전생검신 Volume 82, Chapter 20

Dongfang Sak looked like he’d been through a rough time. His clothes were scorched and tattered, his body was covered in wounds, and his left hand was drenched in blood—it was pretty clear he was in bad shape. Despite that, he seemed incredulous that I had outsmarted him, wearing a genuinely bewildered expression.

I was momentarily at a loss for words and said to Dongfang Sak, “Hey! Did you know where the Navel of the Sun God was all along when you suggested this bet?”

If not, then there was no way he could have shown up this quickly after we just started the bet. I had summoned him and proposed the wager on a whim, so he shouldn’t have predicted I’d actually propose a bet.

Then Dongfang Sak replied, “Yeah, I knew where it was, but I was hesitant because I wasn’t confident about breaking through the Ancient Gods’ barrier.”

“……”

“Anyway, you agreed to the bet. That’s settled…”

Dongfang Sak continued, looking utterly baffled. “But you, are you out of your mind? I didn’t expect someone to just walk up and demand treasure from Osiris, the ruler of the spiritual realm!”

“I never said I had to steal it or anything.”

“……”

Dongfang Sak seemed to be hiding his frustration, but honestly, I was the one feeling a bit uneasy.

“Wow… If I had just sent clones to rummage through the pyramid, I would have definitely lost.”

He already knew where the target was and easily broke in, so I couldn’t have used that method to win! Even I thought straightforwardly asking Osiris for treasure was pretty reckless, but if I hadn’t done that, I would have definitely lost the bet to Dongfang Sak.

Osiris shot me a sideways glance and asked, “Did you gamble with that author?”

“Yes. He’s an irreverent fellow, but please take it easy on him this once.”

“Sounds good. But next time, you’ll have to come to me.”

“……Huh?”

“I’m just saying, come visit me when you’re bored. Don’t take it too seriously.”

There was no way it was going to be that simple. I realized he was trying to lure me in, and I pondered over it.

‘It feels like the gods are keen to recruit me…’

But if I didn’t accept Osiris’s offer, then right here, he might fry Dongfang Sak or try to seal him away, and even if Dongfang Sak was the master of escape, I really didn’t want to see that happen. So I reluctantly nodded.

“Understood.”

“Heh, I won’t make things difficult for you, so don’t worry.”

Osiris burst into laughter, taking a large staff from the dog-headed deity beside him, then aimed it directly at the Navel of the Sun God.

Swoosh

In an instant, the massive Navel of the Sun God, which was about six feet tall, shrank down to the size of a small gem that could fit in the palm of my hand. Osiris handed it to me and said, “I want to tell you one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t negotiate regarding the Wheel King and that man. The Wheel King has been planning this from the start, and it’ll only end up being a loss for you.”

“……?!”

I flinched at those words.

‘What? How does he know all the prior details?’

Not knowing what all Osiris was aware of, I looked at him with a wary expression, and he told me flatly, “That was not my advice; it was merely what the spirit of the Sun God Ra conveyed to me.”

“……The Sun God Ra read the Law of Cause and Effect?”

“Currently, all the gods are in competition. It’s natural to give advice to sabotage your opponent’s goals.”

“……”

“Accepting advice is your choice. Now, off you go.”

Zing!!

Osiris created a white-glowing dimension door, and after glancing at Dongfang Sak, I said, “Let’s go.”

Wiying

I stepped through the dimension door alongside Dongfang Sak. As soon as we emerged outside, we found ourselves in front of a city guarded by Ancient Gods, and the moment Dongfang Sak touched the ground, he grumbled, “Damn it. I stepped in something… I admit I lost the bet.”

“……”

“You should be a bit happy we won the wager, right? This is my first time losing a bet in my life.”

I stared at him blankly and said, “Dongfang Sak, what on earth did you do to make the Wheel King of the underworld hunt you down so persistently?”

“Huh? You came to catch me without even knowing that?”

