Chapter 101 - Episode 14. The Naked God (1)
Chapter 101: Episode 14. The Naked God (1)
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「Have you finally become a god? Congratulations! You are undoubtedly one of the 0.000001% of Higher Beings who have climbed through thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of years.
But after the congratulations comes one piece of bad news. The 《Abyss》 is already crawling with gods like you.
Of course, most of them are losers pushed out of the mainstream, blockheads who would not be surprising to see stripped of their divinity at any moment. Worried you might end up like them?
Do not be.
The fact that you, a newly ascended god, are reading this means that Minerva, the Goddess of Fortune, is blessing you. Follow my advice, and you will never suffer a loss in the 《Abyss》.
Now that you have become a god, there must be many things you want to do right away.
Perhaps you are dying to boast about the crude Worldview you created yourself (please restrain yourself), develop amazing 「Settings」 like the other gods, or fill it with impressive 「Parts」.
Good. They are all good ideas.
Still, before you indulge in such luxuries, remember that there is something you must do first.
What is it?
“It is recruiting Followers.”
It is such an important matter that I deliberately used quotation marks. Yet you, who became a novice god without knowing a thing, might ask this:
“Why must I recruit Followers?”
What a foolish question. For reference, I remember answering a novice god who once asked me that very question with this:
“Hey, what do you think a 「god」 even is?”」
Written by Pierre, God of Madness,
From 『101 Tiny Tips for Beginner Gods』
What was the most dangerous Site in the 《Abyss》?
Once, the idle gods of the Abyss debated that very subject. Some claimed that the First Site, said to have been created by Big Brother, was the most dangerous. Others argued that the borderlands of the Fourth Site, where the Mad God resided, were the most dangerous. Those Sites truly were dangerous. Still, Big Brother and the Mad God were disasters that ordinary residents of the 《Abyss》 would never encounter.
The 《Abyss》 also had places full of threats that were far more ordinary and realistic. One representative example was the Eighth Site, 〈Caspion〉.
Within 〈Caspion〉, there was a place called the Blue Grove Restricted Zone. A guest had arrived in this place, feared by all Vicegerents and Followers of the 《Abyss》.
Rustle.
A boy emerged from the depths of the thick grove.
He looked seventeen, perhaps eighteen. Calling him a mere boy did not do him justice. With skin so fine that he could have passed for a beautiful girl and strikingly bright features, he was better described as a beautiful young man.
After tilting his head and looking around for quite some time, the beautiful young man spoke.
“Excuse me, God-nim.”
He was clearly alone, with no one around him. Yet his tone was far too clear for that of a traveler who had gotten lost and was calling out for a god.
“God-nim? Please answer me.”
He spoke as though there were an obvious listener.
A moment later, a voice surprisingly came from the empty air.
[What is it now?]
It sounded like the voice of a sulky little girl.
“Is this really the place?”
[I told you it is.]
“But no matter how much I look, there's nothing here. How could there be a Fishing Spot in a place like this?”
All he could see were trees and weeds. The atmosphere was gloomy, too.
Whenever the bushes trembled, the boy’s heart pounded with them.
“Can’t we just go back? I’m seriously scared to death. What if a Lost One suddenly appears?”
[That again?]
The voice of the god called Andersen let out a sigh.
[Runald, do you think Lost Ones are that common? Hundreds of thousands of years have passed since the Three Ancient Gods fell. No matter how many Followers they had, nearly all of them should be dead by now. And even if a Lost One does appear, there is no need to be afraid.]
“Why not?”
[Why ask something so obvious? I’m here.]
“...You, God-nim?”
[Ahem. That’s right! As long as Naked Andersen's here, you're one hundred percent safe!]
Runald silently sighed.
[What was that sigh? It feels strangely unpleasant.]
“No, it was nothing.”
[Say it. What are you thinking?]
“It’s nothing important.”
What if I had not become Andersen-nim’s Follower? Runald did not bother to say the rest aloud.
“No matter how I look at it, I don’t think there is a Fishing Spot here.”
[I told you there is.]
“Do we really have to come all the way here to recruit Followers?”
Every one of their misfortunes had begun because of that damned recruitment of Followers.
Followers. Simply put, souls who believed in gods.
Every god in the 《Abyss》 needed their own Followers. Unlike Vicegerents, for whom even one was enough, the number of Followers determined a god’s power. The more Followers a god had, the stronger that god became.
The foundation needed to wield more powerful World Force or use rare Settings and Parts all depended on the “number” of Followers.
Followers are power.
There was even a saying like that.
At any rate, due to that fierce competition to recruit Followers, there was not a soul in the 《Abyss》 who did not belong to some god.
