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Chapter 164: The Narrow-Eyed Villain of the Demon Academy

“Mr. Samuel, are you alright?”

[… Yeah, I just woke up.]

Thank goodness.

I was worried something had happened to Samuel, but it seems like I was overthinking it.

Samuel, now conscious, seemed more normal than ever.

Miriam was still unconscious, seemingly asleep from the immense mental shock.

So I explained to Samuel what had happened to me.

Of course, I kept everything a secret that could be problematic or related to Asen.

[So you encountered the God of Gluttony as well.]

“Yes. Does that mean you spoke with the God of Gluttony too, Mr. Samuel?”

[… It would be more accurate to say it was a one-sided announcement.]

“What did you talk about?”

[It was about the book I obtained before and my origin.]

The book and his origin?

I frowned at the words I couldn’t understand.

So the God of Gluttony knew something about the book that held his true identity.

… Well, considering he knew about the Arsene family and chaos, he seemed quite knowledgeable.

In that case,

“Did you find out about the true nature of the book?”

[Yes, as we suspected, it’s definitely related to the King of Wisdom.]

That means,

A book related to the King of Wisdom has something to do with Samuel.

The God of Gluttony said something about Samuel’s “origin.”

Maybe….

“Were you the King of Wisdom?”

[… As if.]

Samuel muttered as if it were ridiculous.

‘He could be…’

Embarrassed, I scratched my cheek and continued my thoughts.

‘Then does this mean there’s no connection between Samuel and the King of Wisdom?’

Just as I was thinking that, Samuel continued.

[The God of Gluttony called me a ‘fragment of wisdom.’ … I don’t know what it means, but it’s definitely related to the King of Wisdom.]

“Hmm.”

This meant there was nothing we could know for sure right now.

… The God of Gluttony really was ill-natured.

He didn’t tell me anything concrete either, just left me with vague words, and it seemed he did the same to Samuel.

Ugh.

I let out a sigh and continued.

“Did you hear anything else? About the truth of the world, perhaps?”

[Not at all. From the beginning, I was only allowed to be in that space, not to converse.]

Ugh.

I groaned inwardly.

My head was starting to hurt.

Still, if I had to pick the most useful information in this situation…

It would be the clue about the chaos attribute.

‘… Possibility.’

The God of Gluttony said the chaos attribute was related to possibility.

It was very vague, but I felt like I was getting somewhere.

However, those words alone weren’t enough to fully understand how to use chaos.

So I would have to keep thinking about it and researching it.

By the way, a power that even a Demon God considered too dangerous…

‘Maybe I underestimated the chaos attribute too much.’

But it’s not like it makes sense for a God to be wary of just an attribute.

What kind of crazy setting did I come up with before I discarded it?

It’s already giving me enough headaches with the huge power gap between humans and me.

And to think I created an attribute that even Gods fear.

‘The balance is completely messed up.’

No wonder a dead villain character showed up at my house trying to kidnap me.

… Damn it.

[Why the sudden sigh?]

“Life is suffocating…”

[You’re one weird bastard.]

No,

Do you even know how I feel?

I was about to retort to Samuel but decided to hold back just this once.

He must be feeling complicated after hearing all those cryptic things about his supposed identity.

More importantly,

‘What is this?’

I lifted the unidentified fragment the Demon God of Gluttony had given me as a gift.

I thought it might be a statue symbolizing the Demon God of Gluttony, like the ones in the temple or the hallway, but it was completely different from what I had expected.

Moreover, a certain light was absorbed by the pendant again.

‘Is it reacting to something related to the Gods again?’

Although the information paper didn’t directly provide an answer like before.

[What is that?]

“I don’t know either.”

Samuel and I put our heads together, trying our best to figure out the identity of the fragment.

‘He said it would be helpful if I wanted to survive the moment of choice…’

That meant it would be useful enough to save my life.

A fragment that resembled a jewel shard, shining with a translucent black light.

I didn’t even know what it was or how to use it, but it wouldn’t hurt to carry it around.

Well, in the end, I still didn’t know anything about the ‘younger sister’ related to Arsene’s ancestor, let alone the truth of the world.

‘Still, there might be one big takeaway.’

I shifted my gaze to the two strokes bestowed upon me by the God of Gluttony.

Just like the God of Pride, the God of Gluttony had bestowed two strokes, claiming they would be of help.

Again, there was a possibility of a penalty for using these strokes.

However,

‘Both Gods granted me these strokes as a favor.’

That meant it was unlikely they would harvest my soul, as I feared.

Of course, I couldn\'t let my guard down.

It would be a different story if the God of Gluttony had shown me unconditional favor, but that wasn’t the case.

The God of Gluttony had kept me on edge, threatening my life.

Therefore, I had no choice but to contemplate.

Should I use the strokes?

Or should I keep them?

The first order of business was to wake up Miriam.

I could ask her about the strokes when she woke up.

And not long after,

“… How much time has passed?”

Miriam, who had collapsed on the floor, asked as she lifted herself.

She looked exhausted, but her life didn’t seem to be in danger.

It even seemed like Miriam had brushed off the fact that a God had descended upon her, as if it were nothing.

