Chapter 93
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Land Grab (3)
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‘William Thompson. Is this guy really a subordinate?’
The most important thing first: figuring out whether William was under the dominion of another deity.
If he was serving under another deity and even bore their blessing, things would get extremely complicated.
Unless I forcibly snatched him away—which wasn’t an option—I’d have to go through convoluted negotiations without raising suspicions about my identity. At that point, it’d be better to just drop it and come up with another plan.
‘Affiliated with Bricklanes?’
I searched the Divine Community using the name of his company.
Even a regular internet search showed it was just a mid-sized hunter agency. Fortunately, Bricklanes had no ties to any deities—they were completely independent.
Most of the people there, including William, didn’t specialize in combat prowess. Instead, they were folks who gained fame through mysterious, exotic abilities, appearing on TV shows or video platforms to rake in the spotlight.
Makes sense. Deities obsessed with faction wars probably wouldn’t bother with celebrities like them.
“Found some interesting stuff.”
I smirked after a quick dive into his background.
All powers registered in the hunter system ultimately stemmed from the deities who contributed to creating them.
William’s energy conversion ability was no different.
It was clearly an ability extracted by some world-ruling deity and plugged into the system, but it came with heavy restrictions for a mere human.
You could ingest mana stones infused with mana, digest them, and convert the energy into your own power. But the conversion path was singular, efficiency was abysmal, and worst of all, there wasn’t much you could actually do with the absorbed power.
All he could manage was basic stamina recovery or temporary sensory boosts.
Decisively, his body couldn’t handle the strain, leaving him addicted to mana stones—he now needed to consume them steadily beyond a certain threshold.
But I believed that if ants gained this ability, the results would be entirely different.
‘Ants can multiply the conversion pathways. They can maximize efficiency where it falls short, and with that, consuming mana stones would open up endless possibilities.’
Asmodra’s demonstrations were proof enough.
The ant colony under Asmodra’s lead had already created absurd chimeras for their goals and powered them with mana heart engines through sheer force.
Trait Extraction allowed granting an extracted ability to a subordinate only once per individual, system-wise.
I wasn’t sure how it would apply to the Hive Mind-structured ant colony... but if this was a one-shot opportunity, I was certain I needed to invest in this power.
“Boss, I’ve got a favor to ask.”
I called Baek Jin-seong right away, asking him to arrange a meeting with William by any means necessary.
“I passed on your message as instructed. He was pretty guarded at first, but once he heard the details, his attitude flipped.”
“Guess that documentary where he bawled his eyes out on camera about his ‘cursed’ power wasn’t staged after all.”
I waited with Baek Jin-seong at the meeting spot for William.
As expected, once he heard I could remove his ability, his demeanor changed, and he agreed to meet.
‘Isn’t this ability a bit too convenient?’
Recalling Trait Extraction, I clicked my tongue inwardly.
Trait Extraction—a Divine Net-assisted authority that let deities dominate subordinates more efficiently and freely—offered choices.
First option: Rip out all abilities from a recognized trait bearer intact. 100% fidelity.
Second: Duplicate the original ability while leaving it be. Quality drops to half.
I figured the mere existence of choices gave deities a massive edge.
Of course, it was a boon for subordinates too.
I didn’t have such powers, but other deities had the strength to vivisect living subordinates and extract or analyze abilities.
Better to have the Divine Net politely pluck your power than endure that horror, right?
The deities I’d observed seemed to think so too—they used it freely.
“Um, by the way, the reason you specifically called for William... does that mean the esteemed one has taken an interest in that foreigner?”
“Something like that, but it’s not about recruitment.”
As the appointment time approached, Baek Jin-seong glanced at me anxiously and spoke up.
From his perspective, me—a proxy of a deity—showing interest in someone like William, who seemed worthless for recruitment, was unnerving.
“Just curious about his ability, that’s all.”
I spotted William approaching our secluded spot, hat pulled low, glancing around warily. I stepped out of Baek Jin-seong’s car and opened the door.
He was trying to look ordinary, but instinct or whatever made him freeze when he recognized me.
“Don’t run. I’m here to help, just like I said.”
“Y-You can really remove my ability?”
I spoke first, but William’s voice trembled with disbelief.
“At first, I thought it was fun. People loved it, and it made good money. That was six years ago.”
Unlike on camera, William spilled his story in a weary, deflated tone.
His mana stone addiction had worsened over time, and he’d desperately tried to lose the ability—just like in his documentary.
“But no one knows. Not a single case reported. A hunter losing their ability? Only one way out: death.”
“No need to die. You just... haven’t caught the right eyes.”
William was one of those who saw the hunter system as absolute law, part of nature, the world’s fate.
To him, his ability must have felt like divine punishment, a curse.
But knowing the truth, I could only sigh and shake my head.
No matter how much he suffered, to the cosmic deities, he was just one of Earth’s billions.
Like how I viewed Edelion’s residents getting swept away by my ants...
“What do I have to do to escape?”
“...Faith. That’s all it takes.”
It sounded cringey enough to make my toes curl, but to extract his ability, I needed to make William my subordinate.
Not hard. Even without granting blessings or power, a mere affiliation change counted him as one.
But switching a foreigner employed by another company was too tedious right now.
In cases like this, personal belief was the shortcut. The moment he truly believed in me, he’d become my subordinate.
“F-Faith? Believe in what? What am I even supposed to believe in?”
Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy.
As he scanned me up and down in confusion, I met his gaze steadily.
Trait Extraction Available
Energy Conversion Formula Lv. 2
Substitutes absorbed energy into a different type of energy.
‘William’s free from years of tormenting addiction, and I’ve gained a power that’ll help the ants. Now that’s a happy ending.’
Back home, my lips curled up at the sight of William on the screen.
The moment he realized his ability was gone, the forcibly instilled faith grew even stronger.
Now fully my subordinate, he had no reason to disobey the command to keep quiet about what happened.
“Now... you’ll definitely put this to good use.”
Standing before the breeding ground, I murmured softly at Asmodra’s image inside.
Asmodra had never disappointed me once.
Just like how it devoured prey, absorbed abilities, and evolved into more perfect lifeforms, I trusted it could bloom this imperfect power in its own way.
Trait Injection
The system activated.
A foreign sensation rippled through my body, and Asmodra—who’d been placidly accepting nutrient fluid from the worker ants—twitched its antennae.
Asmodra panics at this unprecedented phenomenon.
Asmodra flinched, shaking its head, flustered by the changes in its body.
But soon realizes this is familiar—something it’s experienced before. And that only one being could make this possible for it.
Thankfully, Asmodra adapted quickly and began pondering its new ability.
‘A worker ant...’
At Asmodra’s command, a worker ant arrived carrying a mana stone fragment the heart forge worm hadn’t fully processed.
The worker, still possessing digestive organs, crunched and devoured it in one go.
‘Getting the hang of it?’
Asmodra simply observed.
Linked by the collective consciousness, Asmodra shared every sensation the worker felt.
Asmodra begins designing a new soldier type.
As expected, Asmodra seemed to grasp it and sprang into action.
Just how would the ants wield this power, and in what way?
Even if handed from another, mastery depended on one’s own capabilities.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited.
Efficiency of nutrients converted from absorbed mana stones exceeds prior methods by over double. Yet Asmodra is confident it can elevate this much further.
‘Gonna need to double—no, triple—the mana stone supply going forward.’
The moment Asmodra’s eyes gleamed with understanding, I realized I’d have to hustle harder to keep up with the increased demand.