Author: Yume Neiji

A big man was sitting facing an open window.

His blonde hair, untrimmed and untied, fell in disarray over his broad shoulders. He was dressed in an aristocratic style. However, his listless, half-open eyelids, combined with his hairstyle, made him look like a hermit.

The territory he is looking at is the territory of Varis. It is a frontier ruled by an old nobility of the Kingdom of Asgard.

The Lord’s Mansion is built on a small hill and overlooks the city. Washed by the mid-afternoon sun, the walls formed a gentle ellipse. The glittering outside the castle walls is due to the sunlight reflected on the adventurer’s weapons. The adventurers ride in carriages that goes back and forth between the city gate and the dungeon, bringing in magic stones and materials.

“So you are here, My Lord.”

Even when he was called out, the man’s dry eyes did not move in the slightest.

“I’m glad to see that you’re well.”

A woman with a hood pulled over her eyes entered the room. Her black hair curls like a snake, and her bright red tongue licks her plump lips. The woman brushed the dust from her journey off her black robes.

“I’ve come back from the Royal Capital in a hurry. I want to tell you about it directly than by letter. There is a potential slave for you.”

The man finally moved. He nodded faintly.

“……By the way, where is Lord Varis?”

The big man’s eyes turned to the next room. Through the half-open door, a man’s feet were visible. It doesn’t even twitch.

The woman sighed. Putting her hand to her cheek.

“My lord…. Since you killed him, then we must find another place to hide.”

It was clear that the woman was not distressed by the death of the man lying on the ground.

“Let me report first, Gideon has resurrected Skoll from the dungeon. But there is a boy who can awaken the gods…… Wolf bone Skoll can’t come.”

“I know.”

The man finally spoke.

“I heard the horn blowing.”

The woman pulled her chin.

“……Yorh. I’m sure you’re ready for the next step.”

“Yes. I sent a letter to Gideon in the Royal Capital through the Varis family, so if we continue like this, they’ll find us. Either way, it’s time to move on from this territory.”

The woman called Yorh chuckled.

“It’s true that ‘seal’ is a troublesome thing. Since we’re affected by it as well, we need human collaborators to dive into the dungeon to intervene with it…… Even if we have the means to release the monsters, we can’t do anything if we can’t get close to them after all.”

So, in order to come into contact with humans and negotiate with them, they needed to assume the ostensible position of “slave traders” —that was the explanation Yorh and the others had always given the public.

“But—”

Yorh laughed.

“Even easier to deal with are the nobles of this country. As we had the ashes that could break the seal on the dungeons, it’s very easy to curry favor with the Varis family.….”

The big man recalls a very simple situation in which Lord Varis welcomed the slave traders. With the “titan’s ashes” that can break the seal on the dungeon in his hands, the fallen lord soared into power.

However, the Lord’s restraint in using the ashes was only at the beginning. In the past few months, monsters have grown stronger, and more adventurers have been killed. At times, monsters even roam outside the dungeon.

“Maybe it’s at least a blessing that the Lord died before the dungeon spewed out an infinite number of monsters……”

The man neither denied nor affirmed. He stared out the window with unchanging eyes.

“……The Lord challenged me.”

“Oh dear~. I guess he wanted you to put out more ‘ashes’……?”

“It was a boring Spearmaster skill.”

The man holds his hand in the air, and light appeared in his palm.

“Look. This is the mediocre skill I stole from that creature.”

He held it to his mouth and then he took a bite on it. In the blink of an eye, the light disappeared into the man’s mouth, it was as if he is devouring a fist-sized fruit.

“……Not enough.”

The man puts his hand on his left chest. His fingers grasped at his clothes as if searching for the position of the heart.

“My heart…… Where is the ‘Power of Creation’?”

“I have my eye on it. The boy with the horn must have something to do with it… That’s what I think, which is why I rode back here in a hurry.”

“How do we take it away?”

“We’ve scattered puppets made by the dwarves in the Royal Capital’s dungeon to disrupt them.”

The man nodded.

