Chapter 110

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 110: Unexpected Proposal

"Hmm, has it already been a year?"

[You've been busy running around, so you didn't even notice how time flew. Now I can intervene, albeit in a limited capacity.]

He had a smiling face, but his words had a sharp edge.

Ah, it's always a headache when Loki gets involved…

Still, I respond without giving it too much thought.

"So, why did you contact me?"

[Oh, don't be so wary. We in Asgard want to maintain a good relationship with you.]

Loki continued in his smooth, easygoing tone.

[SP has been flowing in through your side a lot lately. I was curious if your Soul Mediation level has increased significantly.]

"Well, it's gone up a bit. I haven't exactly been slacking off."

[Right. So have you only been leveling up Soul Mediation, or have you been working on Soul Trade too?]

Soul Trade?

I assumed I could use it to act as a mediator for SP trades between deities and make some commission.

But I hadn’t used it at all, so the skill was just sitting there.

Why is he bringing it up now?

"It's at level 6. I raised it to 5 before my grade increased. But why? You guys don’t even do trades."

[Hahaha, well done. Trading has been out of the question because we used up so much power sending humans back in time. There was no time for leisurely transactions between deities.]

"So, why the sudden interest in that skill?"

[Can you raise that skill level to 10?]

Why is he asking me to level up my Soul Trade skill all of a sudden?

No matter how I think about it, it's one of the lowest-priority skills.

"I’ll level it up eventually, but it’s not really useful to me right now."

[Yes, for you, Soul Trade is a useless skill. So we’ll cover the SP cost for leveling it up.]

"Huh? You’ll cover the SP cost?"

What is he talking about?

They’ll just give me SP for free?

These guys aren’t the type to be so generous…

[Since the value of Soul Mediation is rising, we figured giving you an S-grade skill wasn’t enough compensation. Hahaha.]

"There's no way the god of trickery would offer fair compensation. What's your angle?"

[Haha. You’re not easy to fool. The truth is, I heard a little rumor.]

Loki’s lips curved into a sly smile.

Aurelia, the goddess of the volcano, had a similar smile…

He really does have a pretty face.

[They say that if Soul Trade reaches level 10, you can establish a trading exchange.]

A trading exchange?

I vaguely recall hearing about this somewhere.

I examined the Soul Trade skill again.

[Soul Trade LV.6.]

[Allows SP transactions between all beings, regardless of status. You can summon a trade window and collect a 0.1% commission on transactions. You can trade up to 60 million SP per transaction and conduct up to 10 transactions per day. When upgraded to S-grade and Soul Trade skill level increases, you can establish an SP Exchange.]

Ah, that’s right.

I hadn’t paid attention to it because I needed to raise it to S-grade, but if the skill reaches level 10, I can establish an SP Exchange.

"How do you know about this?"

[I gathered information from a few places. Your reaction confirms it, doesn’t it?]

I didn’t bother denying it.

It seemed like I could get free SP out of this.

"Well… yeah."

[We’ll provide all the SP. Let’s establish the exchange. In return, sell us just 5% of the shares.]

"What? Shares? What shares? I’m not starting a corporation."

[Hehe… This isn’t like Earth’s corporations. Do you know what’s similar to the SP Exchange?]

Something similar to the SP Exchange…

I can’t really think of anything…

Wait, could it be…?

"SP Shop?"

[That’s right. We suspect the SP Exchange might be related to the SP Shop.]

The SP Shop.

The store prominently displayed by the system.

A marketplace where only SP is used, and the deities constantly grumble about the harsh fees—could it be connected to the SP Exchange?

"So, Chaos has soul-type awakened beings too?"

[Of course. The god served by the Lords of Chaos, ‘The Left Hand of the Creator,’ is said to be a soul-type being.]

Those Lords of Chaos…

I always wondered why beings with the power of deities were called "lords," but it turns out they serve a god.

But why is that god called “The Left Hand of the Creator”?

"‘The Left Hand of the Creator’? Is that their real name?"

[That’s how we can perceive him. When you become a deity and start to grasp the order of the universe, only then can you feel his presence.]

For the first time, Loki’s perpetually smiling face turned serious.

[Compared to him, we are insignificant… But at the same time, there’s relief in sensing his overwhelming presence. He never moves. He simply exists, lofty and untouchable, like the sun in the sky.]

A soul-type Chaos god, huh.

Why is such a massive entity suddenly coming into the picture?

