~ Support & Read 11 Advanced Chapters on my Patreon
<><><><>
Meanwhile, Athena and Yahweh, having heard the same explanation, had immediately focused their attention on the conceptual device known as the Star Grail.
The throne of the One True God.
From the Gods' behavior, they too could sense that its power was real. So what did it mean to be the One True God of this world? To hold that title, one would need power that surpassed all other Gods.
By their analysis, the God of War, Artosh, was at least as strong as Athena.
And what kind of being could surpass her?
A transcendent, Creator-level God. It was the only answer they could come up with.
This revealed the true value of the Star Grail. It could grant someone the power of a Creator God. While that power might be confined to this world—it was an unparalleled opportunity to comprehend that level of existence.
Athena and Yahweh believed that with such an artifact, even the most average God could ascend to the apex of divinity, with a high probability of transcending their world entirely.
It was a direct ticket to becoming a Creator God.
At this thought, both Goddesses turned to Mika, their eyes shining with excitement.
"Mika, we have to get the Star Grail."
"She's right! This is an even rarer opportunity than what Yahweh experienced. We absolutely cannot let it pass."
"Don't worry," Mika replied, his own determination matching theirs.
"I will get my hands on the Star Grail. I won't let it slip away."
—————
The Star Grail.
The conceptual device that represented the throne of the One True God.
Ever since learning of its existence, the once-leisurely Athena and Yahweh had become models of diligence. Mika's original goal had simply been to defeat Artosh—a battle they were not particularly worried about.
While they might have had some concerns before, after obtaining the God Cloth, not even the two of them combined were a match for Mika.
The armor granted him near-absolute defense, making him virtually unbeatable.
And if he couldn't be defeated, he would inevitably win.
They didn't think Artosh could possibly match Mika's infinite stamina. Their role was simply to hold off any other Gods who might try to interfere.
But now, with the Star Grail as the prize, they had become far more proactive. They weren't like the Gods of this world, who would fight to the death over a throne that was just sitting there, waiting to be claimed.
It was simply illogical.
With a clear goal in mind, they immediately went on the offensive.
Athena, Yahweh, and Alfia began to travel the world, infiltrating the territories of the various races to gather intelligence, their primary targets being the creators of those races—the Old Deus.
—————
A year passed.
To beings like Mika and the Goddesses, whose lifespans were immeasurable—a year was but a fleeting moment. But for Riku and his people, it was an eternity.
In an age where almost no one lived to see old age, a year was a significant portion of their lives. How many more years did they have?
But for the people of this settlement, this past year had been the happiest of their lives.
Though Mika hadn't magically expanded their living space, he had taught them countless invaluable technologies—techniques that had taken other human civilizations hundreds—even thousands of years to develop.
For a people who were barely surviving, this knowledge was a gift beyond imagination.
The entire settlement was abuzz with activity, the once-idle populace now dedicating all their energy to mastering these new skills.
Everyone wanted a better life.
Meanwhile, with Schwi's assistance, Riku's expedition teams brought back a steady stream of useful materials from all over the world: Food, Seeds, Raw materials, Tools.
The settlement's standard of living skyrocketed.
As a result, the people's gratitude towards Mika and his companions knew no bounds. With Riku's deliberate promotion of their deeds—they were welcomed as heroes.
—————
"Big brother Mika, what's the name of this plant?"
"That's a peony, little one."
In a corner of the human settlement, Mika was surrounded by a group of small children, all eagerly pointing at the various plants in a picture book.
It was a book Mika had picked up in another world, filled with illustrations that captivated the children who had never seen the outside world.
The text was in a different language, one he had taught to Schwi.
With her help, Riku and Couronne were quickly learning it, and in turn, teaching it to others. For now, however, their focus was on technical manuals.
A book of plant encyclopedia was, for all intents and purposes, useless.
But the pictures were a source of endless wonder for the children. And so, they often flocked to Mika, pestering him with questions.
Today was no different.
