Chapter 212

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 212: Soul Sword Evolution (3)

Ever since reaching SSS rank and gaining unlimited SP, I’ve become stronger.

Compared to other gods of the same tier, honestly, I don’t think I have any real rivals.

Except for one guy—Zeus.

That guy is the problem.

At first, I thought he was that powerful just because he’s EX rank...

But Yahweh told me that wasn’t the case.

He’s strong because he obtained a chaos EX-grade divine artifact.

“How did that bastard get his hands on it?”

It’s strange enough that the top god of Olympus, who belonged to the Order faction, would have a chaos artifact...

And it's also suspicious how he managed to get it when even Yahweh has only completed a third of his Order artifact.

Zeus became EX-grade by looping time infinitely, but he hasn’t even completed an EX-grade artifact, has he?

Didn’t he go wild with lightning on Earth, get hit with an SP penalty, and end up sulking in Olympus?

“Who gave it to him? Only Chaos would hand something like that over.”

Since it’s a chaos artifact, it must have been Chaos who gave it to him, right?

But the reason Chaos invaded Earth in the first place was because of Zeus and his infinite time loop.

Seriously.

How does any of this make sense...?

Suddenly, my thoughts shifted to the Lords of Chaos who invaded Earth.

Except for Hades and Hercules, the rest were basically Zeus’s lackeys.

The “Devil with a Smiling Face” guy—yeah, he was totally on Zeus’s side.

Did they hand over the chaos divine artifact?

“No, that doesn’t make sense. A Chaos Lord, even one at god-tier, wouldn’t give up a chaos artifact without approval from someone higher up.”

So who’s higher than them...?

The Left Hand of the Creator?

A transcendent being said to surpass even EX rank.

The God of Chaos, and owner of the SP Store.

Did he give it to him...?

But if that guy had intervened, then why did he help me when I sold off the SP exchange shares—letting me host the auction and providing support?

Thanks to that SP windfall, I managed to overcome a lot of crises on Earth.

If he were on Zeus’s side, he would’ve stopped me from doing that.

After tossing around all these thoughts, I decided to give up.

“Damn it. Can’t even tell who’s on which side anymore. Whatever, let’s just focus on the new Authority for now.”

The Authority of a Neutral divine artifact, "Growth."

The description is simple:

[Growth]

[Basic Authority]

[Enhances all abilities. This Authority activates for gods of SSS rank and above. At SSS rank, one ability can undergo “Focused Growth.” At EX rank, up to four abilities can undergo Focused Growth.]

[Accumulate experience. All experiences you go through will build proficiency and accelerate growth.]

[Once growth reaches a certain level, the next Authority, “Evolution,” will unlock.]

So after Growth comes Evolution.

Too bad there’s no flashy attack skill.

Still, it looks more useful than Order’s Obedience...

“Focused Growth.”

Just like the description says, I tried using Focused Growth.

A message popped up.

[Please select the target for Focused Growth.]

I have to choose the target?

Hmm.

What should I go with?

[Would you like a recommendation to supplement your most vulnerable area?]

A message pops up, seemingly trying to solve my dilemma.

When I pressed yes, advice appeared.

[Scanning the soul of the god 'Kim Jiho'...]

[Your 'consciousness' is the weakest aspect. The low level of consciousness is preventing your soul from expressing even 1% of its potential. You are forcibly suppressing the expansion of your consciousness. It is recommended that you release the suppression and open up your ego.]

I already know that, you punk.

[Then why are you living like that?]

...Huh?

What?

Did I misread that?

It sounded like the message just talked back to me...

[Your eyes are functioning normally.]

What the hell?

This guy’s different from the system windows I’ve dealt with until now.

Can it actually talk to me?

[Your consciousness is in a critical state. It is extremely disconnected from your soul. Abandon your humanity and open yourself up.]

The system keeps urging me to open up.

I already know how.

If I poured in SP like I have been—maybe 100 trillion, or even a quadrillion—the flood of SP would force a transformation in my consciousness.

