The ghost chased Balance, but was blocked by the girl.
"So you're the spirit causing trouble here, huh?"
The girl drew her sword from its sheath.
Then she slashed the ghost, which slowly vanished, leaving behind shimmering feathers scattered in the air.
The girl turned toward Balance as he ran.
Golden eyes with the symbol of the sun shone clearly, watching Balance.
"It's better this way, Balance. You'd better forget me.
But if the threads of fate connect us, then I won't be able to avoid it."
She looked down the opposite corridor.
Then she walked forward, hunting the ghost, with light guiding her.
Back to Balance.
Balance stopped outside the building, checking if the ghost was still chasing him.
"She's not chasing me anymore, right?" Balance said, panting.
"YEAH!"
"What did you say just now?" Balance asked.
"I ALREADY PUT IT IN THE ARCHIVES; GO READ IT YOURSELF! HMPH."
Balance sighed, then looked up at the second floor where he had met the girl.
"She feels familiar, but I don't remember her."
Maybe those memories were too old. I don't even remember my friends' faces from the early chapters.
And Orion… even though we've met, his face looks blurry to me, like something is blocking it.
Is that the system's doing?
"Goddess, you can read my mind, right? Why won't you answer my question?"
The system window appeared again.
"THE ANSWER WILL COME WITH YOUR DEVELOPMENT."
Balance lowered his head again.
"Alright, Goddess, if that's what you've decided."
He looked toward the city's central tree.
"My journey is still too long, it seems."
After that, I returned to the room where I had been treated earlier, trembling with fear. I searched for my bag, and once I found it, I went to look for the nearest inn.
"But maybe I'll just stay here tonight. Since it's already night, no inns will be open."
I slept in the treatment room that night, and at dawn I hurried to find the nearest inn.
After getting one, I immediately went to register for Rift training.
I saw a long, crowded line of Council members.
"Even this early?"
I muttered with a strange feeling.
"This really is a super popular place."
Balance clenched his fists, then sighed.
Inside, he encouraged himself.
"Come on, Balance, you can get through this exhausting day, you hopeless shut-in!"
He stepped forward to queue for the tutorial Rift.
A few minutes later…
Balance complained about how long the line was.
Half an hour later…
"When will this end?"
By noon, Balance finally got to fill out the form to enter Rift training.
"Please fill this out, sir."
The staff handed it to me.
After writing and handing it back, the staff looked surprised.
"Sorry, don't you have a Soul Weapon?"
I answered honestly.
"My Goddess who contracted with me said I don't need a weapon yet."
The staff nodded in understanding, then called her friend to guide me into training.
Her name was Miss Ange, with light-blue curly hair from her contract with the moon goddess Diana, and her element was water from Valkrie's sacred well. That's why her hair was different from other Diana contractors, who should have pure white hair. She had clear blue eyes and skin as white as milk.
This Rift wasn't like the usual ones—dark, ruined, disgusting. This one was more like a museum and training arena to measure Council strength and growth. It looked like an office with tiled floors, with doors leading to vast dimensions.
"Here is where you learn different weapons. Beside it is the dimension to study monsters from various mythologies. And at the end is the door to learn the legends of gods and goddesses."
Miss Ange turned to me.
"Anything that interests you, sir?" she asked with a sincere smile.
I nodded.
"I'll go to the room at the end."
Miss Ange was shocked.
"So you want to study the gods?"
I looked at her and asked, "Why are you surprised? Is something wrong?"
She explained:
"Sir, honestly most Council members aren't close to their gods. If they don't know their gods, they assume the ones who chose them are low-class gods and curse them before learning the truth. Those who do know their gods usually study them through family tradition."
I finally understood. I felt a little pity for the forgotten gods.
I walked into the room. When the door opened, a vast dimension stretched out, filled with relics used by gods and goddesses as they grew.
There were many old records from before the Night family came to this world.
But many records of gods and goddesses were missing due to conflicts in Yggdrasil—like the soul goddess Pysce, the three supporting elements: Creation, Justice, and Destroyer, and others including the Hero.
Gods and goddesses are concepts of the universe. They can be good or evil depending on their perspective of us—just like humans.
Balance pondered while holding Aphrodite's records.
