Chapter 62
Intermediate God Lee Shin (1)
“This is wrong! This—this...”
He could not comprehend it.
Why?
‘Mars, why did you...?’
Beliar could not understand Mars’s betrayal. All they had needed to do was hold their ground, and a glorious victory would have been theirs. Had they done so, Beliar would have granted his servants stronger bodies and a more resilient world, and they all would have received tremendous glory.
Was there anything in this world more important than those things?
「The World Collision between Earth No. 444, [Small but Deadly World], and Earth No. 22, [World of Chains and Shackles], is ending.」
As Beliar read the message announcing the end of the World Collision, he could no longer maintain his sanity.
“...!”
“It can’t end like this. I’m supposed to be the one who wins in the end. There’s no way I was wrong. I...”
Then—
「TIP: That’s enough, Lord Beliar.」
A shattered status window appeared before Beliar.
「TIP: It’s all over now, you fucking idiot.」
Though it consisted of nothing but words, emotion seeped from them.
An emotion that could not be put into words.
「The god Beliar loses his influence over Earth No. 22, [World of Chains and Shackles].」
「You have lost your influence over every world you possessed.」
「You are no longer a god.」
「TIP: Do you truly not understand? Really?」
The status-window administrator’s tone was different from before.
「TIP: Then again, I suppose all so-called gods are like that.」
「TIP: I’m insanely jealous of the administrator on the other side. Truly, insanely jealous.」
「The stars leave their final remarks.」
「Overall Evaluation: Abysmal.」
And then the final moment arrived.
「Evil God Beliar is extinguished.」
「A faint star loses its light.」
And with that, a god vanished.
Without leaving so much as a trace.
「You have won the World Collision.」
「Earth No. 22, [World of Chains and Shackles], has now become one with your world!」
「Earth No. 444, [Small but Deadly World], expands.」
Victory in the World Collision.
Much had been lost, but even more had been gained.
「The rank of [Small but Deadly World] rises to [Intermediate].」
「You have won a World Collision against a [Mid-High-Tier God].」
Just like last time, he received a mythic-rank reward.
And that was not all.
「Your divine standing rises.」
「[Lower] → [Intermediate]」
「The [Exclusive Trait] function has been unlocked.」
「You can now recover Interference Power more quickly.」
「Time required for full Interference Power recovery: 2 hours」
「The number of achievements you have accomplished is exceptionally high.」
「A mythic-rank reward will be granted.」
「Your existence shines more vividly.」
「Your trait level rises.」
「(NEW!) Creator LV. 7」
Lee Shin’s divine standing was now Intermediate. It had risen to match the rank of Small but Deadly World.
‘But I’m only Intermediate even though I defeated a Mid-High-Tier God.’
Had expecting to rise straight to the Mid-High tier been too greedy?
「TIP: This rate of growth is already astonishing!」
「TIP: I guarantee that not a single god in the World of Stars has grown this quickly in the last thousand years!」
The status window seemed perfectly satisfied with these rewards.
Well, what would be the point of asking for even more?
Lee Shin grinned as well.
Besides, he had received something far more valuable than any of those rewards.
Something far more precious than ranks or divine standing.
「[Small but Deadly World] is now a completely independent world. You have bestowed a new world upon the lives whose world was destroyed long ago and which had remained broken for countless years.」
「Everyone living in your world will remember this moment.」
「Freedom takes root as a core value within the doctrine of the [Church of Lee Shin].」
「Your servants will forever yearn for freedom.」
The dwarves had finally attained complete freedom.
They embraced one another and cheered.
[My God, my God! Now I, Eve, can finally...!]
The sight of them was itself a reward to Lee Shin.
“This is wonderful. It truly is.”
With the World Collision over, Small but Deadly World had grown incomparably larger than before. Most obviously, the world itself had become much more expansive.
‘But I’m only Intermediate even though I defeated a Mid-High-Tier God.’
Had expecting to rise straight to the Mid-High tier been too greedy?
「TIP: This rate of growth is already astonishing!」
「TIP: I guarantee that not a single god in the World of Stars has grown this quickly in the last thousand years!」
The status window seemed perfectly satisfied with these rewards.
Well, what would be the point of asking for even more?
Lee Shin grinned as well.
Besides, he had received something far more valuable than any of those rewards.
Something far more precious than ranks or divine standing.
「[Small but Deadly World] is now a completely independent world. You have bestowed a new world upon the lives whose world was destroyed long ago and which had remained broken for countless years.」
「Everyone living in your world will remember this moment.」
「Freedom takes root as a core value within the doctrine of the [Church of Lee Shin].」
「Your servants will forever yearn for freedom.」
The dwarves had finally attained complete freedom.
They embraced one another and cheered.
[My God, my God! Now I, Eve, can finally...!]
The sight of them was itself a reward to Lee Shin.
“This is wonderful. It truly is.”
With the World Collision over, Small but Deadly World had grown incomparably larger than before. Most obviously, the world itself had become much more expansive.
Although it had not absorbed every colony Beliar once possessed, [World of Chains and Shackles] alone was several times larger than Lee Shin’s world. The only problem was that most of the important facilities and core structures in Beliar’s world had already been destroyed.
