Chapter 677

Endless darkness.

What is this?

Am I dead?

Yeah.

Maybe I really am dead.

My hands, feet, and head exploded, so how could I have survived?

But I die this pointlessly?

Just as he was thinking that.

‘Wait, if I’m dead, can I even have thoughts like this?’

Along with that thought, his mind suddenly snapped awake.

“You’re finally awake.”

He jerked his body upright as if he had just had a nightmare.

Then, in front of him, Jack and Hyman were sitting before a campfire, grilling meat and eating it.

Jack held up a whole roasted pig on a skewer, though Su-ho had no idea where he had gotten it, and waved it at him.

“W-What happened?”

“What happened? You died once.”

“I died?”

“Just kidding. Actually, you didn’t die, you exploded.”

“Exploded...... I experienced that myself, so...... Huh? Exploded?”

“Yeah. You said you experienced it yourself. Literally. First your hand exploded, then your leg exploded, and after that your head exploded. How could you keep your consciousness after that? You just dropped right where you stood.”

“Ah.......”

His mouth fell open.

He had clearly heard it with both ears.

But even though he felt like he understood, somehow he still did not understand.

What?

What was that supposed to mean?

Seeing Su-ho’s blank expression, Hyman snickered and patted the spot beside him.

“Come sit down first. You must be getting hungry by now.”

“Ah, yes.”

He hurried over and sat down.

He could not feel any malice from this man.

So he did not feel much resistance toward him.

When Su-ho sat beside him, Hyman pulled out one of the meat skewers that had been grilling over the campfire and held it out.

“Thank you.”

“There’s plenty, so eat as much as you want. Want some alcohol too?”

“Yes, if you give me some, I’ll gladly drink it.”

Naturally, he was handed a bottle of alcohol as well.

It was in a glass bottle, and when he tasted it, it was beer.

And quite refreshing beer at that.

It was so delicious that after taking a sip, a “Khh-” escaped him without realizing it.

“Good, right?”

“Yes, it’s good.”

“You’ve probably done nothing but fight without a moment to rest since coming here, so of course it tastes even better. Eat comfortably. Even a dog isn’t bothered while it’s eating.”

“Thank you, then.......”

“Hoho, look at this brat. I tell you to eat comfortably, and you really start eating comfortably? You think you’re supposed to let your guard down at a trial ground?”

“What? Ah, no, I’m sorry.”

“I’m joking. Seriously, eat comfortably.”

“.......”

“Ah, I really mean it?”

“......Understood.”

“Huh? You believe that again?”

“I’ll just stop eating.”

“Ah, seriously, it was a joke, a joke. I won’t joke about food anymore, so really, eat comfortably.”

“.......”

“I mean it.”

“......Understood.”

Hyman chuckled.

Jack, who had been watching from beside them, snickered as well.

What was with this man?

Was he really a Giant King?

At that moment, Hyman spoke.

“I really am a Giant King.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“I know. But I can read thoughts.”

“Don’t lie.”

“Huh? It’s true?”

“I know it isn’t. I can read thoughts too.”

“Don’t lie. You don’t have an ability like that.”

“That’s right, actually I don’t.”

“See? I told you I have it.”

“Really?”

“No, I don’t.”

“.......”

“Kekekeke.”

“Kekekeke.”

Hyman and Jack laughed.

They really knew how to have fun.

He sighed and went back to eating the meat.

Still, the meat was good.

He would let it slide because the alcohol and meat tasted good.

Hyman took a sip of alcohol too, let out a “Khh-” of admiration, and spoke.

“Now then, a question. Why did you end up like that?”

“Wasn’t it simply because I’m weak?”

“What exactly do you think is weak?”

“Just everything?”

“Oh dear...... To think someone like this is a candidate for the next Giant King. Are you really going to be able to take the throne like this?”

“Please help me a lot, senior.”

“Why am I your senior?”

“You said you were a Giant King. I’m a Giant King candidate. So wouldn’t that make us senior and junior?”

“That would only be true if you were a Giant King, wouldn’t it?”

“You also had a time when you were a candidate, senior, so it’s half right.”

“Kekeke, that actually makes sense too. Fine, junior. I’ll specially tell you for the sake of my junior. The reason you exploded wasn’t simply because you were weak. Certain parts were especially weak. For example.”

While explaining, he tapped his head with the bottle he was holding.

“Head?”

At that question, he tapped his arm too.

“Arm?”

Then he tapped both his upper and lower body once each.

“......Are you saying everything is just weak?”

“Ding-dong-dang, correct.”

He really went out of his way to say it.

But then what I said was right, wasn’t it?

“Then wasn’t I right when I said everything was weak at first?”

“Are you proud of being weak?”

“No, but.......”

“Just kidding. Everything being weak and only your body being weak are different things. Well...... your mind seems good enough, and what matters is this physical problem.”

The body.

Was he finally getting to the point?

His ears perked up.

“What do you think is weak about it?”

“Junior, your body itself is simply weak. To be precise, you fall quite far short of the physical conditions needed to achieve Gigantification.”

