On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons-Chapter 182: #Forgetting About Deadlines While Playing God

Sss—

The little girl, God of Harmony, melted like a candle under the God Fist’s power. She looked at Yu Il-Shin, her eyes devoid of any traces of resentment.

Freed from the body corrupted by the God of Destroyer, she no longer felt the torment of the infernal hunger.

Yu Il-Shin was neither a benevolent nor a malevolent god, but rather the primal chaos itself.

-If it’s you... perhaps...

She took a glimpse of the future of God of Destroyer and his nemesis, Yu Il-Shin, as well as the few precious children who’d stand by him.

A faint smile lingered on the fading goddess’ face.

-I’ll entrust it...to you...

Then, God Fist exploded, blowing the ruins into pieces.

***

[Congratulations! The Forty-Fifth Floor of the Tower of Warriors: Trial of Space and Time—God of Harmony’s Fantasy Dream has been cleared.]

[The challenger has been rewarded with Blessing of Harmony.]

[Blessing of Harmony: Harmonize and slightly increase the challenger’s stats.]

“Haa!” Il-Ho gasped as he woke up to the familiar messages. “W-where’s the monster?! I have to protect my brother!”

He sat up immediately, flexing his muscles and assuming a fighting stance, but not a single enemy was in sight.

“This is?”

He was in a familiar place—the waiting room in the Tower of Warriors.

“W-what happened?”

Right, didn’t his right arm get torn off by the monster girl? But when he looked down, he saw that it was perfectly fine. Just as its name suggested—God of Harmony’s Fantasy Dream—everything felt surreal.

-It isn’t a dream, Pilot Il-Ho.

The soul armor telepathically conveyed to him.

-You had entered a powerful world created by a fallen god, where the line between reality and illusion blurred. Had you been killed there, you’d have perished. You’re only alive thanks to the great and benevolent transcendent being, God Yu Il-Shin.

“God Yu Il-Shin...?”

Then, the soul armor continued, brimming with excitement and reverence.

-Yes! Thanks to him, I have witnessed the realm of the ultimate Machine God! My father, the former magic engineer Einberg, wasn’t wrong after all! A machine could become a transcendent being as well! Aah, if I could have him on board again someday...

Il-Ho could no longer hear the soul armor’s voice. The memories of the brother he’d met at the God of Harmony’s Ruins flashed across his mind. Right before Il-Ho was about to be devoured by the monster, he had revealed his true identity.

-Listen, Il-Ho. No one can kill a god’s follower, cherished like their own flesh and blood.

In a display of power beyond his own, Yu Il-Shin had evolved the soul armor into Machine God, killing the monster in one blow.

Plop!

Il-Ho’s knees buckled, and he fell to the ground. Hot tears streamed down his cheeks. “I’m ashamed.”

How could he fail to recognize his own god the whole time? His god must’ve approached him in such a frail body to test him!

Il-Ho clenched his fist, slamming it against his own head.

“Lord Yu Il-Shin, please forgive this foolish man! I lacked faith and failed to recognize you!” Il-Ho sobbed.

Ding!

[Would you challenge the next floor?]

However, Il-Ho shook his head and jumped to his feet.

“Not yet!”

He vowed not to cry anymore from here on, as tears would only cause muscle loss!

Il-Ho was suddenly faced with his lack of faith and muscle. If he had stronger muscles, then God Yu Il-Shin would never have to fight the gods himself! Everything was because of his weak muscles!

Il-Ho lifted the dumbbells to his shoulders. “Weight Increase! 2000 tonnes!”

The enormous weight caused Il-Ho’s feet to sink into the ground. As blood pounded through the veins in his legs, Il-Ho cried out, “Hyaaa! A million repenting prayers starting from now! O’ great and merciful God Yu Il-Shin, puck puck!”

It marked the start of Il-Ho’s one million prayers of penance toward Yu Il-Shin.

***

Why did my ears feel tingly all of a sudden? Was someone cursing me out?

Ding!

[The God of Harmony’s Ruins is destroyed after defeating the dungeon boss.]

[You have obtained the SSS-grade item, God of Harmony’s Scales.]

God-Maker responded the moment I awakened the Machine God soul armor and defeated the goddess’ vengeful spirit.

[Returning to reality.]

A blinding light surrounded me, bringing me back to reality.

“Wow, the air sure is fresh.”

Compared to the musty air and stench of the dungeon, the mountain air was crisp, filling my lungs with phytoncides.

So, this is an SSS-grade item?

I stared at the mini scales in my hand, with light and darkness on each side. It looked more like a toy than an SSS-grade item. Still, I kept it in my pocket, making a mental note to show it to Kang Woo hyungnim later.

The rathole-like S-rank dungeon, leaking faint black smoke like a deflated balloon, vanished. Because my divine powers were sealed, I almost died at the hands of the vengeful spirit. Regardless, I was glad to have met Il-Ho in the flesh. Wondering if he’d returned safely, I launched God-Maker, and saw him diligently doing squats.

He should at least rest in between training...

“Speaking of which, where did everyone else go?”

Even though they should be waiting for me, neither Sword Demon nor Lilith were in sight. I looked around the area, but all I saw was a shabby hut made of mud and trees.

Strange, I didn’t recall seeing that hut when we first arrived?

