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“Grandpa! I’m here~”

Responding to Harris’s call, his granddaughter entered the room with a bright smile.

As soon as Harris instructed us to guide them to the ‘Master’s Hall,’ the granddaughter’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Master’s Hall? Then this must be Hadouyun, right?”

Exclaiming this, she dashed over with a skip in her step.

Looking at me with her bright, large eyes, she said, “Hmm~ This isn’t what I expected. Hadouyun was my childhood ideal type, you know? I thought you’d be a rough, muscular macho man.”

She scanned me with a somewhat disappointed expression and licked her lips.

Just then, Harris told her not to speak nonsense and to guide us to the Master’s Hall, to which she replied with a somewhat drained, “Yes~” and began to lead the way.

Seeing this, Harris wore a slightly awkward smile and said, “I apologize, Hadouyun. Since there’s no sense of obligation inherited in my granddaughter, she tends to be a bit lackadaisical. I hope you can understand.”

“It’s nothing. I’m grateful that due to me, the entire family is carrying such a burden.”

The Egerton family, which has preserved and transmitted the legacy solely for me from the 1st generation to the 23rd.

I expressed my gratitude for the unwavering maintenance of the Egerton family and followed my granddaughter.

Now, from Harris’s granddaughter onward, she will be free to live her own life, liberated from me.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

While I was following behind Harris’s granddaughter, I asked her name.

She turned around quickly and said, “Oh, I’m sorry! I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Christine. Christine Egerton.”

Christine began to introduce herself, sharing her age, ideal type, favorite books, and all sorts of TMI about why she liked me when she was younger.

Contrary to my initial impression, she had a surprisingly affable personality.

Her somewhat rude behavior made it easier to connect with her.

“You have a more extreme taste in men than I expected. Falling for someone who tears demons in half, huh?”

Especially her taste in men was quite unique and amusing.

She said she felt a thrill from the memory of me charging into a demon army as a lone fighter and ripping them apart.

Anyway, as we kept chatting, we soon arrived at the building referred to as the ‘Master’s Hall.’

And in front of the building, Elena was waiting.

She had been directed to wait here as soon as her meeting with Harris had concluded.

“Wow, you’ve come.”

“Yes.”

After hearing all the stories of the past, this was my first encounter with Elena.

An awkward atmosphere hung between us.

After learning that we were comrades long ago, it was strange feeling the tension between us.

Our relationship as master and disciple felt oddly twisted.

“Okay, enough of this tension. Let’s save that for later; for now, just follow me.”

At that moment, Christine clapped her hands to lighten the mood.

Thanks to her, we could naturally step into the Master’s Hall without the awkwardness lingering in the air.

“…Wow.”

Once inside the Master’s Hall, we couldn’t help but express our astonishment at the enormous corridors.

Everywhere were grand murals reminiscent of the gods’ wars along with statues honoring the first possessed, the players.

“…”

Yet the real centerpiece commanding attention was a 13-meter tall statue.

Of course, it was ‘my statue’ dominating the center of the hall.

It looked as if Edgar Fix had bulked up into adulthood.

I particularly liked the detail of demon corpses stacked around.

“Sometimes I think, maybe my ancestor was just a huge fan of Hadouyun.”

At that moment, Christine said, her gaze fixed on my statue.

Lost in thought, she quietly contemplated the statue for a moment before stepping forward and saying, “Follow me. My ancestors’ admiration is only just beginning.”

Christine then crossed the hall, leading us into another room.

Inside the room were numerous artifacts that looked incredibly precious at first glance.

Christine turned to us and said, “These are artifacts made with the ‘powers’ of early players. They can only be used by players. Each has exceptional performance.”

Elena and I walked forward, mesmerized by the artifacts.

Aesthetically and functionally, they were all perfect weapons.

-Swish.

At that moment, Elena picked up a staff artifact.

A brilliant light erupted, and it began to softly envelop Elena.

