The Indomitable Hero's First Trial
It had been a long time since the Otherworld War received such enthusiastic approval, and the surge of excitement had me pulling out my prized battlefield treasures one by one to show off. Yet the atmosphere among the goddesses and female gods was anything but normal. No—the way they glared at the primordial war gods clustered around me, gasping in admiration, was exactly the look of wives ready to start nagging.
Realizing this, the primordial war gods hastily returned to their seats. Of course, they made sure to snatch up the instant folding temple first. They were war gods, but they were also family men. To a war god, a personal temple in the Divine Realm was little more than a vacation home. The truly useful item was a portable temple that could move across battlefields. I had simply forgotten that ordinary gods would never accept anything so cramped and uncomfortable.
Still, only the bachelor Beast God stared with sparkling eyes, grabbing the artifacts and marveling at them. Seeing that, I finally understood why the Main God of the Divine Realm had always shown him such favoritism. In the end, the only pure war gods left were the goddesses and the Beast God, who had never formed a family. Well, none of that mattered anymore.
“The punishment for the general gods who stood by while the Divine Realm was destroyed ends here. Therefore, the gods participating in the Main God Tournament will be limited to those who do not yet possess a temple in the Divine Realm.”
“?”
Their faces all screamed that they had no idea what he meant. Once a god belonged to the Divine Realm, they were automatically granted a temple. That was a natural right, even for a lower god or a celestial being. If space was insufficient, they would at least receive a symbolic model temple. Without one, a god would naturally struggle to receive support from the Divine Realm. Even the spirit gods, despite their small and inadequate quarters, had been given newly built temple rooms. Therefore, lacking a temple in the Divine Realm meant only one thing: the being had not yet been officially employed by it.
“The gods currently here with any chance of participating in the Main God Tournament are…”
When the Magic God of Dimensions pointed with his right hand, every god’s gaze snapped in that direction. There stood a lower god desperately concentrating his meager divine power, trying to restore his mangled divine armor. Unusually, he also carried a single lower divine sword made of physical matter.
When all eyes converged on him, the lower god sensed the attention, froze, and hurriedly looked around.
“You. Indomitable Hero God.”
“???”
Honestly, the conversation involved such exalted beings that he hadn’t paid any attention. No—he simply hadn’t possessed the mental bandwidth to listen. He had been too busy pouring every ounce of effort into restoring armor smashed to its durability limit while hunting monsters. The former hero had learned the stark difference between lower gods and higher gods all too clearly while suppressing the Main God Star this time.
I have to swing my weapon with everything I have just to kill monsters that higher gods slaughter by the dozens with their authorities.
Those authorities were something he lacked after only recently ascending. It felt exactly like the first time he had been chosen by the Main God as a hunter’s son and begun his life as a hero, gazing up at transcendents. He had secretly looked down on the gods because their physical abilities seemed weak, but witnessing their authorities taught him the truth: to a god, authority mattered far more than physical strength. That was why they appeared that way.
He also understood why the divine sword—which had always listened obediently until now—had begun rampaging as if possessed. If he didn’t return to his beginner’s mindset and give every fight his absolute all, the higher gods would steal every monster, leaving him unable to catch even one. Then he would never enter the Divine Realm. After that, the only fate awaiting him would be withering away from lack of vitality, losing his body, and becoming a hollow god. He had reminded himself of this constantly.
My only advantages are the divine sword I received as proof of being a hero and the armor I received as proof of being the war god’s pope.
The divine sword increased attack power by one circle. The armor granted a full additional circle. Even though he had only just reached eight circles, wearing both let him exert the full physical power of a nine-circle being. With only these two divine artifacts, he could completely display the physical strength of an upper god. He had to earn merit through that advantage. It was the only path that would allow him to be accepted into the Divine Realm. Driven by that realization, he had worked even harder and exceeded his quota. As a result, he was now performing the backbreaking labor of repairing shattered divine items with his pathetically insufficient divine power.
That was why he hadn’t even had the leisure to listen to the Main God of the Divine Realm’s words. Only when the gazes focused on him and he was directly named did he snap back to his senses. Only then did the sheer weight of the Main God’s authority hit him. He hurriedly fell to his knees and bowed his head.
Human-born god or not, I am no longer human. I have become a god. I must make a good impression at all costs.
Fortunately, words of praise reached him.
