On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons

Chapter 86: My Party Play with Il-Ho

I glared at my phone screen with bloodshot eyes as our 101st attempt began.

“This time, for sure! We’ll clear this floor! Are you ready, Il-Ho?!”

-Yes! I’m fully prepared!

Carrying a backpack the size of a house, Il-Ho took a stance, ready to sprint. Meanwhile, I raised my index finger.

“Good, Il-Ho! Go, go!”

-Muuuuscles!

Il-Ho began running at my command.

We arrived at the entrance of the Thirty Floor of the Tower of Warriors: Trial of Dead Dragon, which was thousands of times larger than Il-Ho.

-Grrr!

Il-Ho’s arrival prompted the gatekeeper to emerge from the ground. It was a zombie with rotten, falling flesh, a common mob in media or games.

-Move!

-Kieeek!

Punch!

A single punch from Il-Ho pulverized the zombie, but that was only the start.

-Grrr!

-Kyaaak!

We couldn’t underestimate them due to their disgustingly overwhelming number. Like an entire colony of ants, there were over 100,000 zombies. Before, we did over ten retries because Il-Ho got careless. When Il-Ho kept his wits about him, he managed to break through them a few times. By the time the next monsters appeared, he had no energy left.

In that case, he shouldn’t face them head-on. In fact, skirting them might be for the best, but...

-Pant, pant!

Unfortunately, Il-Ho’s legs were short, and his disproportionate muscle further dragged him down. Then, what should he do in this situation?

There’s always a way.

“Il-Ho! Prepare the holy water!”

-Yes!

Il-Ho pulled out a few large potion bottles from his house-sized backpack. He chugged all of the golden liquid, but didn’t swallow them. I purchased them from God’s Shop in case of an emergency.

-----

[Infinite Abundance’s Holy Water (Mid-tier God)]

Category: Exclusive Item for Benevolent God

Price: 5,000 Gcoins

Description: Holy water imbued with the blessings of the Top-tier Benevolent God, Infinite Abundance.

Special note: Rejects evil beings that defy the laws of nature.

-----

Il-Ho looked like an executioner who was preparing to behead someone.

“Il-Ho! Use the holy water!”

Splash!

With bursting cheeks, Il-Ho spewed the liquid out.

-Gaaaah!

When the holy water touched their bodies, smoke erupted as if they were on fire. Despite being smashed to bits, the zombies still clung onto Il-Ho like leeches, flailing in terror.

“Now, Il-Ho!”

-Yes! Muuuuscles!

Clatter clatter!

-Keeeeeh!

While relentlessly spewing holy water from his mouth, Il-Ho blasted his way through the zombies. Ten minutes later, the passageway turned from green to yellow. The green zone was where the zombies were, and he’d just cleared it.

But he mustn’t let his guard down just yet. There were different types of enemies in the yellow zone.

Swooosh!

A sharp arrow pierced through the air.

“Il-Ho! It’s coming! On the left!”

Il-Ho ducked in a hurry, avoiding the arrow.

Poosh!

The arrow was embedded deep into the ground. The first time Il-Ho entered the yellow zone, it was a one-hit K.O. I wasn’t sure how it happened, but the arrow penetrated his steel-like muscles. Had I not treated him in time, he would’ve died right there and then.

Ssss—

The archer revealed herself to be a beautiful woman with pointed ears, wielding a golden crossbow. She looked like the elves from Lord of the Rings. Except that half of her face was rotten, revealing the pure white skeleton underneath.

Thud! Thud! Trudge trudge—

The elf wasn’t alone. A giant barbarian accompanied her. Rotting entrails spilled out from the gruesome claw mark on his chest. There was also a skeletal priest wearing tattered rags that might have once been pure white robes.

I appraised them.

-----

[Legendary Undead Adventurer Party Slain By Dead Dragon]

Around for 700 years.

Special note: Had potential for transcendence when they were still alive.

-----

“Had potential for transcendence.” In other words, they were at least S-ranks when they were alive. And they didn’t look much different now that they were dead.

-Kwaaaa!

Growling loudly, the barbarian zombie swung his great sword at Il-Ho, making a thunderous sound.

Voooom!

-Where!

Il-Ho swiftly pulled out his dumbbell sword, parrying the attack.

Clangggg!

Surprisingly, the barbarian zombie was on equal footing with Il-Ho. Their swords clashed and they stood still. The barbarian zombie bared his discolored teeth, as if threatening to bite off Il-Ho’s head.

Il-Ho clenched his jaws tight.

-Skill, Strong Body!

Bulge! Bulge!

As he held the dumbbell sword, Il-Ho’s muscles started to swell.

-Your muscles do look tough, but they have stopped growing! It can’t be compared to mine! Muuuuscles!

-Grrrr...!

The barbarian zombie was gradually being pushed back by Il-Ho, his greatsword impaling his own body like a stake.

Crack!

-Kyaaaa!

-It’s the end!

Il-Ho raised his dumbbell sword upward, poised to strike and drive the greatsword deeper into the barbarian zombie's body. But at that moment, the zombie elf simultaneously fired three arrows from her crossbow.

Swoosh!

The arrows flew with lightning speed, aiming for Il-Ho’s head, heart, and abdomen. It was an extremely close call! But Il-Ho shouldn’t have dodged those.

-Grrr, Anagr bluss...

