The Old Man Is So Good at Acting Like a Loser chapter 78

(78)

＜ 14. Unclean creature (1) ＞

“… Raise your head .”

The tone is soft, but a word full of dignity that can never be resisted .

Andrea raised her head as she said. Then the scenery I had seen before and the woman I had seen before came into my eyes .

It was still so lofty and beautiful that it took my breath away. Khalicis sat on a throne made of hand bones and looked down at Andrea, brushing her ebony hair .

Tension tightened my heart. Andrea had to work hard to pretend nothing was wrong .

“… we’re old friends, um …”

“ Callisis. Call it that .”

“ Yes, Mr. Callices .”

“ It is as you said .”

“ Why did I come here again… ?”

“ I summoned you for a moment. As I killed my faithful dog, your world and the world I stayed in met .”

“… Uh, um. I see .”

Andrea put on a puzzled expression. The cause of the call was also a question implying that he was curious, but Callisis only answered the superficial question as it was .

Khalisis changes the subject, not caring about such Andrea .

“ The way you use your cards is great .”

“…”

“ It is not an empty word. The wisdom to not miss a brilliant idea, the practice to act without hesitation, the patience to endure pain, all of them were excellent. Looking at the past, present, and future, there will be few challengers like you .”

”··· Thank you. Uh, and… I’m sorry for killing Calisis-sama’s angel at will …?”

” No need to worry. Don’t you know too? Even if angels and demons are physically killed, they will soon be resurrected. In order to perish them forever, someone with a higher level of spirit than me would have to come forward .”

After that, Callices was only smiling brightly, so Andrea had no choice but to ask another question to continue the conversation .

“ By the way, why do I forget everything that happened in this space when I go outside ?”

“ Because the level of the world is different. When you are on a higher level, you can remember everything that happened on the lower level. However, if you go down to a lower floor again, you will forget what happened on the upper floors .”

“ I see .”

I didn’t understand everything, but I knew what it meant. Since she was originally from another world, Andrea was able to flexibly accept this explanation. He thought Khalicis would now explain why he had called him .

However, the shadow goddess betrayed that expectation. Callisis, who doesn’t say anything with a smile on her face that is still embarrassing to even look at .

Andrea cleared her throat and asked with the utmost respect .

” I’m sorry, can I ask why you summoned me to this world ?”

Hearing that, Khalicis wanted to hold back a small laugh, but then he laughed. The voice of a goddess that spreads resonantly .

“ Ha ha ha ha… You don’t have to be so out of place and formal. Didn’t you come from a world without gods or status? I bet you’ve never used words with such manners before ?”

Andrea’s eyes widened. It was surprising that the Shadow God knew about his identity, but more than that, there was a person who came to mind as soon as he heard that .

“ Did the goddess tell about me to an Atala warrior named Bagratu ?”

Callices shook her head slowly .

“ No. That’s someone else .”

“ Then who is he ?”

As soon as the question was answered, the smile on Callices’ face completely faded. Callisis lightly waved her hand. Suddenly, a strong sense of incongruity enveloped the entire space .

What can I say about this feeling? It’s like watching a movie, and suddenly the middle part is skipped and the next content comes out. Andrea looked up at Khalisis with a bewildered expression .

“ What just happened ?”

“ The record of the moment you asked the question before has been completely erased from this world. It could be a joke, but there shouldn’t be even the slightest chance of harm to him .”

Then, unspoken pressure poured in. Don’t talk about this topic anymore .

‘… Khalisis says the same thing as Bagratu .’

Andrea was suddenly annoyed. Is there a law that says that guides, challengers, gods, and everyone else in the world must hide their secrets and tell them twists and turns? Without realizing it, thorns sprouted in my tone .

“ What are you so afraid of? Aren’t the gods, including Calisis, created and governed this world? Are there any beings who surpass the gods in the Infinite Dungeon ?”

“… do you really think I am a god ?”

Suddenly, Khalicis’ voice sank heavily .

“ I asked if I really seemed to have the omnipotence, wisdom, and insight of a god .”

“ That is . . .”

‘… how do I know when we haven’t met in a while .’

“ It doesn’t matter how long we’ve met. don’t you already know No matter how much I am called a god in this world, I am only a puppet who thinks and acts as designed .”

Kalesis naturally reads Andrea’s thoughts and digs into unexpected parts. Andrea was dumbfounded. Callices’ expression had returned to the same calm smile as before .

“ You are far more unconventional than I thought .”

“ Could it be as unconventional as your existence? ”

Khalissis crossed her legs again to the other side. Then, he touched the armrest of the bone throne and opened his mouth .

“You must have a lot of questions. Why did you come into the game world, who pulled you in, why am I giving you strength and facing you like this… However, too much knowledge is sometimes poisonous. It may sound unpleasant to you, but it is only for you that I hide the lamp of knowledge in the shadows .”

