[The Greedy Apostle's Selection]
The thought of planting ore seeds and running the blast furnace at full capacity already warms my heart. Sure, the Americans might go hungry, but what can I do? I’m going to resurrect the Spore Queen, lift the population limit on those Mushroom-men, and churn them out indefinitely before arming them to the teeth. I wonder how flustered Nick would be if he saw the starving Americans he sacrificed his life to save, all forced to arm themselves and wait for his return. The thought of them waiting for him, starving and unwillingly militarized, gives me goosebumps. From Nick’s perspective, that must be a truly horrific experience, right?
"Hehehe..." For now, I need to divert the soil being moved to the ruins of the Narak elsewhere. Since time flows quickly in the Narak, I have to farm eventually. 'The Yellow Spot has plenty of land, but...' Of the four zones in the Narak, the ruins were the best place for farming. But since the ruins are going to be converted into a forge and ore vein, I need to find another spot.
'The Trapped Nest has too many bugs; it’s no environment for plants. And if I go to the Crimson Zone, there’s too much waste pouring out of the flesh walls...' In the end, only the Yellow Spot remained. Although I’d have to haul water from the ruins, the Yellow Spot had become incredibly clean since Sataniel woke up, with no major pollutants. The problem is whether Sataniel, the de facto owner of the Yellow Spot, would allow farming...
"Oh? Were you watching?"
"Ah... Thank you, Lady Sataniel."
It seems like giving Sataniel a bunch of cannabis has made her a bit too loose. I wonder if it’s even okay for a god to do human drugs, but... well, if she’s happy, I don’t care. Honestly, she has a weird preference for drug offerings over human sacrifices, so what can I do?
'I, for one, am never doing drugs. Even a god ends up like that... Ugh...' I’ve quit drinking and smoking and am living diligently; if I start touching weird stuff just because I’m doing a little better, it’s all over. Looking at the American side, some were so addicted to drugs they were useless, and they were going crazy from withdrawal.
'Even if the world ends, drugs remain a social evil...' Sataniel is a god who has already done everything she needs to do, so she can rot in a room and smoke cannabis, but I still have a long way to go. 'Anyway, since she said I can farm in the Yellow Spot as long as I bring her plenty of cannabis...'
I’ll hatch the mites of the Narak first, then move all the farmland I set up in the ruins to the Yellow Spot. Farming peacefully in a place where Satan has taken root... it didn’t quite fit, but since we’re growing cannabis together, the balance of evil felt somewhat maintained.
'For now, let’s check the remaining rewards...' It feels like I’ve been checking rewards for hours, but there are still four left. At this rate, tearing that Loki bastard to shreds wouldn’t be enough. To think I could have missed out on such insane rewards...
'This time...' It’s the reward for the 'Hero Slayer' achievement. It seems my direct role in killing Nick and Michael played a big part.
[1. Ostracon of the Traitor]
[2. Staff of the Accused]
[3. Banner of the War Criminal]
Ostracon of the Traitor: Throw the ostracon at the loser's body to permanently exile their soul from the world line. The exiled soul can never return to this world again. Can only be used once.
Staff of the Accused: You can issue commands to those who have lost in a duel. Those who have been defeated and struck by the staff must follow the owner's commands. If you lose in a duel, the staff is taken by the opponent.
Banner of the War Criminal: You can force five codes of conduct upon a defeated group. If the codes are not followed, a penalty can be automatically applied. You cannot take lives as a penalty.
"Wow..." This is it. They were my adversaries, so they should at least give me rewards like this. First, I checked the Ostracon. 'If I throw the Ostracon, Nick won’t be able to resurrect ever again...' Since his soul itself would be exiled from this world, he could never return. I don’t want that. Nick needs to gather a bunch of allies and bring them to me so my slaves increase and my faction grows. Of course, other annoying enemies might appear, die, and keep coming back to fight me, but... I’m always reluctant to use one-time items.
'In that case...' I think it’s right to choose between the Staff, which can be seen as an automatic slave generator, or the Banner, which can force five commands on an entire group. Both items seem like they were given to me to freely dominate the remnants of enemy factions I’ve crushed and absorbed. They are perfect for me right now.
'Hmm... to use the Staff, I have to fight the opponent and defeat them.' The Staff had an effect similar to my Slave Brand. But it had stricter conditions than the Slave Brand, which recognizes submission if the opponent subconsciously admits defeat. It was a more cumbersome condition.