For Gigantification?

I see.

That could be the case.

If a being that had not been a giant from birth suddenly enlarged its body, there would naturally be strain.

As he nodded while thinking that, information about the Giant Bloodline suddenly came to mind.

‘The third authority of the Giant Bloodline.’

The Giant God Body.

He immediately checked the information.

[ Giant God Body ]

# A giant’s body differs from ordinary creatures starting from its very structure and composition.

# One who is not of the giant race can inherit giant blood and use the power of giants. However, because of innate physical limitations, that power cannot be used for long.

# But by acquiring the Giant God Body, you now possess a body capable of fully enduring the power of giants.

# Giant God Body greatly increases the Giant Strength stat and removes the risks involved in using various giant techniques, including Gigantification.

The third authority, Giant God Body.

As an additional option, he had even obtained Giant Sense.

Something was strange.

I already have Giant God Body, so why is my body weak?

He immediately asked.

“But I.......”

“You thought it was strange, right? You clearly have Giant God Body.”

“How did you know?”

“I told you earlier. I can read thoughts.”

“You said you actually couldn’t?”

“Ah, did I? But I just got the ability.”

“.......”

Why do I even bother talking?

When Su-ho let out a deep sigh, Hyman snickered and spoke.

“Anyway, there’s nothing particularly wrong with the Giant God Body you have. It’s just that its use is a little different, shall we say?”

“Its use?”

“Think carefully. You already inherited the Giant Bloodline and you also had a skill called Gigantification. Then why did you specifically have to absorb something called the Rune of the Giant here, and why did you have to learn it all over again?”

“That’s.......”

“Because we’re perverts who enjoy tormenting people?”

“I didn’t think that.”

“I know. If you had, you’d have been disqualified immediately.”

“.......”

He ignored him.

Returning to the main point, he thought about it.

In truth, it was something he had briefly wondered about when he first encountered the Rune of the Giant.

I already have Gigantification, so why did they specifically put me through this kind of process?

Sword Demon suddenly came to mind.

‘Embodiment?’

A swordsman is nothing without a sword.

But by turning both body and mind into a sword, he had made it possible to become an eternal swordsman.

Then what about a giant?

Seeing Su-ho’s expression, Hyman smiled.

“That’s right. Exactly that.”

“I still haven’t said anything?”

“But you realized it. What you’re thinking is correct.”

“What did I realize?”

“The thing you’re thinking about.”

“.......”

“You thought of Embodiment.”

“......That’s right.”

“See, I was right.”

“Yes, you were.”

“Are you sulking?”

“I’m not sulking.”

“Come on, you’re sulking.”

“.......”

“Fine, fine. Joke, joke.”

When Su-ho quietly closed his eyes, Hyman chuckled and continued.

“What have you heard the most on your way here?”

“What I’ve heard the most?”

After thinking for a moment, he answered.

“Fake giant.”

“That’s right. Why do you think that is?”

“Because I wasn’t born a giant and became one through the power of the System.”

“That’s right. And was there any other giant who was called a fake giant?”

“I don’t think there was anyone besides me.”

“It’s not that there wasn’t. You were the only one. That’s why everyone had been watching you closely. But in the end, the guy everyone called a fake made it all the way here. Why do you think that was?”

“That’s.......”

He answered honestly.

“I think it was because I had other powers too. And I think that’s why I was able to defeat Deckers.”

“That’s right. That’s why you were able to become the second being in the history of giants to defeat Deckers. He was designed and created entirely as the natural enemy of giants.”

“The second.......”

He suddenly remembered what Deckers had said.

That aside from that one person, no one had ever managed to defeat him.

Su-ho’s eyes widened as he looked at Hyman.

“Then you couldn’t defeat Deckers either, senior?”

“Yeah, throughout history, there was only one being who ever defeated Deckers. The First Giant King.”

“Then how did you become Giant King, senior? Don’t you have to defeat Deckers in order to take the next trial?”

“That’s why I told you earlier.”

“Told me what?”

“We only have the title of Giant King. We aren’t the real thing.”

“What does that...... Ah!”

He had wondered what those words meant, but now he finally understood.

“Who do you think created the Giant King Competition? None other than the First Giant King. That’s why the hurdle was too high. Because the standard was himself. As proof, everyone, including me, was eliminated at Deckers. We needed a solution. After all, even for the sake of maintaining order, we needed a king. So the elders added an alternative trial after the existing trial. Everyone else, including me, became king through that alternative trial. So in truth, we can’t really be considered genuine. Well...... to put it simply, you could call it something like a losers’ revival round.”

He chuckled and took a sip of alcohol.

“For a long time, I wondered. Why did he create a trial that no one could even pass? But only today did that mystery finally get solved. From the very beginning, the First King had been waiting for a being like you. Not a being who was only a giant, but a being who was also a giant.”

“A being who was also a giant?”

“Why do you think he died?”

“I’m not sure, I...... Ah.”

One word suddenly came to mind.

Hyman gave a bitter smile.

“That’s right. All of this was because of Overment.”