[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 403

Gabriel recalled the conversation he’d had with the Archangels.

Before meeting Jeong-hoon, he had gathered all the Archangels in one place.

‘Gabriel, what’s the reason you called us here?’

Michael was the first to speak.

‘I want everyone except Michael to hand me their Orchestrator’s Boxes.’

‘And why is that?’

‘I intend to complete all the village quests at once.’

‘Complete them?’

New World had shifted from the Demon Realm to the jurisdiction of the Celestial Realm.

Because of that, quests and NPCs were also under their control.

And it was Gabriel’s role to adjust those quests.

‘Why bring this up all of a sudden? Wasn’t your plan to rewrite all the quests under the pretext of “restoration”?’

Uriel voiced his suspicion.

‘I’ve already surveyed the entirety of New World. As expected, in Muran—the final region—there’s a device the Demon Realm left hidden.’

‘Muran?’

‘Yes. By New World’s standard, it’s a city one can only enter after surpassing Level 2,000.’

But in that city, there were no NPCs. No monsters.

It was a city in name only.

In that city, a massive core stood tall like a tree. Even though the Demon Realm had lost its authority, through that core it continued to watch over everything.

‘So, you’ve destroyed it?’

‘No. I failed.’

Gabriel had personally tried to eliminate that core but had failed.

Even after seizing authority over New World, he had no jurisdiction over the core itself, and thus couldn’t even approach it.

‘So that’s why you’re trying to accelerate things.’

‘That’s right. I originally intended to rewrite the quests to ferret out their agents, but that’s no longer necessary.’

‘Hmm… But is it alright to send a human into the Demon Realm this quickly? He hasn’t even drawn the Holy Sword yet.’

He hadn’t drawn the Holy Sword.

At Michael’s words, the assembly stirred with unrest.

Gabriel clapped his hands, as if expecting this, drawing their attention back.

‘Which is why I plan to push him forward.’

‘Push him forward?’

At Gabriel’s following explanation, the Archangels widened their eyes.

* * *

The trial.

It was to open all six Orchestrator’s Boxes within the time limit.

“So it really is urgent.”

Forcing him to open the Orchestrator’s Boxes within a set time?

As expected, they truly wanted him to cross into the Demon Realm as soon as possible.

“My answer hasn’t changed from before.”

“Think freely as you will… then let’s put it this way.”

“……”

Gabriel fell silent.

That meant he had struck right at the core.

“So what happens if I exceed the time limit?”

“Any Orchestrator’s Box you fail to open will return to the Archangels. And once that happens, it’ll take a long time before you can attempt to open them again.”

“Which means your plan would fall apart as well.”

“……”

For just a fleeting moment, Gabriel’s face stiffened.

Jeong-hoon smirked and reached his hand toward the box on the left.

“Of course, I’ll open all of them within the time limit.”

“I sincerely hope you do.”

With those words, Gabriel snapped his fingers.

In the blink of an eye, he disappeared—and a timer appeared before Jeong-hoon, set to six hours.

“Six hours… one hour per box, then.”

Considering how quickly he had gained Humility, it was quite a generous amount of time.

The first time he’d obtained Humility, chains had shot out from inside the box to try and swallow him whole. He had subdued them with the Genesis Device and opened the box with ease.

That hadn’t even taken five minutes.

‘If it’s set to six hours, doesn’t that mean what’s coming will take that long?’

‘Master, eat the Divine Elixir. That’s the better choice.’

This time, Anima’s advice rang true.

He had to open six Orchestrator’s Boxes within six hours.

The Genesis Device might suffice, but no one knew what kind of trials awaited him.

The surest move was to consume the Divine Elixir Michael had given him.

Jeong-hoon retrieved the elixir he had carefully stored in his inventory.

[???]

- ???

The elixir’s information couldn’t be read.

Without hesitation, Jeong-hoon placed it in his mouth and swallowed.

Immediately, changes began to occur in his body.

‘The Genesis Device is transforming…?’

The aura, which had previously shone a deep crimson unlike mana, began to shift into pure white.

That radiance coursed through his veins, spreading rapidly across his body.

The energy surged toward his brain.

Crackle—!

In that instant, it was as if a bolt of lightning struck inside his head.

There was no pain. Instead, his mind cleared, and his vision sharpened like never before.

[You awaken Spiritual Energy.]

At the same time, a message appeared before his eyes.

‘Spiritual Energy?’

Jeong-hoon tilted his head.

What exactly was this “Spiritual Energy”?

Checking his status, he found no new stat added.

‘So it’s a power that can’t be measured by numbers…’

He tried gathering the Spiritual Energy evenly spread throughout his body into his right hand.

But the energy that had settled within him refused to budge.

‘You mean I can’t control it…?’

Jeong-hoon clenched and unclenched his right fist, his eyes full of confusion.

How was he supposed to use this power?

‘Master?’

‘What are you doing?’

Mukho and Anima, not understanding what was going on, studied his expression, trying to grasp the situation.

“I can’t control it.”

‘Control?’

“Yeah. After I took the Divine Elixir, the Genesis Device turned into Spiritual Energy. The problem is, this Spiritual Energy won’t move according to my will.”

‘That’s bad… Then how are you supposed to open those boxes?’

The Genesis Device had been converted into Spiritual Energy.

But if he couldn’t control it, was it even possible to open the Orchestrator’s Box?

Jeong-hoon’s perspective was a little different.

“Maybe it’s because I haven’t fully ascended to a demi-god yet.”

Michael had clearly said: the box can be deceived.

In other words, merely possessing this power would make it far easier to gain the recognition of the Orchestration.

[???’s Box]

‘M-Master… are you sure about this?’

‘Couldn’t you think it over a bit more…?’

Jeong-hoon shook his head.