“I’m not one of the Wheel King’s subordinates. I just happened to receive a request from him, but I know nothing about you.”

“……”

“I was only planning to negotiate with the Wheel King as promised, but with Osiris giving me that advice, I have a lot to consider now. At the very least, I need to know the reason you’ve angered the Wheel King.”

My initial thought was that I didn’t care what Dongfang Sak had done, and I just wanted to finish the Wheel King’s request quickly. However, since Osiris went out of his way to warn me about the Wheel King’s mood, I had to be cautious. Dongfang Sak seemed to have some serious issues tangled up in this.

“Hmm…”

Dongfang Sak seemed to ponder for a moment before speaking up.

“I don’t know if I’ve angered him. I just know how to escape death and have taught that to certain humans.”

I was taken aback by Dongfang Sak’s words.

“……What? You know how to escape death? Isn’t that your [Chaos Talent]?”

“I don’t know what you mean by Chaos Talent. All I know is I have a method to escape from anything, and I can see how it’s done. So I taught others how to escape death too.”

Dongfang Sak leaned against a nearby tree as he continued.

“Of course, unlike me, ordinary humans can only succeed a maximum of three times at best. Beyond that, they can’t escape death anymore.”

“……!!”

I couldn’t help but be astounded. I stammered a bit and said, “Does that mean there’s a technique to avoiding death?”

“Yeah. What’s so weird about that? The gods do stuff way more impressive than this trivial trick.”

“……”

Dongfang Sak acted as if it was nothing significant, but I couldn’t help but be shocked.

The fact that even ordinary humans, who don’t possess a [Chaos Talent], could avoid death meant that if they could learn it, it was a skill. And calling it a skill implied that every human could potentially escape death up to three times at maximum!

‘Living in a time when gods are at their peak, it seems Dongfang Sak has no idea how incredible his technique actually is…!!’

If I could just acquire Dongfang Sak’s technique, it would be a massive boon!

Just then, Heuk Woong spoke quietly to me.

[It’s totally understandable for the Wheel King to be on high alert and want to bring him in. If Dongfang Sak keeps living and teaching that technique to humans, it’s obvious there would be a drastic decrease in souls going to the underworld. That would greatly reduce the cause and effect the Wheel King gains from running the underworld.]

“Ah, so that’s why…”

[Master, but the reward the Wheel King offered for completing his request is precisely the Seven Treasures. The ultimate treasure of the underworld and said to be the Wheel King’s secret weapon! If you don’t carry out the request to bring Dongfang Sak to the underworld, you won’t be able to obtain the Seven Treasures.]

“…….”

The Seven Treasures!

The mightiest weapon of Hell!

It was a dedicated weapon that could only be wielded by the ruler of the underworld, and when in fusion and not in the state of the wheel, each treasure was a powerful divine servant on a level worthy of gods. Plus, with proper use of the Seven Treasures, one could easily annihilate even a powerful godlike Qi Bai Chen, so it was an opportunity I couldn’t afford to miss.

Heuk Woong continued.

[Based on your current abilities, just acquiring the Seven Treasures means you won’t have a low chance of winning even against the Three Sovereigns. No, you could even be on equal footing or stronger. You can’t give up such a chance just because of Dongfang Sak!]

“Are you saying I shouldn’t even try to negotiate for Dongfang Sak?”

[Correct. If you attempt to negotiate half-heartedly, given your nature, you might end up giving up the Seven Treasures. But I want to advise you not to do that because I’m worried about your future.]

“Um…”

Then Dongfang Sak, who had been eavesdropping, spoke up, sounding displeased. “Damn it. Who said I would go along with this? Even if we made a promise, do you really think I’m going to keep that promise if I don’t want to?”

I snapped back at the angry Dongfang Sak, “Calm down. It’s just Heuk Woong’s opinion. But I want to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“That technique for escaping death… can you teach it to me? If you promise to teach me that, I’ll negotiate with the Wheel King for you.”

“Hmm.”

