The Great Mage Returns After 4000 Years (Web Novel KR)

“I got about 20 VP. But considering the stuff you messed up, that’s not worth anything… Are you playing with me?”

“You speak in a way that’s difficult to understand. Can’t you speak more normally?”

“Huh? I’m friendly and nice, aren’t I, kid?”

The Priestess tilted her head to the side as she said this. Now that he knew her true identity, he should probably refer to her as the Seven Fanged Dragon God.

‘Either way…’

When Lukas didn’t immediately respond, the Priestess put her hands on her hips and said.

“When someone asks you if they’re ‘friendly and kind’, the considerate thing to do would be to nod your head and agree. Plus your attitude isn’t right either, so why should I change?”

“I understand. Would you like for me to use polite speech instead? I’ll change the way I talk.”

“Alright.”

When Lukas once again began using polite speech, the Priestess nodded her head in satisfaction.

“Then…”

Paht.

The Priestess clothes flapped and flowed gently, as though it had been blown by a nonexistent wind. Her swaying hair also changed colors as if it had been dyed. After a short while, her hair became blue.

An icy shade of blue.

“This should be enough to satisfy you, Lukas Trowman.”

It was a cold but dignified voice. One that he remembered.

“Were ‘you’ the one who gave water to me when I was unconscious?”

“‘You’… You’re addressing ‘me’ separately.”

There was a hint of curiosity in her voice.

It seemed like she was wondering why he had come up with that idea. He owed her for saving his life, so it would be fine for him to answer this small question.

“It’s just my guess, but it seems that every time your hair changes color, your personality changes as well.”

“Like split personalities. Is that what you mean?”

Lukas nodded his head.

“It’s not such a simple concept, but it doesn’t matter if you choose to understand it like that.”

Those words suggested that Lukas’ guess was wrong. Somehow, he felt that even if he were to question her more about it, he wouldn’t receive an answer.

“Then another question. I heard that you wanted to see me. Was that something you decided after I came to this world? Or was it something you wanted from long ago?”

This might have sounded like a trivial question, but there was definitely a reason why he’d chosen to ask it.

“It was before. To be precise, it was around the time when you’d first begun to stand out among the Absolutes.”

“…are you my enemy?”

The Priestess raised an eyebrow at this blunt question but she smirked slightly as she responded.

“Enemy or ally. It’s not a good habit to categorise people with that kind of dichotomy.”

“There is a possibility that you are neither an ally nor an enemy.”

“I saved your life.”

“I know that. And I intend to repay that debt to you at some point.”

“You don’t need to do that. The karma between us has completed its cycle.”

“…?”

Lukas tilted his head to the side for a moment because he couldn’t quite understand what she meant by those words, but he soon continued.

“‘You’re my ally because you saved my life’. I think that it’s much more dangerous to jump to conclusions like that.”

“Hmm. I see. That’s unfortunate.”

Although she said this, the Priestess’ tone didn’t change, making it seem like she didn’t really feel that way.

The Priestess then changed the subject as if it didn’t matter.

“Trowman, what thoughts do you have about this world?”

This didn’t seem to be a meaningless question.

Before giving his answer, Lukas slowly reflected on everything he had experienced so far. It had already been quite a while since he’d entered this world.

He saw, heard, and experienced a lot. There had even been several times when he’d been in danger.

“It’s much too large for just the qualifiers… and it makes me feel like it’s complete.”

Those words were correct.

This wasn’t just the field for the Great Game to be played in earnest.

Nevertheless, it was impossible to think that this world, which was several times larger than most planets, was created just for 20 participants.

It wasn’t just the size.

It was large and developed. There were several billions of people living in this world, each with unique characteristics and capabilities.

Of course, a Ruler could easily create all of these things, but it felt like a waste.

A four-way battle.

That’s what they’d been told before entering this world,

However, when the actual preliminaries began, there was no conflict between the Rulers, not to mention those taking part in the four-way battle.

From what Lukas knew about the Absolutes he was competing against, they would have preferred a more direct and easy to understand fight.

In fact, when Lukas had first heard that a qualifier would be held, he’d thought that it would be a series of tag matches or something.

“It should be easier to talk now that you’ve understood so much.”

This meant that there was no perfect answer to her question.

“Thunder Gorge, Black Earth, Giant Field, Heavenly Realm and the supercontinent Gaia. Five very different worlds. Did you notice? Except for Gaia, all of the worlds are closely related to a Ruler.”

Lukas nodded.

Thunder Gorge for the Lightning God.

Black Earth for the Demon God.

Giant Field for the Sun Giant.

Heavenly Realm for the Dragon God.

It wasn’t completely clear, but at the very least, it could be confirmed that each of these regions had some connection to a Ruler.

“The Great Game. The Absolutes taking part in this qualifier don’t truly understand what this concept means. Including you, Trowman.”

That was true.

Lukas didn’t know anything. How the Great Game was played, what would happen to the winner, what would happen to the loser, or even how to win or lose in the first place.

“In the distant past, there was a time when the four Rulers could not come to an agreement about a major event. This might be hard to believe, but before then, such a thing had never happened.”

“…is that so?”

As she said, it was quite hard to believe. This was because Lukas knew how prideful and stubborn the Rulers were. This led him to believe that disagreements and confrontations between them were common.

“Right. Usually, everything could be determined by a majority vote. It worked out as long as two could agree on the same thing. Then the other two would have no choice but to follow that opinion.”

“…”

“However, that situation was different. Since it was something that couldn’t be taken lightly, the confrontation only got worse as more time passed without a decision being made. If we were at the same level as other Absolutes then we could’ve just settled it with a fight. But we couldn’t do that. For the sake of peace in the multiverse.”

This was an undeniable truth.

The power of the four Rulers was about the same. There was no confirmation of this since, with the exception of God, no one, not even they themselves, knew just how much strength and potential they had.

If these beings, considered the most powerful in existence, were to start fighting… countless universes would be destroyed by the aftermath alone.

Since the Rulers were beings who sought harmony before anything else, they would certainly not want such a thing to happen.

“Nevertheless, no one intended to back down. So God came up with a solution.”

“A solution?”

“Since we couldn’t solve it on our own, we would instead send representatives to decide the outcome for us.”

“…you mean…”

The Priestess nodded.

“That is what the Great Game is. It is a war that takes place between the representatives whenever a confrontation between Rulers reaches the limit.”

“…”

Lukas’ expression darkened.

If that was the case, then… Why did the Lightning God tell him to prepare for the Great Game?

‘Did he want me to be his representative?’

That certainly appeared to be the case. However, Lukas would never accept such a thing. He had no intention of entrusting himself to a Ruler.

‘If what the Priestess said is true, then my participation in the Great Game is a contradiction in itself.’

This was because he didn’t represent any Ruler.

What would happen if Lukas won the Great Game?

Did that mean the Rulers would have to accept his opinion?

Deciding to hide his doubts, for now, Lukas asked.

“The fact that the Great Game is being held now means that a major ‘incident’ has occurred again. An event that the Rulers cannot easily ignore. What is it?”

“That’s not something you deserve to know. And even if I did decide to tell you, nothing would change.”

It was an arrogant statement, but Lukas knew that it was true. If it was something that the Rulers had to discuss with each other, then nothing would change even if Lukas knew about it.

However, it was the Priestess’ next words that shocked him the most.

“Nodiesop has entered the Heavenly Realm. He should have already found the location of Dragon God Island by now, and soon, he will destroy all the barriers I placed and enter.”

“…!”