A tale from the distant past, unrecorded in the history of man.

There existed a God.

And then, the God gave birth to a world.

It was truly an ideal world.

The children of God grew up under the love of God.

Their blissful time seemed as though it was going to last forever.

However, out of the blue, it easily crumbled down.

The God vanished, and a new age was born.

The ones who reigned over the world were the more than ten thousand apostles of God.

They managed to control the world on behalf of God, but that was the extent of what they could accomplish with their power.

They allowed the birth of void beings.

Their power, which could threaten even the apostles, devoured countless lives.

The apostles joined forces to seal the void beings along with the land where they were born.

◇ ◇ ◇

「—Is this place that so-called sealed land-degozaru?」 「Yeah, it seems that magical energy gathers quite easily around this area. And because of this, it’s said that countless outrageous monsters have continuously been born here.」

A few days northeast away from Mount Poterongo. Team Tanaka arrived at a place located at the exact center of the continent. The valley region, which looked as though cutting a hole in the hilly area, was spread out, with the place forming the basin shrouded in fog.

Team Tanaka was looking down on the basin from the cliffs that formed its boundary. Due to the fog, they couldn’t see what kind of place it was.

「Nevertheless, it’s very quiet here-degozaru. Let alone monster, I can’t even sense the presence of any living being-degozaru.」

「That’s because this region is enclosed by barriers that were created with grand magic. That’s why, you can’t perceive what’s going on inside from the outside. To be honest, even I don’t know what’s going on inside either.」

In front of the basin, Kaku-san continued his explanation, while Suke-san stared at the fog with great interest.

As for Tanaka, his face was drenched in cold sweat. If you looked closely, you could even see the shivering of his body. It ought to be because his spirit was burning due to the impending battle against powerful enemies.「There are three barriers erected here. In addition to the barrier that disguises its appearance, which I mentioned just a moment ago, there is also a barrier that distorts your perception, preventing you from entering or leaving. It’s arranged so that whether you try to move from the inside to the outside or the other way around, your perception will be obstructed and you will eventually find yourself in your initial location.」

「Hmm.」

It was probably because the barriers were created by the administrators. Kaku-san seemed a little proud.

「Well, if there’s only that much, there’s the possibility of you accidentally stepping into or out of the area, after all. That’s why there’s a need for the third barrier. If you erect a barrier that acts like a complete wall, you’ll end up creating a magical energy gathering spot like the ones in other areas, right? That’s why this last barrier was set up so that you couldn’t go out from inside. As long as this barrier remains in place, the more magical energy accumulated inside, the more the barrier will be strengthened using that magical energy. Truly a fine creation!」

「Oh!」

Tanaka, who had frozen in place as the two were chatting jovially on their own, finally opened his mouth. 「In other words, what does that mean, Kaku-san? Are you saying that we’ve come here to hunt down those so-called phantom beast monsters, which the apostles or spirits or whatever they were from distant past could do nothing about?」

Tanaka, who was radiating the smell of a little man three times the usual, inquired Kaku-san.

「Exactly! I’m from a different generation, so I don’t know much about it. What do you say? Don’t they seem pretty powerful?」

「I couldn’t ask more for an opponent-degozaru.」

「W, well, I guess they are just barely on the passing grade. If possible, I would have preferred something that seems a bit more formidable, though. Ha, hahahaha!」

Tanaka expressed dissatisfaction even with such an opponent. He was truly a man among men.

That was right…, Tanaka, for his part, would have preferred a harder, faster enemy. While he was at it, a metallic enemy that was weaker and would run away at once, but leaving behind a very luxurious reward, would be ideal.

As the flow of cold sweat dripping down his face grew more intense, Tanaka fell into thought. Where did I take the wrong path, I wonder? he thought. Then he racked his brain furiously. In search of a way to solve this problem.

The spinning wheel inside Tanaka’s head began to turn. Inside the spinning wheel, two hamsters were running frantically. The increase in the number of hamsters was a mark of his growth upon overcoming the harsh trials up until now.

Eventually, he came up with the perfect answer in only a short period of time. The reason he was able to find the answer in such a short period of time was because he was Tanaka, a man gifted with a prodigious brain, who once fought a fierce battle in Othello against his relative who was in elementary school and narrowly missed victory. 「However, both of you are overlooking something critical. This world perpetually seeks stability. Those who grow too powerful will be eliminated by the world’s corrective power. The reason why I’m seeking absolute strength is to continue opposing such a world. Now that we have been marked by the world, it can be said that we are standing in a fate where we won’t be able to escape. It is true that we may become stronger if we train within the barrier. However, while we’re swithin the barrier, the world will probably lose sight of us. Should that happen, the world, which seeks stability, will end up setting its sights on new prey other than us. That’s something we have to avoid no matter what.」

「For real…?」

「Such a thing is….」

The way to make themselves stronger was right in front of them, however they couldn’t afford to cause victims due to their actions. As expected of Tanaka, a powerful and cool man overflowing with a sense of justice.

On the other hand, Suke-san and Kaku-san were surprised to learn about the truth of the world. They were truly playing along well in surprise.

「That’s why, let’s cancel the venture this time.」

Tanaka gave a thumbs up with a pleasant smile. Thus, they lived happily ever after – or so he hoped.「My bad. I’ve gone and done it.」

「Huh?」

A gust of wind suddenly blew past them. No, it was the force of the hole in the barrier that was trying to suck everything in.

Like a waste that was sucked in by a vacuum cleaner from the land of gentlemen and black tea, Team Tanaka ended up being dragged into the barrier.

◇ Name: Tanaka

Level: 60 Guild Rank: E

Vitality: 1.80e14/1.80e14 Magical energy: 3.90e14/3.90e14

Strength: 1.60e13 Dexterity: 1.70e13 Agility: 2.20e13

Intelligence: 3.00e13 Spirit: 3.40e13

Skills: Sword (3.70), Magic (6.22), Believed One (10.00), Dragon Slayer (7.74), Spirit Master (4.99), Chanting Omission (3.30), Multiple Chanting (3.39), Grand Magic (0.13)

Equipment: Sword, Cool summer clothes, Black cloak II.

Money: 5154,000G

◇

Name: Suke Level: 55 Guild Rank: E

Vitality: 1429/1429 Magical energy: 2493/2493

Strength: 608 Dexterity: 588 Agility: 900

Intelligence: 922 Spirit: 975

Skills：Lance (4.47) Magic (5.35) Dragon Slayer (7.05) Believed One (8.57) Chanting Omission (0.11) Multiple Chanting (0.07)

Equipment: Scythe, Black Robe, White Mask, Magic Gloves

Money: 100,000G

◇

Name: Kaku

Vitality: 65536/65536 Magical energy: 65536/65536

Skills：Personification (10.00) Magic (10.00) Grand Magic (1.14) Apostle (4.99) Believed One (7.88)