CHAPTER 257: MAKING THE FIRST MOVE

‘That was fast.’

Ethan, back in his room, was certain. That wasn’t the real Pope.

‘This bastard.’

That strange look during the general meeting. He thought he might have noticed, and it seemed he really did.

‘I don’t know how much he knows.’

But he must have seen Ethan interacting with the Pope.

‘The Pope put up a barrier, so he couldn’t have heard the conversation.’

He would have only seen them together.

He wouldn’t have heard the Pope talking about perfect mimicry.

“Things are getting interesting.”

He didn’t expect them to approach this quickly.

But it was actually good.

‘He won’t be able to move according to plan. Because I’m suspicious.’

He appeared before Ethan, impersonating the Pope, to confirm if Ethan really noticed.

But Ethan took an ambiguous attitude.

From the 5th Apostle’s perspective, he couldn’t be sure.

“Even if I noticed, he knows he’s in a superior position.”

Nevertheless, the 5th Apostle can’t move without keeping an eye on Ethan.

‘Because they know about me.’

Ethan had been involved in several failed missions within the Dawn Council.

Although there might not seem to be a direct connection, they can’t ignore it.

When coincidences repeat, they’re no longer coincidences.

‘The 5th Apostle must be thinking about that too.’

If by chance Ethan Whiskers knows something.

‘Originally, they could just kill me cleanly. But they can’t do that.’

It was because of Ethan’s great reputation.

Having gained great fame at a young age, his achievements were now so remarkable that he was called a talent of the new era.

‘If they could persuade me, I would become a powerful force for the Dawn Council.’

But they’ll also think there’s no time to persuade Ethan.

Ethan planned to quickly handle what needed to be done while they were pondering.

“Their minds must be complicated. I just need to move during that gap.”

***

“Your Majesty.”

Ethan had a private audience with the King of Watopia.

‘At least the King of Watopia I see in this reception room can’t be fake.’

In an unofficial setting, one of the Five Apostles impersonating the King of Watopia might approach.

So Ethan met the King of Watopia in the official reception room.

‘There are two things I need to secure first.’

Watopia’s holy relic.

And Tartaros’s holy relic.

‘The 5th Apostle is trying to obtain two holy relics through this incident.’

Since the souls of the merfolk and dwarves were still just Ethan’s speculation.

These holy relics should be seen as the biggest goal the Five Apostles are aiming for through this situation.

‘So first, secure those holy relics.’

And at the same time, he planned to secure the missing Sigma Roadhammer. This process needed to happen quickly.

‘It seems the 5th Apostle hasn’t been in Watopia long, impersonating Sigma Roadhammer.’

Therefore, Watopia’s holy relic was still here.

“Ethan Whiskers, have you discovered something important?”

The King of Watopia asked with an expectant face.

“The reason I came here is to help Watopia, but also because I heard there was something here that could cure my disease.”

“Disease?”

The King of Watopia asked Ethan again.

Ethan is a human who came to Watopia through the treacherous sea monsters and whirlpools.

According to Hydroscale, who guided him, he showed strength that was difficult to express in words.

In addition, it was quite impressive that he said Ethan might not be a pure-blooded human.

But a disease?

“Actually, I…”

Ethan briefly explained about his disease.

“Extinction!”

There was no need for a long explanation.

The King of Watopia also knew about Extinction.

“You came to help our Watopia even though you’re suffering from that terrible incurable disease?”

“I thought helping was only natural.”

“Hmm, but I don’t think we have such an item in our Watopia.”

“I heard it was an object full of holy power. Do you have anything like that?”

“Full of holy power?”

The King of Watopia thought for a moment, then made an “Ah” expression.

“It’s not full of holy power, but we do have a sacred object. But it’s just an old necklace. We’ve kept it for quite a long time, but it’s an item without any special abilities.”

“Could I possibly see that item?”

“There’s no reason why not.”

At the King of Watopia’s gesture, a merman guard came out and guided the two to the place where they had talked with the Pope.

“We’ll have to cover your eyes. This is a place only I and my bloodline can enter.”

When Ethan nodded at the king’s words, the guard covered Ethan’s eyes.

Creak-.

Along with a creaking sound, something was heard opening. Ethan moved forward with the help of the guard.

Once inside, the guard gently removed the cloth covering Ethan’s eyes. Then the full view of a room filled with antiques was revealed.

“Take a look. See if that’s the item you’re looking for.”

Among the numerous antiques, Ethan discovered the necklace. The necklace was emitting something intense.

‘As expected.’

It might be confused with holy power, but Ethan, who had already encountered a holy relic once, clearly grasped the identity of that powerful force.

‘It’s the power of a god.’

The necklace was a holy relic. He didn’t know which god had left the power, but it was very intense and powerful.

“It’s certainly a sacred object. But I can’t feel any power from it, so I’m not sure if there’s any power contained in it.”

The king said.

“How does it look after checking? Is this the item you were looking for? Does it have the power to cure your vicious disease, Extinction?”

