Chapter 292: Creator God Almighty! (3)

Translator: Dreamscribe

Four years had already slipped by since Arsilan Saga was born.

A great cataclysm.

So much had happened in that time that calling it a great cataclysm wouldn't have been an exaggeration.

Of course, because so much had changed, side effects had appeared as well. But what was clear was that the world had become a better place to live. It wasn't a world filled with nothing but pleasure and happiness, yet there was no doubt that smiles and laughter had increased.

Right as the fourth anniversary arrived, the Kalsus Dimensional Empire's invasion came to a temporary halt and fell into a stalemate.

Jinwoo had deliberately moved Kalgul to stop the invasion. Under the pretext of counterattacking the Dimensional Predators, they gathered troops and put the invasion on hold.

Thanks to that, the Grand Festival could be declared.

Starting with Leon's proclamation of the Grand Festival, the celebration began throughout Arsilan. Arsilan was buzzing with excitement over the festival that came around only once a year.

The streets were filled with brilliant lights and flowers, and countless pieces of festival content created by FS Games were installed all across Arsilan. With so much good news to go around, FS Games had prepared this fourth anniversary Grand Festival properly.

"Whoa…."

"Insane."

"The Grand Festival…, this is nuts."

The newbies who hadn't yet made it out to the Dimensional Realm were thrilled by the sight of their first Grand Festival. They had seen it in videos before, but experiencing it in person was a whole different story.

Jinwoo watched Arsilan overflowing with joy for a while, then moved to the Soul Moon.

The moment he arrived at the Soul Moon, Ella and Helby appeared before him. They were dressed in outfits made for the Grand Festival and had adorned themselves with accessories for once. A popularity vote would be held over the course of the Grand Festival, so the two of them had poured their hearts into dressing up.

"Ready?"

At Jinwoo's question, Ella grinned and nodded, while Helby folded her arms.

The Grand Festival.

Arsilan couldn't be the only one enjoying a Grand Festival so full of happiness.

Jinwoo's goal was to unite every dimension in light and joy and to rise together to the higher dimension. So at least in this moment, everyone had to enjoy themselves together.

That was hard to accomplish by Jinwoo's power alone. He needed the help of divine beings like Ella and Helby, and it demanded a very steep price. It would consume a considerable amount of Authority and leave them drained for a while, but both had agreed without hesitation.

Jinwoo stretched out his hand.

Space rippled, and Authority Stones brimming with potent Authority came pouring down. The Authority Stones he had wrung out of the Erosion over all that time piled up on the Soul Moon like a mountain.

"Will you not regret it? With Authority of that scale, you could become far greater."

Helby asked, looking at Jinwoo.

If Jinwoo absorbed every one of those Authority Stones, his standing as a god would rise enormously. He might even become a perfect Higher God, one that not even Ella or Helby could reach.

He would be able to do far more.

He might wield even more powerful divine magic at will, or create magic of an entirely new realm that surpassed grand magic.

But Jinwoo didn't do that.

"Not in the slightest."

He didn't regret it at all.

He had realized a very long time ago that growing stronger alone meant nothing.

If he could bring laughter and joy to a Dimensional Realm where people were barely enduring each day in despair and pain, it would become an even greater power in the future.

A heart that could smile right now.

Hope that looked toward the future was an immensely powerful thing.

Jinwoo, who had lived a hundred years in despair, knew all too well what tremendous miracles such a thing could bring about.

"Now that's the Lord God of Arsilan!"

"Hardly what I'd expect from an Evil God."

Ella and Helby said so with broad smiles.

Jinwoo exhaled deeply and drew up all of his Mana, Sacred Power, and Authority. The Soul Moon and Arsilan itself resonated with Jinwoo's power, and Ella and Helby stretched out their hands to add their strength.

The heaped mound of Authority Stones melted away and sank into the Soul Moon.

FWAAASH!

The Soul Moon blazed and became a second sun shining down on Arsilan. The Heroes who had been enjoying the start of the festival looked up at the sky as their surroundings suddenly brightened. A radiant yet gentle light, warm and never blinding, shone down on them.

An overwhelming Authority, enchanting just to look at, revealed itself. An Authority that could accomplish anything now unfolded before Jinwoo's eyes.

