Chapter 54 - Heaven Invasion (2)

AIN: W-Wait...! Then what's going to happen with me?

LeeSeoHyun: What are you talking about?

AIN: Did you get another girl?! It... It's not like she's dragging you, right?!

‘Another girl? She's not technically wrong.’

After all, Louise was the reason why he was part of the Abyss.

LeeSeoHyun: Hear me slowly.

Hyun explained things slowly to a panicking Ain.

This was what he was thinking:

If he used «Assimilation» and entered Ain's body, wouldn't he be able to mix among the Heaven's Forces and freely move?

Even a high-ranking priest shouldn't be able to see through «Assimilation».

Only the Transcendents could see the soul directly.

That meant that if he entered Ain's body through «Assimilation», even if he was part of the Abyss, he should be able to move mixed among the Heaven's Forces.

LeeSeoHyun: Just because we belong to different forces doesn't mean our party will be disbanded. We can do this because we're one.

After talking to her for a while, he could finally calm her down.

* * *

Knight's Road…

Users had named that place 'Heaven's Academy.'

It was a place where NPCs taught and helped Heaven's users.

It was also where NPCs that came from the Empire to teach users stayed.

Having the support of an NPC or not made a huge difference.

Hyun thought that an NPCs backing was more important than the extra 15% experience.

On the Abyss side, you couldn't expect things like that.

The reason why he had picked the Heavens in Asra was because he had prioritized the relationship with NPCs.

「Good, let's go.」

There was a gatekeeper and a high-ranking priest in front of the Knight's Road entrance.

Hyun had used «Assimilation» and was hidden inside her.

The long line shrank, and it was finally Ain's turn.

As the gatekeeper blocked the road, the priest next to him talked to her.

"Show me your hand. This is just a formality, so I hope you don't get offended by it."

After nodding, Ain took out her gloves and extended her hand.

Then he shared part of her status window with the gatekeeper.

"Grand Master..."

The gatekeeper's voice trembled.

"Woah, you're only the third Grand Master I’ve seen! But even if you're someone amazing, here in the Knight's Road, you have to show proof that you're part of the Heaven's Forces—not even the Emperor is an exception."

After saying that, he checked out Ain's hand.

At that moment, his eyes got wider, and he stared at it closely.

"This...?!"

The moment the high-ranking priest looked at Ain's Heaven's Rune, his face became pale.

The gatekeeper next to him took out his sword after looking at the priest's reaction.

He probably thought that the high-ranking priest had discovered someone belonging to the Abyss who had their identity hidden.

"Put the sword down!"

After the priest shouted at him, the gatekeeper put his sword down.

As the entrance became noisier, everyone's attention turned toward it.

The high-ranking priest took Ain's hand to take a closer look at the Rune.

How he was checking out a girl's hand so closely looked strange from the outside, but he didn't seem to care.

Ain was just frowning at the feeling of him touching her hands.

"Heavens, this is a perfect Heaven's Rune!"

After a while, the high-ranking pries opened his mouth again.

"It's the rune of a heavenly being!"

Why the high-ranking priest was surprised was understandable.

Normally, Heaven's Runes engraved on a user's hands looked like a blue-colored lightning tattoo.

But on the Rune engraved on Ain’s hands, not only could you see the lightning and cold air, but the entire Rune was shining on its own.

It was the symbol of a Heavenly Being.

The reason why Ain had received the Rune of a Heavenly Being was simple.

—After clearing the Suspicious Old Man's request, she had obtained the title of Heavenly Being.

'How...?'

The high-ranking priest seemed confused.

A Heavenly Being was someone that lived in a different reality from humans.

They lived in the Heavens, in the sky. But sometimes, they descended to earth.

They weren't in the category of an Angel, who were Transcendents, but they were beings above humans.

Obviously, a user couldn't become a Heavenly Being.

But in front of him, there was a girl who had the Rune of a Heavenly Being.

The high-ranking priest was deeply immersed in thoughts at the sight of a girl who broke his common sense.

「You remember what I've told you, right? Don't make any mistakes.」

Said Hyun, who was currently «Assimilating» to Ain.

Before going there, he had already prepared an answer for her.

Ain wasn't confident in her acting skills... But she decided to follow Hyun's script.

"I think I know why."

"Hmm...? What are you talking about?"

"Why my rune is different."

The high-ranking priest focused his attention on Ain's words.

Ain started to tell the story Hyun had made for her.

"One day, I was being chased by a demon... It was so strong that it wasn't something that I could face. I was sure I was going to die when, suddenly, someone appeared. With just one spell, that being killed lots of demons."

Ain tried to describe the Heavenly Being's attack by remembering a scene from Asra.

"It looked like a tornado made of ice. I don't remember it very well, but it was an incredible Magic. Right where the demons disappeared, thousands of ice pieces were scattered away."

"Just as expected from a Heavenly Being. I think I know who it was just from the description of the Magic."

The high-ranking priest shook his head while listening to Ain's words.

"So what happened next?"

Ain looked at the sky and acted as if she was trying to remember.

"Hmm... He said something like he saw potential in me... He tried to take me somewhere, but I refused. I was quite busy at that time."

"Oh my..."

The gatekeeper, who was listening to Ain's story with great interest, grabbed his head while frowning.

His face was full of regret as if the girl's mistake of letting the opportunity of visiting Heaven go had been his.

Ain kept talking a little bit more.