“You handled the lower monsters quite well. Your results far surpass your divine power. You are now an official lower god of the Divine Realm. The area you stabilized within the Main God Star is recognized as your personal property. Do your best in the Main God Tournament as well.”
“Ah—! Yes—! Understood!”
Since he had received praise, he expressed his gratitude, but the surrounding gods’ reactions were far from normal. No, they were looking at him as if he were insane. During his glory days as a hero, he would never have let such stares pass, but every single god here was stronger than him. So he could only offer a foolish, pure smile. Only then did their expressions shift to understanding.
The Main God of the Divine Realm smiled, satisfied with the answer, and ordered everyone to leave the Main God Temple. The gods scrambled out as if terrified they might be the next one singled out. As the primordial war gods passed, they patted his shoulder. Each time, he bowed deeply in respect. And every time they smiled as if to say how brave and admirable he was, he bowed even lower.
Only after every god and lower god had withdrawn could he finally step outside. Once he was alone, the divine sword poured out its will like a scream.
“You insane master—! Do you even know what the Main God Tournament is? And do you have any idea who the current Main God is? This is exactly why rookies are hopeless—! I told you not to volunteer for anything!”
The divine sword raged, but the former hero simply nodded. From the atmosphere alone, he had roughly understood that this trial was as difficult as the one he had received upon first becoming a hero: subjugating a demon god that had descended into the Middle World. Yet he was used to harsh trials. He had also earned recognition through outstanding results and enjoyed the glory of victory. Above all, though the atmosphere felt strange, he knew the Main God of the Divine Realm was the king of this realm. Even a king with weak authority could erase an unaffiliated lower god like an insect. He had learned that truth bitterly during his human days. Moreover, having been directly named, there was no path of retreat.
‘Do I have any other choice?’
‘Huh?’
‘When I first received you from the Main God, the moment I felt divine power, black mages and monsters swarmed me. The only option was to leave on a journey immediately. Otherwise, not only me but the entire surrounding village would have been dragged in and killed. After that, I received active support from the Divine Realm, raised my abilities, gained companions, and eventually banished the demon god to the Demon Realm. A divine oracle then descended praising my swift suppression, so I was able to live comfortably.’
‘Master…’
‘That’s when I realized it. Rather than resisting the fate decided by those above, it’s far better to respond to it actively. Those in power don’t publicly assign trials they expect to fail. If you simply make the effort, the probability of success is extremely high, and the rewards are plentiful. That’s why I welcome publicly assigned trials like this. They become opportunities to rise.’
“All right—! With that kind of resolve, let’s do it, Master—! Even though there are over three hundred and twenty main gods, thirty-two creator candidates, and even one creator god in the Main God Tournament, if you have that mindset, we might somehow manage.”
‘What? Over three hundred main gods? They can’t possibly be on the level of those primordial war gods, right? I couldn’t withstand even a single strike—! And how many creator candidates did you say? What the hell is a creator god?’
“It’s better that you don’t know the details right now. Just rest and prepare. You brought that, didn’t you? Camouflage it as best you can in an unseen spot near the Main God Temple. It will help your divine power recover faster and keep you from being chased off by the upper gods. Since the Divine Realm is still under repair, the rewards for catching the monsters and your official temple will come last. You need to recover as quickly as possible.”
The Indomitable Hero God nodded. In his hand was the instant folding temple he had already secured. For a hero god who had just ascended to the Divine Realm completely empty-handed, even this was an incredible blessing. A short while later, a small tent shrine camouflaged with trees and leaves stood in the most remote corner near the Main God Temple.
It was the Indomitable Hero God’s first day in the Divine Realm.
Goooooo—!
The only things surrounding the Grey Absolute now were tiny fragments. Every fragment had once been the body of a powerful member of the previous ruling class. The Grey Absolute had killed them all—those who came for conquest in the beginning and those who came to beg in the end. He had then ground their remains into dust, turned the dust into ash, and finally converted it all into vitality. The highly concentrated vitality was released back into the territory.
The ones absorbing it were the Creator Gods kneeling before him in waiting.
The Substitute Gods poured in every ounce of their strength. Though only a tiny portion, they have now firmly secured territory in the Absolute Realm.