“Dongfang Sak, I will keep my promise. So trust me.”

“……”

Dongfang Sak stared at me for a while and then nodded.

“Alright. If someone who has openly negotiated with the ruler of the underworld, then I’ll trust you. If you help me negotiate, I’ll teach you everything I know about that technique.”

“Deal struck.”

I said that and turned to Heuk Woong.

“Heuk Woong, open the door to the underworld.”

[…… Do we really have to?]

“Advice can become excessive, you know. I understand your concern for me, but you should trust me now.”

[Is that your instinct talking?]

“Yeah. It’s my instinct.”

I wouldn’t be led around by the Wheel King anymore.

In fact, I had a gut feeling that Heuk Woong’s rational thinking could end up restricting my path and backfiring by meshing me with the whims of the great gods.

[Understood. I will remain with you until the end.]

Whoosh…!!

A little later, I arrived in the underworld with Heuk Woong and Dongfang Sak. And the moment we reached the underworld, we headed straight towards the Wheel King’s palace, where, as if waiting for us, a familiar face awaited.

“You have arrived.”

“Who are you?”

I saw a silver-haired beauty in glasses bowing to me in the underworld’s ceremonial attire.

“I am Yin Lun, the second of the Seven Treasures. I have been commanded by the Wheel King to await you.”

“……”

“Please follow me.”

I followed Yin Lun as we entered the grand palace of the underworld. The underworld palace was neat and tidy, and unlike other gods’ palaces, it wasn’t flamboyant or gaudy. Yet, it wasn’t so simple that it lacked dignity, reflecting the typical personality of the Wheel King.

Finally, after passing through the deep red last door with Yin Lun, I saw a familiar face inside.

“You’ve come.”

That face was, quite literally, my own.

My original face before it transformed into Fuxi’s. As it was my real face, it subjectively appeared ugly, but perhaps because its essence belonged to the Wheel King, the overwhelming grandeur it projected as a god overshadowed any notions of beauty or ugliness.

I frowned at the sight of that face.

“Using that face again? What poor taste you have.”

“Isn’t that your own face?”

“You wouldn’t know since you’re a god, but humans are sensitive about beauty and ugliness, and I’m not particularly fond of my original face.”

“You speak as if you’re not a god.”

“……”

“I would like to ask, why do you think gods do not care for beauty and ugliness?”

That was a somewhat profound question.

I pondered his question and finally responded, “It’s because they can transform into any form, whether celestial beauty or monstrous ugliness, right?”

“That’s quite a trivial aspect. You do not yet grasp the essence of a god.”

“……”

Thud…

The entity plopped down on the throne and looked at me with his characteristic nonchalant expression.

“Seeing you brought Dongfang Sak shows you’ve excellently completed the request I entrusted to you.”

“……”

“I grant you the Seven Treasures.”

Before me stood the Wheel King, the ruler of the underworld.

If my heart wasn’t racing at that moment, it would be a lie.

But then I smiled and said, “I refuse.”

At that moment, the seven beings of the Seven Treasures standing near the Wheel King displayed faces of utter shock simultaneously.

They clearly did not expect me to refuse.

The Wheel King, however, looked at me with indifferent eyes and asked, “Why is that?”

“I have fulfilled your request, and thus I have achieved the divine virtue. But whether I choose to accept the reward is entirely up to me, isn’t it?”

“……”

“I promised Dongfang Sak. I will negotiate on his behalf.”

Suddenly, the Wheel King wore a curious expression as if finding the situation amusing.

“And how do you intend to negotiate?”

“I will take Dongfang Sak with me in exchange for the Seven Treasures. Please refrain from forcibly bringing him to the underworld in the future.”

“Is that the negotiation you are proposing?”

“You’ve already read my intentions clearly with the Mirror of Clarity, so I wonder why you even bother to ask.”

I spoke and pointed my index finger at the Wheel King.

“This isn’t a negotiation, it’s a notification. Accept it or don’t, that’s up to you.”