Chapter 39 Players leveling up to become gods never require faith power. ...
It's raining again. The rainy season has arrived. East opened the window and looked at the misty, rainy weather outside. The lingering sleepiness was dispelled by the cold wind. He thought about his schedule for the day. There was a simple meeting in the morning, and the rest of the time was spent handling affairs. Compared to usual, it was relatively leisurely, but the look outside couldn't help but be tinged with worry.
[Host, don't put too much pressure on yourself. You've only been here a short time. You've only been in this position for a short time. Don't carry all the pressure on your shoulders.] The system was practically begging for your advice. At this moment, the system felt that it wasn't so bad that the man was still there. At least when the host was feeling sentimental, someone could pull him out of his low mood.
Easter closed the window. "System, I'm worried about myself."
East was puzzled. It seemed that the system thought too highly of him. How did the system know that he was a good person?
“If public sentiment becomes turbulent, I’ll be the first one to be dragged out and blamed, and that’s what I’m worried about.”
System, [...] I'll just listen to your nonsense.
Regardless of how many complaints the system had, after washing up and having breakfast, Easter picked up the system rabbit and went to "work".
During the meeting, it was mentioned that the meeting with the merfolk would take place in three days. This was the most important matter; the rest were just some miscellaneous and trivial matters.
Only when Ister poked these things could the court officials, who were unable to react, be rendered helpless. Pinch the long ears of the system rabbit, and ponder what way he could break the current deadlock.
[Host, the players are starting to cause trouble.] The system's report disrupted Ister's thoughts.
"What?" Easter asked. He was in the Privy Council, where the King handled his affairs, with several secretaries and officials assisting him.
"Host, it's hard to explain in words, just watch," the system said, conjuring a small, tablet-sized screen on East's desk. "With this wave of activity, quite a few players should level up."
Easter could see what was happening on the players' side by looking down, and it wasn't easy for him to notice. Once he saw it, Easter understood the meaning of the system's words.
——
"Hey, sweet potato buddy, how did you make this?" When has Guagua ever stammered like this?
Not only quack quack, but almost all the little fire people present widened their beady eyes, looking at each other with the eyes of looking at a monster rather than a roasted sweet potato.
"Ahem," Ru Bu Kao Di Gua coughed awkwardly, hiding the dangerous object in his hand. "The principle is very simple, only using some simple materials, so the power is uncertain." He was thinking that since Matsushita Yuki had used her strengths, he couldn't fall behind, could he? However, he hesitated before doing it, but thinking about all kinds of magic, what he took out wasn't that powerful, just a few bombs, right?
"Why don't we give it a try and see?" Guagua was eager to try. "If this works, we can blow up the dungeon today. Just thinking about it is so exciting."
Guagua's words resonated with the players, but what Roasted Sweet Potato did completely broadened their horizons. They all wondered what they could search for in this world after logging off, as they had been completely limited before!
"Dude, how many did you make?" Cai Die asked, leaning closer to Bu Ru Kao Di Gua. He and Bu Ru Kao Di Gua were on different paths, but who didn't dream of building their own arsenal?
"There weren't many materials, so I only made seven." This was something that Ruo Bao Digua made overnight. The materials were found during the previous exploration, but not many were collected. After accounting for the losses, it was really lucky that he was able to make seven.
"Should I give it a try first?" Yun Mu looked longingly at the roasted sweet potato. She was just a little bit away from leveling up. If she were to solo it, it might take her two days. But the current situation was different.
"It's like roasting a sweet potato; the whole fire is almost setting people on fire. Be careful. We haven't done any experiments or assessments, so we can't be sure what the real situation is."
"Okay." Yun Mu wanted to make an OK sign, but found that her hand was not quite able to do so, so she just waved and rushed into the monsters, jumping into the "small abyss" at lightning speed.
With a loud bang, the ground trembled slightly.
The monsters darted around, but no matter what they did, they couldn't escape the area encircled by Arepo.
Yun Mu emerged from the chaos and smoke, shouting, "Awesome! Sweet Potato Bro is forever a god!" He had initially exuded a bit of a boss-like aura, but with that roar, not a trace of it remained.
The players were all excited. Even roasted sweet potatoes hadn't expected such a good effect. Perhaps they should be more cautious in the future.
[Ding! Server-wide announcement: The first player to reach level 11 has been created! The player leaderboard is now open, with a minimum level of 11 for all players. The player leaderboard ranks players based on overall strength, not just level.]
[Ding! Server-wide notification: Skills are now unlocked. You have reached level 11. After selecting a class, you can use the acquired skills. Note that you can only use skills corresponding to your current class.]
This is the system notification sound intended for all players.
