Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Order (1)
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The Divine Community lived up to its name—a gathering place for deities using the Divine Net.
Once I laid eyes on it, I found myself frozen in place, staring endlessly.
Whether they really wrote and commented like that, or if the Divine Net was cleverly paraphrasing things to suit my level just like before, the vibe was strikingly similar to the internet communities I knew.
It hit me like a ton of bricks.
I never imagined that these exalted beings, worshipped as supreme gods somewhere, could be so utterly human.
Sure, some maintained a semblance of decorum and poise, but others chatted with the casual, crass tone of an online forum.
This shook me more than the curses and emotional rants I'd received earlier.
So that's how they've been maintaining their own order.
After sitting there browsing for a few hours, I started getting a feel for this new world.
Deities competed with each other, raising their territories and subordinates to elevate their own ranks.
But mindless brawling would only lead to mutual destruction.
They'd created a kind of order through the Divine Net, like a sports league, and competed within those rules.
That explained their deep hatred for Outer Gods outside the Divine Net.
To them, Outer Gods were chaos itself—disruptors of fair and just competition.
And here I was, barging into their community openly thanks to my uncontrollable ants, earning myself a reputation as an Outer God.
"Huh?"
A familiar term caught my eye right then.
I'd expected deity interference on Earth, but seeing concrete proof was a first.
Naturally, I dove straight into that board.
Any leads on who's behind the disruptions in Korea right now?
No clue. The scope's too narrow.
How many gates has that bastard wiped out already? We need to factor this into performance reviews.
The first post I saw there was about the gate disappearances in Korea.
In other words, it was about me.
They have no idea?
Others were venting frustrations in the replies.
Clearly, they were still in the dark about me.
Definitely transcendent rank. No way Nezel or any other Outer God minion could close those gates otherwise.
But if that's true, who descended in person? Earth—a top-tier world with billions of people and unique civilization—was unclaimed land we all knew about and rushed into together.
Scanning the posts and replies, their confusion was crystal clear.
The Era of Upheaval, starting about 20 years ago, began with otherworldly monsters—Outer God subordinates—emerging from gates.
No way. Earth belongs to the winner among us. Can't let some troll ruin it.
The Divine Net deities had entered Earth together—a honey pot teeming with humans but unclaimed by any deity—to keep it from Outer Gods.
That spawned the hunter system on Earth.
But deities based in other worlds could only influence Earth indirectly, not intervene directly.
It was an ironclad rule.
My awakening—via the ants' rampage, an abnormal workaround—was starting to disrupt that common sense.
...If the world knew, it'd be the discovery of the century.
I chuckled wryly, thinking of all the folks still debating the origins of monsters and hunters.
Religions bickered over who was right; scientists pumped out papers daily.
But right now, I alone knew the real truth no one else did.
Of course, even if I shouted it from the rooftops, no one would believe me.
These guys are hilarious the more I read.
Checking more posts from various deities on the Earth board, I couldn't stifle my snickers.
Grateful as I was for them blocking the Outer God invaders, they were just as eager to claim Earth as their territory and use it as a launchpad to conquer other worlds.
Anyway, isn't it time for the hunter system update?
USA is OP. Too many allies.
Looking at it, we might need to release more S-rank gear this update.
Their method of competition on Earth? Hunters.
They applied a jointly created hunter system, turning awakeners into their subordinates, and claimed their lands and feats as their own achievements.
Who knew there was a secret like this.
I'd once admired hunters but never got chosen by the system myself. Now, I could only laugh in disbelief.
The idea that someone had been manipulating the system from start to finish...
No one thought the status window and system arose naturally, but no one imagined this was the purpose.
Put items up on the Exchange. To update the system and boost hunter numbers as planned, we need a massive influx of low-grade gear.
Exchange?
That was one discovery along the way.
It was how deities influenced the hunter system—right there in the Divine Community.
Deities invested their resources, and their Earth factions reaped the benefits.
