novelraw Chapter 180: The Afterlife of Heroes (2)
Chapter 180: The Afterlife of Heroes (2)
Translator: Dreamscribe
Arsilan was a world that actually existed!
That truth threw all the heroes here into confusion. It was hard to believe, but after experiencing death, they were somehow able to accept it.
Ella waited until the heroes sorted out their confusion.
Lamp took a deep breath, looked at Ella, and opened his mouth.
“Th, then..., everything we have been doing so far...?”
“You heroes have saved Arsilan. And you have saved me as well.”
Lamp wore a blank expression for a moment. The heroes around him were the same.
“Haha!”
“That is all....”
“To think it was all real!”
“Woooo!”
The heroes cheered. What they had accomplished was not just a simple game, but truly saving Arsilan. Then the cheers gradually quieted, and silence settled in.
“The history of Arsilan too....”
“Must have been real.”
“Ah....”
That meant the painful history of Arsilan had been real as well. Of course, when playing Arsilan Saga, they did not regard it as just a simple game. They empathized, immersed themselves, and genuinely felt sorrow. Still, they could not deny that it was a game, but learning that it was actual history made their hearts ache.
Thinking of the people of Arsilan who had suffered for those long years made their chests feel heavy.
“Leon nim....”
“It is sad.”
When the topic of Leon came up, Ella cleared her throat and avoided their gaze. She did not bother to tell them the truth about Leon.
Since no one asked further, it was best to let it pass.
That was better for Jinwoo as well.
“Ella nim, then what happens to us now?”
When Lamp asked Ella, she smiled softly.
“Depending on the size of the light you possess, various opportunities will be given. You may live a new life in the world you have saved, Arsilan.”
“Oh, ooh!”
“Ha! This is a game..., no, reality!”
When Ella stretched out her hand, a large information window appeared.
Based on the score of the Light of the Soul, they could choose a race to reincarnate as. There was a wide variety, from races that already existed in Arsilan to spirits, celestials, various mythical beings, and even dragons.
One hero raised his hand.
Helby looked at him instead of Ella.
“Um..., what happens if we refuse?”
“The soul will be disassembled and enter eternal rest. Will you refuse?”
“N, no! I will live a new life!”
The hero hurriedly shook his head and replied.
Lamp checked his score through the information window.
[Light of the Soul: 410 points]
With 300 points or more, one could become a celestial or a spirit, and with 400 points or more, one could become a dragon. With 200 points, there was the potential to become various mythical beings, and with less than 100 points, one could live a new life as an Arsilanian.
“If we receive a new life and die again, can we choose again?”
“As soon as you obtain a new life, the Light of the Soul score is reset. If you live a new life again and accumulate Arsilan contribution or achieve accomplishments, then come back here, it will be converted into a Light of the Soul score.”
It meant they could aim higher than now.
Everyone was excited by Ella’s explanation. Helby let out a small chuckle as she looked at the heroes.
“The strength engraved in the soul will be preserved to some extent. Moreover, you can purchase various traits with the Light of the Soul score and reincarnate. It is better to leave plenty of points for purchasing traits.”
Traits?
At Helby’s additional explanation, the heroes could not help but become even more excited.
“Traits!”
“It is like reincarnation in another world!”
“Ha! I can't resist Traits!”
“S-rank, let’s go!”
For people who had just died, they were remarkably bright.
They were heroes even in death.
Ella spread both hands toward the heroes with a smile that felt warm.
“Then, I will give you time to think. Before moving on to the next stage, please think it over slowly.”
Lamp and the heroes were more cautious than ever. This was not choosing a game character, but choosing the race they would live as for a long life ahead.
When Helby snapped her fingers, the space that had resembled a courtroom disappeared, and a comfortable space revealed itself. Furniture was arranged so that they could sit or lie down.
“Lamp nim, which race will you choose?”
“I have 400 points, so I am thinking of trying dragon.”
“Ha! That is crazy. There are almost no heroes with over 400 points.”
Since Lamp had mostly just lain on his bed, there had been little chance for his soul to be tainted, and he had accumulated a great deal of Contribution Points in Arsilan. It was the result of many achievements from Episode 1 to 4.
