Chapter 9: The Secret Talk of the Travelers

In the end, the proposal by Miss Vilyric to “use the Life Divine Tree to bear the Source of Magic, supporting the long-term maintenance of the Illusion Realm” was passed unanimously. After that, Tiyelu, looking rather disheartened, quietly got up and left, leaving the space for Vilyric and Min Chen.

Once the footsteps of the Butterfly Girl faded away outside the door, Min Chen could only smile wryly and shake his head.

“Sorry, Miss Vilyric. Tiyelu is a good person, but once it involves the God of Magic and the responsibilities left by Him, she becomes stubborn and hard to communicate with. I don’t quite understand what faith really feels like, but please forgive her; she’s had it tough over the years.”

“I’ve only guarded the gates for three hundred years, but Tiyelu… lost her faith in her heart and has endured a thousand years of loneliness.”

“It’s all right, I understand.”

Though she hadn’t experienced that deep-rooted belief and dependence, Vilyric could imagine how it would feel if the same situation involved her and Xiao Guang.

Nodding silently, the Priestess glanced at the white wolf cub lying on the bed, who was now rolling over and soundly asleep out of boredom, a strange glint passing through her eyes.

“I heard that half a month ago, during the suppression of the Illusion Realm rebellion, there was a suspected presence of the God of Magic. Is that true?”

Min Chen sighed lightly and nodded slightly.

“Yes, if not, how could Tiyelu develop such unrealistic delusions… Although I can’t clearly explain why, Noviya definitely cannot be any kind of reincarnation of the God of Magic, Olivya. While Gods possess celestial powers, they cannot contend with the real power of the world; the era of the Gods has long since passed.”

“Oh?”

This similar claim was not the first time Vilyric had heard it. Previously, from Xi Fu Lin, she had repeatedly heard mentions of the conflict between the Gods and the world, referred to as “malice,” yet when she tried to ask for specifics, they seemed unable to elaborate.

Min Chen was a traveler like the Priestess, yet different. Could it be that he…

“What exactly is this world’s power? Does the world itself have consciousness and actively resist the Gods?”

Facing the unmasked curiosity and probing gaze of the black-haired girl, the Gatekeeper pondered for a moment before slowly nodding.

“Yes, but it’s not in a form that most people understand as individuals. Since Miss Vilyric is also an outsider and possesses such power, it is likely that these things are somewhat related… I’ll make an exception and tell you about it.”

Min Chen took a deep breath, as if having made some kind of determination, and spoke slowly.

“In fact, like Miss Vilyric, I am not a native creature of this world, but rather someone who crossed over from a distant place known as the ‘Illusion World.’”

“Oh…”

Though Vilyric had already guessed and the evidence was irrefutable, hearing the person involved confirm this still evoked a subtle sentiment of encountering a fellow traveler from afar. So far, Min Chen’s easy-going and casual nature indeed seemed fitting for friendship.

If they had met in a game, they probably could have become friends.

Nodding subtly, Vilyric simply prompted, “And then?”

Min Chen, slightly stunned by this unexpected reaction, soon forced a wry smile.

“Miss Vilyric, you truly have an impressive composure and stable mind. To remain calm upon hearing such news, I really admire you. You know, even Tiyelu was shocked for quite a while when she heard about it.”

“Uh, ah haha…”

Not allowing the Priestess to remain awkward, after a brief reflection, Min Chen continued with the topic.

“The ‘Illusion World’ is a fascinating place. If we describe it using concepts from here, it is a special spiritual space that is attached to the main world but exists independently. We, the inhabitants of the main world, can use special methods to send our consciousness to the ‘Illusion World’ and experience an entirely different life. It’s similar to… ‘Upper Dimension.’ I wonder if Miss Vilyric can understand this?”

“Hmm.”

The Priestess responded and nodded to herself.

Not bad, being able to describe the concept of immersing in a virtual game in such an easy-to-understand way took some effort, after all, in this medieval-like fantasy world, if you mentioned something like internet video games to the locals, they’d probably think you were a crazy dreamer.

Seeing that Vilyric seemed uninterested in questioning further, Min Chen didn’t elaborate unnecessarily and simply continued.

“After connecting the ‘Illusion World’ with the main world, I made an appointment with several friends to enter it together and enjoy this fresh and wonderful other world. After some time of traveling, we managed to gain some initial understanding of that world and achieved certain advancements.”

“But… something utterly unexpected and bizarre happened soon after.”

“During one of our collective space transfers, unexpectedly, we did not arrive at the designated location but instead found ourselves in an endlessly vast and white space of nothingness, where we encountered the ‘Will of the World.’”

“The Will of the World…?”

The black-haired girl repeated the term with a furrowed brow. Min Chen nodded again, his expression serious.

“Yes, the Will of the World, at least that’s how it introduced itself. It has no physical form; its voice seems to be everywhere, omnipotent. It chose us, deciding to bestow us with powers and missions.”

“It said that in another world, shadows are conspiring to resurrect evil beings and turn everything upside down. Although the Will of the World possesses nearly limitless power, it lacks the concept of actual existence and cannot personally intervene to maintain order, so it needs our help as agents.”

“It called us ‘Otherworldly Avengers’ and granted us the right to choose.”

“Avengers… Huh, that makes sense…”

Possessing demigod-level powers, Min Chen’s hearing was naturally sharp. Although Vilyric merely muttered to herself, he quickly caught on and couldn’t help but show surprise.

“Miss Vilyric, have you encountered this title? Did you also hear the voice that called itself the Will of the World?”

“Ah? No… There was no sign when I came here. Although it was also the result of an abnormal transfer, I appeared directly in the forest of this world after the transfer was complete. As for the term ‘Avenger,’ I heard it from a friend.”

“I see…”

Seeming somewhat regretful, the Gatekeeper nodded and continued.

“The Will of the World offered us two choices: First, to accept its commission and embark on an adventure in this new world to hunt down the enemies of the world. As a reward, it would provide us with much assistance and grant us protection to some extent. If we ultimately complete the task, we can also choose whether to return to our original world.”

“The second choice is to be sent back to our original world, with all memories of interacting with it erased, returning to our previous life intact.”

Vilyric raised her head in surprise, gently stroking her smooth chin with her palm, appearing deep in thought.

“Could it be… that you all accepted?”

   

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