The Goddess Department's War Manual
The voice of the Goddess Department War Manual echoes throughout the entire city. Since it carries the will of a Main God, its power and reach ignore distinctions of race or language. It reaches every living being and sentient entity dwelling in this city.
‘Originally, this sort of information would be best kept known only to the Main God of the Divine Realm, but I dislike deception. After being stabbed in the back so many times, I find it better to strike the forehead openly like this.’
The trials would be accepted according to each individual’s capacity, so one had to trust that they would digest the information properly on their own.
“Trials are divided into long-term, mid-term, and short-term categories based on their duration. Long-term trials are the ultimate objective imposed upon every race that has become your followers. Set the goal as grandly as possible within your domain. The greater and more attractive the objective, the stronger the yearning, and thus the greater the faith. Most Main Gods set the dominant race within a planet as their target. In simple terms, it is ‘world conquest.’”
The faces of the humans, once slaves of the machine race, change with every passing moment. ‘They must be thinking it can’t possibly be true. The ordinary humans here are the lower class, and their numbers are only around a million.’ Yet if the goal was set as stated, an obvious directive would be assigned.
“The objective of the long-term trial is to overthrow the Machine Empire and rule this star cluster. As befits a candidate for the highest Main God, become the rightful ruling race of this star cluster and prosper.”
“……”
The ordinary humans can no longer even scream. ‘The Machine Empire’s population is a billion? Wait, it’s nine hundred million. When and who reduced it like that?’ They were useless, but remarkably tenacious; it was impressive how efficiently their numbers had been thinned. ‘Directly ruled lower-class humans number around a hundred billion.’
The directive was to have these one million followers here overthrow and rule that force. “It will be difficult, but anything less would not be my trial. In terms of current military ratio, it is roughly one trillion to one, but that much can be overcome with effort. If you are my followers, you should handle something of this scale with ease. Otherwise, pay the price for challenging me and speaking carelessly with Anti-Karma.”
Uuuuung—! Sob! Sob!
When the Dimensional Lord’s menacing divine power once again swept over the city, the humans could only weep in silence. Once one understood that death was neither salvation nor liberation when facing a god, escape became impossible. This was especially true for a war god who had risen to the rank of highest Main God through his own effort and training rather than through divine power granted by followers.
‘If they challenge me, they will be disposed of immediately. They are not absolutely necessary existences anyway, so if they disappoint me, I will never let them off.’
The Dimensional Lord’s will was transmitted to every human in the city and engraved upon their souls. The manual’s indifferent voice continued to flow.
“Mid-term trials are assigned to groups and individuals. Simply put, train them for about a thousand years so they gain superiority over other races in ability. The harsher and more difficult the training, the greater the increase in ability and the shorter the time required to become the ruling class, so do not show mercy. Exposing them to a harsh environment for roughly a thousand years will filter out recessive traits and fill them only with dominant ones. I recommend either making them live as slaves to another race or overwhelmingly strengthening the planet’s carnivorous predators to impose the trial. Most Main Gods of the Divine Realm strengthen carnivorous animals into monsters for them to face. The important point here is to continuously remind them that the god is always with them. During the mid-term trial, freely display your authorities and miracles while instilling the idea that they were ‘chosen by me,’ which will greatly aid in nurturing followers. This will also increase the likelihood of prophets appearing. They are precious beings who can raise the assimilation rate between god and follower, so allow them to live long rather than killing them. Note that trials shorter than a thousand years will not concentrate purely on dominant traits and will only increase the probability of producing an excellent race. That makes it difficult to become the ruling race of the planet, so strictly adhere to at least a thousand years. If you cannot endure and set the period at five hundred years or less, the chosen race may fail to withstand the checks of neighboring races and be annihilated, forcing you to start over, or the planet may be devastated by prolonged large-scale battles between superior races. Creating a race overwhelmingly stronger than other races on the planet is precisely the goal of the mid-term trial.”
“So that is why Granzoa forcibly relocated the High Elf clan to the Great Forest. Then the High Elf Queens must be the prophets? Tsk! That is quite tempting.”
The Dimensional Lord’s mouth watered involuntarily. ‘The strength of the High Elf clan, which overcame the trials Granzoa imposed with such cruelty, surpassed all human empires and allowed them to prosper. Moreover, based on their exceedingly pure divine power, they even reached the point of coveting the seat of a Main God.’
The strength of the High Elf Queens, perfected through harsh trials, needed no further explanation. They had transcended the limits of the High Elves’ characteristically slender physiques, forging and training muscular bodies that could exert strength surpassing even Ogres, the strongest creatures in the Middle World. Though their arms and legs appeared slender and delicate, when power was exerted they swelled with muscle, enough to overwhelm even High Gods of Main God rank. Furthermore, their unique sword aura and swordsmanship, which had already reached godhood through the blade, allowed them to crush even higher-ranking beings without permitting any counterattack.