“I chose a fire spirit.”
The hero SayGoodbyeWell chose a spirit.
Many also chose summoned beasts in order to become mythical beings. Those with insufficient points had to choose races that made up the people of Arsilan, but even so, there were still traits left, so they were filled with anticipation.
[Do you wish to choose dragon?]
Lamp immediately pressed the confirm button. When all the surrounding heroes chose their races, Ella and Helby appeared again. Helby nodded with satisfaction as she looked at Lamp, who had chosen dragon. The angels carefully observed the heroes who would become their juniors.
“All right! Shall we go to the Celestial Realm to choose traits now? There is someone waiting for you in the Celestial Realm. Ah! For reference, you can change your race again at any time before reincarnation!”
When Ella stretched out her hand, spheres of light rose beneath the heroes’ feet.
[Entering the Celestial Realm under Ella’s guidance.]
Ella smiled brightly at the heroes and waved her hand. Helby slightly raised her hand, then stopped and turned her gaze away.
Flash!
The souls of the heroes, wrapped in spheres of light, arrived in the Celestial Realm. The Celestial Realm was still beautiful. A magnificent building they had not seen before had appeared, and the space had expanded even further.
As if guiding them, flowers made of light floated up from within the clouds.
“I guess we go this way.”
“Ooh!”
“I want to take some clouds.”
“It seems difficult since the inventory will not open.”
“How much do you think all that is worth....”
The clouds of the Celestial Realm were extremely good materials used in many places.
Since they could only go to the Celestial Realm during showcases, heroes emptied their inventories whenever they went there. Unfortunately, they could not do so now because the inventory was not accessible.
Following the flowers, the door of a temple appeared. It was inscribed with the words “Temple of Reincarnation”. The history from Episode 1 to 4 was engraved as patterns.
“This feels quite serious.”
“Kheh! The presentation is good.”
“This really is Arsilan Saga.”
“Even though it is reality, not a game.”
Rumble!
The tightly closed door slowly opened as if welcoming the heroes. When the heroes entered inside, they could see the interior of the temple, which felt sacred.
Various relics of Arsilan were displayed, and there were also many weapons and accessories they had never seen before.
“Wow, how much would even just one of these be?”
“You could probably name any price you want.”
“This is a feast for the eyes.”
“This really is heaven.”
Items that surpassed S-rank were so beautiful that they inspired awe. They could check the information, and unimaginable powerful strength dwelled within them. Rather than greed, only admiration came forth.
As they went deeper into the temple, a space with countless seats appeared. Someone was standing at the center of that space.
“Huh?”
“C, Creator God nim?!”
Lee Jinwoo, the president of FS Games, was standing there. He was wearing a white suit from which particles of light flowed, and as always, he welcomed the heroes.
“Welcome to the Celestial Realm.”
The heroes froze on the spot.
“H, huck!”
"Y-Y-You really were the Creator God?"
To think that Lee Jinwoo was the real Creator God.
The virtual reality game that suddenly appeared, Arsilan Saga.
FS Games, with its incomparable technological prowess.
Everything made sense at once.
“I am not the one who created Arsilan, but it is true that I made Arsilan Saga. The technology of Soul Link was a bit excessive, was it not?”
At Jinwoo’s words, all the heroes nodded.
“In fact, most of it was made with magic. Developing devices to make it look like scientific technology actually took longer. For now, please take a seat.”
At Jinwoo’s words, all the heroes sat down. The heroes looked as though they had an overwhelming number of questions. Jinwoo briefly explained the story of what had happened up until now.
The heroes did not feel any sense of betrayal at all. Although the explanation was brief, they could feel how much Jinwoo had worked for Arsilan and the heroes. They were deeply grateful that he had taken care of them even after death.
Creator God.
"Our true Creator God is right in front of us."
“The Lord of Greed was a real fucking bastard.”
“I am really glad everything worked out.”
“So it was a crisis every single time.”
“We will help you with anything! We are all in this together now!”
“We just need to keep making it seem like a game, like we have been doing so far, right?”
Jinwoo smiled brightly at the heroes’ words.
The heroes were always reliable allies.
“I will also help so that your new lives can be happy. Thank you very much for everything so far. And I look forward to working with you in the future.”
