After leaving the Village Chief's house, I decided to explore Sunset Village while waiting for Kang Myungjin to return.
It was underwhelming. There wasn't much to see. With a population of only 200, I could walk through the entire village in about fifteen minutes.
Sunset Mountain. The Sun's Adversary resides at its peak.
More precisely, the Pseudo-Sun's Adversary. District 406, Sunset Mountain, is conquered by defeating the Pseudo-Sun's Adversary. Once that Pseudo-Sun's Adversary is defeated, the territory can be claimed.
Defeating the Pseudo-Sun's Adversary grants one SS-Rank item and one Spirit Medicine.
I have the Aegis Amulet. If I combine it with Momentary... it might be possible.
I gazed up at Sunset Mountain, the towering peak behind Sunset Village. Unusually, a straight path led directly to the summit. If I ran without stopping for an hour, I figured I could reach the top.
An ordinary person would take several hours, but my current physical abilities far surpass those of my real-world body.
I might even make it in less than an hour.
...Should I give it a try? I want that Spirit Medicine more than anything else.
I knew my talent was utterly mediocre. I had no innate gifts. My victory in Dungeon Survival had been due to Thunderbolt and Acceleration, and a stroke of good luck.
While I was currently stronger than Kang Myungjin and Ju Seohyun, I was certain they would surpass me in time.
"If I'm weaker than them, that means I'll have to kowtow to them."
I pondered this deeply.
Kang Myungjin would later defeat the Sun's Adversary (Pseudo-God) and acquire his weapon. That weapon would prove crucial in several key moments.
But that was still years away.
I exist here, a character absent from the original story. From this point onward, the future will diverge from the original narrative.
The heroine, Ju Seohyun, had already become mine. The original plot was already creaking under the strain.
If the future is destined to change anyway, what harm could come from altering it now?
Even if I defeated the Sun's Adversary (False God), the early stages of the original story wouldn't be significantly disrupted. Kang Myungjin, who had thoroughly grasped the lore of God's Atlantis, would continue to grow without major setbacks, even if his Spirit Medicine was stolen.
Since when did I ever care about the original story? This is the Game World, after all. I'll do whatever I want. Time for me to become a munchkin too!
I had decided to become a munchkin in this world.
With this firm resolve, I set out for Sunset Mountain.
As soon as I left the village and stepped onto the path leading to Sunset Mountain, notification windows popped up:
The Sun's Adversary (Pseudo) is watching you.
The King of the Demonic Heavens anticipates.
The Lord of the Heavens strokes his beard.
The Golden Collector narrows his eyes.
The Fallen Star cheers for the Sun's Adversary (Pseudo).
The Sun's Adversary is watching you.
Using mana to enhance my vision, I could see a man standing at the mountain's peak.
The man with black hair wore his hair in a topknot, his upper body bare, showcasing his taut muscles. He held a crimson bow in his hand and carried a sword at his waist.
The Sun's Adversary (Pseudo) was a hero from Chinese mythology.
A hero who had shot down nine of the ten suns with his bow.
Ye .
Even as a Pseudo-God, not the true deity, his Divine Throne was incomparably more powerful than L Bu's.
Ye looked at me and spoke.
"Exile, withdraw. I will not permit entry to Sunset Mountain."
His deep, resonant voice carried across the distance, sounding as if he were speaking right beside me.
"From this day forward, Sunset Mountain belongs to me."
With these bold words, he began sprinting toward the summit of Sunset Mountain.
"Foolish. Just because you see the sun doesn't mean it's close."
Ye aimed his bow at me and drew back the string. An arrow materialized on the taut string. I swallowed hard, my eyes fixed on the arrow.
The arrow that felled the sun. Even if he's a Pseudo-God, I can't underestimate it.
Fortunately, I didn't possess the sun's essence. If I had, I wouldn't have been able to evade the arrow.
The arrow shot forth. I activated Momentary in response.
Momentary activated. Remaining stacks: 4
The world slowed around me, yet the arrow hurtling toward me retained its deadly speed. There was no time for hesitation. I leaped to the right just before the arrow struck.
An arrow whizzed past my side and embedded itself in the ground.
Boom!
A crater formed as if a meteorite had struck. I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand.
Shit. I'm suddenly regretting this. Should I just run now?
No. I've come this far. I can't back down now.
I started running forward again.
"So you have at least the minimum skill to be reckless..."
Ye began drawing his bowstring again. Fortunately, unlike the first shot, it now took some time for each subsequent arrow to materialize.
He can't fire arrows in rapid succession like in the original story.
Instead, the power of each arrow grew stronger with each shot. Ye could fire a maximum of ten arrows.
Ye can't fire the tenth arrow. He can only fire that one once. He's already chosen where he'll aim it.
In other words, Ye could only fire nine arrows. After that, he wouldn't use his bow again.
Ye's close-combat skills aren't great. If I can withstand his nine arrows or reach him before then, I'll win.
The Aegis Amulet could block three arrows, and by using Momentary five times, I could probably evade the rest.
But that left one problem:
I have no choice but to dodge the remaining arrow. I need to avoid the ones he fires early on.
I had to dodge the first arrow with Momentary. I needed to gauge its speed.
At this speed... I can evade it.
The second arrow flew toward me.
I timed my dodge to the left, but froze mid-motion. The arrow was faster than I'd anticipated. My movements couldn't keep up with its speed.
"Momentary!"
Momentary activated. Remaining stacks: 3
I dodged using Momentary.
There was no other choice. Without it, I would have been hit for sure. I couldn't waste the Aegis Amulet's charges on just the second arrow.
The third arrow came hurtling toward me.
