Chapter 160

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 160: SS-Class Power (1)

Twenty days had passed since that day.

The Phoenix’s promotion to S-rank was still at a standstill.

Zeus's lightning had struck three times, but each was dismantled thanks to the efforts of the Apostle Gods.

“Oink oink. Master, I’ll now give you this month’s earnings report.”

“Alright.”

Before I knew it, a month had passed, and the golden pig appeared.

I received 3.375 billion.

Total assets: 5 billion SP.

“Is the operation running smoothly?”

“Oink oink. Yes. Thanks to your expanded divine power, we’ve been able to attract SP from more gods across different worlds. At this rate, both deposits and loans should be full in a few months.”

“No interference from Hades’ side?”

“Oink oink. Nope. Hades’ loan bank is still in the prep phase... I’ve been buying us some time. Oink oink.”

The golden pig winked at me as it said that.

You little rascal—doing good work.

“Oink oink. Then I’ll take my leave, Master.”

“Alright. See you.”

As the golden pig disappeared, I turned on the TV.

It was broadcasting a heated debate over Daehyun Group's construction project.

[...Controversy continues over Daehyun Group’s recent activities. Over to reporter Lee Ahyoung.]

When the anchor called the reporter, the screen switched.

A construction site right in the heart of Gangnam.

People wearing masks to cover their faces were holding up signs and blocking access at the site entrance.

[Yes. I’m currently standing in front of the Power Construction site. As you can see, shareholders of Daehyun Group and other citizens are blocking the site in protest against the construction.]

“‘A temple? What nonsense.’”

“‘Take responsibility for the stock drop.’”

“‘Kim Jiho a god? That’s just a kid’s name from the next town over!’”

Were the shareholders this upset because the stock really fell?

Hmm... Associating it with a god shouldn't have affected the stock that much.

I searched it up on my phone.

The stock had actually gone up a bit, now just taking a breather.

So who are those people?

[Shareholders are protesting the construction of a temple for the god ‘Kim Jiho’ on land purchased from the government. Some religious groups have joined the protest, accusing the project of blasphemy.]

Hmm... Looks like people from other religions are leading the charge against it.

That person has a cross necklace—probably Christian.

That other one has prayer beads—likely Buddhist...

Seems like major religious believers are spearheading the opposition.

Come on, I unsealed stuff and mediate SP, and this is how I’m treated?

“Well, it’s not like I need a temple right now anyway.”

It’s natural for people to deny someone becoming a god.

What matters now isn’t that temple—it’s the Phoenix.

[Master. Everything is ready now.]

“Yeah? Phoenix, come out.”

The Phoenix burst out from my head.

Compared to twenty days ago, its colors were clearly stronger.

I had invested some SP to ensure it was in its best condition before attempting a fusion.

Of course, I only gave it as much as it could absorb, so from my perspective, the SP investment wasn’t too big.

“Can’t power up any further, even if I give you more SP?”

[Correct. I don’t think I can get any stronger now.]

“Alright… then let’s give it a shot.”

I opened the Soul Fusion window.

Using the Phoenix as the main, I added 100 A-rank item shards as the sacrifice.

Just as I tried to fuse, a message popped up:

[‘Phoenix’s divine power is too low. Promotion will fail with absolute certainty. Do you still wish to proceed?]

Ah…

If it’s giving me a message like that, it’s basically saying it’s not going to work.

Even after maxing it out, and it’s still like this… what a headache.

“This won’t work. The odds are too low.”

[Hmm… It’s really hard for me to grow any further.]

Even the Phoenix murmured with a troubled tone.

While thinking of a solution, my eyes landed on the still-open Soul Fusion window.

“Then let’s forget promotion for now—let’s try strengthening you instead.”

I put the Phoenix back into the fusion slot and grabbed an A-rank item.

I tried the fusion, and another message popped up.

[Fusing a spiritual being and an item. As they belong to different categories, the result will be random. Proceed?]

So this isn’t a Phoenix-centered outcome—it’ll be completely random.

Hmm…

That’s a bit tricky.

Maybe I need to fuse it with another spiritual being?

I asked the gods if they had any spare A-rank spirits lying around, but they all looked reluctant.

[An A-rank spirit? Demi-god level? That’s not something we have lying around.]

[That might be hard to get, Jiho.]

Looks like demi-god level spirits are hard to come by.

Tsk.

Should I raid Kalvine again and throw a nymph into the fusion window?

“Ah...!”

While mulling over ideas, I suddenly thought of the Soul Disassembly skill.

Didn’t it say that at level 50, I could create a clone?

What if I put my clone into the fusion?

“Let’s try it.”

I raised the Soul Disassembly skill level.

When it reached level 50, a new message popped up:

[‘Soul Disassembly’ has reached level 50. You can now create a clone.]

[The clone's soul disassembly rate corresponds to your skill level. At level 50, the clone can exert up to 5% of the main body’s power.]

So the skill applies at a 1/10 ratio of the level.

Right now, my strength is top-tier even among S-class.

5% should be more than enough for A-rank.

“Create clone.”

When I initiated the clone, it asked how much of the soul I wanted to split.

I chose just 1%, and a flash of light appeared before me.

A spiritual being identical to me appeared.

Even its outfit matched mine exactly.

“So this is a clone?”

A sensation I’d never felt before.

The spirit I sent to Asura’s path felt like an entirely separate being, but this clone was fully under my control.

Until now, I had only moved on my own—now I could multitask with my spiritual being.

“This feels weird.”

I spoke through the clone’s mouth.

It felt awkward.

My main and clone mouths opened at the same time, and upon seeing that through the clone’s eyes, I closed the main mouth.

