I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm

I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 54

Rynn stared silently at the Oracle's corpse; his silence was in sharp contrast to both the battle raging around him and his own screaming body.

Although the relief from his victory was doing wonders to muffle the pain coursing throughout his body, it was still difficult to overstate how much pain he was enduring. Simply standing on his feet was taking everything he had- he could spare no strength to help the other soldiers who were still fighting the remnants of the invaders.

As Rynn was watching the battle unfold, a voice spoke in his head in disbelief.

"You actually managed to beat him!"

"Yes... barely."

He could have critiqued the lack of faith from the creator of the world, but he was equally as surprised.

Rynn looked down at the weapon in his hand, "I would not have been able to if not for this."

With his own spear being unable to penetrate through the thick layers of fat, the unique weapon lined with sharp obsidian was what enabled him to bring down the foreign Oracle. Though it also could not target the ogre's organs, it allowed him to be defeated through blood loss.

"It looks like you were saved twice by Rathok," the voice teased.

Rynn smiled at his words, "Different Rathoks, but I guess you are right."

"Please thank him for me, okay? He literally might have saved my realm."

"Yes. I need to thank him, too."

Rynn could feel his eyes water as he said this.

Visions of the past failure of his own attempt to make his dad a weapon flashed through his mind. 

He did what I could not... I am so proud of him.

With those thoughts, the two fell into a momentary silence as the sounds of battle likewise began to soften.

"I'm proud of you, Rynn."

Such words that mirrored his own thoughts soon entered his head.

"Huh? T-thank you but why say that so suddenly?"

"Well, you just killed an Oracle- a stupidly strong one with an overpowered weapon at that. I'm proud of you for more than just that though."

"What do you mean?"

"You've done so much with your life. You found a partner, had a kid who you raised to be a hero, and you worked so hard throughout all of it. I remember back when you were just..." the creator of the world suddenly paused before continuing, "You know, I was originally torn between whether I should choose you or your brother to be my Oracle."

"What!?" Rynn could feel his eyes widen at the reveal, "I thought I was only made an Oracle because my brother fell when you tried to pick him!"

"Well, that is what ultimately led to you becoming an Oracle, but I only decided to go with your brother in the first place because he was a bit more mature. I had been keeping an eye on your family ever since I gave your great-grandfather a fish, so I saw how strong your father was. Sadly, I had my eyes elsewhere when he passed, but I knew you and your brother had strong blood."

"Wow."

It was a simple reply, yet it was all he could manage to say through the shock.

He actually wanted me to be an Oracle!

"You really wanted to pick me even though I did not believe you were real back then?" he asked to clear up the last question he had.

"I was sure you wouldn't have been able to deny my existence if you became an Oracle, so that wasn't really a problem," the creator of the world explained before briefly pausing again, "I know it might seem a bit insincere since I'm only saying this after you saved my realm, but I never hated you, Rynn."

The Oracle shifted his eyes toward the ground embarrassedly, "When did you-"

"I was watching you build the bridge across the river and I happened to hear you mention it. There's no way I would hate a kid just because of a few rude words. I mean, you just watched your brother die in front of you and your whole village was being destroyed. How could I possibly take offense in that kind of situation? I probably should've corrected that misunderstanding back then but-"

"No," Rynn interrupted with a small smile, "I am glad you did not. It motivated me."

"Exactly... I could tell."

The two fell back into a comfortable silence as the number of standing ogres rapidly dwindled in the distance and cries of victory echoed across the mountains.

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"I guess this is goodbye."

Such words came through my screen as the battle neared its end.

"It is."

This farewell wasn't something sudden, rather it was something we discussed long before the battle began.

After the invasion was over, I said I would disappear from the realm for a while to rest.

By rest, I really meant I would step away from my screen and go to the Academy, but I had to put it into terms of something they could understand.

A part of me was hesitant about declaring this; I figured we could launch a counterattack in the unlikely event that we obliterated Ferguson's army and Rynn somehow came out of the fight in good shape. Ultimately, however, I decided against this for several reasons- the first of which was that the ogres themselves were very formidable. Fighting on their home turf where they had access to unknown magic was extremely risky, even when considering our slight edge on weaponry.

The one exception to this, the hammer Ferguson's Oracle used, had disappeared into a puff of yellow particles not long after he fell. Despite this, I still didn't want to needlessly risk the lives of my humans and send my Oracle into another harsh battle.

