Chapter 118

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 118: Foresight Manifests (2)

Debt collection for SP?

What, am I some kind of loan shark...?

Judging by the situation, it looks like Asgard and Odin are the ones being pursued for debt collection.

The pure white flames had now reached Odin's body and were burning fiercely.

Odin summoned a red barrier to block the flames, but they pierced through without resistance.

For someone who was supposed to be Asgard’s highest-ranking official, his death was absurdly swift—he simply burned away into nothingness.

The flames were so intense that he couldn't even scream before turning to dust.

Along with him, the screen went black.

"Is this the future that Skuld foresaw?"

Although the system indicated that Danger Detection – Foresight had activated, from what I saw, I didn't seem to be in danger at all.

Rather, it was a spectacular scene where I was collecting Asgard’s debt and burning Odin to ashes.

But then, why did Odin purge Skuld, the one who made this prophecy?

If I were Odin, I’d be grateful for the warning.

And yet, he descended upon me himself, obsessively interrogating me to find out if I knew about this or not.

It’s suspicious.

"But where exactly did the SP I lent out go for it to trigger debt collection?"

It couldn’t possibly be the 150 million SP that Loki was supposed to give me.

Even Hercules hands out 100 million at a time, so I doubt that Asgard as a whole would burn down over a mere 150 million SP.

That must mean, at some point in the future, I lent a massive amount of SP to Odin and Asgard...

And I had so much SP that Asgard couldn't even afford to pay it back?

That would have to be far into the future.

But then again, Odin said, "I confirmed that he had reached divinity... I sealed him away..."

So, it feels more like I was sealed away right after ascending.

Now that I think about it, they confirmed I had ascended and then immediately sealed me…

Did they seal me the moment I became an S-rank in the Order faction?

And since the Neutral faction is only A-rank, the system retaliated, causing Asgard to burn down?

That theory makes sense…

But then, the term "debt collection" doesn’t quite fit.

Was it a system penalty?

Did Asgard get consumed by flames because of some unpaid debt?

But why the hell would Asgard be indebted to me in the first place?

Ugh, I have no idea.

Even after seeing the prophecy, I’m left with nothing but more questions.

At least, I can be relieved that this doesn’t seem like a future where I am doomed.

For now, I just need to be cautious of Asgard and Odin, now that I know how treacherous they are.

"Jiho, are you awake?"

As the vision faded, Diana approached me, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"Yeah, I just had a foresight activation…"

"Really?"

As I was about to explain, Diana stopped me.

"Asgard rules this world, right? Just in case, send it to me as a message instead."

Huh, is it really that serious?

I doubt they’d stalk me that obsessively…

But still, better to be cautious.

I considered setting up a Soul Barrier, but that would make me look suspicious, so I just sent her a message instead.

After reading my Apostle message, Diana’s eyes widened.

[Debt collection?]

[Yeah, it's so ridiculous that I had to check twice.]

Diana thought for a moment before asking:

[For a debt collection to happen, a debt has to exist first, right?]

[Yeah.]

[Hmm... Then, isn’t it possible that your SP Exchange has a lending feature?]

[Huh… instead of just a shop?]

Her idea made sense.

Maybe the answer lies within the SP Exchange.

I checked my status window, and my SP had increased by a little over 4 million, bringing my total to 5 million.

Gaining over 4 million SP in a single day…

So this is the power of an S-rank?

Would my SP income increase further if I raised my Soul Power stat?

Curious, I tried increasing it—only to find that each point now cost 500,000 SP.

That’s insanely expensive…

But since I’ve already started, I might as well go big.

I invested 2.5 million SP to raise it by 5,000 points.

Soul Power: 1,005.

Now, I wonder how much this will affect things.

After I finished allocating my points, Diana hesitated before speaking.

"Um, Jiho."

"Yeah?"

"I received way more SP than usual… Should we check if others experienced the same?"

That’s to be expected, right?

If SP exchange efficiency increased, Diana would earn more, too.

"That’s probably because I reached godhood and my skill efficiency improved."

"Even so, it’s over ten times the usual amount… Could it be because of what happened last night…?"

…Ten times?!

That’s way too much of an increase.

If she means last night…

At first, I didn’t get what she meant, but then I saw her blushing face and realized.

Wait… did SP increase just because of that?!

I should ask the other Apostles.

I sent a message to Jinseong.

[Hey, did you receive more SP than usual?]