The signal system between my main body and the clone still felt unfamiliar.

Even the sensory input—sight, hearing, smell—was doubled, so adapting wasn’t easy.

If I want to use this clone effectively later, I’ll need lots of practice.

“For now, let’s focus on the fusion.”

[You’re going to put your clone in? That’ll damage your spirit, Master. It’s too risky.]

“No, this one’s different from the spirit I sent to Asura’s Path. I think I’ll recover over time even if I fuse this one.”

The spirit I sent to Asura’s Path had its own independent version of Kim Jiho’s consciousness, but this clone was no more than a puppet.

The one sent to Asura’s Path would cause permanent soul damage if not retrieved—but the clone should recover with time.

“Let’s start with just 1%.”

I opened the Soul Fusion window and inserted the Phoenix.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

In the sacrifice window, I directly controlled my clone to make it jump in.

Then a new message popped up.

[Would you like to fuse the Phoenix with ‘Kim Jiho’s Clone’? They are both Grade A. If the fusion succeeds, the Phoenix will be enhanced.]

Good.

After maxing out the fusion skill level to 100, I proceeded with the fusion.

[The Phoenix has been enhanced.]

[Master... What incredible power. Such pure soul energy…!]

“Nice. Let’s keep going.”

I took off 1% chunks of my clone and fused them with the Phoenix.

Each time the Phoenix was enhanced through fusion, I tried upgrading it by combining it with 100 sacrificial items.

Every time, the message gradually started to change.

At first, it said the chance was absolute.

The second time, it was a very high chance.

The third, just a high chance.

By the fourth and fifth times, failures began to appear with low probability.

“My SP is melting away.”

As my clone disappeared, 1% of my SP was consumed as well.

Still, I had saved up enough over 20 days, so it wasn’t a waste.

Upgrading to SS-rank was more important.

When I fused the tenth clone, failure messages stopped appearing.

[Would you like to upgrade the Phoenix through soul fusion?]

“Yes.”

Is it finally happening?

When I pressed Yes, the Soul Fusion window started shining brightly, unlike any normal fusion.

Flash. Flash.

Sensing something extraordinary, I watched as a message appeared within the light.

[Phoenix has successfully upgraded.]

With that, I had met all the necessary conditions.

[All conditions to upgrade the Soul Fusionist have been cleared.]

[Your Soul Fusionist rank has been raised to S-grade.]

[You’ve met the upgrade conditions for Soul God.]

[Would you like to upgrade to SS-grade Soul God?]

Of course, I pressed Yes.

When I did, the world around me changed completely.

Planet Kalvine.

A place not reinvaded despite being a known SP source for Zeus, due to an unknown being who had taken over Artemis.

Returning there after three weeks, I found their preparations were complete.

Artemis, now in the form of a dark elf with bronzed skin.

Trailing behind her was a legion of scantily-clad nymphs.

It was twilight—when the sun sets.

Not the ideal time for the moon goddess to use her full power, but she had something up her sleeve.

“Apollo. Help me.”

Though the sky was clearly at sunset, the world turned white.

The sky ripped like paper, and a massive chariot burst forth.

It resembled the flame chariot I used to favor.

Size-wise, not much different from when I rode it.

But the horses—each one was snow-white and possessed soul energy fit for lower gods.

Standing behind the seven horses was a man.

His upper body was bare, and his lower half was wrapped in white cloth.

He resembled Zeus but was even more striking.

A man who symbolized pure golden light.

Apollo.

“Yes, Artemis.”

His voice was clear and elegant.

As he appeared, the nymphs behind Artemis shrieked in delight.

“Aah… Lord Apollo.”

“The most beautiful of Olympus.”

“You’re still the sun itself.”

These nymphs, who had been acting lewdly moments ago, now adored him like fangirls at an idol concert.

It was awkward to see.

Apollo ignored the nymphs completely and brought the sun chariot down toward me.

“You are the Soul God?”

“Yes. I’m the Soul God.”

“Unfazed, even in front of two deities.”

“Two deities? To me, you’re the only one who feels like a god. Artemis is just a puppet under someone’s control.”

Apollo.

He’s Artemis’s twin brother, so how would he react to my words?

If he didn’t know she was being controlled, I might be able to use that, so I subtly hinted at it.

Hearing my words, Apollo furrowed his brow.

“Hmm. No wonder Artemis asked me for help…”

He raised his hand.

A giant bow appeared.

A bow made of gold.

The power within it—tremendous.

It could very well be considered a supreme divine artifact.

“You must be erased here.”

“Heh. So you knew?”

“I knew. If it’s the power controlling her…”

“She even gave me a quest—told me to free her. And yet her own brother would just watch?”

“A quest…?”

Apollo glanced at Artemis.

She just shrugged her shoulders.

For a moment, hatred and contempt flickered in Apollo’s eyes.

“…Father will free Artemis himself. Seems she’s grown impatient, being trapped for so long.”

“Hohoho. That’s good news. It means she’s starting to break. Then our plan can move faster.”

Artemis laughed seductively from the side.

Apollo, who had been glaring at her, snapped his fingers.

Fwoooosh!

Artemis was instantly engulfed in flames.

Her dark elf body vanished, and she regenerated into a green-haired nymph.

“What are you doing, Apollo?!”

“Watch your tongue, wraith. You’re nothing but a puppet controlled by your ‘master.’”

“Grrr…”

Faced with Apollo’s terrifying aura, Artemis retreated.

He turned away from her and aimed his bow at me.

“Soul God. Disappear forever with the sunset.”

An arrow began forming on the bow.

The atmosphere instantly grew scorching hot.

A destructive heat that could even burn one’s spirit form.

“Sun Arrow.”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]