Translator: Pai_
While examining the numerous murals, Iron’s expression hardened as he looked over one particular mural.
‘It’s the same.’
Iron thought that as he put on a serious expression.
The murals lined up along one wall depicted a series of events.
And all of them looked strangely familiar.
‘…It’s similar to what I went through?’
At first, he simply thought they were just similar, but that wasn’t it.
A hero was shown defeating people who appeared to be dark magicians.
Then came murals that seemed to depict the restoration of a ruined nation.
After passing by images of killing a dragon, slaying a demon, cutting down giants, there was finally a mural of confronting a great god.
That was the last of the murals.
Iron’s expression didn’t ease up as he saw murals similar to the Apocalypse he had experienced laid out in front of him.
“Commander-in-Chief, sir!”
Ariel, who had approached before he realized it, saluted, and Iron gave a small nod.
“You were looking at the murals.”
“Did you see them?”
“Yes.”
As Ariel spoke, she once again looked at the murals.
“They seemed similar to your exploits, Commander, so I called in archaeologists to investigate.”
As Ariel said this, the nearby commanders also unconsciously nodded their heads as if they thought the same.
“According to the archaeologists, these depict the feats of a hero from ancient times. The names of the murals were written over there.”
Iron looked at her with surprised eyes at Ariel’s words.
“Does that mean there was an Apocalypse in ancient times too?”
“That part hasn’t been confirmed yet. It seems we’ll have to go inside to find that out.”
Ariel said that as she looked toward the entrance.
However, entering the interior was no easy task.
Just approaching the entrance would draw an overwhelming number of guardians.
It was possible to break through if they forced it, but there was a second obstacle.
“Getting through the guardians is doable… but the problem is that barrier.”
The barrier located near the entrance couldn’t be completely broken through, even when Master-level individuals used their full power.
It broke momentarily, but not nearly enough for the military to enter.
Moreover, even if the barrier was breached, the influx of guardians toward that direction made it impossible to deploy troops inside.
“The barrier can be broken through with force, but only within a certain range. If we try to push in more than a certain number through the breached part, the barrier quickly restores itself.”
“Hmm…”
At Ariel’s report, Iron moved to confirm it for himself.
“It certainly… is not ordinary.”
Saying that, Iron approached the barrier.
Then, he saw the guardians inside the barrier flinch.
Just Iron’s approach was enough to make the guardians react.
“It must have been really hard to break through.”
Iron murmured that as he walked toward the barrier.
At that moment, the guardians rushed toward Iron.
Kwaang!
The sword, already in his hand before he realized it, swung and cut down many guardians in a single strike.
But despite the powerful blow, only part of the barrier was pierced, and it still remained intact.
‘Restoration? Maintenance? I don’t know what it is, but what’s certain is that a Mental Image is imbued in it.’
Power maintained by a strong Mental Image.
It could be momentarily breached with the full power of Master-level attacks, but destroying the barrier completely was too much.
Iron fell deep in thought about the breached barrier.
He could destroy it entirely if he wanted to.
But cleverly, the core of this barrier was the ruins themselves.
The power of the barrier emanating from the entire ruins was set up to restore itself unless everything was destroyed.
‘Are they telling me to choose between destroying the ruins or letting only a few enter?’
Just as Iron thought that, the guardians that had seemed ready to attack him began to step aside.
And from far away, a strange force was felt.
“…What is that?”
The moment Iron frowned and looked inward, he felt as if his consciousness was being sucked inside.
Hurriedly, he drew up his aura to resist it.
‘Mental magic? No… it was something more advanced.’
Iron looked inward with a serious expression.
Then he saw a figure in a black robe quietly staring back at him from inside.
The barrier that Iron had pierced was also gradually restoring itself, but it conveniently stopped just wide enough to allow Iron to pass through.
“Is it telling me to come in alone?”
Iron muttered that through clenched teeth.
It was an obvious trick.
“Commander-in-Chief! It’s dangerous.”
Ariel, who had followed him at some point, spoke with concern.
Because Iron had a subtly reckless side, she suspected he intended to go in alone again.
“You should at least move together with the Masters.”
At Ariel’s words, the commanders who had followed also agreed.
“She’s right.”
“Moving alone is…”
Gaon Temphet and Sky Renz also opposed Iron’s solo action, just like Ariel.
Then, Iron began walking toward the inside of the barrier.
“Commander-in-Chief!”
As Ariel called out and tried to approach him…
“I… got pushed back?”
Ariel was unknowingly pushed back and quickly released her aura to resist.
And the moment she tried to go inside the barrier, the barrier's power focused on her.
The guardians, who had remained still, also revealed their force toward Ariel.
“It seems like something in there wants to see me.”
As if declaring that no one but Iron would be allowed, the barrier and guardians openly blocked the others.
Meanwhile, they did not release any force toward Iron.
“I’ll be back.”
At Iron’s words, Ariel bit her lips tightly.
The others were the same.
“If you’re really worried, just come rescue me when I send the signal.”
“A signal?”
When Ariel tilted her head, Iron grinned and spoke.
“If it feels dangerous, I’ll just destroy the ruins.”
“…Understood. We’ll remain on standby. The two Family Heads are also on their way, so if it comes to it, we’ll break through the barrier and go in.”
