Deep within the Azerlisia Mountain Range lay a hidden paradise — Shinshi, one of the "legends" whispered of by the people of this world. And still, it remained there, unchanged. Its citizens continued their daily labors, its faithful carried out their assigned duties to maintain the city. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✶𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✶𝓷𝓮𝓽 For more than a century, nothing had truly shifted. Perhaps the population had grown slightly, the infrastructure expanded a little — but even when compared to a hundred and fifty years ago, there was little difference. Even now, after the God who had slumbered beside them for so long had finally awakened, Shinshi remained the same. The return of the divine was kept secret, and life in the holy city went on as peacefully as ever. Yet among its highest officials — the High Priests — unmistakable change had begun. "Preparations are nearly complete, Lady Ea." It began with the High Priests. There were twelve of them. For a time, their number had fallen to eleven, but with the god's return, the once-fallen Monkyspanner was resurrected, restoring their full ranks. These twelve, excluding the god himself, were the supreme power of Shinshi — its most exalted beings. In the past two hundred years, never once had all twelve moved together. Even during the chaos one hundred and eighty years ago, or during the great exodus that followed, only a few had taken action. The last time all twelve had stirred in unison was right after their god had fallen into slumber, two centuries ago, when they were each assigned to oversee their departments. But now that the god had awakened — and declared he would use them — they could no longer remain bound to their posts. Still, they could not simply abandon their duties. The process of succession and transfer required time. "It seems the transition took longer than expected. Was there a problem?" "Our positions… are not easily replaced." Passing on the duties of a being at Level 100 was no trivial matter. Only another of equal power could truly take over. Even dividing the responsibilities would require subordinates of at least Level 80 — rare even within Shinshi. And among the faithful, few possessed the talent or power to inherit a High Priest's role. Training successors and allowing them to adapt demanded yet more time. Even now, some of the process remained unfinished. The Chief High Priest, Drake, and several others had not yet completed their handovers, nor even chosen their replacements. "However, I and six of the others have finished our transitions. We can act at any time. If you wish, I will summon them immediately." "That won't be necessary. They're already in motion." Drake froze. Already in motion? Without his knowledge? It was true that after finishing their succession work, the others had returned to their duties — but the authority to deploy them belonged to Ea, not him. Still, he hadn't imagined they would already be acting under her orders. "You gave no word of this to me…" "Am I required to report every move I make to you?" "Then see to your own duties, Drake." There was no need to ask which of the two held higher authority — the Chief High Priest or the Administrator of Shinshi and the God's proxy, Ea. The difference was absolute. If the god had not yet returned, Drake might have protested. But now that the divine one had awakened, all hierarchies reverted to their true order — the one decreed by the god himself. So Drake accepted it without complaint. "...Still, may I ask just one thing? Please tell me where they were sent. As Chief High Priest, I'm responsible for tracking their movements." "Heh. Even if I said nothing, you'll find out soon enough." Ea's omniscience did not extend beyond Shinshi's borders. Yet for the last two centuries, she had not been idle as many assumed. If her domain — her guild's reach — did not extend far enough, then she simply stretched it further. Though she could not leave the Divine City, though she could not step outside the Heavenly Chamber unless her master, Tiamat, summoned her… still, everything within Shinshi lay within her grasp. All beings beneath the Supreme Master — Tiamat — functioned as her hands and feet. Thus, not only Drake but all who acted within Shinshi moved as she willed. And for whose sake she willed it — that needed no explanation. "The Lord himself is on the move, Drake." "...?! What did you say?" "He intends to meet those who dared to lay hands on what is his." "Wait — you mean… it can't be—" "It's exactly as you think." Ea smiled — and even through the High Priest's scaled face, his alarm was unmistakable. "The Lord is moving toward the capital of a nation called the Re-Estize Kingdom." Tiamat could only marvel — again and again. Before him stretched an endless sea of wheat fields, swaying under the sun. Golden stalks shimmered with radiant light, their rippling motion in the wind striking him with a beauty no words could truly capture. Not even the most perfect virtual reality could have evoked such a feeling — this splendor of gold seen with his own eyes, the soft whisper of wind brushing through the fields reaching his ears, and even the faint, nostalgic scent of the countryside filling his chest. "To think such a world