Chapter 296: Is Wood Greyrat Already Dead?

The "Human God" had seen countless future timelines, and in all of them, Zenith and Paul never had a son—only daughters.

But now, not only had this couple given birth to a son, they had given birth to a pair of twin boys!

Shocked by this revelation, the "Human God" remained silent for a long time. Thankfully, his face appeared as a mosaic to Rudeus, or else if Rudeus had seen his current expression, his divine image as a "god" would have taken a significant hit.

"Though it's unfortunate, I must tell you... Your so-called brother, Wood Greyrat, is probably dead."

The "Human God," who had been frozen in shock for too long, now donned an air of mysterious wisdom as he spoke, trying to recover the credibility he had lost.

"Wood is dead? That's impossible!"

In the consciousness space, Rudeus' past self, the otaku from his previous life, collapsed onto the ground upon hearing this from the "Human God."

For Rudeus, the concept of having a "younger brother" brought back some innate feelings of repulsion. (In his previous life, Rudeus had a younger brother who often bullied him, though he had lost most of those memories. However, just like his childhood fear of the outside world, some of those negative emotions had remained in his current body.)

Yet despite his dislike for the concept of a younger brother, Wood had become a significant figure in his childhood, allowing Rudeus to experience what it meant to have a sibling.

The disaster caused by the teleportation incident had been enormous, just as they had been teleported to the dangerous Demon Continent.

Rudeus had been deeply concerned that the rest of his family might have been sent to dangerous places as well.

So, when he asked the "Human God" about his family's whereabouts, his instinct had been to ask about Wood first.

The reason was simple: Rudeus was afraid. Afraid of hearing terrible news about his family from the "Human God's" mouth.

Wood, despite being close in age to Rudeus, had always been smarter, more capable, and in every way more outstanding. Whether in strength or knowledge, Wood was ahead—even more so than Rudeus, the reincarnator.

At times, Rudeus had thought that his brother Wood must have been the real protagonist of this world.

It was this belief that made Rudeus so confident that Wood was fine. He had hoped that by getting information from the "Human God," he could first reunite with his "protagonist" brother, and together they would form a hero party to travel the world, searching for their missing family members. That would have been the perfect RPG storyline.

But now, the "Human God" was telling him that his younger brother, Wood Greyrat, was dead?

"This is the truth. I am the all-knowing, all-powerful Human God. I cannot be wrong. Remember the consequences you faced when you ignored my advice in the past and made poor decisions."

The mosaic-faced "Human God" seemed confident in his abilities.

Apart from the Dragon God and certain individuals who possessed secret treasures, his power could see the future of anyone. Clearly, while Wood might be a bit unusual, he wasn't the Dragon God, nor did he possess any secret treasures. If the Human God couldn't see his future, it only meant one thing: Wood was dead.

The "Human God" had expected Rudeus to ask about the whereabouts of his other family members, and he had already prepared excuses for them. But to his surprise, upon hearing the "death" of Wood, Rudeus was so devastated that he abruptly exited the consciousness space.

In the aftermath of the teleportation disaster, Wood had been the family member Rudeus felt most assured about. But if Wood had perished, what would become of the others?

Bathed in the moonlight of the forest, Rudeus' mood plummeted, to the point where he even ignored Eris' request for a sparring match.

"Rudeus..."

Eris, upon seeing Rudeus' indifference toward her, initially wanted to lash out in anger. But she was stopped by Ruijerd, who gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

As a mature man, Ruijerd could sense that something was deeply troubling Rudeus. Though he didn't know what it was, he knew Rudeus needed some time to himself.

"I used to be so jealous of you. We had the same face, yet everyone liked you more. You could openly take baths with Lilia, while I couldn't even peek without getting scolded. Bathing with a beautiful older woman must have been amazing, but you always acted so innocent afterward.

No matter what, you were always so much better than me—whether in strength or knowledge. I always knew that your magical talent was far greater than what you let on!

But how did someone as smart and capable as you die, Wood Greyrat? Weren't you supposed to be the protagonist of this world?"

In the empty, dark forest, Rudeus' desperate scream echoed, revealing the emotions he had kept buried for so long.

Just then, a shadow passed overhead, blocking the moonlight that had been shining on Rudeus.

Looking up, Rudeus saw an enormous wolf-like magical beast, one of the dominant creatures of the forest. It had likely been awakened by his outburst and was now preparing to silence the intruder.

"Here I am, rushing all this way just to meet you, and I find you moping alone in the middle of the night. Also, Rudeus, I had no idea this is how you've always felt about me! I've told you so many times—Lilia dragged me into those baths; I didn't have a choice!"

Rudeus had been ready to defend himself from the wolf, but the familiar voice from atop the beast froze him in place. His body trembled uncontrollably as he processed what he was hearing.

"Wood! I knew it! You're not the kind of guy who'd go down that easily!"

As the figure leaped from the wolf's back, landing gracefully in the moonlight, Rudeus' face lit up with excitement. There was no mistaking it—the person standing before him was none other than his brother, Wood, whom he had just heard "died."

"You said it yourself—I'm the protagonist. There's no way I'd die that easily.

So, tell me, how did you even come to the conclusion that I was dead? Don't tell me you've been harboring all that jealousy toward me this whole time, secretly wishing you could take me out..."

Wood's light-hearted teasing quickly dissolved the tension between the two brothers, breaking the awkwardness of their reunion.

After all, Rudeus had just bared his soul, but the subject of his confessions, Wood, had heard every word. For Rudeus, this was beyond embarrassing.

"I got the information from the Demon Continent. But judging by what I'm seeing now, it must have been wrong."

Despite how much he trusted Wood, Rudeus didn't mention the "Human God." That secret was one of his most closely guarded.

However, from this whole experience, Rudeus realized something crucial—the "Human God" wasn't as "all-knowing and all-powerful" as he claimed to be.

Not long ago, the "Human God" had confidently declared Wood to be dead, yet here Wood stood before him, very much alive.

Considering everything that had happened, Rudeus concluded that while the "Human God" might be able to foresee some events, his accuracy was not absolute.

Or worse, perhaps the "Human God" had been deliberately lying to him all along...

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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 400+ at p@treon.com/Betek (@->a)