Rynn already did so much; he deserves to have time with his family. Besides...

I shifted my attention to my notebook where the words 'rabbit', 'wolf', and 'oak tree' were written.

There's nothing really worth doing a quick invasion for, anyway.

These were the three lifeforms that I knew were somewhere in Ferguson's realm; the pelts of rabbits and wolves were worn as clothing by his army, while the tree that resembled an oak was thrown through the portal before the invasion by his Oracle.

While the idea of kidnapping some wolves was tempting to potentially give my humans access to dogs in the future, I was worried that they would put excessive strain on the chicken population in my realm. Taking the rabbits which I presumed they fed on in Ferguson's realm was not a feasible solution either; since my realm had moss instead of grass, the rabbits would likely not be able to sustain any meaningful numbers.

As for the oak tree, my northern cherry trees were already evolving in a way that was starting to resemble them, so I wasn't too interested.

Since Ferguson got a weapon as a reward from the last battle phase, there should only be one non-primary lifeform unaccounted for in his realm.

Well, there's also the possibility that he took some lifeforms from the realm he invaded, but I can't really imagine what they could be if he even did. 

Since I didn't think I could launch an invasion large enough to net me a prize, especially now that Rynn was in terrible condition, invading wasn't really worth the cost.

My humans worked hard enough, anyway. They have families to get back to.

I put those thoughts aside as I watched the last ogre fall on my screen while my humans erupted in cheers.

26,321.

That was how many of my humans died protecting my realm. As there were many more in terrible condition and covered in wounds, this number would likely increase by a few thousand in the coming days.

It was not a small number by any means, yet it was much less than what it could have been had things not gone as smoothly.

Despite the heavy losses and a lingering sense of sadness over them, I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming feeling of pride as I looked at my humans cheering on my screen.

They freaking did it!

I pumped my fist as I felt a huge smile appear on my face.

My humans actually did it! They beat their first invasion!

Yes, Uunga defeated one single-handedly, but this was the first battle where my non-Oracle lifeforms had a role.

They had worked so hard for so long to prepare for this moment and their effort clearly paid off. Every single one of them was responsible for saving my realm.

It feels like it was just yesterday when they were walking around naked and stuffing moss in their mouths, yet here they are fending off an invasion all on their own! I'm so proud of them!

"Squawk."

"Ah- right, I gotta focus."

I patted he head of the penguin standing on my lap, who quickly wiggled to get away from my hand.

"You're always so grumpy. Rathok lets Rynn touch his head and he doesn't complain."

"... Squawk."

I grinned as Mr. Flippers relented and let me pet him.

Hah... penguins are adorable.

With my emotions finally settling down, I turned my attention back to the screen where the tens of thousands of the remaining soldiers were celebrating around my Oracle.

"I guess I should go and tell Baby Angru the good news."

"You are still calling that old man a baby?" Rynn asked with a wry smile.

"Well, I knew him back when he was actually a baby, so it's a force of habit. To be fair, all of you guys are babies compared to me."

".... How old are you, anyway?"

"That... is a very good question."

It was a practically impossible question to answer with all of the time variations I was constantly going through. That was not even mentioning how I couldn't remember how old I was since my memories were wiped when I was first chosen to become a ruler.

Of course, I haven't aged physically since then either.

"I have no idea!" I finally gave up and answered, "I look the same as the statue of me in the temple, though."

As we talked, I spotted Rynn's son running up to him in the distance.

“... Is it hard living that long?”

“Well, it morphs your sense of time, so it doesn’t feel so long. It is tough out-living everyone though; there’s been more than a handful of people I’ve cared about who I had to watch pass on. With your lifespan, you’ll need to endure it, too. Make sure you treasure the time you have with everyone; it'll go by in the blink of an eye from your perspective.”

“I will take your advice. Thank you,” his reply was somber yet resolute.

“Dad!”

A sudden shout came through my screen as Rathok neared his father.

I guess I shouldn't hold him up any longer.

“Goodbye, Rynn. Thank you for everything.”

“Goodbye- gah!”

I struggled not to laugh as Rathok jumped onto his dad’s injured body before I switched the screen to the plateau.

Man, this feels so weird to look at.

The plateau, which was usually on the verge of being overcrowded, was now half-empty thanks to thousands of its inhabitants joining Rynn’s army at the mountain passage- most of those who remained were women, children, or the elderly.