'However... it’s useful in that I don’t necessarily have to fight every single one of them myself.' In this Narak raid, I’ve acquired quite a few NPCs. For example, guys like the Beast Hunter Killian, the Dragon-Blooded Knight Aran, or the Giant Slayer Dante. Those guys are much stronger than average Awakened. So, if I entrust the Staff to them and have them fight by proxy, I don’t have to brand them one by one.
'Of course, the coercive power won’t be as strong as the Slave Brand...' Moreover, there was the unfortunate possibility of having the Staff stolen if I were to lose. If an external force that noticed the existence of the Staff were to hide and attack, I might lose it. Finally, setting up an agent, handing them the Staff, and telling them to beat up three thousand people would take too long. And I can’t just throw them all into the Narak to fight to save time...
'The Banner is definitely better.' The Banner can only issue five commands, but it can control an entire dominated group at once. Of course, the coercive power isn’t that high, but it’s more than enough to tame the three thousand people I haven’t enslaved yet. Furthermore, since I can automatically apply the penalties I’ve set without having to punish them myself, it seems easier to tame them. I can become the Big Father behind the scenes, making the subject class feel the helplessness of always being watched by someone. Since it means I can bundle them together and control them all if my faction grows even larger in the future, the utility is much higher than the Staff.
'Should I go with the Banner...' No matter how I look at it, the Banner seems better. I can just insert a rule that they must absolutely obey my words among the codes of conduct. If I inflict pain as a penalty, they’ll learn to listen well. For now, I’ll go with installing the Banner and choose the next achievement, 'The One Who Woke the Sleeping Evil'. This seems to be an achievement attained by resurrecting Sataniel.
[1. Altar of Ten Thousand Demons]
[2. Gate of the Otherworld]
[3. Key of the Fierce Demon]
Altar of Ten Thousand Demons: An altar abandoned in the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons. If you offer the heart of a living sacrifice to the altar, you can summon a familiar from an unspecified otherworld. If the familiar dies, it is permanently erased. If it is of a higher rank than the summoner, an irreversible accident may occur.
Gate of the Otherworld: A gate abandoned in the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons. If you smear the gate with plenty of blood from a living sacrifice, it will be forcibly connected to an unspecified space in the otherworld. You can freely enter and exit the connected otherworld. If you open it carelessly, you may face a disaster you cannot handle.
Key of the Fierce Demon: If you open the door with the key, you can go to the residence of the Fierce Demon, one of the lower deities of the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons. You can gain ownership of the dependents and servants abandoned in the Fierce Demon's residence. They are creatures that are very difficult for a weak person to handle alone.
'Wow, shit...' It happened again. These are rewards that are a pain in the ass to choose. 'If I pick the Altar... I can summon a familiar... but if a monster I can’t handle crawls out, it’s a total disaster...' The Gate was an ability that allowed me to pioneer other dimensions entirely. But that would come with many risks. Moreover, it was an item that could lead to an invasion from the connected dimension. This is... quite dangerous.
'I don’t know if this will work, but... what if I install the Gate in a shop I can get in the central plaza of the Black Market... and sell off the guys crawling out of the Gate...?' My brain as a merchant was working actively. However, I judged that the feasibility was extremely low. Wouldn’t it be better to choose the Altar, which makes them appear as familiars, rather than entities from the otherworld that could be hostile from the start?
'The Key of the Fierce Demon is also interesting, but...' For now, these are rewards I don’t need to choose immediately. Moreover, if I pick a reward here, there’s a high possibility I’ll have to install it right away. So I’ll hold off for now. Now there are two left. One of them, the 'Sataniel’s Apostle' reward, will probably just end with carving some unknown mark on my palm like the rewards of other gods. So, in effect, this reward is the last one.
'The theory of raising 100,000 slaves... I probably achieved this because I made too many slaves...'
[1. Jar of Servant Fusion]
[2. Jar of Dependent Growth]
[3. Jar of Slave Trading]
Jar of Servant Fusion: You can put two slaves inside and make them into one. If the fusion fails, they melt like water. Reduce the number of useless slaves who only eat food!
Jar of Dependent Growth: You can put a slave in the jar and make them grow rapidly. If you set the time incorrectly, they turn into powder. Forcibly delete the childhood of slaves with slow growth!
Jar of Slave Trading: You can put a slave in the jar and put them up for auction. If they fail to be sold at auction, they are traded at the base price of 50 coins. It goes without saying, but slaves are objects!
"Ugh." Even the final choice is giving me a headache. Please, I beg you... I just wish you’d give me everything.