk was like an ally.

Furthermore, he also inherited Asura’s Demonic Powers, thus, he belonged to the Demon camp for all intents and purposes.

Loengreen explained in detail the situation and psychology of the remaining Demon Kings.

“Since it is so, please take this opportunity to establish a positive relations.h.i.+p with them,” he finally said.

By sealing them all in Lemegeton.

Woohyuk smiled happily. He felt that he could soon rise onto the Demon Lord throne.