“… Would you like to try it ?”

The words came out as if I was being sarcastic without even realizing it. Oops, I thought to look up at Khalisis, but fortunately, I didn’t see any signs of anger. Rather, what comes to mind is a caring expression, as if trying to soothe a pouting child .

“I can still tell you this tidbit. Why do I consider you special and give you grace ?”

“…”

“The ‘ Manager’ periodically wanted a new ‘Challenger’. Not just an ordinary Challenger, but a Challenger that people from the outside world can actually control, like you .”

“… you mean a playable character .”

“ Yeah, right. We had to attract humans with interesting backgrounds, distinct missions, and non-overlapping classes to the dungeon at the request of the ‘manager’. However, the request of the ‘manager’ immediately before was even more special than before .”

“…”

“ A challenger who is favored by all gods and has more qualities than anyone else, and a challenger who is not favored by any god and has the worst conditions. Bring in a pair of stark contrasts .”

I guessed what happened .

‘ It’s like choosing a character to use as a hidden character .’

However, as I listened to the story, a bigger question arose in the other direction .

“ By the way, what kind of being is the ‘manager’ you are talking about earlier ?”

“ If you are a being who can command the gods, isn’t there only one answer ?”

silence. Rather, this was what Andrea was really curious about. The existence that surpasses the gods in the Infinite Dungeon, as he just said .

‘ They use the name manager …’

Andrea knew from the look in Callices’ eyes that it would be difficult to ask for details about the manager. Callices finished talking nonchalantly .

“ It’s the same for me, but the gods didn’t have good feelings about ‘dungeons’ and ‘managers’. Because of the ‘manager’ who only thought of ‘dungeons’, we couldn’t properly rule the rest of the world. So we made a plan and decided to use the challenger we chose this time as a chess piece .”

“…”

“ The other gods except me chose a child named ‘Anna’. Unparalleled, overwhelming talent and generous blessings from all gods. He was truly a child with nothing shortcoming. But I had a different idea .”

“…”

“ What you need to bring down the mightiest enemy is a dagger that stabs you in the back of the head, not a huge ax in front of you. At the end, a deadly poison was applied .”

Andrea couldn’t understand everything Khalisis was saying, but she could understand what he was saying .

‘ If the other gods made Anna, who obviously has strong powers, as their chess piece, it means that Khalisis made me, who seemed weak, the chess piece of her plan .’

“ It is as you say. you are my dagger Destroy the dungeon, and cut off the breath of the ‘manager’ .”

After uttering those words, Khalissis lightly waved her hand as she did earlier. Again, the feeling of skipping something in the middle and continuing the scene .

“ I just deleted the record of the moment I said it. It seems that there is nothing good about saying such words in the eyes of the ‘manager’. I’m sorry that I’m not omnipotent and I’m such a timid god .”

Callices raised one corner of her mouth. Andrea felt that smile was somehow lonely and tired .

‘ Come to think of it, Khalicis… has said something similar when he came here before .’

The words that he said he was an eccentric and an incompetent god. Andrea followed the same answer that the ‘first apostle’ had given .

“You are still overly humble, Mr. Callices .”

The smile came back to Khalisis’ face. This time it was a really happy smile .

“ I am by no means omnipotent, but it seems that I am not mistaken in choosing the apostles .”

As Khalissis finished, something rose from the floor and grabbed Andrea by the ankle. When I turned my head, I saw countless hands stained black. As before, it seemed that it was time to leave .

Callices frowned slightly. As soon as they snapped their fingers, the hands that were viciously holding Andrea stopped all at once. Although it was trembling slightly as if it had not been completely stopped .

“ I want to talk a little longer, but the dungeon rules are trapping you. If you lose your memory every time you leave, it will be harder for you to help me, so I’ll have to do something about it .”

Callisis raised her index finger and gently pointed to a corner of the floor. Then the floor gradually sank, and a hole the size of a fist appeared .

“ I made a small hole in the layer of the world. From now on you will be able to fully remember what happened here. Although the surveillance of the ‘manager’ towards this place will become more severe, my movements will be more restricted .”

“… Isn’t that supposed to be ?’

“ Helping you is more important to me .”

Khalisis, who seemed insignificant. Andrea was speechless. I didn’t know much about the providence of the gods, but I could guess that being restricted in the movements of the gods was not something to be taken lightly .

However, this was also Khalisis’ decision. Andrea responded by bowing her head briefly .

The stiff hands began to move again. Andrea was slowly sucked into the floor .

Before being completely immersed in the darkness, Khalisis’ voice was heard for the last time .

“ Your weapon is too old. If you go back, there will be a present from me. I hope you will use it well .”

Eventually, while swimming in the pitch darkness, Andrea felt her consciousness fade away .

＜ 14. Foul Creatures (1) ＞ End