“There’s no time. The fact that Gabriel set it up like this means something’s wrong.”

He had to obtain all the orchestrations here, no matter what.

Jeong-hoon reached his hand toward the box.

Just like before, the box flung open, and acrid smoke surged out, shooting straight at him.

[Your worth will be tested.]

[Erase your negative emotions.]

[If you fail, you will be trapped inside the box and enter eternal slumber.]

As that message rang out, his vision was drowned in black.

Jeong-hoon staggered, dropping to one knee.

‘Master!’

‘Stay awake! You can’t lose consciousness here!’

Mukho and Anima cried out desperately.

‘Negative emotions…’

Jeong-hoon repeated the words to himself, closing his eyes.

* * *

When he came to, a figure of light was flickering before him.

The figure slowly took on the form of a human and began walking toward him.

“Who…?”

“Will you take the trial?”

Before he had blacked out, the test was to erase his negative emotions.

Jeong-hoon shook his head.

“Not yet.”

“You still have two chances left. The next question will be in five minutes.”

“What happens if I use up all my chances?”

“Failure. And you will never awaken again.”

“Ah, so that’s how it is.”

Now he understood why it said he’d be trapped inside the box and enter eternal slumber.

If he didn’t pass this trial, he’d never escape.

‘Master… what should we do?’

‘Damn it, why are we dragged into this trial just because Master is taking it?’

Mukho’s uneasy eyes pressed Jeong-hoon for an answer, while Anima clutched its throbbing head in pain.

‘Unbelievable. Whose side are these two even on?’

Jeong-hoon focused on the Spiritual Energy flowing through his body.

Michael had said it would help deceive the box.

In that case, he shouldn’t resist—he should face the trial head-on.

Dragging it out wouldn’t change anything anyway.

While practicing to empty out all of his emotions as best he could, the question came again.

“Will you take the trial?”

“…I will.”

“Good. Then let us begin.”

The moment those words fell, a massive scale appeared before Jeong-hoon.

‘Ah, so you want me to hang on the scale?’

Quickly grasping the meaning, Jeong-hoon stepped onto it.

The scale wavered slightly, then stilled.

‘Huh? It didn’t tip at all?’

‘…What’s going on?’

Even with Jeong-hoon standing on it, the scale didn’t budge.

“You pass.”

With that, the scale vanished, and a portal appeared ahead.

“So that’s how it was.”

Was it thanks to the Spiritual Energy coursing through his body?

Just like with Humility, he had passed with ease.

Jeong-hoon stepped through the portal.

His eyes, which had been closed, opened, and he rose to his feet.

“You’ve returned.”

[You have received the recognition of the God.]

[The box can now be opened.]

The message appeared before him.

By passing the trial, he had earned the God’s recognition.

[Do you wish to open the ‘Seventh Orchestration’ Box?]

[*Be warned: once chosen, it can never be undone.]

The first of the six boxes.

What would it reveal?

“Open.”

As the box opened, a radiant white light spilled out, shooting straight into Jeong-hoon’s chest.

Since he had already experienced it once before, Jeong-hoon didn’t panic and calmly checked the result.

[You have acquired ‘Temperance.’]

[The acquired Orchestration is engraved onto your soul.]

[You have obtained x1 Fragment of the Beginning.]

‘Temperance?’

The virtue of restraining and controlling one’s desires.

Now it made sense why the trial had tested his negative emotions.

If Humility had served the role of concealing Jeong-hoon’s level, then what role would Temperance play?

There wasn’t any immediate change, so he would likely have to discover it gradually as he lived with it.

‘Master, look—the timer!’

At Mukho’s words, Jeong-hoon’s eyes darted to the timer.

The moment he saw the numbers, his brow furrowed.

‘Three hours and fifty-two minutes?’

The six-hour timer had already lost more than two hours.

No matter how he calculated it, at most twenty minutes had passed. Why had over two hours slipped by?

There was no time to dwell on it.

Jeong-hoon hurriedly opened the next box.

[You will be tested for qualification.]

[A Trial of Suffering is bestowed. Endure and persevere.]

[Failure to endure will result in imprisonment, where you will suffer for 10,000 days.]

Fail, and he would be trapped for 10,000 days?

“Endurance is one thing, but… will the time hold out?”

Jeong-hoon glanced at the timer again.

Obtaining Temperance had already consumed two hours.

With less than four hours remaining, if he lost himself in this ordeal, he might not even get the chance to attempt the other four boxes.

‘Ah, should’ve chosen the one next to it instead.’

‘Master, there’s no time to hesitate. Just secure this one now, and leave the other four for later, wouldn’t that be better?’

Anima’s words had some sense, but Jeong-hoon’s resolve was different.

“No. When would I ever collect all four later? I’ll claim everything here and now.”

‘And you have a method?’

“I’ll endure it.”

Jeong-hoon’s eyes sharpened as he glared forward.

In the next instant, unbearable agony surged through his entire body, blurring his vision.

Just like with Temperance, if he lost consciousness here, his mind would be dragged inside, forced to spend an immense amount of time suffering there.

The flow of time could easily be distorted—so he clung to his consciousness with all his strength.

* * *

[You have acquired ‘Patience.’]

[The acquired Orchestration is engraved onto your soul.]

[You have obtained x2 Fragments of the Beginning.]

After enduring without losing consciousness for thirty minutes, the searing pain across his body faded away. He had succeeded in winning the recognition of the Orchestration and obtained Patience.

Checking the timer, he saw that just under three hours and twenty minutes remained.

“So it really does end quickly if you don’t pass out.”

Now, only four remained.

Within these three hours and twenty minutes, he would claim them all, ascend to Demi-Godhood, march into the Demon Realm, and bring everything to an end.

Steeling his resolve, Jeong-hoon opened the next box.

[You will be tested for qualification.]

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]