Technically in the latter group was my priest who looked to be organizing piles of spears in my temple.

Wow, Rynn was right. He really did get old.

Gray hair covered his head and he let out a small groan every time he bent over to adjust the piles. Although he was not too much older than Rynn and Ayla, time did not seem to do him justice.

He looks healthy, though... I guess he's just been pushing himself pretty hard.

"You should really ask some of the guys to help you, Angru."

"They are all out training with my brother. I can at least handle this while they are working so hard," my priest casually responded before turning around and seeing the empty temple, "Wait- the creator of the world!? You are speaking... but that means-!"

"Yes. The battle is over- Rynn managed to win!"

"I- I knew he could do it!" it seemed like a massive wave of relief washed over my priest as a huge smile appeared on his face, "Everyone will be so happy! I will let them know now-"

"Hang on a second. Let me talk to you for a bit before you run off."

Angru IV halted in his tracks after tossing the spear he was holding onto the ground, "Oh no- did something happen? Is Rynn okay!?"

"Well, he's in rough shape now, but he should be fine after a lot of rest. There were a lot of casualties though... over 26,000 people died in the battle."

A complicated expression appeared on Angru's face, "I am glad Rynn is alright, but for so many to lose their lives..."

It was a number of deaths unheard of in my realm. In Angru's eyes, it would have been as though over half the plateau had disappeared overnight.

"I know... it's painful. So many people had to give their lives to protect my realm, but it could have been way worse. That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. You never had any kids, right?"

"... No I did not, but what does that have to do with-"

"I want to make Rathok the next priest of my realm."

The joyous eyes of my priest quickly turned serious, "... What happened?"

Although it has only been for four generations, Angru's lineage has been chosen to be my priests since I first placed down my statue- both him and I were under the expectation that the tradition would continue for the foreseeable future, as despite the fact that Angru IV did not have children, his brother actually did.

His reluctance to accept the sudden announcement was understandable, but once I explained what happened in the battle and how Rathok's weapon was what allowed Rynn to defeat the invading Oracle, Angru had no argument against giving him the position.

Of course, since I would be going back to the Academy soon, being a priest would only be in title; I would have no way to actually select a priest with my computer, nor talk to them, until I was back.

After getting Angru's pledge to teach Rathok how to perform his duties as a priest once they arrived at the plateau, I said my goodbyes before looking away from my screen for the first time in a long time.

It's finally over, isn't it?

Honestly, I was exhausted- this battle phase seemed like it took so much longer than my previous one, yet I couldn't help but smile as I leaned back in my chair.

My humans really are progressing.

Their progress seemed slow when I was watching them live on the screen, but when I looked back on a larger scale, their advancements could actually be considered to be rapid. They went from clubs to spears and a single fighter to an entire army in just one battle phase.

I'm actually pretty excited to see how much they improve while I'm away.

With those optimistic thoughts in my head, I looked at the penguin who was now hopping around on my desk expectantly. 

"You ready to head out?"

"Squawk!"

The penguin jumped off my desk forcing me to stand up to catch him.

"... You must really be excited. Let's go then! Transport to the- ah wait. Make sure you close your eyes this time."

"Squawk~"

I couldn't help but smile as I watched the tiny creature tightly shut his eyes.

He really is adorable.

Though I wanted to look for longer, my eyes soon joined his in darkness as I restarted the chant.

"Here we go- [transport to the academy]!"

A strange feeling instantly enveloped my body and bright lights could be seen shining through my closed eyelids.

"Squawk!"

"... You opened your eyes, didn't you?" I sighed at the sudden shout.

"Squawk..."

"You have to give your eyes time to adjust. I probably should've told you that before we left, sorry, Mr. Flippers."

"Squawk~"

As I apologized, I gradually opened my eyes into a squint before letting the pain-free sight of the audience hall fill my vision soon after.

Oh yeah, I'm learning, baby! This place hasn't changed a bit, though.

The audience hall looked identical to how it was before I left to prepare for the fight against Ferguson; a desk and two chests sat on the stage between vibrant purple curtains and were overlooked by a massive scoreboard that towered over them from behind. Just like last time, a familiar robbed figure was sitting at the desk while looking into a crystal ball.

"Let's go say 'hi' to him, Mr. Flippers!"

"Squawk~"

As the two of us approached the stage, the robbed figure let out a sigh and stood up.

"What are you doing here, Jacob?"

