Powerless.
The conclusion Caelus ultimately reached was that even that incredibly powerful King of Heroes would likely be powerless in the face of the current situation. The difficulty lay not in overthrowing the upper class rule, but in ensuring one could become a qualified leader who could guide these people to a happy life.
The trouble was that this world itself was exceptionally eerie. From the system's brief introduction, he knew that any sentient being with rich and abundant emotions would generally not fare well in this world. There was even the possibility of pollution and corruption.
Given Gilgamesh's arrogant demeanor and the various temperaments of his youth recorded in mythology, Caelus felt that once he began to rule this world and regained his high and mighty status as a King, it would not be long before he became corrupted.
This was not the kind of corruption that could be resisted through sheer willpower. Rather, your own perception and consciousness would be polluted and distorted bit by bit. During this process, you would not notice anything wrong because everything would seem as usual. It was just that, gradually, you would become different.
The daemons or evil gods hiding in the Warp would not whisper temptations directly into your ear, nor would they offer clearly priced bargains. Instead, through the trivialities of daily life, they would amplify your own desires, making you realize bit by bit that you were addicted to them, sinking into the mire until you were ultimately unable to extricate yourself.
Caelus calmly gazed at the city, dense like a beehive, watching the various beings who worked like worker bees, no, even harder than worker bees. Although he felt a slight touch of emotion at the sight of such despair and suffering, he had no desire to do anything about it. He was only thinking about how to inquire about the way to the Underhive later.
Just then, a blue virtual screen suddenly popped up in front of Caelus, displaying a prompt.
[Special Faction Quest triggered. This quest is issued based on the system's judgment when the Host's own faction might undergo a change.]
[Faction Quest: The Choice]
[Quest Objective 1: Destroy this land full of suffering and grant all living beings the liberation of death.]
[Quest Objective 2: Rescue this barren and desolate world and let all living beings appreciate the meaning of Abundance.]
[Quest Objective 3: Make people recognize, acknowledge, and pity one another. Let them unite to overthrow the noble forces oppressing them and create a world of Harmony and love.]
[Quest Objective 4: You are but a passerby, so why get so involved? Simply turn all of this into scenery for your journey and remember the different districts of this hive city.]
[Quest Objective 5: This world needs joy. Let all living beings laugh out loud.]
[Quest Objective 6: Everything is meaningless. In this rotten world, doing anything is actually devoid of meaning. Spread your own Nihility and let people learn how to use Nihility to combat Chaos.]
[Multiple quest objectives can be completed. For each objective completed, the rewards will increase. Different quest objectives yield different rewards.]
Caelus looked at the text displayed on the blue virtual screen that only he could see.
"System, according to the quest description, I can save this world, let the people experience joy, Abundance, and the existence of Nihility, and then destroy it all to complete all quest objectives, right?"
["Yes. As long as you feel you can complete all quest objectives, the rewards will naturally be issued cumulatively as stated."]
"Hmm, too difficult. I am not a person suited for speeches. I cannot connect the hearts of everyone. As for spreading joy, that is an incredibly difficult task for me and does not fit the main theme of this world. The workers here have to work 20 hours a day, and the remaining time is barely enough for rest, let alone experiencing so called joy or Harmony."
"As for changing most of the desolate areas of this world and restoring the natural environment... I cannot do such a thing, so I cannot complete that quest objective either."
"The remaining choices are only the three paths: Destruction, Remembrance, and Nihility."
"Then I will start with Remembrance, which seems like the simplest quest objective."
Caelus looked up at the upper districts. Compared to the goal of reaching the Underhive, which might require taking an elevator or even digging down, reaching the upper districts only required climbing for Caelus.
Others might need to deal with patrolling robot soldiers or even defensive facilities like automated turrets, but for Caelus, whose existence was fundamentally unnoticeable, he only needed to spend the required time.
However, Caelus naturally would not be so foolish as to climb up using only brute strength. Instead, after waiting for a while and finding an elevator leading to the upper district, he openly rode the lift along with the elites and soldiers right under their noses, arriving at the Upper Hive.
This upper district was completely different from the lower levels. The buildings were orderly, hovercars came and went, and there were even natural parks and various entertainment venues, casinos, theaters, bars.
Compared to the despair filled industrial complex of the lower levels, this place was more like a place where normal people lived.
Caelus saw all sorts of people dressed decently, with confidence on their faces and expressions full of anticipation for life. Their eyes were not hollow and numb like the residents below, but filled with hope for life and for tomorrow.
He drew pictures of the upper district in his notebook, carefully depicting the faces of those people who were full of hope for life.
Caelus walked among them and saw these well dressed people. Their tables were covered with sumptuous food, things the people in the lower levels would never see or smell in their entire lives.
He watched this scene and then continued upward. However, reaching the top level of this pyramid was difficult because the elevators to the Spire area were generally not open. Even if one climbed up, they would only face closed gates made of thick, sealed special alloy.
Caelus looked up at the top level, which seemed to reach straight into the starry cosmos, as if it had already broken through the atmosphere. If he relied solely on climbing, he did not know how long it would take to arrive.
Then he silently turned his gaze toward a hovercar not far away.
Knight of Owner activated. Nihility existence assimilation initiated.
A man with greenish skin and a somewhat hideous head, who had just walked out of a luxury restaurant, looked at the spot where his vehicle was supposed to be parked. He suddenly thought with some confusion, did I have a car parked here?
Did I? Did I really have a car?
Oh, it seems I did not. It looks like I have had too much to drink and I am a bit confused.
The man thought this and then used the communication device in his hand to have the butler at home drive a car to pick him up. As for how he had gotten here without a car?
The man seemed to ignore that fact entirely, as if he had not even thought about it.
(To be continued.)