The Price of Ambition
The war in the Otherworld continued, but refusal was not an option. The reward attached to this particular request was simply too enormous.
This commission carries an absurdly massive reward. It’s the chance to take charge of the Origin of the Dimensional Clan—one that includes not only the Dimensional God Tribe but the Dimensional Dark God Tribe as well. On top of that, I’ll receive the Dimensional Authority exclusively reserved for the Magic God, which I can pass down to my direct descendants. I would gain the authority of a prestigious clan’s Origin, the very same one shared between the All-Powerful Splendor and the Sage of Omniscience, who are said to possess the greatest talent in the Master Universe.
If it was the Origin of a prestigious clan that encompassed even the Dark God Tribe, it was a prize worth a Creator God staking their life on. No—it wasn’t even a reward originally meant for a Creator God. The Dimensional Authority manifested by the Origin of the Wind Family would most likely become an absolute authority worthy of a Creator General. Considering the past prestige of Dimensional Authority, the version restructured by the Origin of the Wind Family in the Absolute Realm would be completely inaccessible to ordinary gods.
It would be an authority only a Creator General or their successor could possess. If I can secure the Origin of the Dimensional Clan, I could surpass even a Creator General and become the proxy of the Lord of Creation. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity granted to me precisely because I am the past self of the Grey Absolute.
When he had first ascended to the Divine Realm, his goal had been to become the Chief God of the God Realm. Even that had been nearly impossible for an unstable, distrusted human-born dark mage. Yet by any means necessary, he had revitalized the Divine Realm, strengthened his power, overcome the Eternal Judgment, and ultimately reached this position.
I’ve already surpassed my original goal, so why do I crave even more?
After becoming the Lord God—equal in status to a Creator God—and obtaining the power of one, the positions and realms beyond it had become unbearably tempting.
I know the reason. My future exists as the Grey Absolute, and the information has been altered so that I arrived in the 499th Master Universe through the recommendation of the 10 Mainstays of the Absolute Realm. That makes me nearly equal to the other gods. The desires I had suppressed because I was a human-born mage who practiced dark magic have all burst forth at once.
Perhaps it was because he was a human-born Creator God with rich emotions that he found it so difficult to suppress this craving. His desires quickly transformed hesitation into decisive action.
He steadied his emotions and lowered his voice toward Hephais.
“Continue.”
Hephais, who had hesitated for a moment upon sensing the emotional fluctuation, was startled by the now-calm tone. He’s changed so much from when I first saw him in the Spirit Realm. Back then he was a typical battle-crazed god—violent and emotional. Yet now he remains this cold even when it concerns his own affairs? Even his appearance is completely different. What on earth is going on?
Hephais fell into thought. Humans determine their own lives according to personality and emotion, which is why their fate never changes. They can temporarily delay catastrophe by controlling irrational emotions and disadvantageous traits, but ruin eventually arrives. Even those praised as sages only managed to postpone the end until after death.
Gods, who lived eternally as spiritual beings, understood this and therefore controlled their emotions completely depending on the situation. However, human-born gods possessed only power without such complementary safeguards, so ruin inevitably came for them.
Yet the current aura and authority of the Magic God of Dimensions appeared colder and calmer than any other god. There must be something I don’t know about. A superior must have taken measures.
As the silence stretched on regarding the Magic God of Dimensions’ condition, he felt the surrounding Lord Gods giving him meaningful looks. Even Granraha, who had shown a brief emotional fluctuation, kept her mouth shut and remained still. Causing a scene here would be no different from advertising that she was Hera, so she seemed intent on pretending ignorance. It looked like he could proceed comfortably.
“Then I shall explain. The Chief God of the God Realm reached his current position by bestowing the name of companion upon his demigod—Heracles. Naturally, his enraged companion tried to kill the demigod. But Heracles was so powerful that she could not handle it quietly. Even as an infant, he was strong enough to require the direct descent of a Great God to defeat him, so her attempt failed. The Chief God publicized the fact that his companion had tried to kill their young child, and conflict erupted. In the end, the Divine Realm officially stepped in to decide the demigod’s fate. They determined that ten trials would be given to test his qualifications as a god. Since a demigod capable of gazing upon a Great God would have no problem with trials in the Middle World, the Chief God’s intention succeeded. To appease his companion, who was now in an utterly defeated state and extremely furious, he entrusted her with both the content and supervision of the trials.”
What followed was an absolutely catastrophic event in which Hera’s obsessive jealousy and rage turned even the realm of the dead upside down. If he explained the details, he would become a complete enemy of Granraha, so he could not speak further. Although her direct descendant had not inherited her authority and had been shunned, she was still the mother who had given birth to him.
