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Chapter 142: Athena’s Contact (2)
My Avatar, huh...
Did the avatar I left with Elprian disappear?
I hurriedly contacted Elprian.
“Elprian, are you alive?”
Elprian immediately responded as the communication connected.
On the screen, she appeared perfectly fine.
[Huh? Yes… of course I’m alive.]
Ah.
I asked something so abrupt in my panic.
“You haven’t been captured by Olympus or anything, have you?”
[No. It seems like they aren’t interested in this side for now.]
“Oh. I see. Could you check if my avatar is still intact?”
[Just a moment…]
Elprian turned her head, checking something off-screen.
After a brief wait, she replied.
[It’s fine. It’s still in the hideout.]
“Alright. Got it.”
[By the way, what’s going on?]
When I told her that Athena had mentioned something about the avatar’s whereabouts, Elprian paused for a moment before speaking.
[Could it be the avatar from when you were captured by Odin?]
“Ah…!”
[You never got it back from Odin, did you?]
Right.
When I was caught by Odin, I escaped using an avatar swap.
Normally, when you escape by swapping avatars, a portion of your soul essence remains in the previous avatar, reducing its efficiency.
However, back then, I was still an incomplete S-rank.
Afterward, when I upgraded to a true S-rank, my soul essence underwent a complete transformation.
I had forgotten about the old avatar, preoccupied with Zeus constantly causing chaos.
“Come to think of it, I never retrieved it.”
[If it’s an avatar of the Soul God, it would be valuable for research. You should ask about it.]
“I will.”
I contacted Loki.
[Hey. What’s up?]
“Where’s my avatar?”
[Your avatar?]
“Yeah. The one you guys captured.”
[Ah. I didn’t know back then—I was on the run from Odin too. Let me check. I’ll call you right back.]
The connection briefly cut off before he called again.
[Odin says it’s gone.]
“Are you sure?”
[Yeah. He probably handed it over while under Zeus’s control… but he doesn’t remember it.]
Loki spoke with a regretful expression.
Ugh, that useless Odin.
No help at all.
“Ugh. Got it. Athena made a strange proposal.”
[Athena?]
Oh, right.
Loki is the God of Trickery.
I should hear his opinion.
When I told him that I had received a message through Aegis’s Shield, Loki mused aloud.
[Hmm. Athena isn’t the type to play tricks. It’s curious why she would make such a proposal to you, Zeus’s enemy.]
“Isn’t Athena Zeus’s daughter?”
[Yeah. She’s his most beloved daughter. I know her as a devoted follower of Zeus. Strange… Wait, you said she offered a Magic Encyclopedia skill? An A-rank skill, right?]
“Yeah.”
[You should check it out. Whether the information is true or false, you might as well see it. It won’t affect you. If you’re worried, just use Soul Barrier before examining it.]
“Really?”
[Yeah. But be careful if she asks you to go somewhere to retrieve your avatar.]
“Got it. I’ll check the message.”
Following Loki’s advice, I activated Soul Barrier and used the Magic Encyclopedia.
Unlike the usual dragon-language spells, this required regular magic casting.
I decided to cool down the heated room as a test.
“Cold.”
Recalling my old magic-casting sensation, I chanted the spell.
The room’s temperature dropped, and a rectangular window appeared before me.
It resembled a green chalkboard.
[Thank you for accepting my proposal.]
White letters appeared on their own.
Hmm.
Is there a way for me to respond?
As I considered this, a pen and a white input box appeared beneath the chalkboard.
So, I just write here?
I took the pen and wrote.
[What message do you want to deliver?]
[It’s about Zeus’s Lightning.]
Zeus’s Lightning.
That’s what Astrape used to blanket the Earth with thunderstorms—a lesser version of it, though.
So, my guess was right.
[The dungeons connected to Zeus’s Lightning are linked to fragments of the Pantheon. You didn’t clear all 11 last time, did you?]
[No.]
[Then, the dungeons in that region will strengthen. Stronger Pantheon marble statues will begin to appear. If this keeps up, human hunters won’t be able to handle them.]
