Chapter 211: Prologue of Lord of Happiness [1]

Chapter 210

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Episode 53 - Prologue of Lord of Happiness [1]

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I remained silent for approximately thirty minutes, processing everything that had happened earlier.

’At last...’

At last, I’ll find out who I really am.

From the very beginning, I have always been an enigma.

Who the hell am I? Why have I lived countless lives? Why do I have connections to the Progenitors? What exactly happened during the Apocalypse?

Along with many other questions that I’ll probably uncover once I recover my memories.

Because if there was one thing I was certain of, it was this.

’Whoever I am, I must be someone well-known, someone important, and someone striving to accomplish something.’

But whatever it may be, I need to remain patient.

Of course, I’d like to drop everything and recover my memories immediately, but I seriously doubted that would be the right choice at this moment.

’More than knowing it, it’s intuition.’

I took a deep breath and drew my sword from my Inventory.

From the very beginning, I had kept my sword stored away, fully aware that my master is always by my side.

’She probably thinks I know certain things just because I can "see" the future, but I think she also knows I’m not telling her the whole truth.’

Once I recover my memories, I’ll naturally tell her who I am.

For now, I’ll simply remain silent because, although I have memories of this world as if it were a game...

More than a game, this is a world that experienced the Apocalypse, while I’m just a human from a world where only technology existed.

"I’ve already advanced to Five Stars and awakened the Divine Body. Shouldn’t you congratulate me, Master?"

At that moment, my master’s voice replied.

〖Yes, yes. Don’t get so full of yourself. If it weren’t for me, you would never have obtained the Essence of the Divine.〗

"Mhm..."

"...."

A second later—

〖W-well... Congratulations, my dear disciple.〗

"Master, sometimes I think you’re a tsundere."

〖Be quiet, and don’t even think about continuing this conversation.〗

I nodded repeatedly, even though she couldn’t see me.

Anyway, I stood up and stretched.

’Ah, that’s right. I should take a look at my stats.’

Although the Status Window displays my information, it doesn’t actually show everything; it only displays the basics.

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↳ Basic Stats

↳ Mana -〖★★★★★/15.69%〗- Strength -〖★★★★★★★★/18.89%〗- Endurance -〖★★★★★★★★★/28.57%〗- Speed -〖★★★★★★★★/12.38%〗- Agility -〖★★★★★★★★/18.22%〗- Physique -〖★★★★★★★★★/27.49%〗

↳ Hidden Stats

↳ Life -〖100%〗- Perception -〖★★★★★★★★★★/99.99%〗- Dexterity -〖★★★★★★/12.89%〗- Precision -〖★★★★★★★★/1.29%〗- Flexibility -〖★★★★★★★★/9.15%〗- Attribute Manipulation -〖★★★★★★★★/10.69%〗

↳ Unique Stats

↳ Causality -〖3.09〗- Divinity -〖0.8〗- Soul Power -〖0.00〗- Astral Power -〖1.06〗

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"...?!"

"Holy shit..."

I stared in disbelief, my mouth hanging open as a curse slipped out.

But honestly, it was unavoidable because my stats...

My stats had increased far more than I had originally expected.

’Most of my stats were around Five Stars on average, but now almost all of them have reached Eight Stars, and three of them have even reached Nine Stars... What the hell.’

Every single one of my stats had increased by three whole stars just from awakening the Divine Body.

But honestly, I think that’s perfectly normal.

After all, the Transcendent Body only increases every stat by one star, and that’s already talking about all stats.

’There’s an enormous gap between a Divine Body and a Transcendent Body.’

Now I understood why I felt so much stronger—not because I had become a Five-Star Awakened.

But because of my physical capabilities.

After taking some time to process my stats, I called for Liora, and she appeared shortly afterward.

Then I took out a sphere from my Inventory that recorded the year, month, day, and time.

I had Liora read it, and I realized that I had spent four days reconstructing my body.

That means tomorrow will mark one full week since I left the Academy.

’So I have three weeks left before the second semester begins. Besides, in three weeks I also have to meet Professor Ashly about her thesis at the Atlas Seminar.’

I have more than enough time to finally begin training in the Third Form of Inverted Heaven.

’Well, it was about time, wasn’t it?’

It’s been quite a while since I last trained with the sword.

And to save even more time while training the Third Form of Inverted Heaven more efficiently, I already have a plan in mind.