Speak your wish.

Anything can be granted.

It seemed to say as much.

Jinwoo let a broad smile spread across his lips and called his wish to mind.

In that instant, a Quest Window made of light rose before every Hero and every citizen of Arsilan. It was a Quest Window that read like a letter.

[Dimensional Realm] A Grand Festival For You!

Light and darkness of Arsilan, endless courage.

From the moment you first came to Arsilan until now, truly so much has happened.

Heart-pounding adventures, blossoming friendship, beautiful love, and the joy of saving the world, along with the sorrow left behind in your heart.

You saved the world with brave will, and with holy conviction you rose again to save a larger and wider world. With the miraculous power you possess, you are making Arsilan, and many more worlds, beautiful.

Where else could there be a miracle more brilliant than this?

Brothers! Sisters! And friends!

Recall the happy memories of these four years, and please, share that joy with those who have fallen into despair.

Your happy feelings and memories will become a miracle for those who suffer.

The Heroes and Arsilanians who read the letter recalled old memories and sank into thought for a moment. Then the Information Windows transformed into countless paper airplanes carrying happy emotions.

"Oooh!"

"Paper airplanes?"

"Is this an event?"

In Alusion, and in territories and cities everywhere, everyone in Arsilan smiled as they watched the paper airplanes soar off into the distance.

The paper airplanes, turned into innumerable points of light, passed straight through Arsilan's barrier and reached the Soul Moon.

They filled the entire Soul Moon, shimmering in a wealth of colors. The way they flowed along Jinwoo's hand looked like watching a wave made of paper airplanes.

"May it be a happy Grand Festival."

Jinwoo poured his wish into them and sent the paper airplanes flying off to the Dimensional Realm. Carrying an immense Authority, the paper airplanes crossed the dimensional rifts and flew into the Dimensional Realm.

WHOOOOSH!

They flew to the more than five thousand dimensions the Heroes had protected through fierce battle, and were delivered to the people there.

Some of them headed for the Pollock Dimension.

With the Kalsus Dimensional Empire's army pulled back and no longer invading, the natives of the Pollock Dimension were finally able to catch their breath for the first time in ages.

Thankfully, with the Heroes who had appeared alongside the light and the darkness, they had been able to stand against the Kalsus Dimensional Empire's forces and get to work rebuilding their destroyed villages.

"It's a bit shoddy, but it should do for living in right now."

"Thank you. I don't know how we could ever repay you…."

The Heroes put up temporary buildings and helped the Pollock people.

They kept bringing in daily necessities and supplies from Arsilan, but it was nowhere near enough. Even when they won hard-fought victories at the front, the situation only kept getting worse.

The Heroes looked at the people expressing their thanks.

They were dark.

The light in their eyes was dead.

The shadows carved deep into their faces were painful to see. Their lives had been preserved, but they had no expectations for the future whatsoever. They were simply living on revenge against the Kalsus Dimensional Empire as fuel.

'Episode 6 is….'

'This weighs on me.'

'Hmm….'

The horrors of war.

The Heroes felt a heavy emotion in Episode 6.

All of this was virtual reality, but that no longer mattered. There was hardly a single Hero who cared about that anymore. Arsilan was their life now, their real life.

How could they comfort these people?

As it happened, it was the Grand Festival period. Yet many Heroes had stayed in the Dimensional Realm instead of going to Arsilan.

FS Games had prepared things for the Heroes who remained in the Dimensional Realm, but none of it applied to the people here.

"Let's fix up their housing properly."

"And set up an alchemy workshop so we can make some goods too…."

"Should we contact other guilds? Quite a few of them have pulled off a Dimensional Liberation."

It was just as the Heroes finished their meeting and approached the drooping, dispirited Pollock people.

"Huh?"

"What is that…?"

The sky, which had been sinking into sunset, suddenly grew bright.

Something made of light came fluttering down from the sky and settled softly in front of every single person.

"A paper…, airplane?"

"What is this?"

Question marks floated over the Heroes' heads.

In that instant, the paper airplanes turned into Information Windows and rose up before them all.

[A Grand Festival period has been declared in the Dimensional Realm!]