“Sword Demon! Ms. Lilith! Are you there?” I called out in hope that they’d answer.

Suddenly, something popped out from the hut and knelt on the ground before me. I gasped.

“Waaaaah! You’re finally back!”

A scruffy beggar with a long beard wept gratefully while prostrating himself.

Ew, when did this guy last shower?

I instinctively backed away.

“Who are you?”

“It's me! Your servant Sword Demon!”

Huh? He's Sword Demon?

Ding!

My appraisal skill kicked in.

-----

[Sword Demon]

A male human. Around for 29 years.

Category: Fanatic

Special note: A beggar with potential for transcendence.

-----

...Wow, it’s really him.

Despite being a fanatic, the Sword Demon I knew had the aura of a solitary swordsman and was considered quite handsome. It’d explain why my student Ko Myeong-Ji would blush at times when she saw him.

Now, he not only reeked but also had greasy, matted hair—all while crying with snot running down. The combination was like wastewater.

While maintaining our distance, I asked, “What happened to you?”

Sword Demon looked up at me, tears streaming down his face.

“That should be my line! You disappeared for two months!”

“What? Two months?”

Even though I recalled having spent roughly a week with Il-Ho in the dungeon.

Dizziness hit me in an instant.

“Huh?! Mr. Sword God! Are you alright?” Sword Demon caught me in time.

I didn’t even have time to be disgusted by his foul body odor.

I’m finished!

In other words, I went AWOL for two months without any further updates for my novel series! The chapters I’d written in advance at the hospital couldn’t possibly last two months!

Ding! Ding!

Just then, my phone regained signal and was instantly flooded with notifications—over 999 missed calls and messages! I instantly turned off my phone with trembling hands.

I saw nothing.

I tried to escape reality. However, Sword Demon misunderstood and screamed into the air.

“Angel! Mr. Sword God is in critical condition! Send out a signal immediately!”

Send out a WHAT?

Soon, I spotted Lilith flying over to us, looking all grubby like Sword Demon.

-Kyaa!

She shot the flare gun in her hands.

Peeew! Pop! Pop!

Minutes after the flares popped in the air, I could hear the engines of a helicopter flying toward us in the distance. My bad, ten helicopters.

The door to one of them opened overhead, and a middle-aged man with silver-rimmed glasses stuck his head out with a megaphone in hand. It was Choi Woo-Shin, the Hunter Association’s secretary.

Foll𝑜w current novℯls on ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm.

“Is it true that Hunter Yu Il-Shin has returned!?”

“That's right! Please call for the ambulance as soon as possible!”

“Got it!”

What the hell is happening?!

***

Although I had recently become an S-rank Hunter, objectively speaking, I was just a rookie without any real performance or achievements to speak of. Yet, in the past two months, they deployed ten helicopters for search and rescue. Wasn’t that just overkill?!

“Now, Ms. Lilith. Turn around.”

-Kyawoo!

I used a wet wipe to clean Lilith’s grimy face as she sat on my lap.

“So, what exactly happened?”

“Well, a couple of events happened during the period Hunter Yu went missing.” Secretary Choi adjusted his glasses and continued, “Did you visit Dysneiland in America two months ago?”

My hands instinctively flinched as I wiped Lilith clean. Didn’t my alter ego take my niece there and cause a whole lot of mess? Experiencing our shared memories made it feel like I was there, but let’s try denying it first.

“N-no, I wasn't there.”

Sighing lightly, Secretary Choi pulled out a photo from his breast pocket. It was blurry, but I could see myself trampling on the monsters with a huge grin on my face.

“The American government and Hunter Association have sent in an official request. They’d like to invite you over to clear the monster wave in their homeland. Although, with the Hunter War around the corner, I could tell what they’re planning.”

So, why don’t you tell me the details? They aren’t planning to put me in jail because of my illegal immigration, right?

My mind burst with questions.

“Before that, could you please take a look at this?”

Secretary Choi handed me a tablet that had a video on loop. It was footage of Hunter Gal Joong-Hyuk, wrapped in bandages at a press conference, bombarded by endless camera flashes.

「...I’m not qualified to participate in the upcoming Hunter War because of my injuries. Moreover, I also lost my precious partner, my soul armor. Thus, I plan to participate as a supporter instead of a candidate.」

「W-what?」

「How can a strong nominee like Hunter Gal Joong-Hyuk sit out of this?!」

The explosive news caught the reporters in shock. Gal Joong-Hyuk raised his hand in their direction.

「But fear not, everyone. Someone with potential to be the strongest Hunter in the country, or rather, the world, is here within our organization. He'll take my place, win the Hunter War, and bring honor to our country!」

Then, a list of the national Hunters participating in this year’s Hunter War appeared on the screen.

[Hunter War National Team Roster]

Director: Gal Joong-Hyuk

Participating Hunters: Sung Mi-Na, Sung Mi-Ri, Shin Yoo, Ko Myung-Hee, Baek Yoo-Hyun, Steve Choi...

They were all S-rank Hunters whom I knew personally, including my students. The Hunter War was a globally renowned competition, surpassing even the World Cup in prestige. I read the names with a sense of pride... at least until I saw a certain section.

Substitute Hunters: Sword Demon, Yu Il-Shin.

H-huh? Wait, what?! Why is my name on the screen?!