Chapter 26
Low-Rank God Lee Shin (3)
Following the status window’s suggestion, Lee Shin decided to first check the reward he had received for defeating the demon this time.
It was the second reward he had received since rescuing Santiago from the world within the dream.
「Great Achievement: Become the first among the Lowest-Rank Gods to destroy a demon’s avatar.」
「Reward: 1 Race Enhancement Ticket」
The Race Enhancement Ticket was an ornate ticket that shimmered in every color of the rainbow, completely unlike the gray Low-Rank Enhancement Ticket.
He could check its information through the status window.
「Race Enhancement Ticket: Enhances a race living within one of your worlds. Only members of the race who are your believers will be enhanced. This item can only be used on souls belonging to worlds you possess. The item disappears after one use.」
Enhance a race?
What exactly did that mean?
The moment he wondered about it, the status window appeared with a ding.
「If used on the undead of your second world, Eerie but Lonely World, they will evolve into [Higher Undead]. Higher Undead will not simply obey the commands of a necromancer, but will build a civilization of their own and establish an empire of death.」
So it meant the undead would gain intelligence.
Then what if he used it on the first world?
「If used on the dwarves of your first world, Small but Deadly World, they will evolve into [Half-Dwarves]. Their bodies will become somewhat larger than they are now, and their Dexterity and Crafting stats will increase significantly. Their probability of awakening [Forgotten Knowledge] will also increase.」
Either world seemed like a good choice.
Rather than asking his father, Lee Shin decided to ask the inhabitants of the worlds who would actually be affected by the ticket.
“Give me a hug!”
Jude clattered his teeth in delight at Lee Shin’s visit.
After dancing around with his bones rattling, Jude immediately began chattering away the moment he saw Lee Shin, apparently eager to catch up on everything he had missed. He enthusiastically told him about how much fun he had had playing with Eve and how many new friends he had made.
Lee Shin asked him,
『Would you not like even more friends, Jude?』
“I’d love to have lots of friends!”
『I obtained something like this. Do you want it?』
Lee Shin showed Jude the Race Enhancement Ticket.
Jude carefully read through the description, stood still for a moment, then shook his head.
“It would be fun if my skeleton friends became smarter. But... I don’t think this is something meant for me.”
『Why not?』
“There are no enemies in Jude’s world. This is something Jude’s little friends need. If you used it for Jude, Jude would be happy, but Jude would rather have his little friends not be sad than be even happier than he already is. So please give it to them.”
Lee Shin asked him,
What if enemies appeared in your world someday?
Jude answered,
“That’s okay. Maybe it would be different in another world, but there aren’t many things in this world that can bully Jude. There are far, far more of Jude’s skeleton friends across this land than even God knows.”
Following Jude’s opinion, Lee Shin went to Small but Deadly World.
“God! Gooood!”
As expected, Eve was the first to welcome him.
“It is wonderful that our race will become even greater! If these humble dwarves can accept the grace bestowed upon us by Lee Shin and grow closer to the heavens, then it would be nothing but an honor!”
Eve beamed.
Then it was decided.
The Race Enhancement Ticket would be used on the small world.
“But God, God, there is something I am curious about.”
Eve suddenly spoke up.
“Not long ago, when God was in trouble, we stepped forward. And there, this humble Eve saw the woman whom God watches over. It was a truly enviable sight.”
“This Eve knows that you also shower us with great care and grant us love that could never be exchanged for anything else. God, God. Will this humble Eve someday be able to feel God’s warm touch and broad embrace as well?”
She must have seen Lee Shin taking care of Choi Bom.
Looking at Eve as she gazed up at him with pure curiosity, her star-shaped eyes sparkling, Lee Shin answered,
『You will always be able to.』
As he said that, Lee Shin consumed some Interference Power and gently stroked Eve’s tiny head.
Eve jumped in surprise, then looked up toward the sky and broke into a broad, delighted smile.
“God, God! You are the best!”
Perhaps reflecting Eve’s radiant emotions, the halo floating behind her head shone as brightly as the sun.
Watching her cheerful smile, Lee Shin used the Race Enhancement Ticket.
「Using Race Enhancement Ticket.」
「The information of the residents of Small but Deadly World—the dwarves who live beneath your protection—has been updated.」
「[Dwarf] → [Half-Dwarf]」
「The dwarves will now grow somewhat closer to their ancient ancestors, the Dwarves. The primordial blessing engraved upon their souls will strengthen, and they will be reborn as beings that are less small and even more deadly!」
「Just as they were long ago, when they covered this world in flame and steel.」
『He doesn’t seem to have any gods he’s close to either. Since he came from a human background, they probably won’t let him into their circles. Those guys care about lineage way more than we do, don’t they?』
『Then there’s no need to hold back. Let’s teach him a proper lesson this time.』
『You really think he could’ve made even one god friend already?』
『Don’t worry about it. What god would associate with one who came from humans?』
He had used the newly obtained reward.
Now it was time to try out the newly unlocked function, [Community].
The status window appeared with a ding.
「Community: Connecting to the community of the gods.」
A community of gods.
「TIP: The Community function allows you to interact with the gods who exist throughout the Worlds of the Stars. You can share world-management techniques with other gods, simply socialize with them, or even conduct trades using Divine Power as currency.」
Interacting with other gods.
It was unfamiliar, yet fascinating.
What kinds of beings were they?