“…..Skills that humans can use to a certain degree aren’t that great.”

“I know that too. But the kind of satisfactory skills My Lord is looking for can’t be measured by human values –they’re found among what they call ‘useless’.”

Humans only value things with obvious strengths, like 『Master Swordsman』 or 『Sage』. However, some of the skills that God has scattered are difficult for humans to comprehend. Humans call it “useless.” Because they can’t use them, therefore, they can’t understand them. 

However, it is often these skills that are truly powerful when mastered. They leave a lot of “divinity” behind, and could fill the man’s stomach.

“Don’t worry My Lord, we will continue to collect such slaves….…”

Yorh bows and turns her back on her master.

“All the best, Ymir-sama.”

The primordial titan -Ymir, stared intently at the cityscape and the hazy greenery behind it. His right arm groped for where his heart should be.

Ymir was one of the first people born in the world. He doesn’t have a family, he doesn’t have companions. As a part of him is lost, he had no choice but to get it back.

“I’m hungry.”

Looking for his heart that should be beating, Ymir gazed into the distance, in the direction of the Royal Capital.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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Skill —generally speaking, they are the blessings bestowed on everyone by the chief god Odis.

In my case, it’s 『Alarm』. Mia-san got『Axeman』. For Felix-san, it’s 『Sage』.

The bond with God is basically only one in a lifetime. It also means that most people would come to the end of their lives without knowing any god other than the main god, Odis.

I happened to have met other gods, so I’ve received the blessings of multiple gods.

“Lu, did you gain a skill?”

When I asked, Lu laughed awkwardly.

“Yes, but….…”

Lu didn’t have a single skill before. That meant that she is yet to receive the protection of the chief god, so I’m sure that she would definitely gain one.

After a moment’s pause, Lu lowered her eyelids.

“I don’t know what kind of skill it is……”

Pauline-san spoke at that point.

“It’s very rare. Usually, when you acquire a skill, you can hear the voice of God at the same time.”

“That’s right. That’s why I’ve been practicing concentrating my magical power.”

As she spoke, Lu held her hand in front of her chest. Her posture looked like she is about to push something hard. It looked as if she is trying to exert all her magical power in one go.

“That’s……”

Don’t tell me….

For a moment, I felt unbelievable. I checked again, this time, using my skill. It was the ability to appraise something unsealed under my 『Alarm』 skill.

<■■■■■■■> can be unsealed.

I had goosebumps.

When I first met Solana, she had a skill I couldn’t read. I think it was the <Divine Protection of the Sun>.

But to think that Lu had the same unreadable blessing…..

“……I think it’s sealed.”

I held my sister’s hands. I imagined breaking the seal as I summoned my power.

“Wake up.”

Pa~an! Light scattered from Lu’s wrist. Droplets of light floated in the air and enveloped the entire room without disappearing.

“……Lu?”

Lu froze as she looked above. It was as if she was hearing someone’s voice from above, through the ceiling and beyond —high up in the sky.

“Skill, 『Miko』”

Those words escaped Lu’s thin lips.

“I’ll use the ability, 【Creation】.”

Lu raised her hand on the round table. The light gathers under both palms.

“……Put magic stone here.”

Even though it’s my sister’s voice, it’s somehow different. It sounded like someone was talking alongside Lu, with their voices overlapping.

“Magic Stone please.”

My gaze met with Felix-san’s, and we nodded to each other.

“Rion-san, do as she says.”

I placed the magic stone under Lu’s hand. There was one I had recovered in the dungeon we explored today.

Solana came over flying.

“……Creation? Did Luisia say that?”

As the gods watched, particles of light overflowed from the magic stone. The particles of light began to gather in Lu’s hand and began to grow larger and brighter. 

I can hear a faint heartbeat. It’s as if something is pulsating in the light.

Then there is the sound of short breathing. Lu’s eyes, which had been dazed, came into focus. But her breathing was labored.

“……To protect.”

Muttering, Lu closed her eyes tightly.