*The light and darkness of Arsilan bless your dimension.

*Dimensions that have stood with the Heroes, or dimensions where beings who believe in the Evil God reside, will be protected for two weeks by the strength of a mighty Authority. Barriers will form over cities and villages!

*The Evil God's Authority heals all of your wounds, status ailments, illnesses, and so on.

*Grand Festival installations, festival goods, and food are provided free of charge.

*Grand Festival content can be enjoyed free of charge.

The contents of the Information Window were translated into the Pollock language, but the Pollock people couldn't properly understand what it said.

A Grand Festival?

Authority?

What did it mean?

The Pollock people's questions were answered soon enough.

The Information Windows turned into particles of light and gathered in one place. An Arsilan Spirit appeared along with the light and looked at the Pollock people with its arms crossed.

The Heroes couldn't help being startled by its appearance, blue-skinned and shaped like one of those fairies that grant wishes.

The Spirit snapped its fingers, and the shabby dwellings were upgraded into a clean village in an instant, while huge dolls appeared and set up restaurants and all sorts of street stalls.

"Waaah!"

"Look at that!"

Countless amusement rides revealed themselves behind the village. Children who had been ill recovered in a heartbeat, and their clothes were changed for clean ones.

The same went for the adults.

[Enjoy the Grand Festival!]

The Heroes stared blankly at the sight.

A Grand Festival scene of the sort one would only expect to see in Arsilan had been recreated right here!

The Heroes walked up to the Pollock people.

"All right! Let's go!"

"Sorry?"

"I'll show you how to ride that one. Oh! And that's an Alusion specialty rice bowl, give it a try."

The Pollock people's faces gradually brightened.

With the lively music, the wonderful festival facilities, and the feast of delicious food, the light returned to the Pollock people's eyes. More than anything, they were glad they could enjoy it together with the Heroes.

It was as though happy memories were being painted over days steeped in nothing but pain.

Surely it would remain as a beautiful memory.

"Now this is a Grand Festival!"

"Ha! Long live the Creator God!"

"No need to go to Arsilan at all!"

The Heroes enjoyed the Grand Festival together with the Pollock people. Their eyes reddened and their noses stung.

The Dimensional Realm seemed a little brighter.

* * *

The fourth anniversary Grand Festival was an evolved version of every piece of festival content that had come before. Under its influence, the mood on Earth changed dramatically as well.

Earth was in a festive mood too.

The day Arsilan Saga was born had now firmly established itself as the biggest holiday on Earth.

The Arsilan Advent!

It had been designated a public holiday in many countries, including South Korea, the United States, and Japan, and counting the surrounding days off, people got more than a week's break. It was a prime opportunity to rake in Arsilan Gold, and with massive sales held to coincide with the Advent, it had become Earth's own Grand Festival. It was no exaggeration now to call it the greatest holiday in the world.

There was a reason this fourth anniversary Grand Festival period was special.

It was because a large-scale offline event was scheduled.

FS Games Stadium had been built in the district that housed the Hologram Center and the nuclear fusion power plant, and since August of last year it had been used for all sorts of purposes. Packed with cutting-edge technology, the stadium could hold over a hundred thousand people.

Not just anyone could attend this offline event.

The number of Heroes had blown far past one billion and was climbing steeply toward two billion, so it was obvious that an absurd number of people would try to crowd in.

For that reason, invitations went primarily to Heroes with high levels and Honor Points. It could be watched by broadcast from within Arsilan as well, so while the Heroes who weren't invited were a little disappointed, the general mood was one of understanding. They felt the vanguard deserved to be treated well.

"Ngh! I can't quite get used to this."

"Right? It really has been forever since we broadcast in person like this, out in the real world."

Haebyul and UruBear had come outside for the first time in a while and started their stream.

Broadcast technology had advanced tremendously, letting viewers enjoy it through holographic footage as if they were right there.

That was thanks to the Soul Glass Pro3.

The Soul Glass automatically read the surrounding information, converted it into holograms, and transmitted it to the broadcast feed. The shape of the Soul Glass could be freely customized too, so it wasn't half bad as a fashion item.

Haebyul looked around.