「TIP: That isn’t much of a problem.」
「TIP: You can simply rebuild them.」
The status window was right.
After all, the world’s rank had risen, unlocking a vast number of new buildings and facilities. There had barely been any land left in the small world. In preparation for war, they had covered most of the territory with fortifications, turning it into a land of steel.
They had plenty of things to build but no land on which to build them. Now, an enormous expanse of empty land had suddenly opened before them.
‘Even if there were plenty of buildings, we’d have to demolish them if they were useless.’
What use would the dwarves have for buildings and facilities designed exclusively for other races and the Ironmen? The disappearance of all Beliar’s buildings was actually a good thing. Demolition was still work, after all.
‘The dwarves are going to have their work cut out for them.’
Of course, Lee Shin was not worried.
Dwarves were born workers. They were the kind of people who would become unbearably restless if they spent the entire day relaxing at home.
Moreover, this was not fighting but creating something new. They would undoubtedly rush forward, each insisting that the work be entrusted to them.
「TIP: You’ve finally entered a stable phase.」
Unless another god initiated a [World Collision], the small world would no longer be in danger. That meant they finally had enough breathing room to invest in something other than training soldiers and manufacturing weapons!
「Four fragments have been collected and reassembled.」
「You have restored a destroyed world.」
「The dwarves reclaim their lost and glorious legacy.」
「The [Science] category has been unlocked.」
「You can now construct Great Buildings.」
Fighting had never been the dwarves’ true specialty.
There was something else they did far better.
“Son, how did it go?”
“I won.”
“You won? Really?”
And then—
“Wow, the land has gotten ridiculously huge. And now you can command these guys too? The ones who look like robots?”
“Yes.”
“But isn’t this completely broken?”
“Broken?”
“Of course it is.”
There was also one unexpected synergy.
“You said these guys use armor as their bodies, right? From what I heard, their stats seem to increase in proportion to their equipped gear. If you have dwarves with maxed-out production stats, wouldn’t the Ironmen’s combat power keep rising as long as the dwarves continued producing equipment? A race that becomes stronger just by developing its economy is practically a cheat.”
“...!”
「TIP: !」
Anime and comics always had their clichés.
Enemies who became allies always grew weaker!
But there was no such rule in reality.
“And couldn’t you improve their technology and mount machine guns or something on their bodies? They’d practically be walking gun turrets.... Even if their bodies were smashed apart, you said the blacksmiths could hammer them back into shape, right? If this were a game, that combination would deserve an immediate hotfix and balance patch....”
Lee Shin’s father continued.
If this were a game, people would undoubtedly be saying:
This can’t be stopped now.
Strictly speaking, the small world had been managed inefficiently until now. The dwarves, a race specializing in production and development, had been conscripted as soldiers, while every valuable technology had been neglected in favor of endlessly producing weapons and conducting military training.
“In gaming terms, it was like training a hundred workers, building nothing, and making them fight while doing nothing but mining minerals.”
“What are you normally supposed to do in a game?”
“Workers gather resources and construct buildings. Combat units do the fighting! Everyone should perform the role they’re suited for.”
Of course, the situation had been unavoidable.
One crisis after another had descended upon them, and the dwarves had been their only major race. It was not as though Lee Shin had wanted to order those dwarves, each no bigger than a water bottle, to fight personally.
But the situation had changed.
‘Beliar’s Ironmen belong to me now.’
The dwarves were the greatest blacksmiths in the World of Stars, while the Ironmen were elemental life-forms capable of growing endlessly stronger as long as they were properly equipped!
The combination of those two races would undoubtedly be extraordinary.
There was only one problem.
‘Not all the Ironmen believe in me yet.’
Mars had become a follower of Lee Shin.
However, Mars was still the only Ironman who had done so.
Countless Ironmen in the World of Chains and Shackles still did not believe in Lee Shin. They remained nonbelievers.
That was only natural, considering most Ironmen had been fanatics who offered Beliar their absolute faith. It would have been stranger if they had changed religions overnight.
[Do not worry too much.]
As though he had read Lee Shin’s concerns, Mars spoke.
[They will eventually realize the truth as well.]
Mars held a young Ironman in his arms while gazing up at the sky.
[They will realize which world is better and which god is greater.]
Mars’s eyes were filled with conviction.
Lee Shin decided to trust him once more.
If a god could not trust his own follower, whom could he trust?
「TIP: Please check your new reward!」
For now, he would give the matter more time.
Having set it aside, Lee Shin followed the status window’s suggestion.
‘First, let’s examine the reward I received.’
It was the mythic-rank reward he had earned for defeating Beliar.
「Reward: Item [Mask of the Stars]」
This reward was none other than an item.
「Name: Mask of the Stars」
「Category: Disguise」
「Rank: ?」
「Restriction: God-exclusive item」
「When equipped, it can conceal your appearance and aura. It can make what exists appear nonexistent and what does not exist appear real.」
「Overall Evaluation: Do not judge by appearances.」
Judging from the description, it appeared to be an item for concealing one’s identity.
‘This is mythic rank?’
