Chapter 139

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 139: Olympus Dungeon (1)

“I have a question for you, Jiho. How many apostles can you have?”

At her words, I checked the level of the Apostle’s Garden.

The level kept increasing.

Since the SP consumption wasn’t too high, I kept raising it until it reached level 100 before I knew it.

Once it surpassed level 50, the number of allowed apostles started increasing rapidly, and when it hit level 100, the limit reached a thousand.

Is this the max?

I tried to raise the level further, but a message popped up saying that at S-rank, the number of apostles was limited to 1,000.

“It looks like the limit is 1,000.”

Kang Shia nodded at my words.

She reacted as if she had expected the number to be lower.

“1,000… Then we’ll have to recruit only elite hunters.”

“Kang Shia, wouldn’t that be difficult? The top-tier hunters already have patron gods.”

“Hyeju is right. The hunters from the Asgard era have mostly sworn loyalty to Asgardian gods. While Asgard has said they don’t mind if their hunters switch allegiances, they’ve provided major benefits to keep them in place. Most of the highest-ranked hunters are still with Asgard. They’d rather keep their current positions than risk losing their advantages.”

So, hunters with patron gods can switch deities.

But they just don’t feel the need to?

That explains the current situation.

If that’s the case, I probably can’t even recruit mid-to-upper-tier hunters easily.

Everyone is desperate to recruit people.

“So that means they won’t come to our side?”

“Yes. Honestly, I don’t think we can get the highest-ranked ones. But I do think there’s a way to attract upper-tier hunters.”

Kang Shia pointed at Lee Jinseong.

“When our guild was struggling, Jiho took us all in as apostles. After that, when Lee Jinseong reached B-rank, Daehyun Guild benefited a lot from the publicity. Tons of people asked how he leveled up so fast. If we say it was thanks to Jiho, our patron god…”

“That was back when gods were still sealed. Would that still work now? These days, gods are competing aggressively to attract Awakened individuals with benefits.”

Diana raised her hand to question it.

She had a point.

Back then, the benefits were minor, but now, gods are offering major incentives.

There’s no differentiation.

Kang Shia looked at Diana and nodded.

“You’re right. This is just a way to remind people about Lee Jinseong’s rapid growth back then.”

“Then…?”

“We need to emphasize Jiho as the first human of the 21st century to ascend to godhood. A human patron god. No, a god.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Right now, people aren’t even considering the possibility of becoming gods themselves. But if we reveal that Jiho has ascended, it’ll generate immense interest.”

At that, Drakina, who had been listening with a dissatisfied expression, immediately countered.

“That’s because this one… I mean, this patron god is a uniquely exceptional Awakened. Regular humans can’t do it. Even among dragons, successful cases are rare.”

“But humans don’t know that. And we don’t need to attract everyone. The limit is just 1,000 people. We were even thinking of doing a commercial, but now we won’t need to.”

Kang Shia sounded disappointed, as if the ad had been a major part of the original plan.

Was I really about to be in an Asura-style commercial?

As the first human god of the 21st century?

“The world has changed drastically. The powerful elites of humanity have learned ways to extend their lifespans. They’re not choosing religions hastily; they’re watching and scheming, searching for ways to stay young. Those who were already religious have awakened, but there are still plenty of high-ranking individuals and elite Awakened waiting on the sidelines.”

“Would such cautious people be willing to accept me as their patron god?”

“They see someone who started from the same point as them, who has already ascended to godhood and is recruiting apostles. And on top of that, they can gain a unique ability—SP.”

“A unique ability?”

“SP. Most people still don’t know about it. It seems like gods are deliberately keeping it a secret.”

You only learn about SP when you reach B-rank.

I had heard that the public wasn’t aware of it yet.

“But as more people reach B-rank, high-ranking individuals are starting to grasp the concept. If they learn they can acquire SP, they’ll be interested.”

“Hm…”

“And if we promote that this is what led to your ascension, we can attract even more talent.”

Apostles increase soul mediation efficiency—5% for A-rank apostles, 2% for B-rank, and 1% for C-rank.

I don’t know the exact rates for lower ranks, but I should at least recruit C-rank or higher.

I didn’t ascend only because of SP, but it wouldn’t hurt to embellish the story a little.

“But would everyone really want to become a god?”

“Gods don’t die or age, do they?”

“Yeah. Immortal, ageless, eternal.”

“Then of course they’d want to. It’s the ultimate dream of the powerful.”

Ah.

There was that story about a major corporate CEO once saying—if he could regain his youth, he’d give up all his wealth.

No matter how rich or famous someone was, death had always been the great equalizer.

Now they want to escape even that.

That makes sense.

“So how do you plan to spread this information?”

“That depends on your decision, Jiho. Do you want it to spread secretly, or would you prefer a rapid announcement? That will determine our approach.”

“Hmm, taking it slow seems awkward. 1,000 is a small number compared to the world population, but it’s a lot when limited to high-ranking Awakened.”

“Exactly. And the top-tier Awakened are highly valued by existing religions. If we proceed secretly, recruitment will be slow.”