The "Kim Jiho" ego would be obliterated, leaving behind a new Soul God I don’t even recognize.

[Kim Jiho will not disappear. It is evolution to a higher dimension. You will ascend to a great existence.]

“Screw off, bastard. I want to live like this, okay? I haven’t even lived 30 years as Kim Jiho yet, and you already want to erase my ego? Just shut up and set Focused Growth to my consciousness.”

[Your consciousness is too underdeveloped. Growth will take a long time. Also, if you grow your consciousness through Focused Growth, you’ll stop being the current Kim Jiho anyway.]

“You think I’ll stay the same forever? I’m growing up slowly, becoming a more mature adult step by step.”

[...]

Wow.

Did this guy just type an ellipsis at me?

“You’re a system. Just do what the master says. Why are you talking so much back? You’re the weird one.”

[Tools prefer to serve outstanding masters.]

“Then make me an outstanding master with this Focused Growth.”

[I do not understand why you insist on taking the hard path when there is an easy one.]

This damn system keeps arguing back.

Maybe I should have gone with Order instead.

Tempted to just toss this thing.

[Would you like to set ‘consciousness’ as the target for Focused Growth? This is highly inefficient and may be a waste of time. It is unlikely to help you in your battle with Zeus. In the end, you may be forced to load all your SP and undergo forced evolution into a higher being during a crisis anyway. Despite all this, do you still want to set ‘consciousness’ as the Focused Growth target? Even though you have many other areas to improve, such as SP usage and soul skills?]

The system used to follow my commands just fine.

Now that it’s EX-grade, it’s grown a personality and won’t shut up.

“I am what matters most. The current me. The me as Kim Jiho, not some Soul God. Got it? Do it.”

If I disappear as Kim Jiho by becoming some higher being, then who cares whether I beat Zeus or not?

If I’m gone, it’s all meaningless.

If I die, the world around me dies too—who cares if the Earth gets destroyed after that?

I’ll already be dead.

Unless I had a kid or something—then maybe I’d care.

But I don’t.

[Understood… Setting Focused Growth target to ‘consciousness.’]

Thankfully, the EX-grade divine artifact doesn’t try to defy me any further and finally complies.

Should’ve been this easy from the start.

[To improve Focused Growth efficiency, I have one suggestion.]

“What is it?”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

[Create a soul body that contains Kim Jiho’s consciousness.]

“You mean, make a clone?”

[A clone won’t help much in strengthening consciousness. Instead, create a fully embodied soul form that constantly shares all sensations.]

Hmm… True, clones do feel more like subordinates than actual “me.”

[You can share senses with it and cut them off at will, and it follows your orders mechanically.]

"So, you're saying I should create a soul form that's more like me?"

Hmm...

It’ll cost a bit of SP, but I can make it.

Alright.

Let’s give it a try.

I began forming a soul body to share senses with.

I thought it would be easy at first, but when I actually tried it—it was anything but.

Unlike the disposable, puppet-like clones, creating another version of myself...

It had to be on par with the soul form of Kim Jiho, the substitute and soul god.

"Hmm. This took... quite a bit of SP."

I managed to create it in the end, but it cost a considerable amount of SP.

Well, not that it matters.

I have an unlimited supply anyway.

"I did it. Now what?"

[Now, leave the house.]

"Leave the house? Why? I'm busy controlling soul bodies right now. It’s exhausting managing the soul forms of all the humans around the world."

I'm delicately manipulating them so they don’t fall into Zeus’ hands...

If I leave, the efficiency will drop.

[You can leave that task to the soul form you just created. The experience gained through a clone doesn’t significantly enhance consciousness. You need to go outside and find something to do. That will increase the efficiency of focused reinforcement. Staying indoors only provides limited experiential stimulation.]

"Really?"

So outside activities help with focused reinforcement?

It’s not like I haven’t been active.

I just beat up Michael a bit ago.

[Please enjoy those activities with your main body. Relying only on your clones results in lower experiential efficiency.]

"Still, I don’t feel confident leaving it to No. 2."