“Hmm… I can’t tell just by looking at it. It’s certainly the item I was looking for, but it seems the rumors were just rumors. I don’t feel any special power from it either.”

Ethan made a regretful expression. Then he very naturally put his hand on the necklace.

“But it has an antique feel to it, and it definitely feels like a royal treasure just by looking at it. I understand why you said it was a sacred object.”

“If you want, I can give it to you, Ethan Whiskers.”

“No, that’s alright.”

‘There’s no need to unnecessarily incur a debt.’

Moreover, the King of Watopia didn’t seem to feel the divine power contained in this holy relic. If so, things become easier.

‘There’s no need to add other unnecessary reasons.’

Ethan lightly moved his hand and began to absorb the divine power contained in the holy relic.

The powerful divine power swirling inside the holy relic began to be absorbed through Ethan’s hand.

Gulp.

“Lyuka.”

Ethan quietly summoned Lyuka.

“Hmm?”

“I want to check once with a spirit.”

“Alright, go ahead.”

The King of Watopia looked at Ethan with pity.

The king probably thought Ethan was doing this out of desperation, trying to grasp at straws.

‘Even if I absorb it immediately, I can’t digest it all. It’s bound to spill out anyway. Then I’ll use Lyuka to hold as much as possible. When my body recovers, I can properly absorb that power gradually.’

Ethan transferred half of the divine power he absorbed from the holy relic to Lyuka.

Whoosh-.

The power of Moonforce whirled inside his body and swallowed the absorbed divine power whole.

And he could immediately feel the Moonforce power being further strengthened.

‘Something feels different.’

Ethan closed his eyes completely. It was to focus more certainly on absorbing the divine power.

But the eyes of the King of Watopia watching this scene became even more melancholic.

“How unfortunate.”

The King of Watopia shook his head at the sight of Ethan trying to feel something. To be afflicted with such a vicious disease as Extinction at such a young age.

“Come here. We shouldn’t disturb him.”

The King of Watopia called the guard.

“Yes.”

A pitying gaze watching Ethan.

But in reality, Ethan was experiencing a completely different feeling from when he had absorbed a holy relic before.

‘It feels like something is about to break.’

Crack-. Crack crack-.

The moment something cracked broke.

“Kyung!”

A short cry from Lyuka was heard.

At the same time, all the power contained in the holy relic was absorbed.

Ethan was inwardly surprised by the overflowing coldness inside his body.

‘I’ve definitely grown another level. But it’s a shame I couldn’t break through the limit.’

Ethan slowly opened his eyes and shook his head.

“It’s alright! Come here, Ethan Whiskers! We haven’t given a gift to our Watopia guest. Do you know? Among Watopia’s specialties, there’s a food that’s very good for health. It’s called a seaweed potion, filled with all sorts of seafood. It’s made from seaweed, and has quite a deep flavor.”

‘Seaweed potion?’

Ethan received the potion handed by the King of Watopia.

“Drink it all. And don’t give up. No matter how vicious the disease, it can be cured.”

Gulp gulp.

The taste was all too familiar.

‘This is seaweed soup.’

“Thank you.”

It seemed he had gained quite a bit of favor with the King of Watopia in various ways.

‘Things flowed well unintentionally.’

With this, Ethan had perfectly absorbed one holy relic.

Now all that was left was Tartaros’s holy relic.

***

“Hmm, you’re looking for that?”

The King of Watopia was having a private audience with Sigma Roadhammer.

“That’s right. I’m curious, I wonder if I could see it once. We have a treasure vault in Tartaros that’s been passed down only to the king for generations. There’s an item related to Watopia in that vault, so I’m curious if there’s something similar here.”

“How interesting. Actually, someone else was looking for that item.”

Sigma tilted his head at the King of Watopia’s words.

“Oh? There was someone looking for that item?”

“Just follow me for now. In any case, Great Hammer, you’ve also become like us, and we’re in a position where we need to help each other.”

The Great Hammer of Tartaros, Sigma Roadhammer, frowned.

The King of Watopia’s words were not something to be taken lightly.

***

Watopia’s secret vault.

“Here it is. This should be the item you’re looking for, Great Hammer. The one who came looking for it earlier also said it was the item he was looking for.”

The King of Watopia guided Sigma Roadhammer to where the necklace was. It was the exact place he had taken Ethan not long ago.

Sigma Roadhammer approached the necklace. As he put his hand on it, he grinned. The King of Watopia behind him couldn’t see it, but it was quite a chilling smile.

“How is it?”

“Hmm! Looking closely, it’s definitely different from what we have in Tartaros. It seems we didn’t exchange them, but rather Tartaros received it as a gift from Watopia.”

Sigma’s expression changed in an instant. With a hearty laugh, Sigma strode towards the outside of the secret space.

“By the way. Who was the one who saw this necklace first?”

The King of Watopia answered.

“It was Ethan Whiskers.”

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