She proceeded to reveal more facts:
Zeus’s Lightning appears in the same location every week.
It activates 24 hours after it appears.
When activated, the dungeons strengthen, and the people in the area undergo Soul Enchantment.
Even if Zeus’s Lightning is destroyed, dungeon gates will gradually increase in number and difficulty.
Awakeners who die while trying to clear Zeus’s dungeon will rapidly undergo Soul Enchantment.
I took photos of the details with my phone.
Then, I read through each point carefully.
No matter what, it seemed like the system was designed to gradually empower Zeus.
Right now, the dungeon level was still low due to the lack of power, but it would inevitably scale up.
I needed to eliminate these whenever they appeared.
[If I learn more, I will contact you through the Magic Encyclopedia.]
[Why are you telling me this? You’re his daughter.]
[Zeus… ultimately has no need for Olympus. He is merely hiding his true intentions for now due to the Pact.]
Zeus doesn’t need Olympus?
That was an unexpected revelation.
Why not?
However, she didn’t explain further.
[If I keep messaging you, he might detect it. Let’s leave it here. Your avatar is concealed at the fourth statue to the left of the Bifröst Bridge in Asgard.]
[It’s in Asgard?]
[Yes. When Zeus temporarily handed me control over Odin, I hid it there. You should be able to retrieve it with Asgard’s help.]
Even Odin was briefly controlled by Athena?
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So, Zeus must have temporarily transferred control while spending the massive amount of SP he had drawn in.
[Until next time. Be prepared…]
With that final message, the green window vanished.
Leaving after dropping such valuable information, huh?
I like it.
Of course, I still need to verify if this information is genuine.
I immediately contacted Loki and relayed the details I received from Athena.
Loki’s expression hardened.
[Zeus’ lightning… gradually upgrading, huh? It’s nothing now, but it’ll be a pain later.]
“Yeah. Though, of course, we can’t fully trust her words yet.”
[Obviously, we’ll need to verify it. So… your avatar is concealed at the fourth statue on the left side of Bifröst? I’ll go check right away. I’m good at finding things like that.]
Loki confidently offered to handle the search.
While he was investigating, I contacted my father and informed him of the situation.
[Athena told you that?]
“Yes. I thought we should share the intel with the Divine Realm Alliance.”
[Hmm. It would be best not to mention that Athena was the one who provided this information.]
“Why not?”
[If Athena is genuinely helping us, revealing her as the source could blow her cover, don’t you think?]
Hmm.
He has a point.
If she is indeed acting as a mole within the enemy ranks, exposing her identity would be reckless.
[We’ll verify the information on our end and announce it publicly. Since Loki knows about it too, we should coordinate with Asgard and make the announcement together.]
I agree with keeping Athena’s identity a secret.
But if only Asgard and Heaven announce it, I won’t gain much out of it.
If the two divine realms jointly reveal this information, it’ll improve their public image—but I want in on that, too.
“Father, let me join in on the announcement.”
[You? But you don’t belong to a divine realm.]
“I’m planning to take on some apostles. With more apostles, the efficiency of my Soul Mediation will increase. That benefits your side, too.”
When I mentioned that I intended to reveal myself as a human-turned-god and accept apostles, my father looked displeased.
[Hah… My son, promoting himself as a god alongside the divine realms… That’s practically blasphemy.]
“Come on. Even the archangels are SSS-ranked these days. Just think of it as a joint promotion with one angel-level figure. Besides, you’ll benefit from the increased Soul Mediation efficiency.”
[…Fine. Fine. Michael will take care of the announcement.]
We agreed on the terms and ended the call.
Just then, Loki called me.
[Hey. I found it.]
“Oh. Already?”
[Yeah. It was damn well hidden. If she hadn’t specified the fourth statue, I never would’ve found it. Athena’s info checks out.]
“Then hand it over.”
[Got it. I’ll bring your body to your place, alright?]
I agreed, and shortly after, Loki teleported in with my avatar in his arms.
The sight is ghastly.
One arm and one leg are missing.
The face is disfigured, barely recognizable.