"A Memory Gate. I’ll use the time difference between reality and a Memory Gate to train..."

By chance, I also found a Memory Gate among the treasures of the Everblack House.

It was a Memory Gate belonging to a hero known as the <Lord of Happiness>, but according to my master, the name of this Memory Gate is not what it seems.

’I suppose I’ll experience the story of a great hero, just like the Fallen Maiden’s.’

As I briefly recalled what had happened at the end of the Fallen Maiden’s Memory Gate, I let out a sigh.

’Experiencing the protagonists’ emotions inside a Memory Gate is troubling in its own way.’

Finally, I stood up from where I had been sitting and said,

"Master, I suppose it’s time to begin the training."

〖I was already getting bored from waiting so long, but it was worth it.〗

My master had previously told me that it would be best to begin training in the Third Form once I had reached Five Stars and awakened the Divine Body.

I’ve already accomplished all of that, and I certainly understood why my master had said it.

’But before anything else, I need to go visit my dear little sister.’

Besides, I wanted to go somewhere to train, a specific place where I could test my newfound strength.

***

"Ah... ah..."

Lumina struggled to catch her breath as she ran with all her might.

She wasn’t far from the Altar of Dreams. She was almost there, but a pack of Elvenheims was chasing her.

Her infiltration had been successful. Of course it had, and everything would have gone perfectly.

The problem was that she had come up with this plan during her previous regression and had forgotten to take her own level of strength into account when carrying it out.

’But it doesn’t matter. I’ve made it...’

Before her stood a massive closed gate woven from roots. The gate was arch-shaped and covered with white flowers.

Lumina gently pushed the gate open and looked beyond it.

The chamber resembled a dome. Its walls were formed by roots intertwined like braided strands.

Flowers hung from every root. A faint white light illuminated the chamber, and at its center lay a small lake.

Flowers floated upon the crystal-clear water.

Lumina closed the gate behind her, and suddenly the roots that formed it intertwined with the wall.

"...."

She frowned for a moment.

’The Tree of Dreams and Wishes is aware of my presence here.’

She had naturally expected that, but the tree’s action was unusual.

Now Lumina couldn’t leave without using force to break her way out.

However, if she did that, she wasn’t sure whether her actions might cause changes that would put Adel in danger.

’Because, in the end, Adel will visit the Palace of the Chosen in the future, and by then, I’ll be on his side.’

In any case, Lumina couldn’t leave without the Tree of Dreams and Wishes granting her permission.

Most likely, the tree itself had sealed her inside the Altar of Dreams precisely because it wanted to speak with her.

’This is better. That way, I can get straight to the point and find out what it wants.’

Lumina looked at the lake. Without hesitation, she walked toward it and stepped into the water. Then she made her way to the center and allowed her body to float on the surface.

Finally, Lumina closed her eyes and fell asleep.

The world around her became completely dark.

Dreams slowly began to emerge.

Lumina dreamed that she was standing at the edge of a field of red flowers.

The field stretched all the way to the foot of the mountains. Behind her stood a forest with white leaves.

Lumina was sitting in front of a campfire where skewers held the leg of some animal, perhaps a wild rabbit.

She was seated on a log. More logs had been arranged in a circle around the campfire.

Nearby were sleeping bags, as though a group had settled there for the night.

Within the dream, Lumina remembered this place.

She was on the Slopes of Valhalla.

A place where red and white were the only colors.

"What a beautiful dream. Tell me, is this the place you dream about most often?"

At that moment, Lumina blinked. She then realized that she had "awakened" within the dream.

She looked to her side. An old man was walking with his hands behind his back while observing the surroundings.

Then the old man turned his attention to the figure seated in front of Lumina.

"Mhm, now I understand why you’re so fond of this dream."

"....."

Lumina looked ahead. Her eyes flickered for a moment.

The person before her was none other than Adel.

However, the Adel before her looked more mature, older, and far more like the Adel Lumina remembered.

At that moment, Adel raised his head and "looked" directly at her before speaking.

"Rinna and the others are taking a while, aren’t they?"

Lumina nodded instinctively, as though she were in reality.

"Yes."

"Mhm, I understand."

The old man watched the exchange. Then he turned toward Lumina and, smiling, asked,

"You like that boy, don’t you?"

"...?!"

Lumina’s stoic expression shattered in that instant, and her face turned bright red, completely breaking her composure.