Chapter 44. The Solitary One
Neither a god nor a human.
Yet both god and human.
A hybrid born between gods and humans.
To put it kindly, a half-god, a demi-god.
My name is Azeras.
I, Azeras, have been in deep contemplation for countless years.
Gods and humans.
Where does the boundary between these two beings truly lie?
Even as time passed, the answer remained elusive.
At first, I thought it was simply a difference in power.
Like how the strong differentiate themselves from the weak.
I believed that the difference between gods and humans was just a gap in abilities.
As for the gods of destruction, there was no question.
Though they possessed awe-inspiring power, could beings who only indulged in destruction truly be called gods?
No.
They were simply creatures born with an excess of power due to mere luck. Nothing more, nothing less.
Of course.
The existence of creator gods, who shaped worlds and breathed life into them, was something I could acknowledge.
However, their creations were far from perfect.
The worlds and life they created were incomplete.
Envy, jealousy, hatred, slaughter, greed…
All these things filled their created worlds, drowning them in chaos.
Thus.
Even the creator gods were nothing more than mere creatures born with the luck of possessing the power of creation—far from worthy of being called gods.
Whether they were gods with the power of creation.
Or artificial humans created by those gods.
Or humans born naturally in the primordial world.
Or homunculi and androids made by humans.
All were beings of the same inherent imperfection.
In the end, I concluded that they were not fundamentally different.
This was a thought I could have only because I was neither fully god nor fully human—a demi-god.
***
While endlessly pondering the nature of gods and humans, I happened to learn about a world called the Ancient Labyrinth.
And I heard that if one could become an explorer in that world and ascend as the ruler of the labyrinth, they could become a perfect god.
Not like the imperfect, fake gods of the celestial realm.
But a truly perfect, absolute god.
I desired that position.
A being who carried the blood of both gods and humans.
A being whose soul was a mixture of human and god.
I believed that I, of all beings, was most suited for the position of absolute god.
I could understand both sides, viewing everything objectively.
From that moment onward, all my efforts focused on finding a way into the Ancient Labyrinth.
But, reaching that place was no easy task.
Even the gods who governed dimensions themselves declared that they could not approach the Ancient Labyrinth.
And they said that there were only three ways to reach it:
To receive an invitation from an explorer.
To receive an invitation from the labyrinth itself.
Or to get caught in a *Dark Portal*.
In other words, only those chosen by fate—those lucky enough to be selected across dimensions—could become explorers.
Still, I did not give up.
I believed that if I desired it enough, my will would one day reach the labyrinth.
And perhaps, my desperate desire did indeed reach it.
One day, out of the blue.
I became an explorer.
***
As an explorer, I was allowed to choose one of three traits:
The Solitary One.
The Dominant One.
The Assisted One.
The Ancient Labyrinth kindly explained the power each trait possessed.
But the conditions for using those powers were explained rather poorly.
Vague, one could say.
The Solitary One’s trait was that you could grow stronger by devouring monsters.
The additional condition was ■?■■?.
The Dominant One could ■■?■■?■■? and dominate monsters.
The Assisted One’s trait allowed you to become friends with monsters.
Its condition was to bow in front of the monster.
Not just once, but after a certain number of bows, the monster could be tamed.
Perhaps the poor explanation stemmed from the difference in the soul’s rank.
I had heard that the labyrinth favored and gave preferential treatment to those with a high-ranking soul.
But that didn’t mean only high-ranking souls were invited.
The opportunity was said to be given fairly to all.
Either way, it wasn’t too bad.
Even though the explanation was vague, it wasn’t incomprehensible.
For someone like me, with a relatively high-ranking soul, this level of explanation sufficed.
There must be some who could barely see any explanation at all—perhaps just the name of the trait.
After a brief consideration, I chose the Solitary One.
The Dominant One’s explanation wasn’t even fully visible.
And the condition for the Assisted One seemed utterly ridiculous.
The Solitary One had a clearer explanation than the Dominant One, and I liked the idea of growing stronger on my own without anyone’s help.
The moment I selected the trait, the additional condition for the Solitary One trait appeared in front of me.
The additional condition was as follows:
==================
Eat excrement.
By doing so, you will absorb the monster’s strength and grow stronger.
However, as you grow stronger, your body and mind will gradually become like a monster’s.
Hint:
A monster’s mental strength is formidable, so becoming mentally like a monster can be advantageous.
Warning:
Do not be greedy.
If you grow too quickly, your mind will collapse.
==================
The condition was to eat excrement.
It wasn’t a particularly difficult condition.
This much was manageable.
As long as I didn’t get greedy, there would be no risk of mental collapse.
I just had to grow slowly—very slowly.
I had plenty of time.
***
The power of monsters weakens around an explorer.
The strength gained through the Solitary One trait was no different.
It was only natural that the power I absorbed was in a weakened state.
Since I was absorbing the strength of monsters when they were weakened, the true power of the monsters wasn’t transferred.
It didn’t matter if the owner of the excrement was far away.