With a dazed expression, Elena muttered to herself, “…I feel my senses sharpening. I can feel everything.”

Feeling a change, Elena looked around.

She mentioned that even without activating her Divine Eye, she could see the flow of mana.

Having just picked up an artifact, she was already emerging as a greater monster than before.

‘Is this why I failed so many retries?’

Watching Elena, I recalled my countless failures from the past.

I couldn’t help but think that it was because I hadn’t discovered such a treasure that I failed.

‘But this time…’

I had discovered this place.

Countless artifacts to tear demons apart, and I could reclaim the memories of the past.

This would likely be the most promising attempt I had ever made among all the tries.

“Ah! A-Aah! Th-This is!”

In the midst of my thoughts, Elena was in utter joy, like a person who had just won the lottery, trying on different artifacts as if she had just entered a luxury store.

While I watched Christine chuckle, she looked at me and said, “Doyun, you should hurry and choose too. Why are you just standing there, staring at your own weapons?”

Christine said this while pulling me along.

We arrived at the place where an excessively large great sword stood.

Christine pointed at the great sword and explained that it was the only artifact I had ever used.

“…”

The great sword sat alone in its place.

When I asked if there were no other set pieces, Christine shook her head.

She explained that my past self didn’t bother with extra items; this sword was enough for me.

‘…That’s quite reckless.’

The past me, who behaved quite differently back then.

No, come to think of it, even now, I wasn’t drastically different.

When facing demons, I would change 180 degrees from my usual self.

-Swish.

Anyway, I attempted to lift the great sword I had supposedly wielded in the past.

No, I tried to.

The great sword didn’t budge an inch.

I couldn’t help but let out a laugh of surprise.

Even after adjusting my stance and pulling it with both hands, it still wouldn’t lift.

“This is getting irritating.”

So, I had wielded this absurdly heavy great sword all this time.

With newfound determination, I pulled out my suit from my inventory.

The parts of the suit appeared simultaneously in midair, recognizing me and automatically attaching to my body.

“Wow…”

Christine gazed at my suit with wide, sparkling eyes.

Apparently, my appearance in the suit suited her preferences better.

Anyway, now fully equipped with the suit, I channeled a massive surge of mana into it.

I could confidently say that a suit infused with this much mana would cause even a Sword Master to sweat with anxiety at my punches.

I had dramatically boosted the destructive power and durability.

-Kiiyiiing!

With that, I stretched out my arm and gripped the great sword once again.

I poured strength into my hand and lifted my arm high to try and raise the sword.

-Clank.

But all that came out was a simple ‘clank.’

It didn’t lift at all, and only the hilt wobbled slightly.

What on earth had I been during my heyday?

In the videos, I swung it around like a toy.

-Baam!

But the past was the past, and now was now.

No matter how great I was in the past, if I couldn’t lift it now, it meant nothing.

So, I began to focus the evenly distributed mana in the suit onto my right arm.

To lift this great sword, I funneled 35% of my total mana specifically into my right arm.

-Whoosh!

Finally, the great sword began to hover in the air.

Though my arm creaked like an unlubricated machine, I was able to at least lift it this much.

-Baam!

But I wanted to swing this great sword freely.

After all, it was a weapon I had used; it seemed too embarrassing just to lift it clumsily.

Hence, I concentrated more mana into my right arm, funneling a total of 45%.

Still, swinging it freely was too much, so I pushed in an additional 5%.

【50%…】

Only after pouring in 50% of my total mana could I finally wield the sword freely.

I was using half my total power just to swing a single sword.

“Well, it seems the master is still the master. It suits you pretty well.”

At that moment, Christine, who was watching me, gave me a thumbs-up.

I put the great sword back into my inventory and dismantled the suit while replying to her.

“It’s still too much for me to handle properly. Like you saw earlier, I’m only managing to lift it.”