exists... The one who made this truly deserves to be called a god." Even knowing this was reality, not simulation, Tiamat could not suppress his awe. Back in the modern age he once lived in, corporations often flaunted phrases like "Technology of the Gods" or "The Realm of Divinity". With robotics, cloning, prosthetics, virtual reality, and life-extension technologies, humanity claimed to have recreated godlike miracles through science. But could they still boast such nonsense after seeing this world? If they truly wielded divine power, the skies of his world wouldn't have been gray with pollution or stained by acid rain, but instead as clear and clean as this — with drifting clouds and a radiant sun shining down upon the land. The underground kingdom's NPCs worship him as a god, but perhaps the one who created this world is the true deity. Bathed in the grace of such pure nature, even Tiamat — once faithless — felt something close to devotion stirring within him. Still, he couldn't enjoy the scenery without reservation. A faint frown touched his face. "Demons... hmm. I'm still not sure." Lately, Tiamat's thoughts had been consumed by the nature of his enemy. You can't fight an opponent you don't understand. Only by knowing their power can one prepare for war. In Yggdrasil, such things had always been clear — system messages announced declarations of war, invasions, and guild hostilities. Even if he didn't know every individual member of an enemy guild, public databases revealed most essential information: guild size, headquarters, alignment, and combat focus. Strategy could be built upon that foundation. But now, in this world that resembled reality, there were no such systems to rely on. Within Shinshi, the guild console still functioned, but outside of it, only personal magic and skills remained usable — no system menus, no command interfaces. Because of that, identifying the enemy was a frustrating ordeal. He had no idea which guild he was facing. "If they're using demons as NPCs, then it must be an evil-aligned guild... That narrows it down a little." Still, there weren't many evil-aligned guilds in Yggdrasil. To be precise, few guilds intentionally kept a negative Karma alignment. As an MMORPG, Yggdrasil had been structured around the eternal conflict between Good and Evil — and as usual, narrative design favored the light. Players who leaned toward Good gained bonuses; those aligned with Evil were punished, marginalized, and often hunted for sport. Among them, those who chose heteromorphic races suffered even more — treated not as players, but as rare monsters carrying valuable loot and experience points. Thus, few guilds ever embraced Evil. And if the enemy truly used demons as their primary NPC race, their Karma rating had to be −100 or lower — true extremists of corruption. Even among those, only a handful could rival or threaten the Twelve Divines. "Muspelheim's 'Pandemonium', Helheim's 'Ainz Ooal Gown', Jotunheim's 'Giant', and then… 'Dark Soul', 'Alephgard', 'League of Villains'… maybe four or five more beyond that." Including neutral or good-aligned guilds would triple that number, but among evil heteromorphic guilds, only these six truly stood out — each one powerful enough to shake the world. Two of them weren't alliances but single guilds, whose strength and unity rivaled even grand coalitions. Of course, by the end of Yggdrasil, most of their members had quit, leaving hollow shells behind — just like the Twelve Divines themselves. With only one remaining player, comparing which side was "better off" was meaningless; by that stage, no one had the strength left for war. They simply clung to their legacies, exchanging wistful talk about faded glory. Still, if the adversary belonged to one of those guilds and no Player was actively leading them, then negotiation was impossible. But if a Player was still commanding them — and had struck without realizing who the Twelve were — then perhaps there was room for dialogue. Of course, only after he made them pay the proper price. "Though it could all just be an act..." The people of this world had a rather ambiguous concept of what a "demon" was. Even the local guides he questioned on the journey here — who had grown strangely obedient over time — admitted they hadn't seen one directly. Just rumors of horns and wings. That alone wasn't proof of anything. Yggdrasil had countless transformation items capable of altering one's appearance. Perhaps the enemy had disguised themselves as demons to obscure their identity. But the more he thought about it, the more endless the possibilities became. At last, Tiamat sighed and abandoned the line of thought. "Well, I'll find out when I meet them." After all, that was why he was heading to the place where this "demon" had appeared. Even if it turned out to be a nest of enemies, as long as it wasn't the core of their guild base, he was confident he could escape. He wasn't foolish enough to underestimate them. He had brought his full battle set, his guild relics — even a World Item, just in case. And as his keen eyes scanned the horizon, the distant silhouette of a vast city began to rise. The royal capital of the Re-Estize Kingdom — Re-Estize itself — slowly came into view. If you want to read 10 advance chapters ahead.