“Long live the Creator God!”
“We will follow you forever!”
When Jinwoo bowed his head and said that, the heroes erupted into cheers and applauded.
“Now! Then we will begin the main event of the Arsilan Saga side story episode, the Afterlife! It is trait drawing!”
“Ha! Let’s go!”
“Traits! Can we get S-rank traits too?”
“Oooo! The dopamine is exploding!”
"But can we even get dopamine without bodies?"
“I do not know! Just enjoy it for now!”
The heroes’ eyes sparkled.
When Jinwoo snapped his fingers, the ground split open and a massive drawing machine appeared. Inside the enormous sphere attached to the drawing machine were countless orbs containing traits.
“You can purchase the traits that come out of this drawing machine using your Light of the Soul points.”
Jinwoo walked toward the drawing machine.
“A total of 1,000 traits will be drawn at random. The ranks will come out evenly, so do not worry. All right! Then let us draw.”
A red button appeared in front of the heroes.
“Please press the button!”
As Jinwoo’s shout echoed out, the heroes pressed the buttons with serious expressions. The buttons turned into particles of light and were absorbed into the drawing machine.
Rumble!
The drawing machine shook as if an earthquake had struck, and the trait orbs collided with one another as they mixed. A song that made shoulders sway involuntarily even began to play.
The heroes’ eyes filled with excitement and anticipation.
Clack!
As the door of the drawing machine opened, trait orbs poured out in a rush. The colors differed by rank, and the higher the rank, the more brilliantly they shone.
Whoooooosh! Flash!
When an A-rank trait appeared, emitting a splendid light, the heroes burst into cheers. Jinwoo watched it, then slightly flicked his finger.
At that moment, the drawing machine shook violently.
Kwaaaang!
An enormous mass of light burst forth.
“Could it be?”
“O, ooh!”
“It appeared!”
This was a jackpot signal!
Usually, in games, after this kind of presentation, the highest grade appeared. Living up to the heroes’ expectations, an orb imbued with rainbow colors emerged.
It was an orb that possessed an S-rank trait. Of course, for most heroes, the price was too high to purchase it.
The 1,000 trait orbs, emitting various colors of light, piled up thickly in front of the drawing machine. A large information window that everyone could see appeared, and the trait orbs floated into the air and were absorbed into the information window.
Flash flash flash!
The information of the traits was neatly organized and displayed by rank.
“Wow!”
“There are a lot of good traits!”
“But they seem a bit expensive?”
“Aaaah! This is hard to decide.”
“A-rank Authority of Immortality....”
“Look at the S-rank. It is the Eye of Mastery. That is a cheat key.”
"I can't resist Healing Factor...."
S-rank was 100 points, A-rank was 50 points, B-rank was 25 points, C-rank was 10 points, D-rank was 5 points, E-rank was 2 points, and F-rank was 1 point. Most of the traits that caught the heroes’ attention were C-rank or higher.
Traits with a ‘+’ had an additional half of the corresponding rank’s points added, while ‘-’ had close to 30 percent of the points deducted.
For example, the price of an A-rank was 50 points, an A+ rank was 75 points, and an A- rank was 36 points.
After choosing their race and then selecting traits, there were not many points left. Everyone was deep in thought with serious expressions.
Jinwoo stepped forward a few paces.
“Are you having trouble deciding?”
When Jinwoo asked, the heroes nodded all at once. Jinwoo looked at those heroes and showed a deep smile. At that smile, the heroes’ anticipation soared.
Whenever Jinwoo showed that kind of expression, they always received some tremendous gift.
“As expected, you already know what I am going to say. Yes, that is right. I have prepared a gift.”
When Jinwoo stretched out his hand, something appeared in front of all the heroes. It was two tickets. The heroes who checked the tickets let out cries of joy.“Aaaah!”
“That is insane!”
“No, if you give things away like this, what will you have left!”
“I love you!”
“Long live the Creator God!”
It could not be helped. They were none other than an [A] Trait Selection Ticket and a [B] Trait Selection Ticket. Jinwoo explained about the traits.
“Every time you come here, you can engrave one desired trait into your soul.”