“Dear God, my Oniichan, protect my Oniichan……!”

The magical power emitted from the magic stone turned into a single ball of light. The glow slowly changed shape, as if a seed is sprouting. The shape, reminiscent of a glove, was knitted with light threads. Eventually, on the round table, a shiny silver armor appears.

I can’t help but murmur.

“Gauntlet huh……”

It’s a high-quality piece of armor that provides excellent protection from the elbow down to the fingers. Transparent crystals were embedded in the backs of both hands, a bit like the Blue Crystal short sword. Perhaps spirits could reside in them as well.

It’s nothing compared to the armor I’ve been wearing so far, which is merely a slight reinforcement of my everyday clothes. Even the gloves lent to me by the Raven Warriors are nowhere near this level.

When I held it, it was so light that I couldn’t believe it was made of metal. Moving with the short sword will not be a burden at all.

Mia whistled.

“Five fingers huh…… That’s as good as a knight’s armor.”

Other adventurers also have gauntlets, but it does not come with a separate finger design, they came like potholders. But those are cheap.

“……I’m amazed.”

Thor exclaimed.

“It’s the power of creation.”

“Right, right?”

Lu looks up.

“I created matter from magical power. It’s the skill that created the world. Even among the gods, only Odin possessed this special power, which should have been unique……”

We looked at each other.

“Why…… Luisia?”

Of course, no one can answer.

Thor spoke.

“It could be the other way around.”

“The other way around……?”

“Rion. Up until now, I thought that you were the one being targeted by the enemy, and that Luisia was being targeted because she is your sister.”

My head cooled down quickly.

“It’s the opposite. The enemy was looking for ‘Creation’ —Luisia—and they found you.”

My body shook.

“Lu, then—”

Calm down.

I need to be calm. It’s not that things have changed. Both of us are being targeted by the enemy. But if the enemy’s bigger aim is not at me, but Lu, then Lu is even more in danger than me.

“No….…”

Those words came out of my lips.

“If Lu is in danger, I don’t think I should leave her alone.”

“But—”

I shook my head at Pauline-san.

“I think I received 『Alarm』 so I could protect Lu.”

Now that I think about it, the main god Odis—or should I call him Odin now? —grants skill to people. In that sense, there must be a reason why he gave me 『Alarm』, which can do unseal.

It may all be to protect Lu, my sister, who holds tremendous power.

“I don’t want to leave Lu.”

“……Oniichan.”

Lu stood up unsteadily.

“I’ll be fine.”

“But—”

“I told you right? I’m going to get better. Besides, Oniichan should think about yourself too.”

But I can’t get my thoughts together. I’ve always thought that Lu is the most important thing, and that I have to protect her.

And yet, she even had such incredible power….

“Oniichan, if you stay in the Royal Capital, other gods won’t be able to come out, right?”

“That’s true but….…”

“I’m fine. It seems like an incredible power, so I’ll see if I can use it in my own way.”

Still, my legs won’t move. My level went up. My skills have also upgraded. But my body is so heavy.

“It was your dream, wasn’t it?”

“……D-dream?”

“You want to be an adventurer who can go out into the world, like Father.”

The many stories I heard from Father. The ancient forest I saw in the Northern Dungeon. There are still many things in the world that I don’t know. There are places I haven’t been to.

“Oniichan has woken up a lot of people. Now it’s your turn to wake up.”

“Go forward” Lu added.

“Get stronger—I’ll wait for you.”

The familiar palm of my little sister’s hand, one I’ve known since I was very little. I felt like it gave me a push on my back. 

She told me to go forward. So that I could run without looking back.

Mom lowered her gaze and said nothing.

“……I get it.”

Is there a man who would not be inspired by the encouragement of his small family?

I think none. As an adventurer, I declared,

“God’s wake-up caller, I’ll take on the request!”

Pauline-san relaxed.

“Thank you. We will investigate the connection between the Warburg family and the slave traders. Now, let me tell you about the first dungeon you will visit….”

—It was the dungeon nearby.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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The enemy is the world’s first being.