“About two hours have passed.”

“I see. I apologize for showing you such an unsightly appearance.”

Miriam suddenly became courteous.

I was taken aback by this.

“Your attitude has changed.”

“Well, you are the man recognized by God as both a ‘Protector’ and ‘hope.’ Although, he also predicted you to be the ‘ruination’.”

“You mean he wasn’t sure if I would be an ally or an enemy.”

“No, that’s not it. To be precise, it’s about your role in this world.”

“… Is that so.”

Indeed.

I declared that I would twist the fate of this world.

Even God didn’t know what the outcome would be.

Miriam’s ability to foresee the future seemed to be connected to the God of Gluttony, but since I didn’t appear in her future…

It meant that even God’s prophetic abilities could no longer see the future.

“For now, it seems you both have a lot on your minds. And a lot of questions for me.”

“That’s right.”

[Indeed.]

Samuel and I answered simultaneously.

It seemed Miriam could sense our eagerness for answers.

However, she shook her head, as if to say she wouldn’t answer.

“Are you avoiding the question?”

When I asked, frowning, Miriam shook her head again.

“I’m not refusing to answer. I will answer, but first, we need to restore Samuel’s body.”

“Why is that?”

[Hey, no matter how urgent it is, remember we’re here to get my original body back.]

Samuel chided.

I had no choice but to yield.

He had been living as a parasite in my body for months, so he naturally yearned to return to his original body.

In such a situation, it would be selfish of me to push my own agenda.

“It’s easier to talk once Samuel is back in his original body. I hope there are no misunderstandings.”

“I understand.”

With Miriam being so polite, it was only right for me to back down a little.

In the end, we decided to take some time to prepare before Miriam spoke.

***

So we returned to the room Samuel had been using.

Miriam went somewhere to gather the items needed to restore Samuel to his original state.

Left alone in the room, I took out Sijo and Gu Poison from my pocket.

‘I hope they are okay.’

I was worried that something terrible might have happened to them because of the pressure I felt before encountering the God of Gluttony.

With a worried heart, I quickly checked on Sijo and Gu Poison.

— Beep!

— ….

Fortunately, both Gu Poison and Sijo seemed fine.

It seemed they hadn’t been affected by the illusions because they were in my pocket.

If I had taken them out…

‘It could have been really dangerous.’

This situation made me realize how dangerous it was to make an enemy of a God.

I hoped this would never happen again, but you never know with life…

I needed to become strong enough to surpass even the Gods.

It didn’t seem impossible, especially with the chaos attribute that even Gods were wary of.

The problem was, I had no idea how to use it.

“What do you think ‘possibility’ means?”

— Beep?

Swoosh, swoosh.

When I asked while stroking Sijo’s head, he looked up at me, clueless.

I just smiled faintly in response.

Right, how could he possibly know?

It wasn’t like I was really asking for an answer.

I was just thinking out loud because I was so frustrated.

But then,

[Possibility, huh.]

Samuel spoke up, as if he had realized something.

[Did the God of Gluttony mention ‘possibility’ to you?]

“Yes, he said the chaos attribute is related to possibility.”

[Hmm, it’s a well-known tale in Sytan that you possess the chaos attribute. Though I’ve never actually seen you use it.]

“To be honest, I don’t know how to use it either.”

There was no need to lie to Samuel about the chaos attribute.

It was already common knowledge among the students of Sytan that I possessed it.

Perhaps if I told Samuel about the hint the God of Gluttony gave me, we might find an answer.

However, Samuel didn’t fully grasp my situation, so he could only offer vague guesses.

[Possibility, right. Let me give you an example.]

“What do you mean?”

[Look at this fat bird.]

“…?”

— Beep?

I looked at Sijo at Samuel’s words.

What about Sijo?

[What are the chances of this guy being able to speak the language we speak?]

“Nonexistent, isn’t it?”

[No, you’re wrong.]

So…

There was a chance that Sijo could speak?

But what Samuel said next was absurd.

[He could be modified by some eccentric magic scholar, or stumble upon some incredible opportunity that allows him to speak. How can you be so sure the probability is zero?]

“… If we’re talking about those kinds of possibilities, then is there anything impossible in this world?”

[Exactly.]

“…?”

[This world is made up of infinite possibilities. It’s just that the probability of them being realized is low.]

What was he talking about?

It sounded like he was grasping at straws, but I could sense Samuel’s intention behind his words.

Though, I wasn’t sure how this related to the chaos attribute.

[Hey, fat bird. What are the chances of you losing weight in a short period of ti- Gah! Don’t peck there!]

— Beep!

The two began their spiritual duel.

“Possibility, possibility…”

I muttered to myself, watching them.

Perhaps Samuel was right.

Maybe the chaos attribute wasn’t about manipulating reality itself, but rather, manipulating the very fabric of possibilities.

If that was the case, then the potential applications were limitless.

Could I use it to make the impossible possible? Could I shift the odds in my favor, making the unlikely inevitable?

It was a tantalizing thought, but one I didn\'t have the luxury to dwell on just yet.

For now, I needed to focus on the immediate future.

Miriam would be back soon, and I had a feeling the real conversation was about to begin.

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