Chapter 226: Episode 71: Becoming a God (1)
The scramble for the dungeons began. The absence of Ufa provided great opportunities for others. It was time to reinforce weakened troops and steal Ufa’s achievements. I moved faster than anyone else. At my behest, Maxium swept through Ufa’s dungeons.
Acquiring dungeons could cause managing issues, but this was not the time to have second thoughts. It was better to take over Ufa’s dungeons even if I could not manage them well before Ariel or Pandemonium got wind of it. The two remaining archdukes fought over Ufa’s dungeons.
The humans started to move, too. It seemed like they were informed of Ufa’s absence. They prepared a lot of awakened heroes and succeeded in conquering one of the dungeons.
Dungeon cores were a very useful energy source for humans, and the fact that one dungeon disappeared meant that new heroes would appear. There were a lot of byproducts in the dungeon that humans could use efficiently.
I didn’t really care about humans’ activities. I just wanted to prevent other archdukes from invading Ufa’s dungeons. Thus, if humans were to destroy other dungeons, it would also benefit me.
I encouraged the Korean awakened heroes. I let Kirin and Edward Windsor, who was designated as the sage king, to conquer dungeons. As the newly proclaimed sage king, Edward Windsor was not only bestowed a title and other perks, but he was also acknowledged as the strongest awakened hero among human beings.
Korea was safer than any other country in the world. There were lots of strong heroes in Korea. Monster waves didn’t occur often, and people could steadily gain resources from the dungeon. As Edward began his rule, many foreign refugees came to Korea.
As Hope exploded, humanity truly achieved their expectations. Korea was the most noticeable among other countries. It was recovering surprisingly fast.
And I…I was doing my best to pressure Pandemonium.
Pandemonium’s main turf was from Africa to Asia. Most of his demons had dungeons there. He kept his forces well-protected. With strong bonds and superior intelligence capabilities, Pandemonium developed all areas of Africa and Asia like spiderwebs.
Ariel took over North America, while Ufa ruled South America. While fighting against each other, Pandemonium did not entangle himself with their battles and focused on improving the strength of his forces.
As Ariel and Ufa’s war was over, Pandemonium was supposed to be the new boss. However, that didn’t happen because he sustained a big loss from the Royal Observatory of Greenwich. He lost half of his troops there. Ufa was dead, while the damages that Ariel suffered were not that great. In fact, Pandemonium was the one who suffered the most in the aftermath of Hope’s explosion.
Duke Beilla, one of Pandemonium’s strongest demons, was stationed in Egypt. Like some demons, he didn’t participate in the gathering at the Greenwich Observatory. He was tasked to support from the rear. As a result, Duke Beilla’s troops were still intact.
“My Dungeon Master…”
Egypt was a wide, open land frequented by sandstorms. Krithli knelt down in front of me and waited for my next command. I turned to look at the hundreds of thousands of monsters lined up in an orderly manner.
It was the result of squandering my points and achievement points. Originally, I had twice monsters than these, but I either assigned them under Maxium’s care or had them keep an eye on my dungeons. Occupying Ufa’s dungeons was also important.
Next to Krithli, there was a three-meter tall bald giant who looked like a human. It was an evolved homunculus. It was a result of Gaparam’s research. He learned a lot and gained valuable information while studying Gustarte. As he had examined the body of a god, Gaparam’s skills in the field of life had improved. The result of his work was strong enough to defeat the highest-grade monsters.
It could not be mass-produced because of the material and time required, but even a little more of this kind of monster would add considerable strength to my forces.
I turned to Krithli and asked, “How is the preparation?”
“It is all done.” Krithli nodded.
If Krithli said it was done, then it was done. I knew I could trust her.
My crimson cloak flapped as I walked leisurely among the monsters.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
No word was needed. Krithli and 100,000 monsters followed my lead quietly.
My victorious streak continued. Pandemonium was too occupied with defense. Ariel Diablo also pressed Pandemonium, so there was no way Pandemonium could change the situation.
At this moment, I had already invaded half of the dungeons of Pandemonium’s demons. My military power increased from 200,000 to 280,000, and the number of monsters above the high grade passed a thousand.
I took a breather. I needed to rearrange my troops and to deal with issues that had been postponed.
Then, I returned to the Korean dungeon. It had been a long time. I took out five pieces from my magic pouch. They were the pieces that Krithli, Tashumal, Hashi, Yoo Eunhye, and Edward Windsor had brought from the Advanced Training Room. I put the pieces together.
[The Piece of Balance, the Piece of Enlightenment, the Piece of Growth, the Piece of Faith, and the Piece of Valor are merging into one.]
[Interpreting…]
[The five pieces mean five types of balance.]
[Interpreting…]
[The pieces are merged and transformed into one seed.]