This time, I tried to dodge without using Momentary, but the arrow's increased speed terrified me, forcing me to activate it again.
Momentary activated. Remaining stacks: 2
Stowing the Aegis Amulet in my inventory and attempting a glancing dodge was impossible. Judging by its power, even a graze would be fatal. My trump card, Complete Recovery, could only be used if I survived.
Damn it. Time to change tactics. I need to reach him before the ninth arrow is fired.
I sprinted with all my might.
I narrowly dodged the fourth and fifth arrows.
Momentary used. Remaining stacks: 0
I could no longer use Momentary.
Ye began drawing back the bowstring, preparing the sixth arrow. This arrow was different from the others, emitting a pure white light.
"I'll admit it. You're no ordinary human."
The glowing white arrow shot toward me. The moment I registered its blinding flash, it was already before me.
A translucent hexagonal shield materialized, blocking the luminous arrow. With a deafening crack that seemed to tear the very fabric of space, the shattered arrow fell to the ground.
Aegis Amulet remaining uses: 2
Gritting my teeth, I continued running.
Ye prepared the seventh arrow.
I reached out toward him. At this distance, I could touch him.
"Manroe!"
A thunderous roar accompanied a bolt of azure lightning that surged toward Ye.
Ye leaped upward, evading the lightning. Soaring over five meters into the air, he maintained perfect balance as he fired his seventh arrow.
A hexagonal shield materialized before me, blocking the arrow. The shockwave alone sent nearby trees flying.
That bastard... He's drawing his bow again without even pausing!
The eighth arrow required over ten minutes of preparation, indicating its immense power.
...Could it even pierce the Aegis Amulet?
Contrary to my fears, the Aegis Amulet successfully blocked the eighth arrow.
"Impressive," Ye remarked. "I never imagined I'd be forced to use nine Sunset Arrows against a single opponent."
I was drenched in cold sweat. Based on the pattern so far, the ninth arrow would likely require thirteen minutes of preparation time.
I can't cover the remaining distance in just thirteen minutes. I'm running out of time!
This guy casually dodges lightning. Pulling out my gun for a ranged attack would likely be pointless.
Should I beg for forgiveness? No, that definitely won't work. There has to be a way. A way...
Then, a solution flashed into my mind.
The setting guide for God's Atlantis contained detailed information about Ye, the Sun's Adversary (Pseudo-God). I knew his true purpose.
If I use that method, there's a chance...
What worries me are the Divine Thrones watching over me. I suspect they'll react favorably, but the Fallen Star might try to interfere.
Ah, screw it. What matters is surviving right now. I don't need to worry about the Divine Thrones.
Thinking about the future, this might actually be a good thing.
I have the Lord of the Heavens and the King of the Demonic Heavens backing me. I don't trust them much, but they won't let the Fallen Star mess with me.
Having made my decision, I shouted at Ye:
"Ye ! I know what your true purpose is!"
Ye's posture remained unchanged, but curiosity flickered in his eyes as he looked at me.
"You claim to know my purpose? I've never revealed it to anyone."
The Sun's Adversary is glaring at you, his brow furrowed.
Even the true Sun's Adversary was showing interest.
This was inevitable. Even if the Ye before me was a fake, it was a fake based on the real thing. Unless under exceptional circumstances, a Pseudo-God would possess a personality, values, and goals similar to those of the true Divine Throne.
"I'm a Returner!" Ye declared, drawing his bowstring taut before freezing mid-motion. He stared intently at me, motionless.
"A Returner... you mean you've come back from the future?"
"Exactly!"
The Sun's Adversary's eyes widen.
The Fallen Star rubs his ears in disbelief.
The Lord of the Heavens rests his chin in his hand.
Returner.
In Atlantis, while special, they weren't considered extraordinary beings.
According to the lore, Returners existed in the second and fifth Atlantises. After all, even if humans travel back in time, they remain merely human.
Knowing future knowledge doesn't guarantee its effective use. The future isn't absolute.
In reality, the Returners of the second and fifth Atlantises became exceptional Exiles, but they never reached the pinnacle.
"...That alone isn't enough to convince me. Tell me my true purpose."
"Lord Ye is awaiting the solar eclipse that will occur in a few years!"
"...Correct. But that's insufficient. Do you know why I'm waiting for that day?"
"A solar eclipse is when the moon obscures the sun, when the sun and moon align in a straight line. Lord Ye is waiting for the eclipse to kill that damned woman on the moon with his tenth arrow!"
Ye's arrows unleash their true power only when aimed at the sun. During a solar eclipse, firing an arrow at the sun is effectively the same as shooting at the moon.
Ye's ultimate goal is to fully unleash the power of his tenth arrow to kill Heng'e, the woman on the moon.
"You know everything. Are you truly a Returner...?"
Ye lowered his bow.
One reason my lie worked was likely due to the influence of my unique Trait, "Deception (SS)."
"Traveler from across time, I ask you: did I kill that woman?"
"You failed."
In the original story, he never even got the chance to try. Kang Myungjin killed him before the solar eclipse occurred.
Even if he had fired the tenth arrow during the solar eclipse as planned, his chances of success would have been slim. Heng'e wouldn't have stood still and taken the arrow. More importantly, Heng'e was already watching Ye closely.
"...I see," Ye said calmly, nodding. He seemed to have anticipated his own failure.
"Why have you come to me?"
"To rule Area 406. But as I am now, I have no hope of defeating Lord Ye. So I propose a deal."
"A deal?"
"I swear to hunt down that damned bitch on the moon myself! In exchange, grant me control of Sunset Mountain!"
The Sun's Adversary opens his mouth.
"The King of the Demonic Heavens chuckles."
"The Lord of the Heavens claps in admiration."