“Wow, then at that time, we basically start with one trait already.”
“Yes, that is correct.”
The heroes’ expressions could not have been any brighter. If the heroes grew further from here, they would be able to handle the traits that Jinwoo engraved for them.
“There is plenty of time, so please choose slowly. There are no hidden cheat abilities in the lower ranks, so if possible, choose higher ranks.”
If they chose something that only looked unusual, they might regret it. Jinwoo looked at the heroes choosing traits with happy expressions. Just seeing those expressions made it feel as if light was filling his heart.
A world that made even death something to look forward to.
That was the Arsilan Jinwoo dreamed of.
“Lamp nim, what are you going to choose?”
“There is something called an A-rank Mana Heart. I think it would be good combined with a dragon.”
“Oh, then does that mean you will have two hearts?”
Jinwoo suddenly appeared beside Lamp and SayGoodbyeWell.
“That is a good choice. If a Mana Heart forms next to the Dragon Heart, you will be able to use draconic magic words easily.”
“Ah! Yes! Thank you, Creator God nim!”
“For B-rank, I recommend ‘Rapid Growth’. A dragon’s lifespan is dozens of times that of an Arsilanian. It will take quite some time to become an adult dragon, so you can skip that through rapid growth. Moreover, your physical stats will become much more powerful.”
Lamp was moved by Jinwoo’s kind explanation.
“Please help me too!”
“Yes, Hero SayGoodbyeWell. Oh, you chose a fire spirit.”
“Hehe....”
"If you're aiming to become a Spirit King, this Trait is good."
Jinwoo’s figure split into thousands, and he appeared beside every hero. He helped them choose traits so that none of the heroes felt inconvenienced. It took quite a long time until all the heroes finished choosing their traits.
There were also quite a few heroes who filled their selections with relatively cheap C-rank and D-rank traits. They were aiming for synergy effects between traits, and it was quite an excellent choice.
The trait orbs chosen by the heroes seeped into their souls. The expressions of all the heroes were filled with excitement and anticipation. However, there was a hint of lingering regret in their eyes.
Jinwoo, who had returned to being one again, looked at the heroes with calm eyes.
“There is one last thing I would like to give as a gift to the heroes who saved Arsilan. No, rather than a gift, it is something I naturally should do.”
Saintess Airi appeared beside Jinwoo. Airi greeted the heroes with proper courtesy.
“I will give you time to say goodbye by entering the dreams of your families, friends, and acquaintances.”
“Ah....”
“Truly..., thank you.”
Because their condition had been so severe just before death, many of them had not been able to exchange final farewells.
When Airi stretched out her hand, an information window appeared in front of everyone. It was an information window labeled “Garden of Dreams”.
“If you write the environment you desire there, it will be implemented exactly as written. The number of uses is unlimited, so please write as much as you like.”
“Wow! Can we do something like science fiction too?”
“...If possible, please keep it to a normal environment.”
The heroes seriously wrote the contents of their dreams. When they finished writing, their semi-transparent bodies began to scatter little by little.
“Once you finish saying your goodbyes, you will immediately reincarnate. We will do our utmost for your happiness and enjoyment, so this may be an impudent request, but I hope that you will fight for Arsilan once again this time as well.”
At Jinwoo’s request, the heroes grinned and nodded.
“Leave it to us!”
“Let us kill all those Erosion bastards!”
“I am happier now than at any other moment in my life!”
“It cannot get more fun than this, right?”
The heroes’ faces were already filled with joy.
The heroes looked at one another.
We were the first generation of heroes who crossed death and began new lives through reincarnation.
“Lamp nim! See you later.”
“Yes! Please show me around the Spirit Realm.”
“Kheh! I will take care of everything.”
Lamp, SayGoodbyeWell, and the heroes who had been in the group chat said their goodbyes just like when they parted ways in Arsilan Saga. The semi-transparent bodies of the heroes gradually began to turn into particles of light.
Now, following Airi’s guidance, they would pass through the Garden of Dreams and then reincarnate.
‘I wonder how strong the heroes who overcame death will become.’
Perhaps, in the distant future, several transcendent beings might appear.
Thus, the first generation of reincarnated heroes was born in Arsilan.