"I thought Hercules was the only one."

[Hercules is the only soul-type awakened being. The Chaos god cannot be called an awakened being. He is essentially a pillar of universal order.]

Loki spoke cautiously.

It was fascinating to see him show reverence like this, something I had never seen from him before.

A Chaos god.

A colossal figure indeed…

Now it makes sense why someone like Hades is managing the SP Shop.

"But I heard Olympus created Soul Mediators."

[Olympus may have devised Soul Mediators, but they didn’t create it entirely from scratch. The basic framework was already there.]

So Olympus designed Soul Mediators based on that fundamental framework?

Well, that’s too distant a topic for a mere demigod like me.

[Your SP Exchange has immense potential. We in Asgard want to buy a share of it.]

"Hearing all this makes me hesitant to sell. I might as well set it up on my own."

[Not so fast. That’s why managers exist. You also need customers for your SP Exchange. The SP Shop is huge because the Chaos god runs it. But if you run it alone, how many customers do you think you’ll get? It’d be nothing more than a tiny corner shop.]

Loki suggested that they’d bring customers by using the exchange, and that I should take their investment to expand the business.

He wasn’t wrong, but it still felt like a waste to sell shares when there was a chance to grow big like the SP Shop.

"I’m hesitant to give up shares."

[Set up the SP Exchange with the SP we’ll give you. After that, just give us the right to purchase shares. If you refuse, we won’t be able to buy them. But if you decide to sell to someone else, sell to us first.]

"A first negotiation right?"

[Yes. It’s not a loss to you, is it?]

They’ll cover all the SP to raise Soul Trade to level 10, and all I have to do is give them the right of first refusal.

I wouldn’t be obligated to sell.

If I wanted to sell to someone else, I’d just offer it to them first.

This was an overwhelmingly favorable deal for me.

It also meant Asgard had high expectations for the SP Exchange.

"Sounds good, but… It cost me 100 million SP to raise Soul Mediation to level 10. Soul Trade should be similar."

[100 million?]

In truth, it’s 40 million now because of the 60% discount from my Skill Stone.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

But I don’t want to use a Skill Stone on Soul Trade, so I’ll definitely need 100 million SP.

"And that’s just the cost from level 9 to 10. It costs 12.5 million to go from level 6 to 7."

[Hmm. So the pattern is 12.5 million, 25 million, 50 million, and then 100 million? That’s quite a lot—almost 200 million in total.]

200 million SP—was that a lot, even for an SSS-grade deity?

"Is it too much for you?"

[No, it’s more than I expected, but we can support that amount.]

"Oh? So 200 million?"

[Any other conditions?]

Any other conditions, huh?

Ah, I had to reach S-rank.

"S-rank."

[What? S-rank? Hmm... Was there really such a condition?]

"Yeah, take a look."

When I showed the skill description, Loki frowned.

[It would be hard for a demigod to run an SP exchange... but S-rank, huh? What are your promotion conditions? Filling all your stats to S would be one, and earning the qualifications for divinity would be another, right?]

Is filling stats and earning divinity qualifications normally required?

He knows everything.

I don't really need to mention the daily income of 1 million...

"They told me to kill a god."

[Kill a god...? You’re telling me a quest came down for a demigod to kill a god?]

Loki stared at me with disbelief.

It must really be a tough condition.

"Yeah, so I’ve been racking my brain over it."

[Killing a god... So, a soul-type Awakener can kill gods. That won’t be easy...]

Loki fell into thought.

Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned it?

Damn, am I going to lose the 200 million SP?

I watched him nervously until Loki finally spoke.

[10%.]

"You want 10% shares?"

[Yes, I’ll provide an additional 100 million SP in installments to help you fill your stats. Plus, we’ll prepare the god you need to kill.]

"It’s just the right to negotiate first for 10% of the shares, right? I’m not obligated to sell if I don’t want to, right?"

[Yes, that condition remains the same.]

This deal sounds too good.

They’ll prepare a god-killing quest and give me 300 million SP.

The divinity qualification is still a challenge, but seeing that Drakia’s Dragon God awakening quest was already at 84%, it seemed Drakia would awaken smoothly as a Dragon God.

I can fill my stats with the extra 100 million SP, so the main issue of killing a god is resolved.

"Alright, let’s do it."

[Good. Let’s make the deal.]

[Would you like to make a contract with Loki, the ‘God of Deception’?]