Sitting in a corner, Mika patiently named the plants for them, a gentle smile on his face. Passersby would look upon the scene with warm smiles of their own.
It was a heartwarming sight.
Just then, Mika suddenly stood up. "Alright, little ones, that's enough for today."
He ruffled each of their heads in turn, said his goodbyes, and returned to his room.
There, he found Athena and the others, who had been gone for some time.
"Yo, you're all back. How was the harvest?"
"Quite fruitful," Athena replied with a smile.
As the commander of this operation, she had been busy. Ever since learning of the Star Grail, she and Yahweh had been planning their strategy. Through their analysis, they had quickly deduced the method to summon it.
They had to pierce the planet's core.
All the Gods of this world were born from this planet. It was, without a doubt, the entirety of this world, its very essence. Once they understood that, everything became clear.
A treasure as powerful as the Star Grail had to be located at the heart of the world's essence—the planet itself.
Therefore, by striking the planet's core, they could draw out the Star Grail and claim it.
But before that, Mika had to defeat the God of War.
According to the intelligence they had recently gathered, Artosh was undoubtedly the strongest of the Gods, his power a full tier above the others.
Mika had to defeat him first before he could claim the prize.
After all, he was not a native of this world. He had to account for the possibility that the Star Grail might choose one of the native Old Deus over him.
—————
Mika remembered it clearly.
In the original story, Riku endured countless hardships to achieve his goal. He instigated wars, then used them to his advantage, manipulating the other races into a final, devastating conflict that ultimately pierced the planet's core.
The Star Grail appeared before him.
But he never obtained it.
The arm he reached out with disintegrated into ash. And in that moment of despair, in response to his desperate prayer, the God of Games, born from his own yearning, took the Star Grail and ascended to the throne of the One True God.
He instantly restored the world, fulfilling Riku's ultimate wish:
To end the eternal war.
From this outcome, Mika instantly deduced that the Star Grail could only be wielded by a Divine being. While the Imanity of that era weren't yet a true "race," they were fundamentally human. In a sense, only the Gods were truly special.
What was the One True God?
How was a One True God chosen?
The Star Grail—this conceptual device for selecting the One True God—could only be used by the Gods.
Mika didn't know if this was because the Gods, as "Great Beings," could withstand its immense power, or if the Star Grail's original purpose was simply to select a One True God from among them, making non-Divine beings ineligible.
He had no way of knowing.
If it were the former, then all he had to do was defeat the God of War, Artosh, to complete his own final transformation.
But if it were the latter…
He would have to use a method he had hoped to avoid:
—Consumption.
While developing the Falna system with Yahweh, Mika had determined that the final step in a mortal's ascension to Godhood was to defeat and consume a God.
To bridge the gap between mortal and Divine, to facilitate that final transformation, required an immense amount of energy, a power that was difficult for mortals to obtain.
Therefore, consuming a God was the most efficient path.
Of course, this "consumption" referred only to a God's power and their divine essence. To consume their mind as well would be to invite madness. After all, compared to a God's mind, honed through millennia of experience, a newly ascended God was still…vulnerable.
As the creator of this system, Mika wouldn't build in such a fatal flaw.
Was it cruel?
Perhaps. But the Falna system, at its core, was a system of slaughter. Every level-up required a Great Feat, an act of violence. This was simply taking that concept to its logical conclusion: claiming the power of the fallen.
This was why Mika had no intention of sharing this system with the world. It was a secret weapon, reserved for his most trusted companions.
As long as the number of users was limited, carefully selected by Mika himself, and with an infinite number of worlds to choose from, he could ensure that their targets were always evil, always deserving of their fate. This would prevent the system from spiraling out of control, from a desperate search for enemies leading to the targeting of innocents, or even…each other.
However, that was a concern for another time.
Mika had never intended to use the consumption aspect of the system.
With his infinite magic power and the resources from countless worlds, he didn't need a defeated enemy's power to complete his own transformation.
But now, he needed something else from Artosh:
His God Essence.
<><><><>
~ 11 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon
https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)