I Became a God in the Refrigerator

39. Traces of Another Deity

“Let’s go! Forward!”

Yumina, riding on top, pulled the reins of the saddle.

Each time she did so, she seemed to understand and changed direction.

Was it envy that her demeanor evoked?

From afar, Zion started glancing at them discreetly.

Whether Yumina sensed that gaze or not, she gestured towards her brother.

“Come here! Let’s ride together!”

“R-really?”

“Yeah.”

Sibling rivalry was nearly non-existent between them.

They had been close since childhood, and it had continued to this day.

Just as they said, the siblings joyfully rode together on the saddle, enjoying the moment.

“Ahahahaha!”

“Wow. This is really impressive, isn’t it?”

Who would have thought she could make a saddle.

No one could have imagined Yumina’s creativity was this outstanding.

“She never learned how to make one or even rode one before.”

She must be quite a clever child.

There were numerous surprising aspects about her.

Human history was divided into eras before and after riding horses, showing a stark difference between the two.

The elves in the square had undoubtedly transcended that era solely because of Yumina’s creativity.

Seeing this, one could truly appreciate Yumina’s talent.

Perhaps she was a genius of the century?

The sizes of the mice varied.

The smallest one was as petite as the elves.

Slightly bigger than Yumina, yet smaller than Irina.

They seemed to be quite young individuals.

The largest among them, unsurprisingly, was the one Yumina rode.

[Leader of the Mice (Male)]

Leader.

Even the name suggested that he was a strong individual among the timid and fearful mice group.

He spent the whole day carrying Yumina around the forest.

It was obvious that he was particularly protective of Yumina, following her closely as if guarding her.

Of course, Yumina couldn’t ride them all day long.

The mice were so huge that the term “siege tank” would fit them quite well.

Especially the largest mouse leader was incredibly massive, almost rivaling the elves’ mushroom houses in size.

As these creatures roamed the forest, the surrounding trees felt cramped, with their leaves brushing against high branches.

“Oops.”

Occasionally, long branches would inadvertently poke and prod Yumina as they passed by.

The mousewife was fine due to her thick and sturdy exoskeleton, but it wasn’t the case for Yumina.

Inevitably, Yumina descended down.

Thud-.

As if sensing regret, the mousewife’s head drooped weakly.

Yumina comforted, stroking the creature’s head gently, “I’m sorry. I’ll come back up later.”

***

Calmness descended upon the square.

The elves finally found some leisure time.

Of course, peace was not always present here.

In the past few days, there were two attacks.

One was a pack of monster rabbits, and the other was a group of goblins.

However, there was no difficulty in defense.

The sturdy golems and Zion, along with Irina’s sharp and skilled arrows, easily fended off the monster attacks.

In fact, the monsters ended up fleeing in disarray.

Thus, there was a bit of relaxation even in times like these.

Thanks to that, today he was broadening his view, surveying the surroundings.

“This is truly a world full of unknowns.”

The ruins of the snow-covered city froze white under his gaze.

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An ancient civilization stood before him now.

It was a city with tall skyscrapers lined up.

Han examined one of the dilapidated buildings nearby.

Though the materials seemed slightly different, the buildings were constructed with iron and wood, and the architectural style appeared quite similar to those on their earth.

Streets, shops, markets, and residential facilities, among others.

Various structures based on their functions were divided.

Though he didn’t know precisely how this world functioned, it was evident that they had a significant level of civilization and architecture of their own.

Inside, there was an old wooden table with faded colors.

Beside it, a worn-out booklet caught his eye.

Curious about its contents, Han picked up the book.

However, the pages wouldn’t unfold.

Perhaps due to its age.

The pages were stiff and stuck together, refusing to open.

Applying a bit more force, the book split in half.

“Oh no.”

Han let out a frustrated sigh.

It was a mistake.

Not intentional, but due to a momentary slip, an ancient artifact in this place had been damaged.

“Of course, there may not even be anyone to look after these things….”

Still, an artifact was an artifact.

In his world, items like these would be considered precious treasures, yet here, they were left neglected so carelessly.

He had carelessly damaged one of them, which he regretted.

Nevertheless, there was a lesson.

He realized that he needed to be more cautious when examining the old things.

Although he could endure this long period, he also became aware of the price that came with it within these relics.

Swish.

Carefully, he pulled out one of the paper bundles piled on the old bookshelf.

It was parchment.

It must have been discarded here a long time ago.

The once soft paper, now stiff and hardened over time, showed just how ancient it was.

Crackle.

Despite handling it carefully to prove that time had passed, a piece of parchment crumbled and fell to the floor.

Taking time, he slowly unfolded it bit by bit, revealing the contents inside.

The parchment was filled with a consistent string of characters at regular intervals.