Using the unique racial authority that connected all Creator Gods and Substitute Gods, they blocked invasions from the Grey’s other ruling races and immediately entered a period of prosperity. With this, they had finally escaped their chronic vitality depletion. Although forces from the outskirts constantly eyed the territories that had been taken from them, every ruling-class being whose vitality exceeded an entire group had already died at the Grey Absolute’s hands and lost their bodies. There was no one left who could break through.
Although a few new war gods had appeared, none surpassed the Creator Gods. The front line had reached a stalemate. Then, as if it had been waiting for exactly this moment, the Grey’s summons arrived.
Unable to refuse, all the Creator Gods gathered once more. When the high-density vitality—created by disassembling the previous ruling class—was scattered before them, they absorbed it frantically. Even though they knew exactly what it was, they could not resist the temptation of growing dramatically stronger. The goosebumps crawling across their skin, however, could not be helped.
Now that their long-cherished dream of territory in the Absolute Realm had been fulfilled, further battles should have been unnecessary. Even without rulers, the ruling races of the Absolute Realm were on an entirely different level from those of the Main Universe; they simply lacked the strength to expand. Yet now that lacking strength had been replenished.
They seemed to understand why the Grey had disassembled the previous rulers’ bodies right before their eyes, converted them into vitality, and handed it over. Therefore they kept their heads bowed, not daring to ask questions or approach, simply waiting for the next command.
When they had absorbed every last drop of vitality, a single word fell from the Grey’s lips.
“Invasion.”
As if no answer was required, he vanished along with the command. The Creator Gods were left speechless. It went without saying that refusing the order would make them exactly like the ruling class whose vitality they had just absorbed. There was no room for choice or negotiation. The Grey had granted them territory, and they had sworn loyalty. The opponent was too cruel and too powerful for them to change their stance simply because the situation had shifted. It would have been better if he had taken vitality from them like the other Eternal Beings, but instead he only gave and waited for results. Any interference in the process was personally eliminated by him.
Moreover, with clever justification, he had legitimately weakened the ruling races of his own territory. Simply because they had trusted Gold and challenged him, he had completely overturned the entire region. As an example of punishing an uprising, it was harsh—but it was the sort of thing most rulers did. This time, however, the scale far exceeded imagination, so everyone was simply watching the situation.
All beings except the Eternal Beings watched the next words and actions in fear. More accurately, they were desperately praying for the other 10 Mainstays to return and take control. The situation had changed so drastically that they now earnestly longed for the return of the very 10 Mainstays once notorious as tyrants. It went without saying that the Grey had become a far more vicious existence than they, who had refused all dialogue with other races.
Since they were now part of such a being’s faction, they had to prove their value endlessly. Having been strengthened like this and ordered to invade, refusal would mean certain disposal. The moment had come again when the Creator Gods would have to step onto the front lines and fight for territory.
Two figures watched the Creator Gods disappear through spatial movement.
“It’s proceeding nicely. It’s difficult for things to go this well, yet the absence of the 10 Mainstays has finally made them realize how much it halves the Absolute Realm’s power and how dangerous that is. The effect of that rage as well.”
“Of course. The realization of how terrifying it becomes when the 10 Mainstays act alone was also highly effective. Originally the 10 Mainstays always operated as a group, so they had never moved with such harshness and speed before. The shock must have been enormous. As a result, all the clans of the 10 Mainstays—alarmed by the Substitute Gods’ territorial expansion—have returned to their Wind Stars and are preparing for the 10 Mainstays’ return and the coming war. The other ruling races are in the same situation. Heh heh—! Even the ruling clans that carry even a trace of the extremely belligerent blood of the 10 Mainstays have halted their wars. An utterly idealistic peace. Naturally, the Main Universe has also ceased not only large-scale wars but all small-scale battles as well. Astonishingly, more than a week has already passed without a single battle—let alone a war—between beings above spiritual rank. Should we call this a miracle? Or should we say a perfect fishing ground has been prepared? O Great Origin of the Mage God.”
“Shall I give you a reward? Grey? You have shown such sincerity toward the request. If you wish, I can make your manifestation permanent. With a little help from the other grandfathers, independence would also be possible. This is not only my opinion but the shared view of the entire Wind Family.”
“Oh? Such a tempting offer is truly surprising. I am genuinely delighted to have regained the chance at life. Moreover, for one who was erased to be manifested again—not only for revenge but for freedom as well—where else could such joy exist?”