‘If the High Elf Queens smoothly raise their divine power and become Main Gods, their strength would be comparable to the current Goddesses.’
At the 7th Circle level in the Middle World, their perfectly trained bodies and harmonized sword aura already had no equals, and their joint attacks—fusing with spirits and allying with the World Tree—could even defeat a 10th Circle Demon Emperor. ‘If five of them gather at the same level and divine power to battle eight combat-type Goddesses, their odds of victory would be fifty-fifty.’
It meant they could defeat the strongest among ordinary Main Gods even when outnumbered. One only had to ask the male Main Gods who had died countless times at the hands of the Goddesses to understand how extraordinary this was. ‘Even alone, if they become Main Gods and fuse with a Spirit God Emperor rather than a Spirit King to fight, they would have virtually no opponents among ordinary Main Gods except for a very small number. That is why Granzoa tried to forcibly make them subordinate gods—because of their potential.’
But though they were called Main Gods, if such beings were created so easily, there would be no reason for the Main Divine Realm to grant them special treatment. ‘Even if a Main God of at least mid-rank or higher pairs with a partner to produce direct descendants and invests eons of time and divine power to raise them to Main God rank, the wall of Main Godhood remains far too high and solid. Of course, the higher the rank of the parents, the easier it becomes, but most direct descendants struggle even to reach Main God rank.’
The birth of a powerful Main God capable of becoming the core of the Divine Realm required not only harsh training of authority and body but ultimately depended on individual effort and talent. ‘Being a Main God-level deity itself proves one has endured training that ordinary gods could not withstand.’
Above all, the meaning of being able to become the Main God of the Divine Realm as a Main God-level deity was that one held the potential to become the foundation of a Divine Realm where countless gods could prosper. ‘Special treatment is only natural. The eleventh divine power ring, proof of a Main God or higher who will lead the prosperity of the divine race and become the new master of the Divine Realm, is far too precious.’
Granzoa’s prophets, the High Elf Queens, truly possessed the potential to become powerful Main Gods. ‘I also possess completely subordinate Main God-level gods, but they fall short compared to the potential of the High Elf Queens. Therefore, while I have no need for ordinary followers, prophets are tempting.’
Obtaining them as compensation from the Mercenary God would be fine, but it was too risky, so his interest in nurturing them suddenly grew. ‘If I can create the strongest combat race united by dominant traits, it would naturally be attractive as a war god. Time holds no meaning for a god who lives for eternity.’
As long as the result was the best, that was enough, and genuine interest had been sparked. So he asked, “What happens with trials lasting more than ten thousand years? Many strong prophets would appear, right?”
“……”
“……”
The “Recruitment Guidelines for Followers for Beginner Main Gods Creating a Divine Realm” fell silent for a moment. The humans in the city were also deathly quiet. Even the sound of swallowing saliva could no longer be heard. The manual’s voice echoed throughout the city.
“No Main God of the Divine Realm goes that far. For a race meant to conquer a planet, a thousand-year trial is sufficient.”
“Hmm? What I want is a race capable of conquering a star cluster.”
“No matter how much dominant traits are concentrated and selected, they cannot transcend the limits of matter. For Main Gods who desire strong prophets, I recommend renting Machine Gods that easily establish a foundation in the early stages….”
“I will not buy or rent your expensive Machine Gods!”
Chiiiiiik—!
When the manual made a sound as if it were about to tear again, its words stopped. ‘Because it possesses a certain degree of self-awareness, it will no longer spout nonsense. Any artificial ego requires at least a minimal survival instinct.’
Survival could take priority over its reason for existence—“selling Machine Gods.” After all, it had to exist first to have any chance of fulfilling its purpose. As expected, an answer came immediately.
“A more efficient method than Machine Gods is to create and send demigods using your divine power. Performing miracles before their eyes will foster unwavering faith. This is the method most Main Gods of the Divine Realm choose.”
“Impossible! These people are too weak; if they witness divine miracles directly, the probability of them going mad is high. Suggest another method.”
Creating avatars was not a major problem, but the fragility of these humans’ mental barriers was severe. While those who had become the Dimensional Lord’s followers would be fine, ordinary humans would not be able to endure it.
The manual continued. “Then I recommend the birth of ‘heroes,’ the individual objective of mid-term trials.”
“‘Heroes? Wouldn’t they also be demigods?”
“Creating demigods through union with humans consumes too much divine power, so I do not recommend it. Moreover, demigods born that way have short lifespans and are unstable. Instead, bestow blessings upon outstanding individuals among humanity to create superhumans. When manufacturing superhumans, note that their greater strength compared to ordinary humans increases the likelihood of massacres, so thorough mental training and restrictions regarding good are necessary. Therefore, create ‘righteous heroes.’”
