Exhibits (4)

The administrator rarely expressed concern about him, but he did when Kang Shin-hyuk confirmed his intention to go to Merba.

-Member, would you really like to?

“It’s time to go now. There aren’t many dimensional quests you can find these days.”

Kang Shin-hyuk responded calmly. There weren’t many because Kang Shin-hyuk had been quickly going through them. He hadn’t been able to meet Janus, but he met and fought many monsters from Jormungand. With the help of other Hero Universe members, he was able to defeat and route them. There were quite a few situations that risked his life and Claire’s, but he promised to find Shin Eunah with her.

-Clearly… I also said that one day.

When was it when he first received a dimensional quest? He hesitated a little, but certainly. Compared to then, My Room had changed a lot. He had failed a few dimensional quests as well, but as a result of diligently moving for half a year, the space of his workshop had been steadily completed. The ratio of time to reality had also increased to 1:5. Rather than performing dimensional quests, he could benefit a lot from staying there. That wasn’t the only thing to change, either.

[Kang Shin-hyuk: SSS+ Rank] (Synchronization rate 97.5%)

[Trait]

Royal Dragon (X)

[Physical ability]

Strength: X

Agility: X

Stamina: X+

[Special ability]

Spiritual Power: X+

Breaker: X2-

[skill]

Royal Dragon (X): X-

God Wind (X): X

Space Domination (X): X-

Dark Mastery (X): X-

Light Mastery (SSS+): SSS+

Fire Mastery (SSS+): SSS

Soul Poison (SSS+): X-

Metallurgy: SSS+

Emotion: X2-

Repair: SSS+

For nearly half a year, his status had grown to the point where he barely received recognition as a VIP member of the battling type in the Hero Universe. Basically, all the members of the battle series belonging to the Hero Universe were strong, but VIP members usually had hundreds or thousands of years to reach the level of breaking a single stat at the minimum. Although Kang Shin-hyuk’s trait interfered with energy rather than having raw destructive power, it would certainly be a simple thing to destroy the Earth by interfering with its energy flow. However, his true value was in creating artifacts. If one equipped all the weapons he made, they would be at a surprisingly strong level that slightly exceeded the average of VIP members of the battling type.

“It’s still very annoying that I’m not strong enough for Janus.”

He thought about it for a moment but then shook his head. He didn’t know how much she had grown in the meantime (it had been half a year), but her power… His power was still a little insufficient to overcome the violence her power was capable of, and he didn’t know what the Godslayer would be like either.

-In Merba… Janus will not come.

“I know. If I’d known where Janus was waiting, I would’ve gone right there instead.”

“Ha, Shin-hyuk. Please hold my hand.”

“Yes.”

Claire, who had never before interfered with his conversations with the administrator, took in a tense breath and reached out to him. He ended up talking to her about Merba. Perhaps she was tense not because of the monsters there, but because he was reaching the root of himself. Still, it was time to find out. The rate of synchronization hadn’t progressed for three months after reaching 99.7%. He was hoping it would rise naturally over time, but it was fixed in place. Now was the time to recover everything from his previous life and move forward. In fact, from the moment he confronted Janus, he felt that the moment he would face the source of Jormungand, and the Hero Universe was approaching.

“Then, shall we go. Administrator, can you tell me about the dimensional quest?”

-Merba is… It is a perished world. The flow of time there is 100 times faster than Earth.

The most severe dimensional quest he had been through yet was only 30 times the earth. It had been one he did with Loki, another VIP member, and if it weren’t for him, he might’ve been killed by the monsters there. Even Loki had to give up on completely defeating them, and they ended the quest by defending the root of the world and moderately reducing enemy forces… But Merba was 100 times that.

-But for the current member, it may not be so dangerous.

“Is it that you’re not aware of it in detail?”

-In fact, Merba is a world where Jormungand hasn’t been very active. Dimensional quests never occurred, and the member, the only one in the world, never went outside…

“The information wasn’t obtainable.”

-That’s right. There is a limit to what the Gaia system can learn.

but he didn’t dare push it.

-But in that world, there are a lot of things you made in your previous life. Even after you enter the bunker, the items absorbed the passion of countless people, and as a result of the seeds of spiritual power, they developed in directions you didn’t intend. It’s a completely closed off world, but the link with you remains strong.

“Only I can step into that closed-off world.”

-That’s right. This is a dimensional quest only you can challenge.

The world had been closed off from all other dimensions. It didn’t even have a proper shape, so the moment he arrived, it might collapse and converge into a single point… Yes, just like the world Vita was born in. However, there were various forms of destruction, and some worlds weren’t completely destroyed, but were instead left behind. Kang Shin-hyuk could guess the reason why Merba had remained like that.

“…My weapons?”

-That is correct.

Now that his synchronization rate had risen so high, there was no sense of incongruity in calling himself Anvil. It was even more embarrassing to admit it, but Anvil had accomplished so much as a production-based talent, producing results comparable to the creation of a new creature. Even though he hadn’t been completely aware of his spiritual power, his weapons that contained those seeds spread throughout this world, they were used in battle, and the energy they emitted had grown. Those armaments had gathered in one place, producing enough energy to support a world.

“It’s become a grand story.”

“If you actually face it, it might not be. It might be annoying to face your ego.”

-Would you really like to? …You may face something you don’t want to see.

“I’m prepared.”

Kang Shin-hyuk was convinced that in order to complete his synchronization, he had to go to Merba. That last .3% of memory had to be locked there. He couldn’t move forward as Anvil unless he collected the fragments of memory he didn’t want to be revealed.

“Okay, then let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Claire nodded firmly before looking at him cautiously.

“If you come back, let’s make a child.”

“…Okay, I’ll be prepared too.”

“Good response.”

She seemed to want to get married before reuniting with Shin Eunah. He thought about taking out the ‘I’m underage’ card again, but considering the time he had spent in other worlds as part of the dimensional quests, he had already long since been an adult. Moreover, he thought if he kept saying that, Claire would be hurt. She might’ve begun to feel a little anxious about his tireless efforts to reunite with Shin Eunah. Thinking that this was why a woman’s heart was difficult, Kang Shin-hyuk smiled bitterly and moved to Merba.

-Tsukuyo wants to visit My Room.

-Super Ultra Galaxy Fist wants to visit My Room.

-Would you like to accept the two’s request to visit?

“Huh?”

However, an unexpected notification arrived. Kang Shin-hyuk’s eyes went wide.

“Is it okay?”

-It’s very frustrating, but the administrator decided that even one more unconditional stakeholder was needed for members who want to face the past.

“I see.”

Kang Shin-hyuk, who could sense the regret in that message, tried to determine why the two appeared before he could. It was the birth of a four-person party that none could imagine.

***

-You’ve evolved your trait and become the master of [Jin Crab Volg (X-)]. By gaining the ability of transformation to bring out the false powers engraved in history into reality, the conditions for accessing the Hero Universe have been achieved.

-Welcome to new connections! Please write your ID!

“…Ah? Ahhhhhh!”

-Sorry, but it’s a step too late, Spear Fox.

“What? Eli?”

“Wait a minute, first, choose ID, ID first!”

-For the ID, we recommend Spear Fox. Anyhow, it’s too late.

“I’m not late! Now I’m the same as Shin-hyuk!”

-If so, would you like your ID to be Spear Fox?

“Never!”