What Are Gods?
Three days later.
"Idaine. Look at this. If we pull now, it's guaranteed 5-star. ...I don't think I can do it. It'll just be a dupe again. You pull it for me."
"You can do it, Constellation. Have some courage and give it a try."
Min-su stared blankly at the two goddesses focused on his tablet.
...What are gods, anyway?
Ever since that incident, the two goddesses had settled into Min-su's one-room apartment. Rijet, freed from the Tower, was just an ordinary human unless Min-su used his summoning ability, so with nowhere else to go, she decided to stay in his room. Idaine, for some reason, had become a true constellation. Unlike the old [Dark Lord], she was free from the Tower's constraints—she could return to the heavens or roam Earth at will. But she, too, could only wield her constellation powers through Min-su's summoning ability. Perhaps because she was derived from the [Dark Lord], she could only manifest divine might during the six hours Min-su had her summoned. Outside of that, she was no different from before her death. She looked almost exactly like she had in life, so she could have returned to a normal human existence, but she chose to stay in Min-su's room too. Something about protecting her Constellation and her junior.
As a result, Min-su ended up living in his one-room with two women. Fortunately, thanks to the goddesses' temporary divine powers, they used the authority of [Darkness] to create a pocket dimension inside his room, giving everyone their own space. The three of them didn't have to cram onto Min-su's tiny bed. Of course, for some reason, every morning Min-su would wake to find Rijet hugging him in her sleep.
Over those three days, Min-su learned how to wield [Darkness] from the two goddesses. Rijet made for a surprisingly good teacher, despite her childish looks and antics. After their ordeal in her mental world, the [Darkness] showed an oddly strong affinity for Min-su. His proficiency with it grew rapidly. He could barely summon one knight at first, but in just three days, he was creating five and controlling them freely. One handled the dishes, one cleaning, one sorting recyclables (it could hide in shadows to avoid prying eyes while dumping trash), one cooking, and the last handled miscellaneous chores. In three days, he was liberated from housework.
Idaine was a great senior and teacher too. Once at the pinnacle of Korea's hunter world as an S-rank player, she had plenty to impart—from Tower intel to tips for operating as a player. But she couldn't teach him how to wield [Darkness].
"Huh. Why does this thing keep doing this?"
When she tried to demonstrate [Darkness] control for Min-su, it ignored her and lunged at him instead.
"Hah... So it prefers the fresh new god over this broken-down old one, huh?"
"No, Senior, it's not like that!"
"Whatever!"
Idaine sulked, so Min-su never learned practical player applications for [Darkness].
The two goddesses didn't just teach Min-su—they had their own fun too.
"Idaine. Not enough water here."
"Constellation, any more and it'll be Han River ramen."
"It's too salty like this."
"More water and it'll be bland. That's a sin."
"Argh!"
"Hey, what are you doing?!"
They'd bicker over ramen boiled with the premium Hanwoo beef Min-su had bought as promised, or
"Should we put the door here and the bed there?"
"Sounds good. But the bed's too small. Two people won't fit."
they'd design and decorate rooms in the expanded space from [Darkness]'s authority.
Even without full divinity, they could go out, but neither left the apartment. Rijet was one thing, but Idaine turned out to be a total shut-in too.
"Min-su. No communities like this here? I can't access my heavenly forums, and it's so boring."
Rijet loved chatting online with others.
"Junior. I was into games when I was alive, y'know? Bought tons of stock in a graphics card company. ...Man, it mooned in the last ten years. But I died, so I lost it all. I could've been rich!"
Idaine loved playing games. So they found a shared hobby. (Naturally, they commandeered Min-su's tablet for it.)
"So this is what blew up while I was gone. A character-collection gacha game?"
"Tons of people here. ...Perfect for trolling."
The trendy mobile game Akashic Archive. High polish, huge player base, and charismatic characters fueling active communities. To adapt to modern Korea, the goddesses dove in. And they got hooked—Rijet especially, obsessing over pulls.
"What if it's another dupe? Only three hours left on this banner. Miss today, and no [Stingy Bestiality Dealer Eliza] forever!"
Back to the present. Rijet's fidgeting stopped.
"...Right. I can't do it alone."
She looked up with resolute eyes and approached Min-su.
"My precious apostle, Min-su."
Her voice was utterly solemn.
"Uh... Yes?"
"Lend me your strength."
Min-su took the hand she offered. The soft, warm touch of the goddess evoked memories from her mental world—facing that mighty, evil foe side by side.
"Summon me as your constellation."
"Got it."
Hummm!
As Min-su activated his ability, immense divinity poured into her. The summoning infused Rijet with the [Dark Lord]'s godhood.
"Hoo..."
With her deep breath, vast divinity and authority flowed.
[Darkness Pull]
Her authority wrapped around her finger. Sweat beaded on her forehead from the focus. Carefully, she tapped the pull button.
Flash!
Colors dazzled the screen. Finally, gold light—and the 5-star that emerged was...
[Unyielding Tenacity Rohanmaji]
"Nooo! Another dupe!"
Not the one she wanted.
"...Can't you just pull again?" Min-su asked the despondent Rijet.
"That was the pity pull! Only enough currency left for one more—and without pity, 5-star odds are 0.6%. No way... Miss today, and she's gone forever! Waaah."
A goddess on the verge of tears over a gacha miss. What would her apostles think?
Then Idaine whispered in Rijet's ear.
!
Rijet's eyes widened.
"I... I think I can do it!"
She approached Min-su again.
"Lend me your strength, my apostle."
Again? Min-su awkwardly offered his hand. They'd beaten a titan together, but wasting it on gacha felt like cheapening that bond.
As he grumbled inwardly, [Darkness] enveloped Rijet's finger.
"This time, I'll make it happen. With our power, I'll force a future that doesn't exist and make it mine!"
[Darkness Manipulation]
Her finger touched the button again. [Darkness] didn't just coat it—it surged into the device, hijacking the game company's server via the connection.
Now attuned to [Darkness], Min-su could see it: infiltrating the server, rewriting the data. What should've been a 3-star dud flipped to golden 5-star.
This is cheating! Or hacking? Either way, not legit. It hacked the server to rig the results.
[Darkness] could hack data? Totally omnipotent.
...Wait, that's not the point right now!
"We did it! She appeared! Min-su! We got her!"
Rijet leaped with joy, squeezing him into her chest. Face buried in her sweet scent, Min-su thought:
...What are gods, really?
Exercising great authority for... rigging a mobile gacha. Utterly grand, yet utterly petty.