She’s even changing her name to start anew. There’s no need to interfere.
Originally, only his own affairs mattered; he had no interest in the business of other gods. He had simply analyzed this case because his own situation was similar. So he glossed over it briefly.
“The demigod overcame every trial his companion had devised to be nearly impossible even for a Great God. He defeated monster gods, altered terrain, and even surpassed the punishment of the Giant Tribe. Though the trials were extraordinarily harsh, he displayed power worthy of admiration even from the Great Gods and officially entered the Divine Realm. In the end, his companion reconciled with him by marrying off one of her daughters.”
The other Lord Gods nodded. It was the story of a great Hero God who had overcome divine trials and ultimately become a god. Since similar events had occurred in their own realms, they understood perfectly. Therefore, if the Chief God of the God Realm simply overcame the trial handed down by a superior, the matter would likely resolve well.
“So if you endure the hardship and overcome it, you will achieve what you desire.”
Since the Magic God of Dimensions offered no further questions or objections, it seemed the advice he had wanted had come out. Opposing a Lord God of such power was something no Lord God could handle, so their relationship needed to improve. Since power or authority would be of no help, receiving recognition through advice like this was already an excellent outcome.
Even Lokina, the Lord God of the Flipside who always tormented her, now looked at Hephais with an expression that said she had done something great. Sure enough, words of praise came from the Magic God of Dimensions’ mouth.
“Thank you for the advice. What do you desire?”
Hephais quickly responded. The reason she, who originally hated stepping forward, had gone this far was separate. She wanted to return to being the god of craftsmanship and smithing.
In the newly created Divine Realm, they clearly recognized the design and value of her temple, yet she was still the gatekeeper of the Divine Realm.
The other Spirit Lord Gods who still lacked proper divine bodies were envious of her position, and no matter how well-suited she was to being a battle god, she hated brawling. However, there was no way the Chief God of the God Realm—the Magic God of Dimensions—would accept it. There were already many blacksmith gods among the Lord Gods; he would surely rage that she was abandoning her talent as the greatest battle god to indulge in personal greed.
She needed an achievement like this to even bring it up.
“Instead of being the gatekeeper of the Divine Realm, I wish to return to being a blacksmith god.”
Twitch—!
As expected, veins bulged on the Magic God of Dimensions’ forehead—an ominous sign. The surrounding Lord Gods looked startled, and Lokina’s face in particular was pure fury. It was only natural for her to be angry that someone holding the relatively powerful position of gatekeeper among the Spirit Lord Gods would abandon it. From Lokina’s perspective as the representative of the Spirit Lord Gods, this was a stab in the back.
Granraha, who knew that even after becoming a Great God she had abandoned all power to hole up in her forge, wore an expression that said, Of course she did. Since this was a situation where she was voluntarily weakening the power of the Spirit Lord Gods, there was no need to oppose it.
However, Hephais missed the time spent working in the forge even if it meant turning her back on Lokina and being ostracized by the Spirit Lord Gods.
I don’t want to hit gods instead of metal. I must return this time.
Her resolve was that firm.
Having read her determination and the atmosphere among the Lord Gods, the Magic God of Dimensions remained silent for a moment before speaking.
“The upper echelons of humanity sometimes write autobiographies that weave together their life experiences.”
The words had nothing to do with the current situation. The other Lord Gods watched him, wondering what he was suddenly talking about.
“An autobiography explains from childhood the reasons why humans praise someone as a great person. It is a book of life’s guidance that says if you follow and imitate it, you can become like them. A very good book indeed.”
Not a trace of emotion flowed from the Magic God of Dimensions’ words. Only a pleasant, deep baritone reached everyone’s ears.
“However, when you actually try to follow the biography of a great person, nothing happens. Far from similar success, you only repeat failure. This is because the talent and environment the great person possessed are different from those of an ordinary individual.”
Snap—!
With a light snap of his fingers, the sap of the Cosmic Tree was served on the table like tea. He lifted a cup, took a sip, and continued. Since it was rare Cosmic Tree sap and the topic was not overly serious, the other Lord Gods each took small sips as well.
“This is why talent is more important than anything. Hephais of Infinite Alchemy. As a blacksmith god, your talent is acknowledged, but you would remain merely a Great God. However, with the talent of a battle god, you could surpass the Lord God rank and one day even aim for Creator God. The Incomprehensible Eight Stanzas you can learn are that great an authority. If you are a battle god, do not discard a talent others would sacrifice anything to possess. If blacksmithing is your hobby, that’s one thing—but as the Chief God of the God Realm, I cannot tolerate you clinging to the point of abandoning your role as a battle god. Remember that what you like and what you are good at are different things.”