Unlike Elena, who had used the artifact’s unique ability as soon as she put it on, I was still just managing to hold it up.

Surely, the great sword I had once wielded contained some unique functions.

But to activate those, I needed to push my abilities further.

After all, my former self had been a monster capable of tearing down demon armies single-handedly.

“Hehe. But there’s no need to be discouraged~ There are still plenty of presents left.”

Christine said this and urged me and Elena to follow her.

Eventually, under her guidance, we arrived at yet another unfamiliar room, where we came across a set of spells we had never seen.

In other words, we had received a manuscript detailing ancient spells.

“T-This is…!!”

Elena jumped up in excitement.

She had long regarded studying ancient spells as her personal mission.

Christine laughed lightly as she approached Elena.

“Long ago, this was an ancient spell that only players could use. As a descendant of players, I can handle this level.”

Christine said, muttering some unknown incantation.

Then, it felt like my perception warped; even though she was right next to me, I felt no presence from her.

Christine grinned and said, “Hehe. How is it? This is on a different level from mere spells, right?”

Elena looked at her blankly in response to Christine’s words.

Then, suddenly, she hugged Christine tightly and expressed her gratitude.

Seeing the dreamlike ancient spells manifest before her eyes filled her with overwhelming emotion.

“…If it’s you, you could interpret the ‘Book of the Ancients’ entirely. The barrier here is also erected with ancient spells, but you’ve already laid out the counter-spell yourself.”

Christine said this while patting Elena on the back gently.

Elena nodded and vowed that she would definitely prevent the destruction of the Empire, which she had seen in her dreams every day.

With the ‘Book of the Ancients’ in hand, we proceeded to the next location.

Christine, leading us to the next spot, explained that the place we were headed was arranged solely for me, and we should look forward to it.

“Here it is.”

Upon arriving at the next location, I couldn’t help but feel astonished.

It was exactly the same as the apartment I had lived in before being possessed by ‘El Pandor Runtera.’

Christine stood gracefully at the center of the room, smiling softly as she spoke.

“This is the place where the founder of the Egerton family exerted the most power to create. He left his essence here in preparation for the day you would eventually arrive, Doyun.”

With that, she walked toward the table with the crystal sphere.

Standing in front of the table, she placed her hand on the crystal sphere and said to me, “For a moment, the founder’s essence will envelop me. He has long wished to see you, so please have a conversation with him.”

Christine said and closed her eyes.

Then, a green light from the crystal sphere enveloped Christine, and a great shockwave erupted.

-Swooooooo…

Afterward, Christine began to open her closed eyes.

With long lashes that seemed to gather the falling snow, she looked directly at me.

Just from that, I could tell something else had taken residence within her.

Her usual cheerful energy was gone, replaced by an entirely different presence.

-Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

At that moment, Christine, who had been quietly staring at me, began to approach me without hesitation.

She charged towards me with heavy footsteps, as if she were incredibly angry.

Getting close, she—

-Pow!

“Cough!”

She struck my abdomen directly.

The force was so powerful that I involuntarily gasped and bent over.

“Hey! You little brat!”

Could it be that another essence had possessed her?

Christine didn’t stop there; she continued to curse at me while hitting me a few more times.

Feeling like I might be done for, I pulled up my mana, reinforced my body, and assumed a defensive stance.

Then—

-Thud!

Suddenly, Christine enveloped me in a hug.

While holding me tight, she patted my back, her voice laced with sobs as she cried out, “You bastard… how could you go like that… after we decided to go back together… if you sacrifice yourself alone… you bastard… do you think we’re okay with that?”

“…”

The old emotions of my friend from the past poured out.

Yet, I couldn’t even remember what those suppressed feelings were or even this friend’s name.

“I’m sorry.”

However, I found myself apologizing instinctively without realizing it.

I couldn’t remember anything, but I felt that the bond between us and how I had chosen to sacrifice myself had greatly hurt her.

“I missed you… you bastard…”

 

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