―Ymir, the primordial titan.

Pauline-san kept her mouth shut for a moment, as if waiting for her words to sink in.

“Of course, it’s just a guess. But the content of what he said, the strength that overwhelmed even the warriors, and above all—”

Felix-san took over.

“I’ll explain from here.” He said.

“All the monsters that came back from the dungeon seemed to follow him. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

He wrinkled his eyebrows and stroked the coronet on his forehead.

“Above all, he was clearly different from ordinary monsters. He looked like a human man, and one with immense power hidden within him. He seemed to ‘resemble us’ to be called a monster.”

Felix-san hesitated at this point.

It was a bit of a vague word to say that he looked like us, but it made sense to me. In that dream, the first titan created gods in his own image. “Resemble us” might be the same as how Lu and I resemble our Mom and Dad.

“In that battle, the Raven Warriors were greatly reduced in number.”

Pauline-san spoke.

“Therefore, even if the power of the nobility increased to the east of the Royal Capital and even though we knew that there were slave traders there, we could only let them be for a while. Until we got the conclusive evidence in the form of these ashes, we couldn’t oppose the power of the nobles.”

The princess bowed to us. Her tall hat tilted, and it looked like a tower was about to fall.

“……If I had enough strength, I would have entered the Eastern Dungeon much earlier.”

Mia-san speaks up.

“……You, no, Commander, the reason why you entered the Eastern Dungeon was because there were not enough people?”

“That’s part of it, but the main reason is that I feel obliged to check the current state of the Eastern Dungeon with my own eyes. We are responsible for the east side of the Royal Capital after all.”

Once Pauline-san had finished speaking, silence fell in the room.

We’ve learned a lot about the enemy we’re fighting against, but that doesn’t mean we’re in a better situation……or has it? The enemy is powerful. Even the Raven Warriors couldn’t win. It even has the power to revive monsters.

Here we only have…..

My gaze met Solana’s, who is floating in the air. The goddess nods at me encouragingly.

“The Gods huh.”

Mia-san clapped her hands as if to cover my muttering.

“……I get it. So it’s no ordinary guy then.”

Mia-san summarized it roughly.

Pauline-san looked at her in surprise then she sighed very deeply.

“Yes, that’s correct….. Well, you’re really an adventurer huh.”

Mia-san shrugged her shoulders slightly.

“A-anyways, our enemy is no ordinary person… that’s what I’m saying.”

Mia glanced at me.

Oh, I get it.

It’s time for “negotiation” from now on.

“The word apocalypse means to destroy —or rather, to destroy again——both gods and humans. I think that’s what it means.”

Immediately after defeating Skoll, we received a whole message from God. I’m sure that’s why adventurers are preventing this apocalypse.

“Rion-san.”

Pauline-san looked at me.

“You have found the ‘unsealed,’ and you have awakened the horn that awakens the gods.”

Pauline-san continued.

“I would like to make a request to the adventurer Rion, who was the wake-up caller of the Royal Capital…… I want you to go to another dungeon and do ‘God’s Awakening.’”

I thank Mia-san with my eyes. If I hadn’t thought that negotiations would start beforehand, I would have been swept up in the atmosphere.

“Oniichan……”

“Lu, it’s okay.”

I took as much breath as I could in my stomach, calming myself down before answering.

Since we are negotiating, I should start with non-negotiable conditions.

“My sister and I are already targeted by the enemy, right? You guys will protect our family for sure, correct?”

“Of course. There is a seal here that keeps monsters away, just like in the dungeon. If the enemy is a monster, this will be a difficult place to attack.”

I nodded and then I pulled out the horn out of the pouch.

The next step is to check the premise.

“This horn, Gjallarhorn…. I know that you are relying on it. But now this horn seems to have lost its power.”

The horn on the desk was beautiful, but it didn’t have the kind of light that shines from the inside like it did when I used it before.

I don’t know if God will wake up just by my alarm skill. So, it’s very important to know if the horn can regain its power.