At Ariel’s words, Iron gave a small nod and entered immediately.
At that moment...
[You have discovered the Secret Shop of God Game.]
– To use the shop, you must meet the usage conditions.
1. Fulfill the conditions of a Hero.
2. Be a participant in the God Game.
3. Possess contribution points from the Apocalypse.
4. Possess the combat strength to pierce the barrier and enter on your own.
※You must fulfill at least two of the above conditions. (The more conditions fulfilled, the better the rewards.)
– To use the shop, you must clear the shopkeeper’s quest.
※The quest varies each time.
Startled by the sudden system voice, Iron soon laughed in disbelief.
“A secret shop?”
He thought it was an ancient ruin, but it wasn’t that at all.
“Are you the shopkeeper?”
In response to Iron’s question, the robed figure shook their head.
–The shopkeeper is inside. To use the shop, you must overcome all trials and reach them.
“A fairy…?”
A pair of elongated ears was briefly visible under the robe. However, unlike elves, the body filled with spirit power made it difficult to consider it a living creature.
The strange thing was that despite that, it looked like an elf.
“Fairy types or the fairy race should be small though…”
–The shopkeeper created this body for me.
After saying that, the fairy closed their mouth.
The expression clearly showed they wouldn’t answer any more unnecessary questions, and Iron gave a small nod while looking inside.
“Just one more question. Do I have a reason to do this quest?”
–…There is no compulsion.
The fairy said that while staring straight at Iron.
Eyes filled with a deep blue hue were strange, yet resembled beautiful jewels.
Looking at Iron with those eyes, it spoke.
–But I recommend that you do.
“From the way you talk, it sounds like the path to the shopkeeper will be tough. And you're still telling me to go?”
–I judge that it’s worth the risk. But that’s only my opinion… the choice is yours.
At the fairy’s words, Iron silently turned his head and began walking into the ruins.
–I pay my respects to your challenge. I sincerely hope you succeed…
As the fairy's words echoed, Iron’s body was sucked into the ruins.
From the ruins that absorbed Iron’s body like a black hole, a system voice was heard.
[Assessing what type of hero you are.]
–Combat Type 7 / Strategist Type 3
[Proceeding with Combat-Type Quests]
1. Break through the enemies and advance.
2. Navigate the labyrinth.
3. Traverse the treacherous terrain.
4. Obtain the Dragon’s Horn.
(...Omitted)
[This is the first quest. Break through the enemies and advance. You have 10 attempts.]
The moment the system voice ended, all kinds of monsters, Orcs, Trolls, Ogres, began rushing toward Iron.
Seeing them, Iron scoffed.
“What a joke.”
He lifted his sword with a displeased expression.
They should already know what level of combat strength he had, given that he pierced the barrier, and yet only this level of monsters was coming at him, it irritated him.
It was a number of monsters that even a Master Level could pierce through alone.
“Are they underestimating me?”
Muttering that, Iron formed an Aura Blade.
In that moment, Iron’s body shot through the monsters.
As his sword swung, all the monsters blocking his way were cut down, and the first quest was cleared in an instant.
[Second quest. Navigate the labyrinth…]
[Third quest. Traverse the poisonous wasteland…]
[Fourth quest…]
An enraged Iron tore through the quests in an instant.
The fourth quest involving a dragon was a bit tricky, but even that was nothing for Iron.
He swiftly obtained the horn, took down a Cyclops, defeated a giant queen ant, slew the lake dragon, he rapidly cleared all kinds of quests.
Even aerial monsters weren’t a problem.
The Divine Beasts he had summoned at some point easily took care of them.
Boom!
A massive giant brought down a colossal axe.
Radiating intense heat, the massive giant emitted a fierce presence, pressuring Iron.
“You're strong. But still…”
To Iron, who had faced Heurimre and outer gods, the giant before him was nothing special.
The giant, seemingly at Grand Master level, swung his axe with a powerful Mental Image that seemed intent on ripping his opponent apart, but that was all.
Not a true god, not a true giant, he couldn’t manifest a complete Mental Image, which meant he wasn’t Iron’s match.
Boom!
The giant, beheaded before anyone realized, turned to dust and disappeared.
[You have cleared the final quest. Congratulations. As you have cleared all quests in one go, a bonus will be granted.]
The moment the system voice ended, a door appeared in front of Iron.
There was no building, just a door standing alone, but Iron opened it without hesitation and stepped inside.
In that instant, Iron was once again sucked into a black hole.
“This is…”
Realizing he was inside the same ruins he had entered, Iron looked around.
Blue flames burned from the countless torches installed throughout the ruins, brightly illuminating the space.
On the walls of the circular structure, countless murals were drawn, and it was clear each one symbolized a hero.
At that moment, a woman’s voice was heard.
–Can you climb all the way up here?
Iron lifted his head at the voice that came from the small temple at the top of the long stairs at the center of the ruins.
In front of the temple stood a silver-haired woman, looking down at him with an arrogant expression.
Looking at her, Iron said,
“I’ll be right there.”
***
To support me for my translations, you can check out my Patreon here –>https://patreon.com/Pai_
If you enjoy this novel, please review and rate it at Novelupdates. Thanks! 😊
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter