Even If It's Small, Isn't This a Civilization? (1)
Let's see. The cozy, rundown apartment complex in San-e-deul where my grandpa bought our place and I grew up. Could this be the cradle where human civilization blooms anew? Makes sense, right? In this day and age, where else could people gather and live in peace?
That got me wondering. Are there other gods besides me? I hope not. But if there are? Well, there's definitely none around here. I know because I've become one myself—it's fucking hard to stay out of sight. Someone would've spotted me for sure, and word would've spread.
Yet the collection teams I've run into while scavenging acted like they'd never seen a god like me before. Which means at least around here, there are no other gods. Actually, I doubt there are any others at all. As far as I'm concerned, I'm the only one.
If that's the case, then I'm the starting point of humanity—the god living in San-e-deul Apartment Complex! Ooh, fuck. When Sechem Yaret first told me that, it felt like a massive burden—
"Um, excuse me..."
The pregnant woman called out to me as I walked lost in thought.
"Yeah, what?"
"That... how are you... taking care of us...? Is there, um, a doctor? Like... an obstetrician... or something."
"Uh... no, not exactly. We've got a snake."
Everyone froze. Dozens of women halted in unison, eyes wide as they glanced at each other, then at me. I shrugged.
"It's... complicated to explain."
"Please explain anyway."
I could see the look on the pregnant woman's face after hearing about a snake instead of an obstetrician. Yeah, that expression.
"Okay, so... how do I put this? She wears clothes, for starters. It's a clothed snake. And she talks. She takes good care of people too. But she's not originally a snake—more like a statue that I've given life to, so it moves around."
"...You're... not joking... right...?"
She looked deeply uneasy.
"No joke. Anyone heard of Ushabti? No? Alright. Normally, they're statues buried with a dead pharaoh instead of human sacrifices. I'm a god reborn in the present world, so naturally, my workers—the Ushabti—are by my side. The snake is one of them. Her name's Sechem Yaret. Trust me, it's better to see her than hear about her. The apartment's right there—just a short walk."
I kept walking, and the women followed, though with very anxious faces. Another woman asked,
"The... collection teams... how are they doing? D-did any... die...?"
"No deaths. They're all doing fine. Oh, Sechem Yaret said a dozen or so were on the brink from severe malnutrition, but now they're eating egg porridge, and she's taking good care of them. They even go around fetching water."
"...Eggs...?"
Murmurs rippled through them. Guess these women hadn't heard about the eggs. They probably only knew the collection teams had left in droves. Makes sense—if they were treated like toys, the guys wouldn't have bothered updating the women.
We arrived at the apartment complex. Even before we got there, it was already lively. Wahaha! Hey! You gonna miss that one?! Uncle-types were rowdily cheering. Aunties went Oh my! or Wow!
What the hell? I went through the main gate and saw uncles and aunties gathered, playing...
...volleyball? With a line drawn in chalk on the ground. Wait, where'd they get a soccer ball? Oh, from one of the apartments, probably.
"Hey, it's the god!"
"The god's here!"
They came rushing over.
"No, I brought some new people—huh?"
They spotted the women behind me and their eyes went wide. One uncle came sprinting up, yelling desperately.
"Gain!"
"Dad!"
The woman ran to him, and they hugged.
"Gain! How did you get here?!"
"Th-that guy said to come! So I did! I thought if I followed, I'd see you!"
The uncle bowed deeply to me, face full of emotion. "Thank you, thank you, God!"
And then more. Women from behind me rushing to others. Bro! Who is it?! Mom! Chaos everywhere.
...A sudden family reunion scene. Kinda surreal, fuck.
Hmm. But thinking about it, yeah. This is what must've happened. With Daemo and those bastards.
"That bitch! Those fuckers!"
The dad saw his pregnant daughter and exploded, trying to charge off. She grabbed his arm. "Don't go, Dad!"
Tsk... Things just got messy, fuck.
For these women, treated like toys, they might not even know who their dads are. How would they know if the guy I killed was the father or not?
Even as people held him back, the uncle kept trying to break free. And he wasn't the only one pissed. Aunties seeing their daughters' bellies, siblings seeing each other's—everyone was raging to go after them. A wave of people holding back versus charging out, total pandemonium.