A message window popped up, boldly displaying the title "God of Deception."

Seeing that made me hesitant about signing the contract.

[Hey, I get that ‘God of Deception’ sounds bad, but check the details. You won’t lose anything. All we’re asking for is the right to buy 10% of the shares.]

When I checked the message window more carefully, it was as he said.

[1. Asgard’s chief negotiator, Loki, will pay the soul Awakener, Kim Jiho, 10 million SP per day for 30 days.

2. Asgard’s chief negotiator, Loki, will prepare a god for Kim Jiho to kill.

3. Upon meeting all conditions, Asgard will have the right to purchase 10% of Kim Jiho’s SP exchange shares with his consent.]

The terms were overwhelmingly favorable.

I could sell the exchange shares later if I wanted... I couldn’t refuse this deal.

"Okay. Let’s do it."

[Good decision.]

[You have made a contract with Loki, the ‘God of Deception.’]

[This contract cannot be reversed.]

[The contract will be forcibly enforced if not fulfilled.]

Forcibly enforced?

If they force me into a situation where I can’t respond, do I just lose the 10% shares?

That’s a bit worrying.

I didn’t press “Agree” and instead confronted Loki.

"This forced enforcement clause is a problem."

[Hmm? Why?]

"If you guys seal me or put me in a situation where I can’t answer, doesn’t that mean I just lose everything?"

[Come on, have a little faith in the gods.]

"Uh... yeah, no thanks. Take out the forced enforcement clause and make it a renewable contract every year. Come to think of it, there’s no contract term set."

Loki let out a deep sigh.

[You’re so picky. You have no idea how short a year feels to a god. Let’s make it 10 years instead, and we’ll pay for the shares every 10 years.]

"Ten years is too long. How about three?"

[Five years.]

"Okay, but make sure it states the contract only renews if I’m still alive."

[You’re such a scaredy-cat...]

"Actually, just add a clause saying you won’t harm me."

[Why would I harm the owner of the exchange?!]

Loki grumbled as he modified the contract.

I’m glad I made those changes.

[Here’s today’s SP. Open your soul trading window.]

When I opened the window, Loki immediately transferred 10 million SP.

After I accepted it, he grinned.

[See you tomorrow. We’ll prepare the god once you max out your stats.]

That’s how I got 10 million SP, just like that.

"Hey... are you sure this contract’s okay? He’s the God of Deception, after all."

As the communication link opened, Jinseong, who had been standing at a distance, asked with concern.

"I made the necessary changes, so it should be fine."

"Hmm... I guess. Still."

Loki, who had been warned by Asgard for being too generous, was suddenly handing out benefits like candy... Better to stay cautious.

Even though I blocked the forced enforcement clause, you never know what tricks a god could pull.

Also, won’t the system’s protection disappear once I reach S-rank?

This is the time to be most careful...

"I should prepare for any worst-case scenario."

"That sounds smart."

Looks like I’ll be busy for the next month.

"By the way, what are you going to do about apostles?"

"I haven’t thought much about it yet. I was just planning on taking C-rank hunters."

"Really? Can some of our guild members apply?"

"Who do you have in mind?"

"Some people got interested after seeing how fast I was getting stronger."

If it’s Jinseong’s guild, that’s probably the Daehyun Guild.

"Are they trustworthy?"

"Who’s trustworthy in this world? Especially when it comes to opposing gods. Just don’t tell them too much—just lure them in with the promise of power. Then tie them up with a god-king contract."

Hmm, offering power in exchange for a contract...

Isn’t that what demons usually do?

It feels like we’re the bad guys here.

"Besides, you said you needed apostles to improve your Soul Mediation skill’s efficiency, right? It’s a good idea to fill the apostle slots first."

He’s got a point.

Even C-rank hunters would increase efficiency by 1%.

I had 12 open slots, so filling them all with C-ranks would raise it by 12%.

"Alright, let’s do it."

"Great. I’ll gather them at our guild house. Make sure to wear a mask or helmet—you don’t need to reveal your identity."

No need to show my face.

Guardian Kim Jiho... Yeah, that’s a bit much.

But this was easily resolved.

"Add a clause to the god-king contract that says ‘The guardian appears as the former guardian.’"

After adding that clause and finalizing the oath with Jinseong, the guardian took on their previous appearance.

Now all that was left was to wait for Jinseong’s call.

Three days later, Jinseong contacted me.

[Come to our guild house. Five people are waiting.]

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]