In such an overheated system of competition, weak gods had only two ways to obtain Followers.
First, seduce another god’s Followers.
This was the so-called “headhunting” method popular among mid-grade and high-grade gods. In simple terms, they offered better conditions than other gods and poached Followers from another faction.
Yet only mid-grade and high-grade gods could use that method. Worse, using it carelessly could start a Holy War with another god. Weak low-grade gods had no choice but to choose another method.
Second, fish for new Followers at a Fishing Spot.
This was the second method currently being used by Runald and the low-grade god Andersen.
“Who on earth told you there was a Fishing Spot here, God-nim? Who tricked such an innocent god?”
[...I just had my fortune read at one of Minerva’s affiliated shops.]
Unable to withstand Runald’s irritation any longer, the low-grade god Andersen finally confessed.
“You don't mean that damned Minerva, Goddess of Fortune, who runs 《Monthly Fortune Store》, do you?”
[...That Minerva.]
“How much did you pay?”
[About three hundred trust...]
Runald began to scream silently.
Flustered, Andersen hurriedly began making excuses.
[B-but it came up at Minerva’s card shop! Today’s fortune said north-northwest of Caspion, blue, forest, and water!]
“...”
[If it's a blue forest north-northwest of Caspion, it can only be the Blue Grove Restricted Zone! And if it said water, that naturally symbolizes a Fishing Spot!]
“So?”
[H-huh?]
“Surely that isn't all? That damned card reading must have said something else too.”
[It said that if we went there, we would meet a benefactor...]
“Ah, and that benefactor means a Follower...”
[That’s right!]
Runald stopped walking.
A long silence settled between them. A bleak wind blew from somewhere.
“God-nim.”
[...Yes.]
“Did you do something wrong, or not?”
[I did something wrong.]
“Let’s go back.”
[Okay.]
Runald sighed deeply enough to make the ground cave in, then turned his back on the grove. His trudging steps were lifeless. Andersen did not speak either, perhaps because she was sulking.
Somehow, the entire world felt limp, like cotton soaked in water.
Was I too harsh?
Seeing Andersen so dejected made Runald feel a little sorry.
Aside from Runald, her only Vicegerent and Follower, there was no one in the 《Abyss》 who believed in the low-grade god Andersen.
Having only one Follower meant that Andersen’s Worldview could disappear at any time.
“God-nim, are you sulking?”
Andersen was sulky and easily offended, but Runald did not dislike her.
Whenever he heard Andersen’s voice, Runald remembered the younger sister he had lost as a child. That was also why Runald never betrayed Andersen, even though she was only a low-grade god. She was the only family he had left after losing his hometown and blood relatives.
...Whatever.
“God-nim, should we look a little longer?”
[Huh? Really?]
Hearing Andersen’s voice brighten in an instant, Runald gave a bitter smile.
“It would be nice if I got a junior, too. We have already been scammed by Minerva, so should we not at least get our money’s worth?”
Andersen was a low-grade god, but she was still a god. A god for whom having more Followers was everything. How could she not want to become stronger?
Besides, according to the stories, Andersen had originally been a high-grade god of the 《Abyss》. Had she not been betrayed by her fellow gods, she would probably have been one of the high-grade gods ruling over a medium-sized Site by now.
In a sense, Runald was grateful for Andersen’s misfortune. Without the misfortune she had suffered, Andersen and Runald would never have been bound together as god and Follower.
“Huh?”
That was when a certain scent drifted into Runald’s nose.
[Huh? What is it?]
“God-nim, do you not smell water from somewhere?”
[...I don't have a nose, so I don't know.]
Ignoring that, Runald hurriedly began searching the area. The scent of water gradually grew closer. Andersen, who had noticed something as well, held her breath.
After searching for some time, they came to a small clearing where the thick grove ended.
Runald stared blankly at the center of the clearing, then let out a voice that was almost a scream.
“I-it's there! It’s there! It’s really there, God-nim!”
[W-wow!]
A small pond rippling with radiant silver light lay there.
It was a place called a Fishing Spot in the 《Abyss》. At last, the secret place where new souls were pulled up had appeared before them.
* * *
Most Fishing Spots known to the public had already been claimed by the forces of high-grade gods. Pressured by the territorial demands of those high-grade gods, low-grade gods naturally had no choice but to use places designated as “public Fishing Spots.”
Even there, a soul only surfaced once every few hours, sometimes once every several days. Competition between low-grade gods was fierce as well, making it nearly impossible for a low-grade god to obtain a Follower.