The skin is charred black, with chunks torn off.
The hair is completely burned away.
If I couldn’t sense the familiar energy of my soul, I wouldn’t have even recognized it as myself.
“Hey. You guys didn’t rip off my limbs for research, did you?”
“No way. I brought it straight here. You think I’d dare damage the avatar of my creditor?”
Loki sweared he didn’t tamper with it.
The body is wrecked, but the soul energy inside is intact, confirming its authenticity.
Since the soul is what matters for research purposes, it seemed legitimate.
“Damn. So this is what happens when Zeus gets his hands on you?”
“This? Please. We gods can suppress physical pain at will. This was just a light roasting to see if you’d flee using avatar exchange. If he had actually tortured you, it would’ve been far worse.”
Yeah, that makes sense.
To inflict real harm on a god, you’d have to target the soul.
Zeus must’ve zapped Odin’s body once, realized it was an avatar swap, and then used 5 trillion SP to revert to his own body.
“Can this avatar be used again?”
“You can probably restore it. The damage is only physical. Just heal it and stash it somewhere safe.”
“But my soul has upgraded since then. I’m not sure this avatar can still represent me properly.”
“You can adjust that. Heal the body first, then see how it syncs with your soul.”
“Got it. Thanks.”
“Oh… since I found your avatar and all…”
“I’m not reducing your interest.”
“Come on. I’m not shameless enough to ask for that. I was wondering if we could publicly announce the info Athena gave us on our end. It would help Asgard’s image if we revealed this intel first.”
He’s thinking the same thing as my father.
“Asgard’s reputation hasn’t fully recovered yet. If we’re the first to announce this, it could really boost our standing.”
“I already told my father and Michael. They’re planning to make a joint announcement with Asgard.”
“What?! You told them already?”
Loki looked disappointed.
“Athena might be playing the role of a Trojan horse. We can’t risk exposing her identity.”
“Man… I should’ve contacted you sooner.”
He sighed in frustration.
“Oh, and I’ll be part of the announcement too.”
“You too? Well, you are a god now. How many apostles are you taking?”
“1,000.”
“That’s it?”
I explained that I can’t receive worshippers, only apostles.
Loki nodded in understanding.
“You’re the god of souls—taking in worshippers would be crossing the line. Got it. So you want your name included in the announcement too?”
“Yeah. It boosts Soul Mediation efficiency.”
“Alright. I’ll make sure you’re included.”
“Oh, and since I delivered your avatar… how about adding me to your Soul Mediation network?”
I did clean up Asgard once, after all.
Hmm.
Loki could be a useful liaison with Asgard, so adding him might be worthwhile.
But I shouldn’t let him in for free.
“You’ll need to offer something in return.”
“I’m Asgard’s diplomatic representative. I’ll actively promote you when the Divine Realm Alliance debuts.”
“That’s a given. Got any S-rank or higher combat skills?”
I’ll be getting skills from Asura, but you can never have too many.
Loki answers immediately.
“I do, but I’m too deep in debt to transfer skills right now. Once I gather enough SP, I’ll give you a combat skill. Just give me a month.”
“You need SP to transfer skills?”
“Of course. If we could just hand out skills for free, every god would be overflowing with them. It costs a lot of SP to grant skills.”
Loki repeatedly emphasized that he’ll need a month, swearing that he’ll give me the skill then.
He even offered to make a formal pledge.
Fine.
I decide to add him to the Soul Mediation network.
“Alright. You’re in.”
“Hell yeah!”
Once Loki was added, he asked curiously.
“So, how much does adding apostles boost your efficiency?”
“I’m only accepting C-rank or higher. Each one boosts efficiency by 1%.”
“Wait… so 1,000 apostles means 1,000%? Damn, we better investigate Zeus’ lightning and make that joint announcement ASAP.”
Hearing that my efficiency would increase tenfold made Loki even more excited.
His eyes practically sparkled as he rushed off to begin the investigation.
Not long after Loki left, I received a message from Kang Sia.
[Jiho-nim. We’re ready to make the announcement on HunterNet. Shall we begin?]
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