With the commotion here, Sechem Yaret slithered over from the Shrine, winding her way.
"Why all the noise—ah, God. You've returned."
She bowed politely, but the new women screamed.
"Snake!"
"Kyaaah!"
"It really is a snake!"
One side yelling let go/don't go, the other shrieking snake—me in the middle, total madness.
"Horus's Lion."
Grrrrr!
A lion appeared in the empty space ahead, roaring. A long, thunderous sound that sent chills down spines.
Whoa! People backed away. Everyone stared at the lion. Pretty cool in its armor—not full plate, but still.
Anyway, it got quiet.
"Everyone, calm down. The Daemo group's done for. They won't last long."
"But that bitch with my daughter! My daughter!"
"My little sister!"
They started clamoring again, but the lion roared once more.
Grrrrr!
Silence again in one shot. I spoke.
"Looks like I'll be saying this a lot today. You have two choices. Stay here and build a peaceful life—that's the first. Harbor grudges, go hurt others, and end up injured or dead—that's the second. I am a god. I won't help with your personal vendettas. I have compassion for all."
Because it'd be a fucking hassle. I've got coins to farm, uncles and aunties.
"You've reunited with your families. Is that not enough?"
Uncles and aunties looked at each other, at daughters, nieces, sisters and brothers. Sad faces, hugging.
"Welcome back."
"Quite a few pregnant women, God."
I'd removed the sarcophagus lid, and there was Sechem Yaret right in front of my face.
"Too close, damn it. No sense of personal space as a snake? Even familiar faces are scary if you pop up suddenly."
"My apologies."
She slithered back.
"How are the pregnant ones?"
"Haven't checked yet. They all seem happy to have their own places."
"Yeah?"
"Yes. Kind folks cleared the first floor, heading up to the second or third themselves so the pregnant women could stay on the first. Probably don't want to upset you, God."
"Hmm, whatever. As long as they're handling it well."
I chugged the canned cola I'd left nearby. Ahh, good. Lay back in the sarcophagus.
"Off to farm coins."
"Ah, God. Something to discuss."
"Yeah?"
"God."
Sechem Yaret was serious. Her tail vibrated with a chi-chi-chi-chit sound as she approached—dead serious. Scary, kid.
"God. To build a civilization, we must enable many births."
"Yeah, I know."
"Thus, pregnant women are vital."
...Hmm. I sat up.
"You're right. Got any suggestions?"
"I recommend keeping pregnant women especially close to the Shrine. So I can check on them anytime, even at night."
"Hmm... So, you'd care for any pregnant woman, not just ones I knocked up?"
"Yes, though priorities exist. Your women first, others second. But your women are still single for now."
"Hmm."
Close to the Shrine... I nodded.
"...I'll keep that in mind. Once I grow stronger and have more leeway, we'll prioritize the pregnant ones too."
"Yes, God. Thank you for understanding."
Lay back down, switch to mage.
I took the portal to Gache-dong's shopping street. Walking the same path again, I couldn't help thinking, Will those assholes show up this time? People are pissed, right? If I wiped them all out and announced "I killed 'em all," would that cool everyone off?
But still. I get the grudges and anger. Wiping out an entire group, though... Of course, saying this now after killing plenty earlier sounds like bullshit.
Killing a few who fucked with me is different from exterminating a whole group. Something... I don't know. As long as they don't mess with me, I don't feel like going out of my way to kill them. If they come stirring shit, that's another story.
I stopped in the middle of the shopping street.
What to do? The Shrine's guarded by the warrior now, and the mage needs to farm coins properly. Sending out sand claws is easy—auto-hunt. But for max coins, hmm. Plus, that ultimate I got.
I looked at the new hieroglyph on my forearm and read it.
Set's Storm
The staff glowed. I slammed it into the ground.
Tornadoes erupted around me. The winds were ferocious. The massive twisters were sand-colored. One broke off from the giant one. Then another, and another. They kept splitting, scattering in all directions, covering an insane range.
Ten tornadoes spread out, sweeping through all of Gache-dong.