Yet the low-grade god Andersen and her Vicegerent Runald had discovered a brand-new Fishing Spot.
“D-does this mean we might really get a new Follower?”
[W-what should we do if we do?]
Newly discovered Fishing Spots were generally known to have healthy spiritual veins, which drew in many souls wandering the 《Peripheral Worlds》.
[What if we catch a whole bunch?]
“W-what should we do?”
[We can gather tons of Followers, change our Settings, and buy loads of Parts!]
“Change Settings? You know you have to change my Setting first, right?”
[Of course!]
“And don't forget my exclusive Parts!”
[Absolutely!]
The two, who got along remarkably well, already wore arrogant expressions as though they were Big Brother himself.
[We will get stronger and stronger, become high-grade gods, then top-grade gods...]
How long had they been chattering away?
When Runald finally came to his senses, he realized that an hour had passed since he cast his fishing rod.
“God-nim. Is it normally this hard to catch anything?”
[Hmm.]
Three hours passed.
“Why are we not catching anything?”
[Wait a little longer. They say fishing for souls is fishing for time.]
“Where did you hear that one?”
[I read it in the fortune section of Monthly Fortune.]
Five hours passed.
“...God-nim.”
[...]
At last, after a full day had passed, they concluded that something had to be wrong.
“Why are we not catching anything?”
[Haa...]
“That damned Minerva, that... goddess! God-nim! Let’s go beat that goddess up!”
[...Minerva is a high-grade god. Someone like me is beneath her notice.]
“I know.”
Runald wore a gloomy expression.
They had finally found a new Fishing Spot, but they could not see a single soul, much less a fish. Perhaps this Fishing Spot had already been discovered long ago. Was it a place where everyone had given up fishing because no souls ever bit?
[Runald.]
“...Yes?”
[Did that move a little just now?]
At that moment, Runald looked at the float.
Suddenly, the fishing rod jerked sharply, and a heavy sensation began to press against his fingertips.
“Uh, uhh?”
Something was hooked. It was hooked, but...
“Argh! God-nim! I think I caught something enormous!”
An ordinary soul would lose strength and rise up with just a slight flick of the rod. This soul, however, was anything but ordinary.
“What World could this soul be from? Could it be the martial world?”
Souls from the 《Peripheral Worlds》 varied greatly in strength depending on their World.
Souls who had been active in the martial world were especially difficult to reel in because they had such strong energy and high Spiritual Pressure.
[Something is strange about this.]
Andersen seemed to have sensed that something was wrong as well. Through Runald, she began wielding World Force.
Then...
[It isn't coming from the Peripheral Worlds.]
“What? Then where is it coming from?”
[Chaos.]
“W-what do you mean?”
A soul from 《Chaos》 had been caught on their fishing rod?
Runald had never heard of such a thing.
[This will not do! Take off your clothes first!]
“...Haa.”
Runald looked as though he had resigned himself to something. Wearing an expression that said, So it has come to this after all, he quickly bit down on the fishing rod and tore off his shirt.
His skinny ribs were revealed.
[That scrawny chest hasn't changed.]
“Just activate the Setting already!”
Soon, his Setting, 「Naked」, was activated, and Runald’s skinny body instantly swelled with muscle. His bulging biceps pulsed fiercely as a powerful wave erupted from the center of the pond.
Even then, it was not enough.
“What on earth did we catch that-”
Runald literally squeezed out every last ounce of strength he had.
After straining for a long time, something finally began to drag onto land.
“...Good heavens.”
At the end of the line was an unconscious man.
He had unkempt black hair. Silver dust streamed continuously from all over his body, as though he had fought a fierce battle somewhere. His clothes had apparently torn away on the way here, leaving him completely naked.
And...
He is holding a sword?
The man held a sword in his right hand and a scabbard in his left. The words Dokbul, elegantly engraved on the scabbard, stood out in particular.
Is he really from the martial world?
Runald swallowed and reached a hand toward the man.
His level was low, but Runald was still a god’s Vicegerent. Determining this man’s level should have been easy enough-
[Good heavens, he has World Force.]
A chill rose in Runald’s chest. He quickly pulled his hand back and asked,
“What did we catch, God-nim? Could he be another god’s Vicegerent?”
But that made no sense.
There could not be a god’s Vicegerent in 《Chaos》. Vicegerents existed only in the 《Abyss》.
[...He isn't a Vicegerent.]
“What? Then...”
Andersen fell silent for a long time.
Just as that silence began to feel like an omen of something ominous, Andersen’s voice finally rang out. Her trembling voice quietly echoed through the desolate Fishing Spot.
[Runald, I think... I think we caught a god.]
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