[Eternal Protection], the item he had previously received that created a safe zone, seemed much better. How could an item that merely concealed his appearance be mythic rank?
‘...There must be a reason.’
He had already received it.
The World of Stars did not offer exchanges or refunds.
Surely, he would eventually find a use for it.
With that thought, Lee Shin checked the next item—the [Exclusive Trait] function that had been unlocked when his divine standing rose to Intermediate.
「You have become a greater being than before. Your servants who follow you have likewise earned the right to become greater.」
「You may select one of the races that believe in you and grant them a unique trait.」
「[Exclusive Traits] are unlocked according to the [Religion] you champion and the characteristics of the selected race. Please choose one of the four options.」
「The [Exclusive Trait] will become a shared trait possessed by the entire selected race.」
So that was how it worked.
There was no need to think about it for long.
No matter how he considered it, Lee Shin’s primary race was still the dwarves—or rather, the Half-Dwarves.
Without hesitation, Lee Shin selected the first option.
「You have selected the [Half-Dwarves] of Small but Deadly World.」
「The Half-Dwarves acquire the exclusive trait [Soul of Steel].」
「1. Half-Dwarves (Small but Deadly World)」
「2. Ironmen (Small but Deadly World)」
「3. Undead (Lonely but Creepy World)」
「4. Dragons (Large but Lazy World)」
「The dwarves shall now go beyond being loved by steel and become its truest friends. Half-Dwarves can now instinctively understand ‘metal’ without needing to learn. Half-Dwarves can now communicate with iron as naturally as they would converse with another living being.」
Flaaash!
A dazzling light erupted throughout the small world.
There was no need to observe the resulting changes with his own eyes.
[What the hell! What is that sound...?]
[Have I gone insane? Why is my hammer talking...?]
[The sword is talking!]
Their voices were already flooding into his mind incessantly through prayer.
‘How fascinating.’
Blacksmiths capable of speaking with iron.
Surely, they would not end up arguing with it, would they?
The World Collision had brought many gains, but there had unquestionably been losses as well. Many dwarves had perished because of the fierce war and the apocalypse Beliar had unleashed.
Some had lost family members, some had lost their lovers, and others had lost friends. Lee Shin listened to every prayer offered by the countless dwarves submerged in grief and despair.
Fortunately, their sorrow did not last long.
The dwarves’ greatest strength was their ability to rise again, no matter how many times they were knocked down. Before long, the dwarves of the small world returned to their daily lives and devoted themselves to their work.
[Pour that concrete properly!]
The dwarves worked diligently!
As always, there was little Lee Shin could do to help them directly. If he left them alone, they would handle everything perfectly well. They were diligent, skillful, and meticulous. There were no better workers than dwarves.
[Do it over! Can’t you hear what the pillar is saying? Pillar Number Three says it’ll collapse within four years if you put it up like this! It’s whining loud enough to burst my eardrums, so how can you not hear it?]
[You call this a shield? Can’t you hear it crying? It’s complaining that this joint creaks like shit!]
Thanks to their exclusive trait, [Soul of Steel], the dwarves’ craftsmanship had improved even further.
They might previously have overlooked minor mistakes, but now the metal itself whined and gave them feedback in real time. It was like a chef’s ingredients shouting, “How can you sleep at night after cooking me like this?”
[My God, are you certain this is a good trait...?]
[We apprentices are dying here! Sob, sob.]
A few less-skilled dwarves lamented their miserable circumstances.
“Hang in there.”
That was all Lee Shin could say in response to the prayers he occasionally heard!
Even without [Soul of Steel], the inexperienced dwarves would have been thoroughly chewed out by their seniors. They were destined to be scolded either way.
Was it not better to have more friends, at least?
Lee Shin decided to think positively.
“This is going to become unbelievable.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. In gaming terms, you chose an overpowered race guaranteed to win once it reached the late game. Then, instead of merely taking three or four expansion bases, you took an entire additional map as your expansion....”
“...That means it’s good, right?”
“It means it’s very good.”
Lee Shin’s father’s eyes sparkled. Ever since he had begun helping Lee Shin, he had stopped playing the games he normally enjoyed.
This was far more entertaining than any game!
“As soon as the divine power comes in, we should invest it into resources and start snowballing. Before that, we need to review all the newly unlocked buildings and plan our build order in advance.”
Lee Shin’s father was already excited as he reviewed the list of buildings they could now construct. He said he needed to run simulations beforehand to determine the most efficient order in which to build them.
“By the way, son, where are you going? Do you have plans with someone?”
“Yes. I think I’ll be home a little late today.”
“What about dinner? Your mother told me to ask whether you’d be eating with us.”
“Hmm... I’ll probably eat out.”
“Really? Who are you meeting?”
His father asked casually.
So Lee Shin answered just as casually.
“Some middle-aged man. Apparently, he reserved an expensive Japanese restaurant. If I finish early enough, I’ll bring back some sushi.”
He was indeed a middle-aged man.
—Mr. Lee Shin, are you on your way? The Association Chairman has already arrived.
Just a particularly famous one.
“Get salmon sushi for me.”
“Okay. See you later.”