[Yeah, I’m getting about six times the normal amount. Plus, every time I kill a monster, I get even more SP than before. The system even says I’m harvesting souls.]

…Soul harvesting?

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

[Huh? But I only gave you soul mediation abilities?]

[That’s what I thought too! Oh, by the way, I hit B-rank and got promoted to Weapon Master. Maybe that’s why?]

So B-rank warriors can advance into upgraded classes, huh?

I guess they don’t let you stay stuck with your E-rank class forever.

Am I the first human to reach B-rank besides Jinseong?

Well, it's probably not because of the Weapon Master skill.

[No, I think it's because I've become a god.]

[...A god? What god? Are you crazy?]

[If you reach S-rank, you become a god.]

[Wait, you're S-rank now? Wow… Where are you? I'm coming right now.]

When I told Jinseong I was home, he said he'd be there in no time.

So he was on Earth.

I had a casual breakfast with Diana, drinking coffee and eating the bread we bought yesterday.

Just as we were finishing up our meal, Jinseong arrived.

"Hey. So, you're really a god… huh…?"

As soon as I opened the door, Jinseong barged in—then froze the moment he saw me.

He just stood there, staring at me with shaking eyes.

"Uh, w-why is this happening…?"

Then suddenly—

Thud.

He dropped to his knees in front of me at the entrance.

What the hell is wrong with this guy?

"Hey, are you insane?"

"Ah, shit. This isn’t right…? My body is moving on its own—ugh, mmph."

[Apostle ‘Jinseong’ has accumulated continuous disrespectful remarks. Would you like to administer divine punishment?]

A message popped up in front of me.

Wait, I have a function like this?

I clicked ‘No,’ and only then did Jinseong seem to regain control of his body.

He got up, looking pale as he stared at me.

"Hey, did you punish me, Your Holiness?"

"What’s with the ‘Your Holiness’? Just act normal."

"But I barely even said anything, and it told me to await divine judgment for being disrespectful. Then it said I was spared by the grace of a merciful god and should praise Him."

Jinseong grumbled about the absurdity of it all.

I don’t recall speaking that politely to the gods who used to protect me, and I never got penalized for it…

Maybe it’s different because he's my direct apostle?

It's an interesting feature, though.

"Hey, can you turn this off? Or do you, now that you’re a god, want even your childhood friend to speak formally to you, Lord Jiho Kim?"

"Hold on, I just became a god—I need to figure this out."

As soon as I said that, another system message appeared.

[Would you like to adjust the restrictions placed on your apostle?]

I selected ‘Yes,’ and a horizontal bar with five levels appeared.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

The leftmost was ‘None,’ and the rightmost was ‘Maximum.’

It was currently set to maximum, so I adjusted it down to level two—‘Mild.’

This should make things better.

"Hey, try swearing at me again."

"Ugh, fuck!"

Jinseong flinched a little as he cursed.

Scaredy-cat…

But then he quickly relaxed.

"Oh, I'm fine now?"

"Yeah, it gave me a control bar. I set it to ‘Mild.’"

"Nice, that’s good."

Jinseong stretched his legs and walked in, taking off his shoes.

Then, spotting Diana, he was taken aback.

"Diana?"

"Hello, Jinseong."

"Why are you here so early in the morning…?"

He glanced back and forth between Diana and me.

Then, suddenly, he smirked.

"A man and a woman together so early in the morning, huh? I see, I see…"

"Yeah, it's exactly what you're thinking."

"Wow, lucky bastard. So, are you two dating?"

Diana quickly waved her hands.

"No, no, we’re not dating. Only another god can be a god’s partner. I was merely blessed by Him."

Jinseong looked at me like I was trash.

"Hey, you’re seriously too much now that you’re a god. How could you toy with a woman’s feelings like that?"

"Wow, no. Diana’s the one insisting on this arrangement."

Even as I explained, Jinseong clicked his tongue, calling me a terrible person.

Unbelievable.

I actually suggested we date instead of keeping things vague, but Diana refused.

She said she had to become an immortal herself if she wanted to be with me.

I didn't even think that was necessary, but she was so firm about it that I just agreed.

Even after hearing all that, Jinseong kept mocking me.

Only when Diana stepped in to defend me did he finally stop.

This guy… Since he's here, I should test something.

"Oh yeah. While you're here, check this out."

"What is it?"

"Soul Form."

Diana was left speechless when she first saw it.

I wonder how Jinseong will react.