Within it were complex records that he could not understand.

“System, what is written on the first line of this parchment?”

[Honor to the Empire and the Race.]

The Empire and the Race.

“So, even in the distant past when this world was intact, the Race Gods existed.”

[The Race Gods existed even before the existence of human civilization on Earth.]

“Is that so?”

[Even the Pharaoh, who built the first pyramid in ancient times, was also a Race God. The beginning of human civilization along the Nile River is one example.]

…The first Pharaoh of humanity was a Race God?

His eyes widened unexpectedly at the sound.

It felt as if he had caught a glimpse of the hidden truth behind human history for a moment.

“No, are you saying that these Race Gods received worship from humans?”

[That is correct.]

It was a straightforward answer.

There was no reason for the system to lie, so this was undoubtedly the truth.

It was inevitable to be astonished.

Upon hearing that sound, a larger question arose in his mind.

“So, System.”

[Please speak.]

“If the Pharaoh received worship from humans, does that mean…?”

[……]

“Perhaps these Race Gods were something like gods of humans?”

If there were Elven Gods.

Conversely, there might have been human gods different from them, existing at the same time.

It was a natural progression.

[It is not possible to answer the question due to issues of fairness.]

There was no response.

The system deliberately avoided answering.

But even that was enough of an answer.

It was more like talking in circles.

The Race Gods were not just one.

At least several, maybe even more.

Among them, there was also a god of humans.

Perhaps the ancient pharaoh-like being was exactly that.

A human? Was he really human?

That’s a question that cannot be answered.

“It could be true, or it could be false. Either possibility exists.”

Just looking at the different races they had discovered in this world alone, there were over a dozen kinds.

According to an unbelievable testimony from a hunter, there were even transcendental beings on the other side of the dungeon.

Han gently bent the old parchment he was looking down at.

It seemed unable to withstand the test of time as crumbled dust fell to the ground.

Looking at that sight, he asked,

“What kind of beings existed among the gods of this place?”

[It was diverse. They were not just one but many. For instance, the object of worship contained in this parchment was the god of the orcs who were actively waging conquest wars at that time. Of course, there were also elven gods.]

“…!”

To Han’s surprise, his eyes widened.

“Elven gods? Could there really have been another elven god like me?”

[That’s correct. At least, the elven gods are not unique to just you. You may be unique now, but in the past, and even before that, there were others. The race gods are passed on to someone. That is a truth that has not changed in the past and will not change in the future.]

“…Is that so?”

It was a somewhat unexpected fact.

But thinking about it, it was also quite natural.

His reaction was certainly like that, and there had been similar mentions in the system’s words so far.

Pop.

Han now narrowed his field of vision.

The surrounding ruins shrank as small as ants in an instant, and he now looked down on the city from a distant sky.

A particularly striking building caught Han’s eye.

It was a rather large and majestic building.

“Shall we take a look over there this time?”

Han expanded his view towards that place.

It was a tower.

“Where is this?”

[It’s the Matap. In the past, it was a space used by the orc shamans as a place to cast spells.]

“Orc shamans….”

Han slowly began to look around.

The traces of destruction etched into this world clearly seemed out of the ordinary.

There were giant claw marks that ran across the outer walls of the tower.

In front of it, numerous orc warriors stood frozen as if guarding the tower.

Staring at something, holding a weapon and screaming, they were frozen white just as they were in that moment.

What exactly had happened here?

Although much remained unknown, one thing was certain: an event, albeit not insignificant, had undoubtedly taken place here.

The orcs had confronted something massive, leading to a gruesome end where they were frozen in place, doomed to die.

“Hey, System.”

Han, who had been silently observing the scene, spoke up.

“Could humans face a similar fate? For instance, due to phenomena like dungeon overpopulation.”

[I am not aware of that.]

“I see.”

[However, the threat that this world is facing could be replicated on any planet. If not stopped in time, that is.]

“Is that so.”

That was the end of the conversation.

***

“I’ll be back!”

“Come back early, sis!”

Now, Irina was leaving the square almost every day.

Perhaps she was drawn to breathe life into the forest.

The small acorns she brought had become a part of the forest, filling the entire square.

Certainly, seeking new life after such an experience would be a natural progression.

Of course, the same applied to them.

She had no intention of turning a blind eye to their future.

Yesterday was different from today.

Tomorrow was likely to be different as well.

“Now traces of the past are nowhere to be found.”

A faint smile graced Pic’s face amidst the dense forest scenery.

The elves were no longer just walking on flat ground.

Instead, they leaped between trees as if flying.

For the first time, Han realized how agile the elves were.

In the forest, they were even faster than on the ground.

Like running on flat land, they leaped through the trees and branches of the forest, truly embodying the beings as imagined.

“They might be even stronger in the forest.”