The Ultimate Jack-of-All-Trades.
When Dalen created his character for the final playthrough, that was his sole objective. It was the conclusion he reached after countless hours of gameplay and hundreds of repeated attempts.
Archer, warrior, mage, necromancer, martial artist, blacksmith, and so on. Each time he pushed these diverse paths to their limits, he hit an insurmountable wall.
“I realized that a single talent wasn’t enough to face all five evil gods.”
The martial artist who could level hills with his fists fell to Suum. The lightning sorcerer who defeated the Lord of the Palace of Destruction couldn’t stand against the dragon god, a living embodiment of mystery. The archer who could slay archdemons with a single arrow was no match for Lapilem, who rained down a plague of arrows. Even the necromancer who touched divinity was easy prey for Temomron, the source of his own magic.
“Having five evil gods wasn’t just a matter of numbers.”
The concept of numbers varies greatly depending on the context. Imagine a gang of five local thugs. They’re just five guys who barely know how to wield a club or a metal rod. You wouldn’t need to fight all five; just take down one, and the rest would scatter in fear.
But what if it were a party of five adventurers? That’s a different story. A spearman with a great shield and a nimble swordsman would take the front, while archers and mages unleash their power from the back. If facing a single spellcaster or swordsman is a difficulty of 1, then facing a well-coordinated party is at least a 10.
From a broader perspective, the war against the evil gods was similar.
“Each evil god has specialized powers and roles.”
Suum, unmatched in sheer combat prowess. Temomron, who quickly amasses legions with necromantic powers. Lapilem, who unleashes ever-mutating plagues like rain, and the dragon god, master of mysticism and magic. And Enaxagus, who weaves schemes from the shadows, extending his influence across the continent for millennia.
Though they often bicker and fight among themselves, when it comes to devouring the continent, they form an uneasy alliance.
After hundreds of attempts, Dalen had to admit that his initial judgment, when he knew nothing, was correct.
“I spent the first hundred playthroughs just raising jack-of-all-trades characters.”
The names of the corpses he collected told the story. The corpse of a sword-wielding mage. The corpse of a lost guide. The hunter devoured by an experiment, the sage turned into stew, the inquisitor secretly in love with a witch, and so on.
These were the remnants of his early attempts, where he didn’t stick to a specific concept or growth path but instead sought to gather as many possibilities and experiences as possible.
In the end, Dalen came full circle, returning to his original approach. But the results were different this time.
Unlike the early days, he now had thousands of hours of accumulated experience and information, and a meticulous plan to harness all those elements.
[Corpse of the Fallen God of War]
Words appeared in the air, written in Hangul—a script unknown in this world. It was a catalyst for memories of a distant, fading homeland.
“What does it feel like?”
Below the notification summarizing hundreds of hours of gameplay, the man who lived through those countless lives asked the question.
Dalen snapped out of his reverie, rolling his shoulders to ease the tension.
“What do you mean?”
“How does it feel when a past you thought was a discarded mistake comes back to life and finds you?”
The man, Dalen, smirked, revealing sharp fangs.
“Surprised? Afraid? Regretful? You don’t feel any responsibility, do you?”
”······.”
“Tell me, what responsibility? Guilt for the millions you slaughtered from afar? The helplessness of failing to save a world? Does the weight on your shoulders remain unchanged even after driving dozens, hundreds of worlds to ruin?”
Crack!
Black lightning sparked between his fingers. Molten lava pooled at his feet, his eyes burning as he fixed his gaze on Dalen, demanding answers with a half-mad expression.
It was nonsense not worth listening to. Dalen let it wash over him, summoning a demon from the void.
‘Arbor.’
[…Yes, master?]
‘Can you use the technique to travel between worlds, like in the dream?’
[In a place close to the fantasy world like this… there are conditions, but it’s possible to some extent.]
Arbor, his face scrunched up like a lump of dough, replied.
[I can’t travel with you, but I can create a passage between worlds. Of course, you’ll have to open the door yourself, and if the distance is great, you’ll need to gather a few dragon hearts from the void…]
‘That’s fine. Can you open a passage to the continent instead of the fantasy world?’