Were they truly omniscient and absolute beings, as they were often depicted in scriptures and various media?
『Hasn’t he seriously crossed the line?』
『I thought we agreed long ago that destroyed worlds belonged to the demons. It wasn’t as if the gods lost anything from that arrangement. Restoring them costs too much Divine Power, and they have no future value anyway, so we were just taking whatever scraps were left. Then that dream demon Lilith got thoroughly humiliated last time.』
『Messing with Legion on Earth No. 1 is one thing. That happened because he let his guard down and got his avatar caught. But closing rifts is different. We already agreed not to close the ones that had been opened.』
『Back then, they agreed too, saying, “If everything is peaceful, no one seeks the gods.” We harvest despair through appropriately measured trials, while they perform miracles, collect Divine Power, and take in any high-quality souls produced through those trials as believers. It was mutually beneficial.』
『From what I looked into, the gods themselves don’t seem to know much about this, though?』
『I don’t think there’s any need to file an official complaint with the gods over this. The problem is just that human-born god who appeared on Earth No. 1. He doesn’t know a damn thing about shared interests and acts however he pleases, as if he were some supreme creator god from Genesis.』
If that was the case, it sounded interesting in its own way.
“Community.”
The moment he spoke the word, Lee Shin’s consciousness suddenly seemed to shoot far away.
「Connecting to Community.」
「In the Community of the Gods, the Worlds of the Stars, communication takes place through the soul rather than a body of flesh and bone. Be warned that encountering a god of excessively high status may damage your soul.」
A rather ominous warning.
Then another message followed with a ding.
「TIP: There is no need to worry.」
「TIP: You possess a greatness that cannot even be compared to mere divine rank. Three [Destinies] that ensure no one can look down upon you.」
***
Lee Shin closed his eyes and opened them again.
He was floating beneath a pitch-black sky.
Countless glittering stars were scattered throughout it, making the scenery resemble outer space.
「Real-Time HOT Board」
「Free Board」
「Trade Board」
As he remained still, windows like those appeared in front of him.
Rather than entering a community of gods, it felt more like browsing an online forum.
「TIP: That is because it is being displayed in the form most familiar to you. I put quite a lot of effort into customizing it. I pride myself on the quality!」
「TIP: {(n'o'n)f」
There were numerous posts on the Real-Time HOT Board.
The most recent one was titled:
[Latest Idiocy from the Human-Born God on Earth No. 1]
[You all know a human-born god appeared on Earth No. 1 recently, right? lol Maybe because he came from the absolute bottom, he even took forever to become a god, and every world he picked up is complete garbage.
This bastard knows absolutely nothing, and he even got stuck with a status-window administrator just as clueless as he is, so now he’s speedrunning straight into ruin in real time. He picked up that already-dead dwarf world after we’d all taken turns stripping it clean, and then even took Jude after there was literally nothing left to take lol
Seriously, what is this guy even doing, picking through the trash the gods already finished with? lmao
Garbage collection crew ← literally him
As if messing with the dream demon Lilith wasn’t enough, he even closed a rift this time. At this rate the demons are gonna mark his coordinates and shut him down soon, right? And he only owns trash worlds, so even when he goes under there won’t be anything worth scavenging afterward. Looks like he’s destined to flare up for a second and disappear lol]
Even someone as oblivious as Lee Shin could tell that the post was about him.
Being hit out of nowhere with such a barrage of insults did not exactly put him in a good mood.
「TIP: The gods of the Worlds of the Stars tend to place great importance on one’s origins. There is no need to pay them too much attention. In time, they will inevitably come to recognize your greatness.」
“I don’t really care if they recognize me. But seeing them talk down about my worlds, my friends... and even you like that bothers me a little. They don’t even know anything about us.”
Lee Shin had been somewhat excited about the Community.
But after seeing gods split themselves into factions and fight among themselves, along with boards filled with useless nonsense, he quickly realized that they were quite far removed from the omniscient or absolute beings he had imagined.
In some ways, it was not very different from an ordinary online community.
Most of the listings on the Trade Board had wildly inconsistent prices, making it obvious that some gods were trying to swindle those who didn’t know any better.
Meanwhile, useful-looking information about world management or anything else of real value could only be viewed by those affiliated with specific organizations or who possessed a sufficiently high Community rank.
In the end, Lee Shin was left disappointed.
He decided to close the Community, thinking that looking at it any longer would only sour his mood.
And then....
「[★Blue Star★] has requested a [1:1 Chat].」
「Would you like to accept?」
An unexpected request came in.
「[★Blue Star★] has requested a [1:1 Chat].」
「[★Blue Star★] has requested a [1:1 Chat].」
「[★Blue Star★] has requested a [1:1 Chat].」
Whoever it was, they certainly seemed enthusiastic.
Lee Shin scratched his head before eventually accepting the request.
Since he had activated the Community anyway, there was no harm in having at least one conversation.
The next instant, his vision flooded with light.
A vast meadow beneath a clear blue sky appeared before him.
Standing in the middle of the grassland was a spirited-looking girl wearing a pure white dress and a straw hat.
“Ah, Lee Shin?”
“Uh....”
“I’m Blue Star. Heya, heya!”
The girl spoke in slang that had gone out of fashion quite some time ago.
Ding!
「Nickname: ★Blue Star★」
「Community Rank: Diamond」
「Divine Rank: Highest-Rank」