Meanwhile, the skeletal priest chanted from behind, healing the barbarian’s wounds. Like a classic RPG, their party consisted of a tank, healer, and attacker. The barbarian would fight toe-to-toe. When he got pushed back or struck by Il-Ho, the elf would shoot arrows. If the barbarian sustained a critical hit, the skeletal priest would heal him right away.

That’s a party play at its finest.

Considering the situation, it was annoying as hell. Il-Ho had been defeated by them about twenty times. At least, now I knew for certain that we couldn’t use normal methods to disrupt their pattern.

“Il-Ho! Suit up!”

-Yes! Come on! God of Destroyer’s armor!

Vooooom! Swooooosh! Clack clack!

Right before the arrows could hit him, armor swirling with red aura shot out from Il-Ho’s backpack, covering him. Three of the arrows got stuck in the armor, but they didn’t pierce through.

Of course, because it was no ordinary armor.

-----

[Purified God of Destroyer’s Armor Set (Incomplete)]

A stolen item the God of Destroyer “???” gave to the apostle as tribute. Has been intercepted by Yu Il-Shin.

Special note: The God of Destroyer’s power has been purified by Infinite Abundance, lowering the grade from SSS to SS.

-----

Yes, it was the same armor Johan had worn during our fight! I had secretly taken it. Not only was it exuding a vicious aura, it was also incomplete, missing the most vital protective part. As such, I stored it away in the storage.

To be honest, I’d forgotten about it until recently. Recalling it was adjustable in size, I decided to give it to Il-Ho so he could clear this trial.

As a matter of course, I couldn’t just give it to him like that. After consulting my stalkers, I was advised to purify it with holy water—which cost me millions of Godcoins, by the way. Although it had dropped to an SS-grade item, it could still stop the zombie elf’s arrows.

-This is the end!

Il-Ho struck his dumbbell sword onto the ground, shocking the barbarian zombie. But the latter wasn’t the target at all. Instead, it was the skeletal priest, who was busy chanting a recovery spell a distance away.

Voooom! Crash!

Instead, Il-Ho aimed his strike at the skeletal priest’s head, smashing it in. It staggered briefly, before finally collapsing helplessly.

Indeed. The one we needed to eliminate as soon as possible was none other than the skeletal priest. As long as that bastard was alive, the other members could be revived infinitely!

Then, Il-Ho pulled out the greatsword stuck in the barbarian zombie’s chest, raising it.

-This is it!

Il-Ho swung it down, slicing the barbarian zombie into two.

Slash! Thud!

Meanwhile, behind the barbarian zombie, the zombie elf had tucked five arrows into her golden crossbow. She released the bowstring.

Swoosh!

This time, the arrows went for Il-Ho’s head and groin, the vital areas unprotected by his armor.

Thud! Thud!

However, Il-Ho covered both areas with his hands. Then, he charged at the zombie elf like a raging bull, sending her flying into the distance. As if being run over by a truck, her bones were shattered and black blood splattered.

Il-Ho pulled out the arrows stuck in his arm and yelled.

-Muuuscles! God Yu Il-shin, we won!

“Yes! But don’t lose momentum! Let’s proceed to the next stage!”

Up next was the purple zone. In the purple passageway, giant knights clad in black armor awaited. Their leader sneered and shouted.

-Kekeke, you dare stand against the Death Knights?!

The Death Knights were the strongest among the undead. Objectively speaking, they might be weaker than the legendary party, but they were far more difficult to deal with. After all, they had rapid regeneration.

Il-Ho had been defeated by them over thirty times. I was also at a loss. Thus, I discussed the matter with my newest follower, Death Knight Hades, Ko Myeong-Ji’s spirit familiar, and...

-Master, it’s actually quite simple. Just smash the tainted soul core using a weapon imbued with holy power.

I was told of the Death Knight’s weakness. Nevertheless, the core itself was about the size of a fist. Moreover, instead of being fixed in a certain spot, it moved fluidly within its body, making it a tricky target... if Il-Ho were alone, anyway.

“Il-Ho, on its head!”

-Got it! You! Off with your head!

Pop!

“It’s on its feet! Ah, no, it moves to its ass!

-Muuuscles! Show me your ass!

I used Blind Eyes of God to locate the Death Knights’ cores and told Il-Ho in advance. Each time, Il-Ho's dumbbell sword, doused in holy water, struck that exact spot with pinpoint accuracy. Although I was prohibited from directly intervening with the trials of the Tower of Warriors, I could still help by providing items and advice.

“Alright! Next!”

After eliminating all the Death Knights, we advanced with the trial. We had to retry the red zone zones of times. We had to navigate through a complex maze and engage in bloodbaths with hordes of half-vampire, half-human monsters.

Then, we finally reached the long-awaited black zone. At the end of the abyssal, dark passageway stood a massive black door embossed with a white dragon. It was the blue-eyed white dragon, the final boss of this torturous Trial of Dead Dragon.

“Il-Ho, are you ready? Just as we planned, we’re going straight for the dragon’s weakness, the backbone!”

-Rest assured! I’ll be sure to strike its weakness and kill it in a single blow!

Just to deal with this final boss, I spent a few hours being tutored by Baek Yoo-Hyun, the renowned Dragon Slayer. He taught me that a dragon’s weakness was its reverse scale. Since it was considered the dragon’s second heart, it was basically a hack. In fact, Baek Yoo-Hyun had attacked it, spreading news of his victory over the infamous Dark Dragon far and wide.

“Then let’s go, Il-Ho!”

-Yes! Let’s do it! Muuuscles!

Il-Ho shouted as he opened the door.

Creaaaaak!