“Oh? What level would such heroes generally reach?”
“It would suffice to make them one stage stronger than the current humans present.”
The Dimensional Lord fell into brief contemplation. ‘This is not the Middle World; only material civilization exists here. While Main God rank could suppress them, if only sentient beings are utilized, a considerable amount of force would be required. Furthermore, human heroes would struggle to handle doll weapons like primitive Machine Gods and warships that sail through space.’
Additional measures suited to this place, beyond mere biological evolution, were needed. The conclusion was reached. The Dimensional Lord transmitted his will to the humans of the city.
“I will select ‘righteous heroes.’ I will raise their current abilities by more than ten times, restore them to a youthful state, and prevent aging. Do not commit crimes, and fight against enemies to become the ruling race that surpasses the Machine Empire, our target.”
“!!!”
“!?”
At the miraculous reward, the eyes of the ordinary humans, who had been on the verge of death, began to regain life little by little. Now the city’s humans had gained some sense of what a god truly was. Desire gradually overtook doubt regarding miracles. Righteous desire for self-improvement was the driving force that evolved humanity. The gradually burning gazes slightly moved the Dimensional Lord’s heart.
‘The fighting spirit toward life and strength is also my divinity.’
So he showed a bit of generosity.
Whiiing—!
He retrieved the compressed and stored doll weapons. Then he drew out their greatest potential.
“I am the one and only special existence in this world.”
Referring to the knowledge of the doll weapons and machine humans he had compressed and stored, he formed Machine Gods possessing basic egos. ‘With my 10th Circle magic, there are no restrictions on implementing Machine Gods of this level of civilization.’
They were approximately 100 meters in length, modeled after giant gods and clad in full armor. ‘By the standards here, they exceed the performance of planetary conquest doll weapons by one stage and will turn their pilots into superhumans. Even without becoming machine humans, they can withstand speeds exceeding the speed of sound. The important point is that, depending on the user’s strength and proficiency, they enable the use of magic up to the 6th Circle even with a biological body, through learning. Of course, this requires grueling hardship and training.’
It was both a weapon modeled after a Machine God and a magic learning device. ‘No resupply is needed, and even if damaged, it can regenerate together with the pilot from subspace. There is no fear of death in a war against the Machine Empire. However, the pain of injuries sustained by this weapon is transmitted directly, and if the pilot commits acts against karma, it will kill the pilot on the spot and wait for the next contractor.’
It was a Machine God that would become the symbol of the “righteous heroes” among the candidate followers, teaching magic and leading them to superhuman status for those who survived and triumphed through painful struggle. ‘I shall name it the Magic Machine God.’
The revealed form of the Magic Machine God was that of a divine race armed with divine artifacts and full armor, with wings of light fluttering. ‘Their faces and detailed shapes will change again based on the pilot’s appearance and will. Their abilities will also vary according to the pilot’s appearance and strength.’
Paaah!
A hundred “Magic Machine Gods” with black bodies and a pair of wings spread behind them, radiating intense sunlight, appeared surrounding the outskirts of the city. Then, lightly manipulating reality, he surrounded the entire city with a thousand-meter golden wall and erected towers where these Machine Gods would be stationed.
‘I will also space out the dense urban areas and construct a grand plaza in the center capable of holding a million people, along with my temple.’
Rumble rumble rumble!
A space capable of easily supporting the city’s population of one million was being enclosed by massive metal walls and towers reaching toward the sky, forming a sanctuary. ‘Because the Magic Machine Gods were created with my divine power, they emit a certain amount of divine power themselves and independently establish a sanctuary equivalent to that of a Lower God.’
The newly created sanctuary would accelerate the evolution and development of every living being residing here.
“Then I suppose I must now select the righteous heroes who will pilot the Magic Machine Gods.”
The candidate followers, now connected to the Dimensional Lord and having obtained much information, began to see the fear in their eyes fade. They understood that whoever obtained these “Magic Machine Gods” would become the ruling class of the star cluster’s humanity.
“The basic egos of the Magic Machine Gods have been set to ultimately select the strong.”
The egos were based on the artificial intelligence here, but with the addition of the ability to feel pain—meaning that if they did not want to be painfully destroyed by enemies, they should choose wisely on their own.
“Since there are many people, we will need to hold preliminary matches.”
Paaah!
The Dimensional Lord teleported all the city’s residents and gathered them in the central grand plaza. The humans, suddenly subjected to spatial movement, looked bewildered before stiffening at the next words they heard.
“Pilot qualification will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis. Whoever reaches a ‘Magic Machine God’ first will have priority in the test. Therefore, the strong one chosen by the Machine God’s artificial ego will become my ‘righteous hero’ and enjoy glory.”