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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
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Chapter 137: First Apostle Meeting (1)
"Struck by Zeus' lightning...? Wasn't that a month ago?"
-Yeah.
"So, he's been in a coma since then?"
-Yep. He hasn’t regained consciousness at all.
Hmm.
I recalled something I learned earlier while gathering information.
Most people forgot about Zeus’ lightning, but a few high-ranking Awakened remembered it, and some even lost their minds or went insane due to the pain.
"Did he end up like that because he remembers getting struck?"
-I remember it too. It hurt like hell. Ugh...
Suddenly, Jinseong started cursing.
He went on and on about how agonizing the lightning was.
-Wow. It was seriously like electric torture from hell... It didn’t actually last long, but it felt like days had passed. And it wasn’t even like they were trying to make us surrender—just endless electrocution. I swear, just thinking about Zeus makes my teeth grind.
He kept ranting about how he thought he was going to die for a good ten minutes.
I should cut him off here.
"Hey... but you seem fine, though?"
-Oh, yeah. I suffered for a few days but managed to endure it.
"What about the other apostles? Do they remember getting struck?"
-Yeah. Among our guild members, Kang Shia and Lee Hyeju remember it too. They all overcame it on their own.
As for my other apostles...
Diana was in the Apostle’s Garden, and Drakina was wandering around with Drakia in Kevrian, so they had nothing to do with Zeus' lightning.
So out of the four humans, three endured it, and one ended up in a coma?
"Is it common for people who were struck by lightning to fall into a coma?"
-We looked into it, but it’s not that common. Some people went insane from the pain, but full comas like this were rare. Still, there were a few cases.
"So, there were some. Any common factors?"
-Hmm, it's hard to call it a pattern, but... they were all devout believers.
Apparently, those who fell into a coma were people who were fanatically devoted to the supreme gods.
Previously, it was Zeus.
This time, it was Odin.
These were people who had given themselves over to Zeus or Odin with absolute faith.
After the Zeus lightning incident, they collapsed.
"There must be a lot of devout believers of Zeus and Odin, though? They basically replaced the old gods."
-Ah, but the people who fell into comas have one specific thing in common. They were originally non-religious, but after dungeons appeared, they started believing in Zeus or Odin.
"Ohh..."
Originally, Zeus and Odin had taken over the roles of the major religions in the world.
Christians and Buddhists had started worshiping Zeus and Odin as their supreme gods.
But the ones who fell into comas were people who had no religion before dungeons appeared.
When chaos descended upon the world, they found faith in Zeus and Odin.
-Yeah. That seems to be the pattern.
"But what does that have to do with renouncing apostleship?"
-The major religions claim they have ways to cure people in these comas. Since Lee Jaehyun was a promising hunter, both the Christian and Buddhist groups have offered to heal him.
A promising hunter?
Was he really at that level?
He only grew this strong because he became my apostle.
Originally, he didn’t have that kind of potential.
-Lee Hyeju has been begging non-stop. She even got down on her knees, pleading for me to release her father from apostleship so he can wake up.
"You sure do care a lot about her."
-Ah, shut up. She was my former boss. And I knew Jaehyun too.
Heh.
If you say so.
"Fine, I'll revoke his apostleship."
-Really? You won’t suffer any consequences?
The only downside is that my soul mediation efficiency will drop a little.
But the world has changed so much that I can just recruit new apostles anyway.
"Not a big deal. Saving him comes first. But is it just him? What about the others?"
-Hmm... I'll ask. Maybe they feel too guilty to bring it up. I mean, in a way, it’s like switching to a new god now that there are more choices available. Like abandoning your first god for a better deal.
Oh...
I hadn’t thought of it like that.
In the old world, the system exploited Awakened individuals.
Olympus and Asgard took turns monopolizing them, extracting every last bit of SP.
In contrast, I was very generous.
Jinseong didn’t even have his SP collected, and for the others, I only took the bare minimum.
That’s why they grew so fast.
Hmm.
But even if other divine realms are desperate to recruit Awakened people, could they really offer better benefits than me?
I recruited apostles primarily for my Soul Mediation Multi-Skill, but other gods need apostles to harvest SP from them.
In terms of efficiency, I should be the better option...
"Are other gods really offering better perks than me? Honest question."
-Of course I’d still pick you. But if I wasn’t your friend and this was just a normal apostle contract...?
"And? What then?"
-I’d switch, obviously, dumbass. Your side only has one god, but the other has a whole lineup of famous ones. It’s like choosing between a small company and a major corporation. If you got job offers from both, you'd go for the big company, right? The only difference is that here, the small company offers a higher salary. But in the end, stability is more important.
Ugh.
That analogy hit too close to home.
Yeah, I’m technically a special class as a Soul God, but I’m still just a low-ranked deity.
Meanwhile, those guys are high-ranked gods who have been established rulers of Earth’s faith for ages.
Even I would probably switch.
"Ugh... But my benefits are still better."
-Stability matters more. Even minor gods offer great perks.
"Tch, fine. I’ll cancel the contract with Jaehyun first. I just do it from here?"
-Yeah. Let me know once it’s done. I’ll contact Lee Hyeju.
"Heh. Alright then, go make your call."
-Heh? What’s with the attitude? Tch, and you're a guardian deity now...
He’s way too concerned about Lee Hyeju.
I was tempted to tease him more but decided to let it slide since I was officially a god now.
As I opened the keyword menu for the Apostle’s Garden, I noticed there was also an option to undo apostleship.
I hadn’t expected to use it this soon.