But all these records kept mentioning the gods and goddesses who disappeared. Maybe they were great ones, but something happened in that conflict.
"ISN'T THAT AN EXCITING STORY? GODS AND GODDESSES BASICALLY HAVE TWO OPPOSING SIDES IN THEM, JUST LIKE HUMANS. BUT MOST GODS FROM NIRVANA THINK THEY'RE THE PUREST AND DON'T WANT TO BE CONTAMINATED BY DARK CREATURES LIKE TARTARUS, REAL ABYSS, OR LOWLY HUMANS. THOUGH MANY GODS COME FROM THOSE GROUPS." The Goddess smiled behind the monitor.
"Are you like that too, Goddess?" Balance asked.
"NOT REALLY. IF THEY'RE CUTE, I'LL TAKE THEM!" she answered cheerfully.
"So… are you a pedo?!" Balance asked suspiciously.
Balance looked wary.
"I'M NOT A PEDO! I JUST LIKE CUTE THINGS! IF I WASN'T LIKE THIS, I WOULDN'T HAVE CHOSEN YOU AS A BABY!" the Goddess protested.
Balance bit his lip, slammed his hand against the system screen.
"Pervert!" Balance shouted.
"BALANCE, STOP! SORRY!"
Balance shook the system screen harder.
"BALANCE, I'M DIZZY! PLEASE! SORRY!! HUAAAAA /v\."
Balance slammed the system screen again, this time loudly.
BRAKK!!
"GOOD THING THIS IS MADE OF MATERIAL THAT WON'T BREAK NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO."
"Damn."
After reading the gods' history and profiles, Balance learned something about his Goddess—that she had never chosen a Council before, even though many wanted contracts with her.
"Were they not cute enough?" I asked the Goddess.
"THEY WERE ALL MUSCULAR, I GOT SCARED," she typed honestly.
"Your taste is weird, Goddess."
Balance then left the library Rift to start an expedition.
"I'm going."
Balance slammed the system screen again, loudly.
Miss Ange, waiting at the front door, greeted me.
"Sir, how many hours were you inside?"
Miss Ange was shocked at how long I had studied the gods.
"You really love those legends, huh? You were inside for a whole day. Are you hungry? We've prepared free food as service." she said kindly.
I tried to refuse, too embarrassed, but…
KRUUUUUK~
My stomach said otherwise.
Balance's face turned red.
"Wow, you really ran out of energy, huh?" Miss Ange quickly grabbed my hand.
"Come on! Let's go to the dining hall! There's a really delicious menu today!" She pulled me with such enthusiasm I couldn't refuse.
For now, I'd just go with the flow.
When I arrived at the large dining hall, decorated with futuristic attributes and old jars at the sides, it was crowded.
"Is the food today really that good?" I wondered.
Though crowded, people here weren't as noisy as at the entrance. Everyone was more orderly, and most looked experienced.
Most were high-ranking genius Council members or older ones who hadn't advanced.
"This is like a place where veterans act humble," I thought.
I looked at the food provided.
There was lasagna with layers of melted cheese, lots of meat, and other luxurious dishes. I couldn't believe it was all free!
I thought: They must have too much money!
I took as much as I could.
Just a little… maybe?
Without realizing, I carried a mountain of food, becoming the center of attention.
People around started whispering. Was I a newcomer barging in? Or who?
Miss Ange defended me, explaining to them.
"Everyone, sorry for the panic. But isn't this dining hall public? This kid is just starving after studying the goddesses. As seniors, shouldn't we help him?" Miss Ange said confidently.
People easily believed her. Her reputation here was clearly excellent.
With her warm smile to all the visitors, if she had been born into a better situation, she probably would have become a famous celebrity.
After finishing my food and cleaning up the dishes, I said goodbye to them.
But before that, I secretly checked Miss Ange's status.
Name = Ange Age = 29 years Goddess = Diana Class = Priestess Level = 300 Title = Child who survived the Valkrie nation massacre
After seeing her status, I felt relieved. She wasn't two-faced—she was truly pure.
I said goodbye to everyone there, and they encouraged me to keep learning and growing.
The light outside the door shone on me, and I smiled.
"See you all!"
I hope Miss Ange finds a better life someday…
To be continued.