Major guilds and companies across nations—names that screamed it—were just tools, like the orcs I'd fought or the Golden Mandate Society, for deities to manage Earth subordinates smoothly.
*Limited Function*
Blocked by the "limited function" notice for now, but my heart raced anyway.
Even just peeking like this, I could already spot plenty of opportunities to meddle.
No need for complicated schemes.
Just buy stocks in the promising hunters or companies deities were bragging about, and I'd make a fortune.
With more knowledge and access, I could achieve even greater things.
[Subordinates are constructing another nest]
So it wasn't running wild on its own after all.
The raw glimpse into the deities' world was so shocking that I'd skipped meals all day, glued to the screen.
Even now, with the community closed, I watched the ants build another nest in the emptied castle.
Judging they couldn't fight anymore, the residents—even those in proper cities—had abandoned everything and fled en masse.
The ants took the land bloodlessly but weren't satisfied.
Their top priority was prey with special powers like mana, Demonic Power, or Holy Power.
Compared to Earth, Edelion's competition is just getting started.
Edelion differed from Earth.
Unlike Earth, where deities united against Outer God invasions from the start, Edelion had no such threat—deities had competed there since day one.
But just as they were building their forces, these mutant ants popped up in a corner of the world.
Failed attempts to stop them had Edelion board deities debating if they needed proper cooperation like Earth's crew.
Asked around, but no one knows about the Outer God subordinates on Edelion.
What the hell even is it? A new Outer God maybe?
Those who'd clashed with me directly shared photos and videos of the ants, but even in the Divine Community, no one could identify them.
They were panicking.
Outer Gods—beings outside the order—were common enemies to Divine Net deities.
They'd unite against Outer God forces mid-competition.
But no matter how much they shared info, they'd never figure out the ants.
My ants weren't subordinates of existing Outer Gods to begin with, and even I didn't know how they'd evolve.
"Ignorance is bliss, huh."
I muttered softly, watching them erect yet another massive nest.
Against my wishes, I was learning too much, and things were escalating beyond ignoring.
Ignorance would have been one thing, but now that I knew, I couldn't just sit idle.
Ants... proceed as planned. No other choice anyway.
The ants' ravenous drive to ravage Edelion was their very purpose—and what awakened a mere mortal like me into a deity.
Even I couldn't stop it.
Sharing their fate, I could only guide their direction, not suppress their instincts.
So, the ants march on.
I'd keep aiding them to avoid defeat, steering their evolution for growth.
Sure, this looked like disrupting order, dooming the world—an evil, horrific Outer God to deities and Edelion's people. No defense there.
But with the ants not fully grasping my words yet, what could I do? At least until they had the intelligence to understand and obey, I couldn't even attempt reining in the slaughter and destruction.
Deities didn't see subordinates as mere tools.
There was an inexplicable, fateful bond between deity and subordinate.
From my awakening moment, I'd instinctively known this was undeniable reality—not one side dominating.
As long as my ants wanted to live, I couldn't burn my own cage or off myself.
"High-grade magic stone dungeon, huh..."
I'd seen an intriguing post on the Earth board.
A achievement reward: a new magic stone mine opening in Nevada, USA.
These "resource dungeons"—yielding magic stones and vast resources upon clear—were treated like mystery lotteries before.
But they were no coincidence.
Just part of the system, decided by the deities behind it all.
Time to dip my spoon in.
Knowing this, I couldn't stay hands-off.
Even a single chopstick would net more than I'd earned my whole life.
Invest that in the ants, they grow stronger, boost my deity rank—and this cycle repeats.
Eventually, my power would blanket Earth, forcing out Outer Gods and rival deities eyeing unclaimed land.
Let's do it. With things this far, it's the best path.
Flooring the accelerator on a runaway train—no brakes in sight. But I'd made up my mind.
Time to act like a deity and claim lordship over this world. The ants wouldn't stop anyway; things would escalate regardless of my will.