[Ding! Warrior Yunmu, you have reached level 11. Please choose your desired class: Swordsman or Mage. Choose carefully—this is your only chance!]
This was the system notification sound that Yun Mu heard.
Yunmu took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and chose the swordsman. This was a decision she had made long ago, and Yunmu did not intend to change it at the last minute.
[Ding! Yunmu Warrior, you have chosen the path you will take from now on. The most important quality of a swordsman is to forge ahead without hesitation. I hope you can continue to move forward towards your goal without hesitation.]
Dear Warrior Yunmu, as the first warrior to successfully break through, you will receive the King's reward. Your knighthood has been unlocked, and perhaps you can become an excellent knight. However, your most pressing need right now is to find a suitable weapon for yourself.
Yunmu, the little fire spirit, jumped and hopped around like a monkey, yelling "Awoo!"
"This...this is...?" Cai Cai, who had just been brought over from the kitchen, saw this scene and suspected that he might have eaten the mushrooms that were not cooked properly today.
"Sigh, she's too excited." It's better to calmly reply like a roasted sweet potato.
Cai Cai nodded, "It seems it really is her." She changed the subject, "But she's only level eleven. That's just barely past the apprentice level. Isn't she getting a little too excited?"
"Thud~" Looking in the direction of the sound, it was Yunmu who had fallen to the ground.
"Pfft~" Someone's patience failed them and they burst out laughing.
Yunmu was originally a bright red, dazzling little fire spirit, but now she looks extremely gray, like a mushroom growing silently in the shadows.
——
East couldn't help but chuckle. He kept saying that it was Suibian who was unlucky, but he acted as if he was even less unlucky than Yunmu. East thought of a fitting phrase: "Extreme joy turns to sorrow."
“System, I have a question for you,” Ister thought. People really need to be in a good mood to use their brains. “The seal has been loosened three times. The first and second times can be said to have been caused by the players. The third time, to be precise, was when I put on the crown. To put it more bluntly, it was also related to the players. But each time, the number of players was different. So what about the changes in the seal?”
[Host, apart from the first time, the difference between the last two is not significant.] The system slowed down its speech, and it also noticed the problem. Apart from the continuous changes that would occur as the seal loosened, the few slightly larger disturbances were the three times the host mentioned.
“How about we do another experiment?” Easter asked enthusiastically.
[Host...] The system wanted to ask, host, did this come to you on a whim, or was it something you had planned all along? It was making him almost afraid that the host would say the words "do an experiment," it was truly terrifying.
"There's no way around it, we still don't have enough people." East sighed. Because of the lack of manpower, many plans couldn't be implemented. If he had enough available manpower, he wouldn't have come up with this idea.
"Host, how many slots do you plan to offer?" the system asked. It couldn't possibly refuse the host's request.
"How many people do you think it would take to build a city?" East's gaze was still fixed on the light screen. The reclusive Yun Mu had already joined the army fighting monsters. With the bombs contributed by Roasted Sweet Potato, this "Little Abyss" had reached its end. "How many people do you think it would take to empty this mine?"
After calculation, the system said: "Considering all factors, at least 5,000 more people are needed." This includes considering the number of online players, their online time, whether players are willing to do repetitive tasks, the possibility of players quitting the game... and many other things.
“Double it,” Easter said lightly. “You’ll open two fixed teleportation points, one here in the royal city and one in that village. The number of people allowed to enter the royal city is limited to five thousand, while there’s no limit outside the royal city.”
[Host, isn't this too risky?] the system asked. Five thousand plus the existing one thousand one hundred, that's more than six thousand. If it's as the host says, more than ten thousand people, that's no small number at all.
“System, haven’t you noticed that things have been calm for too long?” Easter said. He had experienced calm times before, but this was different. Everything seemed peaceful, but upon closer inspection, something eerie was about to happen. This was not calm at all; it was clearly the calm before the storm.
[What about time?] The system has agreed. The host is right. It has been too peaceful for too long. Danger is always lurking. How can he be complacent because of the peaceful time? Taking precautions is essential.
“Five days later.” East’s gaze fell on the screen, where more little firemen had advanced to level eleven. With each level increase, even without weapon bonuses, their combat power and health would improve, thus creating a virtuous cycle.
Merfolk, a race that inspires immense longing and curiosity, shrouded in mystery and fantasy. Ister thought that once this race appeared, the number of people wanting to play the game would definitely increase.
East flipped through the documents on the table, signed them with a quill pen after reading them, and realized he had been watching the players for too long and was about to become suspicious if he didn't do something soon.
While signing the second document, Esther paused, "System, the more monsters there are, the more 'demonic energy' there is, right? And the greater the impact of 'demonic energy'?" This was a question he should have asked much earlier, but he had been preoccupied with other matters and only remembered it now.