The viewers had turned into thumbnail-sized SD characters and were swarming all around her. They were the viewers who had paid Arsilan Gold to subscribe to her stream.

-Ooh! That stadium is huge!

-Looks awesome.

-Wonder what they're announcing today.

"Something crazy's gonna drop, right? What could it be? Is there even anything left to announce? Oh! But the Creator God did say it was just a low-key event."

Haebyul read the viewers' chat and tilted her head.

A week before the offline event, the Creator God had gone on a Q&A stream and told everyone not to get their hopes up.

He'd said it was simply a gathering for the vanguard Heroes defending the Dimensional Realm, and a light little event to hand out gifts to the Heroes watching the broadcast.

UruBear snorted at that.

"You buy that?"

"Obviously not."

Not just Haebyul and UruBear, but every last Hero refused to believe the Creator God's words.

They'd been fooled for four years.

Acting like he hadn't prepared anything and then unveiling something colossal was the Creator God's signature pattern.

"And take a look over there."

UruBear pointed at the stadium.

"That's the biggest stadium in the country. And he's gathering that many Heroes there offline just to run a light little event?"

Not even a newbie Hero would have swallowed that.

The stadium was a remarkably mystical sight. Its overall form was that of an ordinary stadium, but it was wrapped in hologram panels, which let it be decorated in shapes that transcended its actual structure.

Right now it looked like the Sillion Imperial Palace.

Seeing that kind of majestic palace standing in reality made it look incredibly otherworldly.

-Yeah, it definitely feels like something huge is waiting.

-How do you even hold a "light little event" in thereㅋㅋ

-He's not even trying to fool us at this point.

Haebyul wandered around the stadium grounds for a bit.

Far off she could see the nuclear fusion power plant and the Hologram Center, and around the stadium stood a great many well-decorated temporary buildings. They looked like shops, but they must not have opened yet, because they were all empty.

Would they open after the stadium event was over?

That was what crossed Haebyul's mind.

Haebyul went inside the stadium and sat down in her assigned seat. Heroes from Korea and from all sorts of other countries settled into their seats, all chattering noisily.

She hadn't counted them all, but there were easily tens of thousands. From what she'd heard, FS Games had invited the overseas Heroes and covered not only their round-trip airfare but their hotel bills too.

"It's surprisingly plain, isn't it? Feels like a concert hall."

-Yeah, it does.

-It's just a venue.

-Nothing special about it.

But Haebyul wasn't letting her guard down.

"Let me make a prediction. First, in a little while the lights will go dark and the scenery of the Dimensional Realm will appear. Then the Creator God will come cutting across the Dimensional Realm and step right onto the stage, and suddenly the whole scene will change and…."

Fireworks going FWISH! Explosions going BOOM! The sky going RUMBLE! The ground going KRRRACK!

A feast of staging like that was sure to follow!

Haebyul imagined the production to come and made a rather convincing prediction. Listening beside her, UruBear nodded along.

"Yeah, that does sound about right."

-Honestly it's kinda predictable by now.

-Only newbie Heroes lose their minds over it, it's not even that shocking.

-ㅋㅋㅋ man we're way too used to this

Grand, majestic, spectacular staging.

That kind of production was certainly a treat for the eyes. But for Heroes who had experienced the staggering scale of the Dimensional Realm, it couldn't stir much of anything anymore.

In that magnificent Dimensional Realm, the Heroes had fought their battles amid a solemn atmosphere. And they had protected its beautiful scenery.

What on earth could still surprise the vanguard Heroes gathered here?

"Let's at least pretend to be shocked so the Creator God doesn't feel awkward!"

Haebyul said that with a grin.

Still, it would be a production the Creator God had gone to the trouble of preparing, so they might as well act startled and cheer their hearts out.

It was just as Haebyul was thinking that.

"Huh?"

The Creator God walked straight up onto the stage.

There wasn't a trace of any production to be found. Nothing but bright lights shining down on the stage.

Countless Heroes who had braced themselves for an overwhelming spectacle tilted their heads, some of them outright flustered, as they stared at the Creator God.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Lee Jinwoo."

No way!

Creator God almighty!

The Creator God had made his entrance with no production whatsoever, in the most ordinary way imaginable!

*****

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