Chapter 201

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 201: Instead, Promotion (3)

[Get lost.]

I replied casually.

Soon after, I received a communication from Hermes.

[Mr. Kim Jiho. May I have a moment of your time?]

Hah.

These bastards...

Let’s hear what nonsense he’s got to say.

As I connected the call, Hermes’s haggard face appeared.

Quite a different impression from his previously confident demeanor.

“What do you want?”

[Mr. Kim Jiho. Have you heard Lord Zeus’s proposal?]

“You mean that bullshit?”

[Please, think about it calmly, Mr. Kim Jiho. If you give us that share, we will never target Earth again. We won’t target you. We’ll completely withdraw and create a world of our own.]

Hermes pleaded desperately with a sincere expression.

But it didn’t really move me.

How many times have I already been deceived by them?

And Zeus’s ultimate goal is the SP Exchange itself.

If he obtains 0.9% of the shares and secures a steady SP supply, he’ll become a formidable enemy.

Even if he makes a vow, he could overturn any contract with the power of a Creator.

That’s how the minor gods were duped.

“No need.”

[Mr. Kim Jiho. If you sell that 0.9% share, you’ll gain an immense amount of SP. Can you handle it? All that soul energy? Your very personality may be swept away.]

What he said wasn’t entirely wrong...

But I had no reason to agree with Hermes.

“I’m a Soul God, you know? You’re worried about me handling SP control?”

[Please reconsider... If we back off, you’ll rule Earth as the sole god with 99% of the shares. There’ll be no need for conflict.]

“No, bring it on. I don’t want to leave any threats behind.”

Even after that, Hermes desperately tried to persuade me.

But when I completely refused, he finally began to add a subtle threat.

[…This is also a final ultimatum. If you reject this proposal, Olympus will use all its might to destroy you.]

“Weren’t you going to do that anyway? There’s no point in talking further. I reject all your proposals.”

[So that’s your answer…]

At my complete refusal, Hermes smiled.

A face that looked like he had given up.

Then, his soul form began to change.

Crackle. Crackle…

Black Thunder.

Dark lightning surged from his body.

[Heh... I knew it was impossible from the start. To carry out a task with impossible conditions. Father Zeus… How cruel you are…]

Hermes’s entire body was engulfed in darkness.

His soul form began to shatter into pieces.

Did he really stake his soul body on convincing me?

Why do something so insane…?

Was it Zeus’s coercion?

Hermes must be Zeus’s son, yet his soul form was crumbling pathetically.

Crackle...

Hermes’s form completely vanished.

Dark lightning took his place, and the communication ended.

Hermes.

Is he really gone like that…?

Zeus.

That bastard’s treatment of his own kind is horrendous.

Even if Hermes was his son…

This only strengthens my conviction.

You can’t trust a guy who throws away his own children like trash.

Zeus is an enemy I must destroy.

[The attack will now begin…]

Hermes’s final message arrived.

Maybe sent just before his death—it cut off awkwardly.

Is the invasion about to begin in earnest…?

I checked in with each of my avatars dispatched to various worlds.

No abnormalities for now.

“Oink. Master. The auction preparations are complete. The venue has been secured.”

As the call ended, the golden pig appeared.

Bringing me good news.

“Oh? Where is it?”

“The SP Shop provided the venue. The transaction will take place on a deserted planet. You should send an avatar. Oink.”

“From the SP Shop?”

“Yes. ‘The Left Hand of the Creator’ has shown great interest in this transaction. They said they’d block interference from other EX-grade beings. Oink.”

The Left Hand of the Creator—the highest deity of the Chaos faction.

Even the lords of Chaos, beings of mid level, revere him.

Isn’t that guy the least trustworthy of all?

“If he changes his mind, it’s all over, isn’t it?”

“He said he can’t hold both the SP Shop and the SP Exchange. Oink. He also said he no longer needs SP.”

“Even EX-rank beings value SP, though.”

“He transcends EX… he’s on a completely different level. Beyond the system. Oink.”

There are levels even above the Creator?

He’s called The Left Hand of the Creator, but he’s stronger than the Creator?

Reading my expression, the golden pig elaborated.

“The ‘Creator’ in his title refers to the true Creator—the one who made the entire universe. Not just a creator of a single world or planet. Oink.”

“Damn. He’s that high up?”

“Yes. Still, just in case, you should send an avatar. Oink.”

Yeah.

No need to go myself.

I summoned an avatar and synced with it.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes. Opening the portal. Oink.”

As I stepped through the portal, I emerged onto a stage.

It looked like a modern theater, with a vast audience before me.

Every seat was packed.

The crowd buzzed with chatter.

“The stage is old-fashioned. It wasn’t like this at the last auction.”

“Seems the Soul God was born on a primitive world. They tailored the stage to suit him.”

“Really? Do soul-type awakeners appear more often on primitive worlds?”

“Could be. In fully developed worlds, they might not even be born.”

Some were belittling Earth’s civilization as primitive.

“No SP, huh? How’d you manage to show up here?”

“Look who’s talking. Weren’t you the one begging for a truce because you ran out of SP?”

“Who begged? What nonsense. You’ll pay for that after the auction.”

Enemies growling at each other after running into one another.

Hundreds of beings were chatting away noisily like a bustling marketplace, with no concern for dignity.

These people…

Wait.

On closer inspection, they looked like avatars too, but each one gave off an overwhelming presence.

Each and every one of them…

Was far stronger than a mid-tier god.

They were on a completely different level.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Their appearances varied greatly, and many weren’t even humanoid, but all of them had overwhelming power.