"You're really going to do this…? If Jinseong feels the same way I did…"

Diana sounded worried.

Yeah, that would be horrifying.

If a shaved-head guy started yearning for me…

Jinseong's expression stiffened as he saw our hesitation.

"Diana’s reaction is making me nervous…"

"Mm… Yeah, I'm feeling a little uneasy too. But you’re the only test subject available. Worst case, I’ll just erase your memory."

"Heh, what, am I gonna fall for you or something?"

"Mm… Seems like it."

"Ah, shit. Like hell I’d fall for you. How bad could it be? Just do it."

With his agreement, I cast spiritualization.

In an instant, my body turned transparent.

Looking around in that state, I saw Diana staring at me with both cheeks flushed red.

And then...

Thud.

Lee Jinseong dropped to his knees again, staring blankly at me.

Ah, I feel bad for making my friend kneel so often.

When I released spiritualization and returned to my physical form, Jinseong was still on his knees, unmoving.

"Hey, how was it?"

"..."

"Hey. Snap out of it."

I shook his body, and only then did he stagger back to his feet.

"Wow, shit. What the hell…."

He looked at me, his eyes trembling ever so slightly.

Unlike before, he still seemed dazed.

"Damn, that one hit hard…."

"How was it?"

"Ah, I can still feel the aftereffects. You just looked insanely powerful and overwhelming. My inner Guan Yu almost disappeared for a moment."

Even in this situation, he’s bringing up Guan Yu?

This guy….

"Is this what it feels like when a real god descends? If I want to stay friends with you, I need to reach S-rank too. I think I'm starting to understand what Lady Diana meant."

"Yes, essentially, you felt like a higher-dimensional being,"

Diana nodded in agreement.

That much?

Just one rank up, and the difference is this massive…?

"So, what are you going to do now?"

"Hmm, actually, this happened…."

As I sent him a message, Jinseong listened while nodding.

After hearing everything, he tilted his head and raised both hands.

[Something about this seems fishy… but I don’t know. Why don’t you go see Hercules? He might know something.]

[Hmm, I guess I should….]

[Erase my memory. Odin himself came down to inspect this prophecy, right? He seems to be taking it very seriously. He might round up everyone around you for questioning.]

He's got a point.

Odin personally descended to investigate the third prophecy.

It's best to be as cautious as possible.

After erasing his memory with Dragon Words, I spoke to them.

"Then, I’ll go see Hercules. Diana…."

"I’ll be in the Garden of the Apostles."

"Got it. Jinseong, are you heading into a dungeon?"

"Yeah, man, being friends with a god isn’t easy. I need to level up fast and aim for S-rank too."

Apparently, kneeling just now left a strong impression on him.

He was getting complacent at B-rank, but now, after seeing a realm beyond his own, he was determined to grind hard again.

"Diana, see you later."

"Yes, take care."

After reverse-summoning Diana, I used Heimdall’s Return to teleport to Eshtar.

Asgard used to just let me use their transport freely, but now that I'm S-rank, I doubt their method will work for me anymore.

At the peak of Eshtar’s mountain.

As I gazed at the A-rank dungeon portal floating beside me, Hercules suddenly appeared.

"You’ve reached S-rank! Congratulations."

He congratulated me the moment he saw me.

We sat down, and I told him everything that’s happened.

Hercules showed interest when I mentioned the prophecy.

"We’ll need a Soul Barrier for this."

He cast a Soul Barrier over the mountain peak.

After I explained the prophecy in full, his expression turned serious.

"Debt collection, huh…? That must be related to your SP Exchange."

"I’d have to open the exchange to know for sure, but my SP trading skill level is too low right now, so I can’t access it yet."

"You’ll unlock it soon enough… but yeah, we need to establish the SP Exchange first to get a clearer picture."

Hercules advised me to prioritize setting up the exchange.

Then, he shifted topics.

"Hmm… putting that aside, they thought you were sealed? But sealing a soul-type god should be incredibly difficult."

He pointed out an issue with my supposed imprisonment.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Even when Olympus was hunting me down, I wasn’t easily sealed because of my soul-based nature. Apparently, it takes an absurd amount of SP. And that’s just for a half-blood like me."

"Hoh…."

So I can’t just be easily sealed by surprise, huh?

I’m not sure exactly where the limit lies, but….

"So, how about we test it?"

Hercules clenched his fists.

Uh….

Is he seriously suggesting we test sealing me?!

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]