I slowed my steps at the unexpected greeting, "I beat Ferguson, so I came to get my prize..."

"You are the sixth Seedling in this battle phase to make this mistake. I need to have a talk with Sky- she clearly didn't go over this well enough for your cycle," another sigh escaped his lips following his mutter, "You don't meet several of the requirements for an early completion; the most important one being that your Oracle is still alive."

"Ah-"

The sheep instructor did say something about that didn't she?

I vaguely remembered her mentioning the conditions to end the battle phase early during a class a while back. Years had passed since the lecture from my perspective, so it wasn't too surprising how it slipped my mind.

"I have to wait to get my prize then?" I asked despite already knowing the answer.

"Correct."

"Dangit," I groaned as Mr. Flippers looked up at me.

"Squawk?"

"No, we're not going back. It would be way too awkward after we just said goodbye," I turned my attention back to Tatton, "Is there anything fun we can do at the Academy while we wait? Besides the training ground and bathhouse, I mean."

The robed figure shook his head, "No. It's just those two for now. We need you Seedlings to focus on building your realms and getting stronger, so we don't want to give you any temptations. I would personally recommend you go to the training ground."

"... Is there really much of a point in training though? I know our lifeforms take after us, but it really feels like only divinity is having much of an impact on the battles."

This was something that had been bothering me for a while now. Since our strength seemed to only indirectly affect our lifeforms, I had practically stopped working out and even significantly reduced how many amino acids I was eating.

Contrary to my evaluation, Tatton's reply was firm.

"There is definitely a point. You should train and get as strong as possible."

"But why?"

"Is there a reason not to polish your skills?" Tatton paused after seeing my dissatisfied expression, "... I can't give you a specific answer yet, but you will want to get as strong as you can for what lies ahead. You may even want to take advantage of your domain and use mortal time to your advantage."

"... It's really that big of a deal?"

"Yes."

Before I even had time to process what he said, I noticed Tatton's gaze shift behind me. I followed his glance and noticed that another ruler teleported into the audience hall.

"Scree~ I am finally back!" the creature turned its attention to the stage, "Hey, purple guy! Let me pick out my prize!"

"... You do not meet the requirements," Tatton sighed.

"What!? What do you mean!?"

As I watched the two bicker, I took the chance to study the blue-lumpy creature that was now in front of me.

Is he a toad-man? A bipedal toad? A lumpy monster that vaguely resembles a frog? I don't know, but he definitely looks like some sort of amphibian or reptile thing to me! It would be a shame to pass on an opportunity like this, wouldn't it?

"How come I need to wait!? I sent his Oracle packing after-"

"Ha! This frog dude seriously thought he could just get his prize whenever? For a creature with such a big head, I figured it would have a big brain, but I guess it's empty in there!"

"What did you say!?" The toad-man immediately turned to me after my interruption.

"I said you must be an idiot for thinking you could get your prize early!"

As I said this, I could feel the judgemental stare from the penguin in my arms, but I purposely ignored his gaze.

Shhhhh. Hush, little penguin. Let me do my thing~

"Are you picking a fight!? I just destroyed a Seedling and I can destroy you too!"

How does that bait taste, you frog?

"Bring it on then, lumpy! You won't even last a second against my guys!"

"Screee! You will eat those words! [Return to domain]!"

The toad-man vanished just as quickly as he appeared, leaving me in the audience hall accompanied only by the stares of Mr. Flippers and Tatton.

"... Is that really your plan? Terrorizing the other Seedlings so they attack you?"

"Well, it works doesn't it?" I shrugged.

"You... really are interesting."

It would be nice if that guy actually does attack me. I might not even need to make an army- with a build like that, I doubt he'd make it through the arctic.

"Squawk?"

"Yeah, I guess we should head to the training ground. I'll be back later, Tatton- ah wait," I turned back to the robed figure just as I was about to head out of the audience hall, "How do I know when I can get my prize? Should I just keep checking back?"

"There is no need for that," Tatton reached into his robe and pulled out a small crystal ball, roughly the size of a baseball, "Take this. I'll send a signal when it is time for you to return- come back when it turns green."

"Got it. Thank you, Tatton."

After grabbing the ball from him, I gave the figure one last wave before exiting through the audience hall's massive mahogany doors and walking toward the training ground.

"I guess we should trust him- let's try to get a bit stronger, Mr. Flippers."

"Squawk!"