As the Chief God of the God Realm, these were extremely reasonable and natural words. There was no way he would approve of a battle god powerful enough to aim for Creator God abandoning her strength to devote herself to a hobby. Granraha, who had past experience with the matter, nodded as well.
It was maddening to watch the Lord God spend all her time on hobbies in the workshop even as the Divine Realm was collapsing.
When she had first entered the Divine Realm, her body had been crippled and incapable of combat, and she had been a top-tier god, so it had been tolerated. But after seeing her become a Lord God, Granraha had pounded the ground in regret.
Even when we tried to drag her out of the workshop, there was no justification, and we couldn’t break her stubbornness.
As the Chief God of the God Realm, one had to cut off such behavior from the very beginning, so she sympathized. The other Lord Gods also reacted as if it was correct.
However, Hephais, who had to give up what she desperately desired, was in a completely different position. She intended to return to what she loved most at this opportunity no matter what.
She was about to speak from her past stubbornness when the will of the Chief God of the God Realm reached her.
There’s more to the story. Those who write autobiographies as great people never write anything disadvantageous to themselves or truly helpful to others. They only write about brilliant achievements and merits worth boasting about, and never speak in detail about the countless ugly and difficult things that occurred in the process. Those are the truly important parts, yet they deliberately ignore them. If you omit the difficult process of achieving great works, it is only natural that followers who try to imitate and act accordingly will all fail—yet they make sure to remove that part. Why do you think that is?
!
A chill ran down her spine. It was the first fear she had felt since changing jobs to a battle god. It was not killing intent or fighting spirit, but terror toward a superior being who possessed thoughts so different from her own and stood at an unknown realm.
It is because the beings who read the autobiography and try to follow it are ultimately strangers. Since they are not direct descendants, there is no need to give them true advice or counsel. In fact, the more people who succeed in the exact same way, the more their own position shrinks, so they must obstruct them. In my opinion, most autobiographies are nothing more than masturbation manuals. Therefore, the advice of others is ultimately the same. Because you are a battle god with talent capable of aiming for Creator God, I will ask you this only through will, taking your position into consideration. What would happen if I acted like Heracles? Did the Heracles who overcame the trials truly get accepted into the Divine Realm as a proper god? I ask whether he was accepted as a Great God befitting his mighty power. Of course that couldn’t have happened, right? Yet you advise me to do the same?
!!!
She was shocked by the ruthlessly cold judgment. Of course not. In exchange for being accepted into the Divine Realm, he had lost the powerful body that had been his greatest advantage as a demigod and had even threatened other Great Gods.
His human body was removed and only his divine spirit was accepted into the Divine Realm, so he started from the lowest god rank. He never became a High God.
The reason Hera had given her daughter was to quell the surrounding sympathy for the miserable sight of a demigod who had been so overwhelmingly powerful yet lost most of his strength and potential after completing the trials, falling to a Lower God.
If the Magic God of Dimensions faced a similar situation and resolved it the same way, he would have difficulty avoiding the same fate.
Not receiving the trial is the best option, but then it wouldn’t be advice. There is no need to advise against receiving an unavoidable trial.
Hephais, who had lost her words and become as mute as if she had eaten honey, hung her head deeply. The Magic God of Dimensions sent her one final will.
If you had been merely an ordinary blacksmith god, I would have punished you severely for mocking the Chief God of the God Realm and trying to trap him, then sent you to the Spirit Realm. Always be grateful for the consideration and opportunity brought by the outstanding battle god talent you possess.
Shiver—!
Her body trembled involuntarily and cold sweat flowed. Although none of the surrounding Lord Gods noticed, it was because an enormous amount of fighting spirit and killing intent was focused solely on her. It was killing intent powerful enough to make even the highest-ranking gods cough blood and die, yet the reception room showed no change whatsoever. On the contrary, a luxurious teapot filled with Cosmic Tree sap and snacks appeared, creating an atmosphere for a proper tea party.
With a satisfied expression that said he liked this advice, the Magic God of Dimensions gently eased the mood with a few kind words. He personally grabbed the teapot with both hands in order of rank and poured with perfect etiquette. The goddesses of the Goddess Alliance also smiled and received it politely.
When it was finally her turn and she received the teacup, there was no change in his expression despite the killing intent and fighting spirit he had just unleashed. However, to her, who had already received the warning will, that slight smile looked terrifyingly frightening.
I can do this much anytime. So if you try to act as you please in my Divine Realm like in the past, I won’t let it slide. Anyone who does will have to be prepared to die.
There had been no will or words, yet that was what she felt. Therefore, as she received the tea even more politely, she realized something. The Magic God of Dimensions was truly transforming from a simple battle god into the Chief God of the God Realm.