blueteamnovel Chapter 96: Chapter96-Power and Shackles
Chapter 96: Chapter96-Power and Shackles
"Become a... god?"
John attempted to extract the key points from Exiled Immortal's rambling, though the key point was quite evident.
"Are you sure it's a god? Not some... bizarre dream?"
"It felt incredibly real! The delicious wine, the beautiful music, and the paradise-like abode! And John, I had never even heard of the name Aeolus before. Until now, I have no idea what this name truly means."
...
"Clearly, this is a sign. If this doesn't count as a sign, then what does? A dream so real, coupled with a physical transformation, it must signify something!"
"Does it signify that your little friend Exiled Immortal has really become a god? Come on, John, don't make me laugh."
Seraphina barely held back her laughter.
Taking a deep breath, she looked John in the eye and asked, "Do you even understand what the word 'god' means?"
John shrugged and tentatively replied, "Unparalleled power?"
"What? No! Of course not! Well, unparalleled power is only a small part of it. The truly important thing is responsibility.
'To whom much is given, much will be required.'
Do you understand what this means?
The prerequisite for having great power is the unavoidable responsibility that comes with it.
Do you think gods are just a bunch of immortal beings with monstrous power playing house, with Mount Olympus being their sandbox?
Of course not!
That responsibility will bind you tightly! There will never be a day of rest. Let's take a simple example.
Take some gods you are familiar with: Aeolus, the god of wind and rain, whose daily task is to deliver timely winds and rains to the world, ensuring the growth of crops, holding up the sky and clouds, and driving the change of seasons.
And then there's Astreos, the god of stars.
The myriad stars in the sky move under her control, rising and setting, the tides ebbing and flowing.
This is a long, unending responsibility with no day of rest.
Do you think facing the same scene every day, performing repetitive mechanical tasks, watching the stars rise and set, and the breeze carrying the clouds, is something interesting?"
"I can tell you responsibly that this so-called responsibility is absolute nonsense. They are given power, and there must be a chain tightly locking their necks. It is what you humans often talk about... freedom."
"That sounds quite tragic. So, were you once one of them? Otherwise, how would you know so much?"
"First [Apocalypse], then that mysterious [Lord of Abyss], and now even [gods] are getting involved. Great, who's next? God or Satan?"
"They belong to a different pantheon from us!"
"I know, no need to remind me!"
John snapped back at Seraphina, struggling to stand up. He needed to process this massive amount of information; otherwise, it would drive him mad.
"How about... getting a drink?"
With that thought, John logged out and returned to the real world.
As his body grew stronger and his stats improved, the intervals between his returns to the real world to replenish his stamina lengthened.
Even if he didn't eat for months, he would be fine.
But now, he just wanted to get drunk.
Luckily, during his last trip to the downtown supermarket, John had found quite a bit of alcohol.
"Ah... so what are we really fighting against?"
John had thought that as the game progressed and his strength continued to grow, the answer to this question would gradually come to the surface.
But the truth was, the more he knew, the more shackles attached to that answer, and he had no clue where the key to those shackles was.
Perhaps, as [Deception] had said, only when he finally had the power to face [gods] directly, to gain power equal to theirs, would he be qualified to leave the identity of a pawn and become a player in the game.
But this process seemed to be too long.
...
The next morning, John slept in for the first time in a while, not in the game world's sleep mode where one's eyes close and open again at the set time, but truly, lying in his sleeping bag, in his favorite position, finally sleeping deeply.
To be honest, it felt really nice.
It wasn't until this moment that John could somewhat understand why so many players, even though they don't feel hunger or fatigue in the game world, still prefer to return to the real world at night.
Only under the starlit sky could they truly feel the vitality of life, with a heart that continuously leaps, hot and real, rather than just a string of code.
When John returned to the game world, an announcement appeared that abruptly ended his worries.
"Major Event — Dragon Hunt Countdown: 4 hours, 7 minutes, 14 seconds."
Finally!
After a long wait, John's long-anticipated second Dragon Hunt event was finally starting!