[You have acquired the ‘Seed of Creation’. The Seed of Creation is a necessary item to qualify as a true god. All the species born from this seed will belong to the owner of the seed. The creator will become their god and bear the responsibility of leading them.]
I touched my chin.
“The Seed of Creation…”
It was an unexpected result. But soon, I was convinced. It must be an item that the Hell Lord deliberately hid. He had planned to make his own species once he was resurrected and became a god. Thus, he wanted to be born again as a true god.
I smiled. It seemed unnecessary at the moment, but it was an item to qualify one to be a god. I didn’t have any idea if I needed something like this.
“The Tree of Origin…,” I remembered.
Suddenly, I thought of the Tree of Origin. The Tree of Origin wanted me to be qualified. It had tested me, revealed my shadow to make myself perfect.
Perfect!
What was perfection?
It was often said that only a god was perfect. Then, did the Tree of Origin want me to become a god? I stood up. I was curious to see how the Tree of Origin would react to the Seed of Creation.
The Tree of Origin…
It was a huge tree at the center of my dungeon with long roots stretching out. I walk closer to it. Then, it started to reach out its branches and wrapped me around as if it had been waiting for me.
I did not resist the branches. Soon, I was sucked into the Tree of Origin’s inner consciousness.
I was in a dark space. A small light appeared. The light transformed into a replica of me.
“It has been a while.”
I recalled the bitter memories of fighting against the shadow hunters, but I shook them off from my head.
The clone in front of me was just an illusion that the Tree of Origin created to awaken me. It might have been an illusion, but it looked so real. I was amazed at this discovery about the Tree of Origin. I never knew it could do something like this. The doppelganger itself was the Tree of Origin.
“You are now enlightened.”
“Is this your world of consciousness?” I asked.
“That is right. This is the closest place to the Origin,” the being who looked exactly like me answered without hesitation.
I knew he was the Tree of Origin, so I just went on, “Can you recognize this?”
First, I took out the Seed of Creation. It was called a seed, but it actually looked like a human embryo about the size of a palm.
“It is one of the items that prove godly qualifications.”
Indeed. The Tree of Origin knew what it was.
“Then, does this mean I can be a god?”
The Tree of Origin shook his head. “No. To be a god, you need divinity. You only need a bit more. You have a way to fill it up near you.”
“Near me?”
I tilted my head with curiosity. Divinity was not something that was easily increased, but the Tree of Origin said I could effortlessly do so if I wanted to.
Soon, the Tree of Origin said with a laugh, “Don’t you have a body of an intermediate god?”
“Gustarte…,” I muttered.
I had succeeded in capturing Gustarte, but I didn’t know what to do with him yet. His body had been really helpful. Krithli’s magic was improved each day, and Gaparam almost finished his research about the homunculus.
“He is a god who has already been under the control of a mortal once,” the Tree of Origin explained. “Gaining divinity is difficult, but it is very easy to lose. He lost his consciousness and sense of self, and probably won’t be able to regain them. Even if you use the Moon Arrow and succeed in awakening him, where will he go? He has already lost his direction.”
Somehow I got confused. What the Tree of Origin revealed to me was very different from what 0001 told me. It said that the Moon Arrow would fix the issue, but the Tree of Origin mentioned it was already too late.
“You know things quite well,” I said.
“Nothingness is a place where beings who failed to become gods go. Meanwhile, the Origin is a place where those who lost their divinities go. Gustarte’s soul is already halfway into the Origin.”
This newfound information surprised me. However, I had some doubts about it.
“Who are you?”
“I am the Administrator of the Origin. I control all the Trees of Origin. My job is to bring those who lost their divinities to the Origin and look for a new candidate. And now, I am watching the birth of a new god.”
The Tree of Origin—no, the Administrator of the Origin—did not hold back anything. He told me everything. The new god… It seemed like the Tree of Origin was referring to me.
I frowned and asked, “So are you telling me to absorb Gustarte?”
The Administrator of the Origin slightly bowed his head. “As the god wishes.”
The Administrator of the Origin was already considering me as a god. If I obtained more divinity and nurtured the seed, then I would become a true god. It certainly was an enticing offer.
If I became a god, then being the Dark Lord wouldn’t mean anything anymore. I would be able to easily defeat Ariel and Pandemonium. However, I felt like that was not just it.
“Aren’t only those who died become gods?” I asked.
The Administrator of the Origin smiled. “Yes, that is right. When someone qualified dies and they possess the divinity, they will be elected as a god after death.”
“It sounds like you are telling me that I should die first.”
“Being a god is worth it. It is much more valuable than being a Dark Lord.”
“I understand…”
My curiosity was somehow satisfied. I opened my eyes. Then, the connection from the Origin was cut off, and I returned to reality.
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