Were all of them EX-rank?

I scanned the room.

No one looked like Zeus.

Well, maybe he had disguised himself.

"I greet the Creator who has reached the pinnacle of the universe."

Suddenly, a figure appeared beside me.

It was Hades, dressed sharply in a suit.

He wasn’t giggling like usual.

He was extremely polite.

Every gesture was full of discipline.

"We will now begin the auction for the SP Exchange of the Soul God. The person beside me is the Soul God himself,"

Hades announced.

Then I heard voices from the audience.

"That’s supposed to be the Soul God…?"

"Heh. No way. It must be an avatar or disguise."

"No, from what I had heard, that really was his true form. I had done some research beforehand."

"What? Living like that? He must not have cared much about appearance. Humans tended to obsess over looks."

"He probably transcended all that, dedicating himself to endless training. That’s how he must’ve risen to the level of a high-tier god as the Soul God."

They were judging my appearance.

Still, the comments that followed were surprisingly favorable.

Since I had already stopped caring about how I looked, I waited quietly for Hades to continue.

"O Enlightened Soul God, I humbly asked if I might pose a question."

"Go ahead,"

I replied.

"You said all restrictions on the SP Exchange had been lifted… was that truly the case?"

"It was. Since my awakening, all limitations had been removed. Though I couldn’t withdraw or use it at will."

"Forgive me, but please confirm that for the Creators present here, in your name. We needed to be sure before beginning the auction."

"Gladly,"

I answered.

I repeated what I had said earlier in front of the gathering of Creators.

Once I displayed the message I had received from the system, the theater's atmosphere heated up.

"No limits, really."

"And the SP Exchange spanned the entire universe… something like this wouldn’t appear again for an eternity."

"Start the auction. Hurry!"

"Start it!"

The audience roared with excitement.

They were truly fired up.

"Even for me, who had overseen auctions for a long time, this was a first. Then, let’s start with the initial price."

He raised his hand.

A number appeared.

1,000,000,000,000,000.

A quadrillion.

As the starting price.

"One quadrillion. Those who wished to bid..."

Before Hades could finish his sentence, the number changed.

1 became 2.

It doubled instantly.

"Are you kidding me?"

Someone muttered—and the number changed again.

2 became 4.

Half the Creators in the audience vanished.

"Four quadrillion… An astronomical amount. More than half had already been eliminated for lack of assets."

"Heh. And they came to bid on SP Exchange shares with that little?"

A voice mocked.

And the number changed again.

10,000,000,000,000,000.

Ten quadrillion.

Seriously?

It had already started at a crazy number, but now it was in the quintillions.

It felt surreal.

Like I was watching from across the river, detached.

The number kept climbing.

And gods kept disappearing.

One by one, they vanished…

Until only five remained.

The bid had already exceeded 2 quintillion.

"2.4 quintillion."

With that announcement, three more vanished.

Wow.

The last two gods stared each other down.

One wore a stiff expression.

The other, a smile.

"Are you sure you wanted to spend your entire fortune here, Master of Sirius? You had many enemies."

"Hmm..."

"Why not yield to me? I wished to move beyond the EX-rank."

"If you insisted so earnestly, I supposed I must."

Swoosh.

One of the two vanished.

The final remaining bidder was an old man-looking god.

He rose from the audience and slowly walked onto the stage.

"Greetings, Soul God,"

He said.

He gave me a slight bow.

But I couldn’t respond.

I couldn't breathe.

I had thought I’d transcended such things in soul form—but no.

His overwhelming presence crushed me. I couldn’t move an inch.

I had thought the world was beneath me as an SSS-rank Deity…

But this god…

What was this?

Was this the power of a Creator?

I felt like an ant before a human.

Even as a Soul God—a special class—I was being overwhelmed.

This wasn’t good.

I tried to focus my power and break free.

I still had my rationality.

If I could just move the SP...

"Hm? Oh my, still a Deity?"

At that moment, the old man withdrew his pressure.

His presence dropped to the level of a Deity.

He eased it on his own, before I could even resist.

"Whew."

I could breathe again…

But now I was deeply alert.

So this was a Creator’s power?

Granted, this one was probably the strongest among the hundreds of Creators.

Still, if Zeus gave off even half—no, even a tenth—of this pressure…

It wouldn’t be easy.

"You look troubled,"

He said.

"Creators… EX-ranks… they truly were different. Knowing that my enemy was a Creator, I couldn’t help but be cautious."

"Heh. Soul God, you must have been low on SP. To say you were cautious..."

The old man chuckled in disbelief.

He looked to Hades.

"Let’s proceed with the transaction."

"Understood, Great One,"

Hades replied.

The old man extended a hand toward the number.

The 24,000,000,000,000,000 displayed began to decrease rapidly.

"I had made an enormous expenditure. But thanks to you, I now had a shot at a promotion I had given up on. I thanked you."

"You were EX-rank, yet there was a rank even beyond that?"

"There was always another sky above the sky,"

He replied with a weary tone.

The leading digit dropped from 2 to 1.

"Did you say your enemy was a Creator?"

As the number shrank, the old man struck up a conversation again, perhaps out of boredom.

"Yes."

"How foolish. To pick a fight with the Soul God… he must have been newly promoted to EX-rank."

"Correct. He had only recently become a Creator."

"If he had the proper information, he would’ve never dared provoke you. How foolish… Hm? Oh ho… Yet it seemed your enemy still had a sliver of hope."

The old man looked at me and made that remark, as if he had seen through something.

A sliver of hope…?

For Zeus?

"A sliver of hope?"

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]