"After that, he said he'd come back to get me and asked me if I was willing to help, so I answered him yes, and then he placed his hands on my head..."

"Hmm...?"

"I felt something very cold and tingling entering my body. When I noticed it, he had already disappeared."

Ain mumbled while looking at the Rune on her hand.

"Did he give me this Rune back then? At that moment, I thought he had attacked me, so I was about to complain."

"I see, now I understood."

They ended up convincing the high priest.

The reason why he ended up believing Hyun and Ain's lie was that they'd used information from 'Asra Online.' But he had no way of knowing that.

「How was it?」Ain asked Hyun with confidence while the high priest called for someone from inside.

How she spoke with confidence as if asking him to praise her gave Hyun a headache.

「No, but can't you talk with another tone?」

「What?」

「Just at first glance, that high priest looks like he's at least 50 years old. You should speak to him more formally.」

「Who cares? It's not like he's a real person or anything.」

Wouldn't talking to them in such a way anger the NPC?

In one way, Hyun's concern made sense, but in the another, it didn't.

The formal language was present only in a few languages, including Korean.

In Asrian Online, where every language was translated instantly, it was something that didn't matter.

The only problem was when two Korean users were talking to each other.

While Hyun and Ain were chit-talking, the Heaven's NPCs had finished the formalities.

A soldier approached Ain.

"I'm Rudas, the one in charge of guiding you! Feel free to ask me any questions you have!"

Because the high priest had sent a special message, Rudas talked to Ain as if she was her superior.

On the Heaven's Forces, the influence of being a Heavenly Being was that big.

The gatekeeper gave Rudas a remainder just in case.

"A Heavenly Being has chosen this person, so be respectful."

"Of course!"

"Also, this is the high priest Andro's certification. This should be enough."

When the word “Heavenly Being” came out, Rudas stood up straight.

NPCs also understood a user's potential growth rate and influence.

If it was a user with this much influence... Maybe she could become someone huge who could change their life, so it was understandable that Rudas was so nervous.

Although Rudas was older than Ain, he still showed proper respect toward Ain.

"Your ID is complete! With this, you'll be able to prove your identity!"

Ain received a crystal from the soldier that was the size of her thumb.

"Mrs. User..."

"Ain."

"Yes. Mrs. Ain, should I talk to you about the Knight's Road?"

"Hmm... Okay."

Ain nodded.

The truth was that neither Hyun nor Ain needed an explanation about the Knight's Road since they had been there previously, so even without an explanation, they could guess about most things.

Ain nodded while the soldier excitedly talked alone. Meanwhile, she was talking with Hyun.

「You're amazing... You're really good at tricking people.」

「Haha, this much is nothing,」Hyun said while laughing confidently.

He was relieved they were able to reach that place.

The possibility of meeting high-ranking NPCs or priests was quite low, and in the worst case, he could always «Assimilate» into Ain.

No one would think that someone from the Abyss has managed to enter the Knight's Road.

Hyun mumbled while looking at the road.

「There are already a lot of users.」

「There are probably lots of NPC, too.」

「I guess so. This is, after all, a city of the Empire.」

Because the Knight's Road had a chic atmosphere, it was a place that was often frequented by nobles.

Although the game was based in a medieval city, it didn't feel rustic. The reason behind that was that there were a lot of magic circles applied on the streets.

Among them, some had effects that couldn't be seen in real life.

「Woah, to think we'd be able to ride this again.」

The world of Asrian was crafted with such details that even the same thing couldn't be compared to the one in Asra.

Hyun and Ain had taken the 'Cloud Boat' and were moving to the building in front of them, on the other side.

The 'Cloud Boat' was a device that looked like an escalator that moved with Magic. It was used to move through the sky from end to end.

As the Cloud Boat's altitude became higher, the entirety Knight's Road could be seen.

Hyun was overwhelmed by the splendor and grandeur of the city.

Because a scenery that didn't seem to exist in real-life unfolded, they couldn't take their eyes off it.

Ain also was looking at the scenery with her mouth wide open.

"The Knight's Road is one of the many things we're proud of."

In the soldier's voice, they could feel the pride of a citizen of the Empire.

After a few minutes, the Cloud Boat reached a building so big that it looked as if it would touch the sky.

The Cloud Boat stopped on the building's balcony; the soldier's explanation kept going on.

"Fourth floor of the Knight's Hall… It's the free training center."

「Amazing...」

Hyun was honestly surprised.

Looking with his own eyes through virtual reality made him realize just how big the Empire was.

When looking down from the railing, the height of the building seemed to be at least 100 meters.

How it only had four floors just showed how big and spacious it was inside.

Because they had the help of Magic, the buildings had surpassed the limits of modern architecture.

"I'm not in charge from this point onwards, so I'm going to retire. If you present your ID anywhere, you shouldn't have any inconvenience!"

After saying that, the soldier took the Cloud Boat and left the place.

But they didn't feel the need to get a new attendant.

Both Hyun and Ain, thanks to their experience in Asra, knew about most things.

"Good, then let's start," Hyun mumbled as they found a place where no one was around and he disassimilated.

In the Knight's Hall, there were a lot of facilities that elite knights could use.

But because of the Emperor's order, its access had been limited to users that had at least a 'Master' battle ranking.

Everyone that qualified lusted over it.

From a user's point of view, there were many things they could take advantage of in the Knight's Hall.

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