Thor walks around the round table and approaches it. Even though he was the size of a doll, the round table shook with each of his step. With his fiery red hair, he stops in front of the horn.

“……Isn’t this one of Heimdall’s sacred items?”

He squints nostalgically and strokes the surface of the horn with his thick fingers.

“I believe this one was found during the ‘Blood-Red Sunset’, right?”

“That’s right.”

Pauline-san nodded, and Thor narrowed his eyes.

“Heimdall, the god who owns this was the gatekeeper of the gods. He would watch from afar, and when a battle began, he would blow this horn to increase the power of the gods. He was also a first-rate warrior, but….”

I kind of understand what Thor is trying to say.

“I guess he fought Ymir.”

“Yeah. If he hadn’t been defeated, he would have been a strong ally, and we could have heard more about this horn…”

This sacred item also had its owner.

Suddenly, I remember the time when I was fighting Skoll.

“Oh, that.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“I think I heard a human voice coming from the horn at that time. Uhm, I thought I heard something like, ‘My horn’.…”

“W-what?”

Thor looked intently at Gjallarhorn.

“Oh, you should have told me that sooner.”

“But it was only for a moment……”

I heard the voice in the middle of the battle with the Skoll. At that time, there were the raven warriors and various gods appearing, Solana gaining new powers, and a lifetime’s worth of surprises coming at me in a succession.

To be honest, I still don’t think I’ve sorted it all out.

“Well, I suppose that’s true from Rion’s perspective. Sorry, but this is big information.”

Thor stroked his chin. His red eyes are calm, he got the image of a reliable God of War.

“That god isn’t the type who falls easily. So..…”

Thor crosses his arms and thinks.

Away from the horn, he sat down with the pouch of ashes on his backrest.

“…… I certainly feel the power from that horn. If there is a god inside, it’s not that it’s no longer usable, but that there’s a time when it should be used, I guess? Hmmm…. Something that can’t be ‘unsealed’ normally —perhaps it only works when it awakens something special.”

Solana picked the horn up.

“Hmm…… In fact, it was like that in the fight against Skoll. I don’t want to make any assumptions, but I think there is plenty of hope in your conclusion. If there is indeed a God inside of this, it would explain why it only works on certain situations.”

“Does that mean it could be useful when breaking the seal on other gods?”

“That should be right.”

The horn on the table is still without its light, just like before. But if I can meet a God again, it may regain its power when I awaken it.

Solana placed the horn down and landed next to it. Then she looked up at me.

“Many of your skills are the result of divine abilities that have been distributed to humans, so you must have inherited the power of Heimdall, the Lord of the Horn, in the first place. Your alarm will be 100 percent effective with the right tools…… I think that’s the relationship between you and this horn.”

Loki and Thor, as well as Sigris and Uru, seemed to agree with Solana’s words.

My heart, which had been cold, became a little warmer. It’s a small fire of hope, but it’s enough for now.

“……Maybe I can do it then.”

God’s wake-up caller.

Like the other adventurers, I’ll be out and about.

“……Is that okay?”

Mom raised her hand.

“Are you certain that my son and daughter are being targeted by the slave traders?”

Mom stands up straight, staring at Pauline-san and the gods.

“Mom, that’s….…”

“Rion, let Mom hear it first. You’ve worked hard up until now, so… I want to hear it properly and be convinced.”

My mom doesn’t like that I’m in danger. She’s worried about me. If I leave the Royal Capital, naturally, I won’t be able to see Lu or Mom for a while.

It was Pauline-san who responded.

“Unfortunately, it’s very likely.”

“I’m sure Rion has some powers, but what about Luisia……?”

“Madam, on the point.”

Pauline-san paused.

“As for Rion-san’s sister, she may no longer be just an ordinary girl.”

My mom and I looked at Lu in surprise.

My sister nods stiffly.

It was a little late, but I now realized what Lu meant when she said she was “practicing her magical powers” while wearing temple clothes.

“Oniichan, me too…… Looks like I’m able to use skill now.”

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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