The available keywords for Lee Jaehyun, who was marked with an X, were [Check Stats], [Retrieve SP], and [Undo Apostleship].
I considered retrieving the SP before undoing it, but since it wasn’t much, I decided to take the high road and clicked on [Undo Apostleship].
[Are you sure you want to terminate the apostleship contract?]
[Once an apostle contract is terminated, you will never be able to form an apostle contract with that person again.]
So, there was such a condition.
Without hesitation, I pressed [Yes].
The process of termination began.
[The apostleship contract with Lee Jaehyun is being terminated.]
[All SP invested in Apostle Lee Jaehyun will remain with him. Are you sure you want to proceed?]
I hadn’t invested much anyway, so it didn’t matter.
I pressed [Yes], and Lee Jaehyun’s figure slowly disappeared from the Apostle’s Garden.
A message popped up.
[The apostleship contract with Lee Jaehyun has been terminated.]
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HELHEIM SCANS
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“It’s done.”
-Ah, really? Got it. I’ll call you later.
Jinseong, clearly pleased, quickly ended the call.
That guy.
He's probably rushing to contact Lee Hyeju.
Well, that’s his problem.
Meanwhile, my eyes kept catching recruitment ads for Awakened beings on TV and the internet.
Should I be recruiting as well?
Maybe I couldn’t reach the level of a personal Kim Jiho’s divine realm, but I needed to diversify my SP income streams.
Ever since the SP exchange market was established, the earnings from my SP mediation skill had decreased.
But it was still profitable.
If I aggressively recruited apostles to enhance the efficiency of my SP mediation skill, it could turn into a great source of income.
In battles between gods, SP consumption was practically mandatory.
In real-world wars, at least land is conquered, but in Olympus, even if I wiped out enemies, it wouldn’t increase my earnings.
I had to keep brainstorming ways to increase my SP supply.
The money was decent for now, but if I didn’t keep upgrading, I’d find myself out of SP at a critical moment, leading to ruin.
Should I register my divine realm under Kim Jiho’s name as a minor faction?
Sigh.
There was a time when my conditions were considered highly attractive...
But now, thanks to all the gods scrambling to recruit apostles, I felt like my business had suddenly turned into a tiny shop.
Hmm.
I needed to recruit apostles.
And I also had to consider what Hercules had mentioned.
An S-rank or higher skill.
He said that combining it with Soul Emission and Soul Barrier would yield great results.
But I didn’t even have an S-rank combat skill.
As I checked my skill window, my eyes drifted past the semi-transparent display to the TV screen.
Asura was making a ridiculous expression in another commercial.
“Oh. Asura!”
Right.
I was supposed to claim a reward for saving his life.
Since he was an SSS-rank god specialized in combat, he must have some useful skills, right?
I immediately initiated communication.
“Asura, sir.”
[Oh, Kim Jiho? Long time no see.]
“I saw your commercial.”
[Hrm... Humans have so many demands. Couldn’t they just film my majestic presence?]
“These days, humans are picky. They need performance. But you did great, Asura, sir.”
[Haha. Thanks.]
“By the way, is it really okay for you to come down to the mortal world for a commercial? I thought interference from chaos was an issue before.”
[After Zeus upgraded to EX rank, the rules about chaos interference became ambiguous. However, if we stay too long, it disrupts the balance of the world. So we can only manifest briefly with limited authority.]
Even SSS-rank gods were openly shooting commercials, but Asura’s answer explained why.
Hmm.
So staying for too long was still a problem.
“If descending for too long disrupts balance, wouldn’t it be a major issue if Olympus started descending recklessly?”
[Zeus won’t want to disrupt the balance too soon—not before he completes his plan to turn all of humanity into thunder spirits. If things go wrong, the consequences are unpredictable.]
So it was literally an unforeseeable risk, which was why he was avoiding breaking the balance too hastily.
Yet, countless divine factions seemed to be descending all over the place...
Well, I’m sure they’re managing it somehow.
I should focus on the main issue.
“Asura, sir, do you remember the reward you promised me for saving your life?”
[Of course. A god must repay their debts.]
“Would it be possible to receive a combat skill as my reward?”
[Hmm... A combat skill?]
Asura nodded thoughtfully at my request.
[When you fought Pollux, I could tell. No matter how good your sword and shield are, a warrior’s skill matters the most.]
“I’ve improved since then, but there are just too many strong opponents.”
I told him about Ares, and Asura’s fighting spirit flared up.
[The War God Ares... Quite a famous figure. We know him better as Mars, his Roman name. He’s strong.]
“On top of that, he’s combined his abilities with the Soul Reaper skill. If Thor hadn’t arrived, I don’t know how things would’ve turned out.”
[Indeed. A war god combined with a soul-reaping skill is a formidable opponent. Are you asking for a combat skill to fight him?]
“I’m not planning to challenge him right away. I need to gather more strength first.”
[Understood. If that’s your goal, I must help you. Come to Bongeunsa in three days.]
“Bongeunsa?”
[Yes. I’ll send an avatar there.]
With that, Asura ended the call.
He readily agreed to grant me a skill—good.
I sank into the couch, contemplating what to do for the next three days.
It would be best to recruit more apostles on Earth.
But my appeal seemed to have dropped significantly.
Were the conditions offered by minor gods really that good?
I searched TV and the internet for information, but found nothing useful—only an overwhelming number of advertisements.
Well, I hadn’t been an apostle for long, so there wasn’t likely to be any structured information available yet.
As I was deep in thought, I received a message from an apostle.
It was from Kang Shia.
[Guardian, may I meet with you?]
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HELHEIM SCANS
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