Shilin glanced down at the lifeless body beneath his foot. He stomped on it once more to ensure the monstrosity was truly dead.
After waiting for ten seconds, he let out a deep sigh and collapsed to his knees.
He surveyed his sticky, blood-stained clothes and then gazed up at the deep red sky, which was gradually returning to its natural blue hue.
The large chaos dragon had terrorized this world, reducing the human population to less than a million.
Shilin exhaled deeply, feeling a profound sense of accomplishment as he remembered all those he had lost during his twelfth life.
"Ara'us Mahej, das!"
Shilin summoned twelve orbs that rotated around him like planets and saw how eleven out of the twelve spheres shone in front of him.
They were the runes that showed his power.
Out of the eleven, the last one slowly started to glow bright white, unlike the rest, which were different in color.
"Finally, huh… I wonder how long it will take this time."
The warrior with red hair and deep crimson eyes began to see his hand fading. Within seconds, the rest of his body started turning into dust.
"Oh crap, not this feeling agai—"
Before he could finish, his consciousness faded, and with it, his twelfth life in the world of Erudis.
Shilin's body reappeared in a white room filled with fog. Just as before, his limbs slowly formed into a hairless person with no distinct features. Lastly, his chest began to take shape, grain by grain.
"Took you long enough. Next time, can you just teleport me here? It feels nasty to be separated by grains of sand."
[Transcendent MVQ-18501, you have successfully paved your way to immortality once again. You have one more challenge ahead of you, if you so wish for. Due to your outstanding results, you are given the chance to choose your own challenge.
Do note: The more difficult, the greater the rewards.]
"Ugh, I wish you could just manifest yourself as a person; I really don't enjoy talking to your alter ego.
Anyway, I've been thinking… I've always pushed forward, solely focusing on my missions.
Throughout all my lives, I've been far too busy to have a girlfriend or wife. I did this knowing I would be immortal, but you know, it will be lonely and boring living by myself.
So, for my final challenge, how about letting me meet the twelve wives I was promised—one for each life I didn't get to enjoy, as well for each planet I helped save?"
Shilin smiled deviously, hoping his desire would come true.
[Searching... archives for answer...
No precedence found...
Awaiting the main body's reply...
Response sent: "Whatever, let him do it. If he fails, he dies. Assign it to realm category M."]
"What! Just like that I die? I guess I am asking a bit much by giving them immortality as well… but I don't want to live with a mortal who will die on me after a few hundred or less years...
But come on, I did all this twelve times, at least make it a little easier…"
Shilin waited for a few minutes, but no response came to his plea.
"Fuck… well, alright, whatever. Just let me get out of this creepy place."
[Mission Accepted: MVQ-18501, choose planet.]
"How about Earth… I miss my old home. And would it kill you to just call me by my name?"
[Planet Earth selected…
Mission Created: Find your twelve runes within…
World: Earth | Realm: Mythical | Powers: None
Assignment: Find your spouse in each era… Save, defend, or rally her to your cause. You will need to solve each era's trouble before advancing to the next.
Gather all twelve to complete your mission and transcend to immortality.
Time Limit: 12 years. Note: Average 1 year per spouse.]
Shilin wanted to both laugh and cry. He felt excited about a mission that would no longer be about saving a world by himself, but to find someone who he could really bond with and make immortal, he had enough with the quick flings that led to nothing thus far.
At the same time, he wanted to shed tears, as the fact he would not have any powers—and the realm was Mythical, even worse than the world with the dragon, which was only a Unique-level world.
"Well, I can't back off now. Each one will be immortal like me, right?"
[Affirmative. Each link-life will share your privileges.]
"Say no more, then. Let's get this show on the road—I want to finally know what having a wife feels like!"
As soon as he said those words, Shilin felt his soul being split into twelve, making him instantly kneel.
"Ara'us Mahej, das!" he exclaimed before the last of his power was drained.
Shilin saw how each rune's light was being drained.
Each one that had shone brightly in a different shade of color suddenly became dim.
"Damn it… how I hate feeling weak… it reminds me of my days as a mortal." Shilin muttered as he noticed his muscular, inhuman body becoming that of a frail, weak human.
His dominion over the elements became nonexistent, and his ability to control space and time was nullified.
"Fuck… back to the start, huh?" he mutters before suddenly being interrupted by a voice he knew well.
[Hahaha, what a bright idea you had, Shilin. I tried to hold back to see how angry you would be. Good thing you asked to be mortal for a while—now I can laugh at you all I want.]
[Good luck with your journey. I hope you die though. You gave me so many headaches. Who in their right mind asks for twelve missions to transcend? Was this your plan all along?
Well, whatever. Hopefully, we will never meet again. Now go find death in that world and don't come crying when you die.]
"Damian, you finally show up, you old weasel. Next time I see you, you're dead—or even deader than before… I swear I will…"
[Yeah, yeah, just leave already. I have so many others to check on…]