[The continent, you say…]
‘The Labyrinth City.’
The last refuge of humanity, a bastion where all the continent’s forces are concentrated.
Hearing Dalen’s words, Arbor nodded immediately.
[The Labyrinth City is much easier. The distance is short, and the barrier tower’s magic can serve as a link.]
‘Good. Prepare it immediately.’
[Yes, master.]
Arbor quickly began drawing a magic circle in the void. Known as an immortal demon, Arbor wasn’t originally a demon.
A dark star tree cast its shadow over the reversed heavens. A massive tree that grew behind the well of the reversed heavens in the center of the fantasy world, extending its branches across countless timelines.
After the northern battle, Dalen had seen its severed stump in a dream where he met Charina. He also learned some of Arbor’s abilities when the war god slammed him like a lump of dough.
‘It’s essentially a world tree.’
A passage connecting worlds. Not just the various scenes of this fantasy world, but also reaching beyond timelines.
Though it seemed like a god-like being, how it fell into Enaxagus’s grasp and became a demon was unknown.
For now, what mattered was not its backstory but its abilities.
“It might be a bit bumpy.”
Dalen turned to his companions. Sienna frowned slightly.
”…What?”
“Go ahead and wait. I’ll finish up and join you.”
“What are you talking about…”
Sienna frowned, about to say something, when Arbor whispered from the void.
[Master, it’s ready.]
‘Good.’
He drew a dagger from his coat. A blood-red ceremonial dagger he acquired from a dark sorcerer’s corpse long ago. Having fed it souls during battles with powerful foes, the crimson blade now exuded a sinister aura.
Gripping the dagger in reverse, he struck the air and chanted a short incantation.
“Se Glam.”
Crack—!
A massive passage opened as the air split.
[Haaah!]
Chains poured from the void, wrapping around the edges of the passage and extending inside.
A ritual to open a gate to hell, creating a temporary passage between the fantasy world and the continent.
With Arbor’s restored star tree power, changing the destination to the continent was possible.
Though it required twisting the hell gate to its limits, the experience and memories of the necromancer Dalen Jive, recently acquired, resolved that issue.
Whoosh…
A rough wind blew from the stabilized passage, an unfamiliar yet familiar magical breeze.
[Father, this is a gate to the surface…]
Akasha was the first to notice. Dalen nodded, grabbing the boy by the scruff.
“Go on ahead.”
Without waiting for a response, a hand flung towards the passageway.
In the blink of an eye, the boy’s figure vanished into the depths of the corridor.
“Domain Unleashed: Sky of the Sealed Snow Mountain.”
Simultaneously, the partially opened domain’s mountain peak surged forward, sweeping the rest of the group into the passageway.
A sheer mountainside, seemingly carved from the earth itself, rose up, instantly transporting everyone standing upon it.
Rumble, rumble─!!
“Dalen? Dalen!”
“What the…!”
Lucia couldn’t hide her bewilderment. Bjorn, startled, even dropped his shotgun.
They tried to escape the sudden onslaught of the snow mountain, but the golden magic radiating from Felber blocked their movements.
“Sorry, my friends. As a familiar, I couldn’t disobey the command.”
While Arbor prepared the ritual, Dalen had instructed Felber to deploy a domain to bind the group.
As the shock passed from their faces, Tommy and Farn, unable to react, also disappeared beyond the massive passageway.
”…”
Only Sienna and Felber maintained their composure to the end.
With a gaze full of regret from the witch and a bitter smile from the old man, Dalen dispelled the domain.
Rumble…
The snow mountain vanished as if it had never existed, and the massive gate leading to the surface lost its power and dissolved.
In the midst of the Misty Forest of the Silent Moon, the clearing around the cabin was as quiet as if nothing had happened.
Only two remained standing in the clearing.
Silence flowed through the misty forest.
The two men, who seemed somehow alike, stared at each other in silence for a while.
“Unexpected.”
It was Dalen who spoke first.