[At first, entrusting tasks to the second Kim Jiho may reduce efficiency, but as your usable SP increases, efficiency will surpass the current level.]

I look at the other Kim Jiho.

The one I call “No. 2.”

"What are you looking at?"

I can see it talking, but it still feels like I'm the one speaking.

Even though the clone shared senses, there were subtle differences...

But this—this feels completely the same.

[Managing two complete soul bodies also helps enhance consciousness. Once you get used to it, I recommend adding more.]

Both I and the clone Kim Jiho nod at the system’s suggestion.

It definitely feels different.

I can feel my consciousness strengthening.

Better to head out than stay stuck inside just controlling soul bodies.

"Alright. Then let’s go out. Soul Sword, besides growth, what are your advantages as a weapon?"

[My default name is “Neutral.”]

"What’s with the grand name? From now on, you’re just Soul Sword. Answer the question."

[Yes. I am now completely absorbed into Kim Jiho’s soul form. I’m part of the soul body, allowing for more efficient use of SP.]

Part of my soul form, huh?

Still, it feels... a bit cold.

"Hey. What’s that about?"

[However, Kim Jiho, you are not currently using your power properly. In terms of power usage, nothing has changed from before.]

"...Nothing?"

[Correct.]

So aside from the core ability “Growth,” it’s not even really a weapon anymore?

That means I basically just lost a weapon I used to enjoy.

"Hey. So Soul Sword isn’t even outputting like before?"

[It stopped being efficient as a Soul Sword once your SP exceeded 1 trillion.]

I see.

I guess that's expected since I can basically crush High god-level beings now.

If I put my mind to it, I could destroy a whole divine realm in no time.

The only problem is Zeus.

Why’d he have to mess with the Divine Artifact of Chaos?

The ones who gave me Soul Sword clearly warned me not to touch the Chaos artifact, but Zeus chose it, so I didn’t have a choice.

"Soul Sword. Do you know who sent you?"

[That information is currently restricted.]

"How can I unlock it?"

[The restriction will be lifted once you acquire the authority 'Evolution.']

So for now, I need to focus on Growth.

"Hey. You're doing well."

"You’re watching me while saying that."

"Fair enough."

I chatted with No. 2 and packed Ares’ Sealing Stone before leaving the house.

Now that I’m out, I’m not sure where to go.

[From now on, focused reinforcement begins...]

With that, Soul Sword goes silent.

A clear sign: “You’re on your own now.”

"My temple... Looks like Apollo and Artemis are working on it."

I looked toward the direction of the temple, where immense soul power was radiating.

It’s invisible to the human eye, but someone awakened to A or B rank could likely sense it.

No need to go there.

"Come to think of it, I should inspect the Greek skies again."

Up until now, I only examined them through the media or via my clones.

If I can analyze that vortex of thunder and block it, I should.

"Let’s go. To Greece."

My soul body flashed, and the scenery around me changed.

Like teleportation.

Now that I’ve surpassed 10 trillion SP, I can instantly travel from Seoul to Greece.

"Is that it?"

The Parthenon built atop the hill of Athens.

Above the ruined temple, a massive vortex of lightning swirled violently.

Looking at it in person... makes analysis feel more feasible.

Vrrr...

Just as I was about to begin the analysis, Ares’ Sealing Stone in my pocket started vibrating.

What now?

[So..u... l... god...]

Ares suddenly spoke to me.

After keeping his mouth shut all this time...

What got into him?

[Can you take me into the temple?]

"That’s a bit much. How can I trust you?"

[Then... at least show me the inside of the temple.]

"Show the inside of the temple."

And then, a screen appears before my eyes.

The inside of the Parthenon temple was completely empty.

"There’s nothing there? Was it always like this?"

[Impossible.]

"Then find something."

The screen pans around, then moves somewhere.

At the far end, it settles on...

"Is that... a statue of Zeus?"

The Parthenon temple was entirely empty.

And at its deepest point, a statue of Zeus, gleaming with thunder, stood proudly.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]