Chapter 324

"Ansu."

"If the Original Sea were to fully descend... what exactly would happen?"

Everything before had unfolded too quickly.

Rei hadn’t had the chance to press for details, and after Pure White’s descent, Ansu had gone silent within his consciousness—clearly avoiding detection by Shiro.

Only now, after stabilizing his condition, did Rei reach out again.

"If the Original Sea descends, all land in this world will vanish without a trace," Ansu replied. "Everything will become an endless ocean. Life that once lived on land will fall into the sea—and will be unable to survive within it."

"...But I cannot see such a future."

Ansu let out a soft chuckle. "A descent of that magnitude would naturally be orchestrated through meticulous planning. Do you really think your crude foresight could glimpse it?"

Crude foresight?

Rei instinctively wanted to argue—but after a moment’s reflection...

It was true.

His Seer class level was still far too low.

Compared to his other Level 5 classes, his Seer was only Level 2. Against peers of the same level, he could already perceive far more of the future.

But when measured against true high-tier beings...

The gap was vast—overwhelmingly so.

"But if I hadn’t been there..."

"Would it really have happened?"

At that question, Ansu paused.

"...Perhaps it would have. Perhaps it wouldn’t."

"This world has endured far more calamities than you can imagine. Yet every time, it has survived—and over long stretches of time, it has flourished once more."

"There are always those who rise—figures called ’heroes’—who carve their names into history."

"Even I, who once ruled the entire world, was defeated by a so-called ’hero’ who came to overthrow an evil king."

"Heh..."

"Perhaps, aside from you, there are others even now doing the same—saving the world in their own way."

"But tell me—are you really willing to entrust life and death to some unknown savior who may or may not appear?"

Of course not.

Even knowing others might exist...

Even seeing the threads of fate that hinted at their survival...

Rei had no intention of entrusting his destiny to an unknown variable.

Ansu continued, amused.

"In truth, world-ending crises occur far more frequently than you think."

"But there are always those who stand guard over this world."

"Kid, don’t assume you’re the only savior..."

"Besides, the destruction of the world is unfavorable to many gods trapped within their divine realms. If it doesn’t benefit them, they will naturally intervene to prevent it."

"After all, if there’s no one left to serve them... how would they ever descend?"

The descent of a god required the collective effort of countless believers.

I see...

No wonder the world seemed so dangerous—yet remained stable.

At least on the surface, it maintained a precarious equilibrium.

Over the next few hours after waking, Rei did nothing but整理 his thoughts, organizing everything that had happened recently and bringing every aspect of his condition back to peak.

Then—

He conducted another future simulation.

This time, he projected thirty days ahead.

May 2nd. The Month of Purity.

A month without Moon Entities, without any special events.

All he saw was a vast, clear sky.

He stood aboard a moderately sized ship.

Around it, space twisted and folded—the vessel itself compressing space as it sped across the Moon Sea.

Onboard were Luluwy and Reika.

Luluwy had already advanced to a Level 6 Archer.

Reika had reached Level 5 Assassin.

But...

Where was Yuna?

He should have brought her along.

Better to confirm.

Within the simulation, Rei gathered information.

He learned that he was sailing toward the Land of Moonfall—

A necessary passage to reach the World Tree at the center of the world.

Over the course of that month, the Moon Sea remained relatively calm.

His alchemy had also made significant progress.

Rei checked the records he had left behind.

There were numerous formulas recorded—

All newly created and tested potion recipes developed over the past month.

As for his parents—

After consuming the potions, the two slime-type monsters had regained a degree of intelligence.

And Yuna...

Yuna had been taken away by scholars of the White Tower?

Transferred to the White Tower’s headquarters...

That was explosive information.

After a full day of simulation, Rei confirmed several uncertainties.

He withdrew from the future projection.

Then—

Spatial exchange. Instant movement.

Within a small house in Atlante City—

The structure was impregnable.

Rei had layered it with hundreds of thousands of defensive spells, reinforced by thousands of different restrictions.

He released the two monsters.

A blue slime.

And a pink slime.

They appeared in the center of the room.

At the sight of them, Rei couldn’t help but feel a faint stirring in his chest.

Then—

He took out a vial.

A potion capable of awakening intelligence in monsters.

Of course, he hadn’t used his parents as test subjects.

In his future simulations, he had already conducted the experiments.

Although he still didn’t know how to turn monsters back into humans—

He had at least confirmed that this potion could restore a degree of intelligence.

Moreover—

Once their intelligence returned, fragments of their memories from before becoming monsters also resurfaced.

Unfortunately...

Low-tier monsters possessed extremely limited cognitive capacity.

The memories they regained were incomplete.

Even after awakening, they wouldn’t appear particularly intelligent.

However—

This condition would improve as their rank increased.

Still...

There were far too many uncertainties.

Rei uncorked the vial.

Golden liquid dripped down, falling onto the two slimes, washing over their bodies.

Soon—

A faint mist began to rise from within them.

"Glu~"

"Guruu~"

Rei could feel it—

Their consciousness was becoming clearer.

They climbed onto his body.

But this time, there was no hostility.

Instead—

They conveyed a faint sense of affection.

They must have remembered something.

For Tier 1 monsters, this was the limit of their intelligence.

If he wanted them to regain higher cognition—

He would have to help them evolve.

Raise them into higher-tier, more powerful slimes.

Let his parents advance...

As monsters.

Rei couldn’t be sure—

After evolving as monsters, could they ever return to being human?

For now...

Keeping them as close to their original state as possible was the safest choice.

Besides—

He really couldn’t imagine it.

His dad and mom...

As high-tier monsters.

That image alone—

Was almost too much to handle.