This, too, was expected.
If I could exert my full strength while everything around me was weakened, it would be unfair.
I wasn’t disappointed.
I believed that once I became the ruler of the labyrinth, the restrictions on my power would be lifted.
Ah. By the way, my time in the labyrinth was quite smooth.
I could easily wipe out most monsters.
Not with the power gained from the Solitary One trait.
But with my own original power.
This was probably a privilege granted to explorers.
Drifters don’t experience a weakening of their power either, but…
This privilege was of a different nature.
Drifters don’t have the ability to weaken monsters around them like explorers do. Even with their power intact, they still have to face strong monsters.
Can’t they just join forces with an explorer?
No.
Drifters who approach an explorer will have their power weakened, just like a monster.
But, even when I met another explorer, my original power remained intact.
Thanks to that, I was able to roam the labyrinth, easily defeating most monsters.
Then, one day.
A sense of impatience suddenly set in.
Was I truly getting stronger?
I began to have growing doubts.
The power I gained from the Solitary One trait was still in a weakened state.
The strength I absorbed through the trait was weaker than my original power.
Since I couldn’t fully feel my current strength, I kept questioning whether I was truly growing stronger.
I wanted to become stronger.
Much stronger.
I knew that once I became the ruler, my power would naturally be unleashed, but it was becoming harder to wait.
My greed began to fester.
And eventually, I made the worst possible choice.
I consumed the excrement of a monster whose strength was equal to, or even greater than, my own original power—strength that was unweakened.
And then, I realized something was wrong.
The restraints on my power began to lift.
Not my original power, but the strength gained from the Solitary One trait.
Monsters lingering nearby also had their power restraints lifted.
Soon, my original strength and the power from the Solitary One trait merged.
I could feel with certainty that I was becoming even stronger than before I had become an explorer.
At the same time, a headache as though my brain was being torn apart overwhelmed me.
My breath grew ragged, and my vision started to blur.
It felt as though my soul was being consumed by darkness.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What was my goal?
Was eating excrement the purpose of my life?
My name is…
Now, my memories began to blur, and my identity started to fade.
It was the moment my qualification as an explorer was revoked.
I sensed that it was all over.
And before I completely lost my sense of self, I left a note.
Hoping that future explorers wouldn’t repeat my mistake.
And wishing that, when my mind finally collapsed and I turned into a monster, they would grant me rest.
After that.
I, Azeras, fell into a state worse than other monsters… becoming a creature with barely any sanity left.
A disaster brought on by excessive greed and a foolish choice.
*
*
*
*
*
*
I want to die.
I need to eat excrement.
I move.
“Excrement…”
I move.
I want to die.
Something appears.
I need to eat excrement.
Simple thoughts dominated my brain.
A monster wandering the labyrinth, driven by the sole desire to eat excrement.
The former explorer.
While dealing with monsters that suddenly attacked, Azeras noticed a strange sensation.
Something had attached to her back.
It wasn’t giving off any killing intent, so it took her a while to notice.
She could easily remove it if he wanted to, but…
She didn’t want to.
“…It’s good.”
A pleasant calm washed over her.
Her mind began to clear and sharpen.
In the end, intoxicated by the comforting warmth wrapping around his body, Azeras decided not to remove the arm attached to her back.
By the time a day had passed.
Azeras’ memories started to return bit by bit.
“I… am still… alive… It’s been… so long.”
And after two days had passed.
“This power is… the Assisted One…”
She remembered who he was.
And realized why this was happening.
Azeras began to walk.
Moving forward, step by step.
To meet the ‘friend’ who had saved her from the darkness she had been lost in for so long.
***
Azeras arrived at Kang Geon’s hideout.
Kang Geon was eating meat with his monsters.
Azeras slowly took in the sight of him.
This man, more trustworthy than anyone she had ever met.
A man whose very presence brought a sense of peace and familiarity, like an old friend.
“Oh, you’re here?”
【Pururu】─Ugh! The monster’s here!
【Mysticism】─😶
Kang Geon waved at Azeras.
Azeras, as if entranced, slowly walked toward him.
“You made it here all right. I was starting to think I’d have to go find you since it’s been a while since your name popped up on the tamed monster list.”
“…”
Azeras, though she had lost her qualification as an explorer and no longer had any purpose, gained a new goal the moment she met Kang Geon today.
“Come sit. Let’s eat some meat together first. We can talk over the meal.”
“…”
“You’re not saying you’ll only eat excrement, right? If you want, I can gather the others’ poop right now.”
“Meat… I’ll eat… poop, no.”
“Ah, Dog Spider already pooped, but if you don’t want it, no problem. I’ll feed it to the Black Magma Slime. But why’s your speech so clumsy? Did your intelligence not fully come back?”
“My memory has returned… but my intelligence… has not fully… recovered.”
“Do you remember your name?”
“…Azeras.”
Azeras sat beside Kang Geon.
And while looking at her, she made a vow.
To assist and serve this man, and make him the ruler of the Ancient Labyrinth.