"Host!" the system called out.
East was so startled that his hand trembled, and the signature he made was crooked and illegible. "What's wrong?"
The system also noticed his problem and quickly explained, "[I wanted to refute that when that man brought it up. The demonic pollution has no effect on the host. The host's emotional changes cannot be related to the demonic pollution. If they were, I would have detected it.]"
“What’s the reason?” Easter rubbed his wrist. “If you don’t accept his explanation, you should at least give a more reasonable one.”
The system fell silent. This was the problem that had been puzzling him for so long. "It can't be demonic contamination," the system repeated, offering an explanation: "The host is bound to me. Demonic contamination affects the divine sense. If it were demonic contamination, I would be the first to detect it, since I am essentially within the host's divine sense."
East picked up another document, read its contents, and signed his name. "But I think he's somewhat involved with monster contamination."
The system didn't stubbornly persist. "Once we have more power, I'll check more carefully. Our popularity is quite high right now, and some of the converted faith power has been saved."
The reason for this is that maintaining the operation of all aspects of the "game" requires a lot of energy. Where does the system's energy come from if it cannot be replenished? In the absence of other options, the only option is to use the power of faith. Before that, the power of faith was barely enough. However, after everything got on track, the system was able to better plan the use of energy.
"What is the function of faith power?" Easter asked curiously.
The system retracted the light screen and replied: "Faith power can help the host become a god."
"Is faith power all that's needed?" Easter was multitasking, chatting with the system while reviewing and approving documents.
[Host, in this world, you can become a god and possess godhood, a divine position, and authority by doing just three things. Among these, godhood is indispensable; it is the embodiment of the power of laws.]
"But what does this have to do with faith?" Esther's mind was screaming. The topic they were discussing was very important to him. After signing the document in his hand, he put down his pen and waited for the system's answer.
God never needs faith.
East was stunned. A long time ago, he had sensed a strange familiarity from the system's way of speaking and tone. Now that this strange familiarity had reappeared, he could no longer treat it as just an illusion. However, no matter how he thought about it, he could not grasp where this familiarity came from.
"[Host?]" the system called out worriedly.
“It’s alright,” Easter said, unsure if he could get an answer from the system, and a voice told him it wasn’t the right time yet. “If God doesn’t need faith, then why do you keep saying that faith can make you a god?”
"What we need is not faith power, but the power of laws," the system said. "How do you explain that?" The system paused, then continued, "Godhood is the power of laws, godhood is the position of a god, and authority is the power a god possesses. The latter two are based on the former, but nowadays, gods need faith power to sustain their existence, and this is recognized by the rules of Heaven. Therefore, we can also use this rule. As long as you have godhood plus faith power, the host can become a god."
The power of faith serves as a means of positioning and identification. Each god has its own function, and as long as there is enough faith, their status will be more solid, their power will be greater, and they will master more laws.
The function here refers to the power of laws they possess. For example, the god of the sky can control the reversal of the sun and moon; the entire sky is under his control. The high sky, covering the world and the earth, can also represent royal power.
"Does that mean if I possess a law, the more people recognize and approve of it, the greater its power will be?" After listening to the system's long explanation, Easter succinctly summarized it into one sentence.
"That's right, host, that's exactly it. This is why the gods value the power of faith so much, and why wars are fought over it," the system said.
"But we didn't have that premise in the first place, did we?" East pressed his temples, feeling dizzy from the convoluted conversation he had just heard.
"We have it," the system said confidently. It knew what the host meant by the premise, but in fact, it was the easiest thing to do: "I can replace the existence of a god."
Easter asked slowly, "Why?"
[I exist independently of the rules of Heaven, and no law can bind my existence. This means that if the faith power is sufficient, the host can master any law through me.] The system was very confident. It came from the Dimensional Administration Bureau, and it could make the host master a mere law of a small world if it wanted to.
Easter, "Our primary source of faith in the early stages will definitely come from the players. Which law do you think their faith can help me get closer to?"
System: [This isn't important. What we need is their faith.]
East remained noncommittal. Having learned some of the chaotic situation, he needed some quiet time to think. As he pondered, he realized that it was still too far removed from his current state. He put aside his chaotic thoughts and used official business to distract himself.
[Host, don't disbelieve me~] The system's mechanical voice carried a deep sense of sorrow.
“It’s not that I don’t believe you,” Easter said, changing the subject, “it’s just that there’s still a long way to go, isn’t there?”
【That's true too.】The system immediately faltered.
Easter continued working at his desk, feeling that becoming a god wouldn't be a good thing.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com