I hate dealing with complicated things…

But I have no idea what Zeus might pull, so I need to increase my SP income and grow stronger as fast as possible.

Even with C-rank apostles, filling up all 1,000 slots would give me a 1,000% boost—ten times more than I earn through the SP exchange.

I need to gather people quickly.

“Can we recruit from other planets?”

“Elves and dwarves are deeply devoted to their own religions. And Elprian is still recovering, so she probably won’t hand over her apostles easily.”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Strong faith and limited availability, huh?

I guess there’s no point in going all the way to Kevrian just to steal Elprian’s followers.

I looked at Drakina, but she shook her head.

“Well, for starters, we don't have many dragons... and the other races in the neutral faction may have numbers, but it's hard to find anyone above C-rank. Honestly, even C-rank isn’t common. It’s a hero-class rank, after all.”

Yeah, that made sense.

C is Hero, B is Legend, and A is Demigod, right?

If this world isn’t set up for leveling like Earth, then reaching those ranks wouldn’t be easy.

“Let’s spread the word quickly. I’d rather get famous than get taken out by Zeus.”

“Understood, Lee Jinseong.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah?”

“For now, I need you to post on the high-ranking HunterNet board. I'll prepare the content for the post. Since you're B-rank, your words carry weight.”

“Got it.”

“I’ll start informing the guilds through our shared information channels. Since we only need a thousand people, we don’t have to make this too public. I’ll focus on high-ranking Awakened.”

“Yeah. I’m not sure how much SP a D-rank gives, but for now, let’s just take C-rank and above.”

Other religions could gather SP through their followers' faith, but that wasn’t an option for me.

Instead, I could use my apostles to act as soul intermediaries.

I had no desire to be worshiped like some divine being by people from the 21st century—this method was way better.

Plus, I had the SP Exchange.

“Understood. I’ll set the restriction to C-rank and above.”

“Good. Thanks. Oh, and if you find any skilled and trustworthy D-rank Awakened, bring them in. I want to see how efficient they are.”

Their soul mediation efficiency would be lower than C-ranks, but if the difference wasn’t too big…

Then we could fill the gaps with D-ranks if C-rank recruitment slowed down.

Gathering a thousand C-rank or higher Awakened might not be easy.

“Alright. I’ll get started right away. Lee Jinseong, let’s work together.”

“Yeah, got it.”

“I’ll be with my apostles for a bit. I’ll join you later.”

“Of course, Jiho. Take your time.”

The three members of the Daehyun Guild bowed to me before heading out.

“You needed to talk?”

“What have you and Drakia been up to? Haven’t heard from you in a while.”

I asked since I hadn’t heard much from the dragon god’s side lately.

Drakina simply shrugged.

“Father has been recovering his strength while collecting fragments of the gods of time. But I heard Zeus has reached EX-rank? So Father assumes there’s no point in time regression anymore and is focusing entirely on recovering his power.”

“He’s not looking for Chronos’ fragments anymore?”

“That search has slowed down. They’re getting harder to find.”

So the dragon god was purely focused on restoring his power?

“He hasn’t said anything about the current situation?”

“Hmm… He only mentioned that if he doesn’t recover his strength soon, we’re in trouble.”

I see.

That guy is always hard to read.

“At least with Father focusing on recovering, I finally got to take a break. No more hunting for those damned stones.”

Drakina grumbled at me, clearly annoyed.

She was basically asking why I was bothering her when she was finally resting.

“Yeah, yeah. Got it. Go rest.”

I was about to send her back to the Apostles’ Garden when—

BAM!

The meeting room door flew open.

“Kim Jiho!”

Kang Shia burst in, looking alarmed.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“It’s serious!”

She hurriedly climbed onto the stage where the presentation had been earlier.

She quickly manipulated the screen, and soon, a news broadcast appeared.

[Breaking News]

[Urgent Report]

These headlines flashed across multiple screens.

Kang Shia split the screen into several sections, each showing different news channels from various countries.

“There are continuous lightning strikes in the centers of major cities worldwide.”

“Lightning?”

“Yes! In Seoul, it's striking near City Hall…”

On the screen, golden lightning was endlessly crashing down from the sky.

[Lightning continues to strike the centers of major cities, including Seoul. Fortunately, no casualties have been reported. However, Seoul City Hall employees and nearby civilians have been evacuated.]

At least there weren’t any casualties.

What the hell is Zeus doing now?

He shouldn’t be gaining any SP from this.

“I need to contact the other divine realms and go see for myself.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“I’ll just observe. It’ll be fine.”

Judging by the footage, I wouldn’t figure out anything from here.

As I prepared to leave, Diana and Drakina stepped forward.

“I’m coming too.”

“I wanna go as well.”

“I get Diana, but why you?”

“I want to gather information on Zeus. He’s connected to our world too.”

Fair point. That lightning could hit Kebrian as well.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“I’ll come too.”

“No, Kang Shia. Stay here and keep monitoring the situation in other cities. Things might get dangerous.”

Diana was a demigod, and Drakina was a dragon, but Kang Shia was just a regular human.

She could be in real danger.

She nodded at my words.

“Understood. I’ll keep you updated through the Apostle's message.”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]