Within the mortal plane, a poor naked man has been tiredly walking for hours.

That's me. I've been walking for hours.

A few hours earlier, I’ve managed to enter the forest after exiting the plains.

While walking through the forest, I kept thinking of my status board.

Those effects and traits are bothering me a lot.

How can I be sealed?

How can a god be sealed?

And who or what the hell can seal me? 

I keep thinking of why I got sealed.

It’s probably one of my siblings, only they have the power to do something like that... But we were suddenly attacked... Was that part of it?

In the end, my thoughts wander towards my siblings and how they fit in this conundrum.

I’ve only narrowed it down to Azael, the only stick-up-his-ass god within all of us, but we all swore to be only evil and good to the mortals, not to each other, after all, we are all family.

But I can’t rule them out, other than my siblings, no one has the power to be able to significantly harm or seal us.

Well, for now, I’ve got no time to think about that.

I can’t even use the smallest speck of my power.

My race has been changed from Primordial God to Fallen God and I can’t sense any of my divine mana or even just mana.

It’s like my body’s been changed to a mortal's body. Actually, it's worse because even goblins have an innate amount of mana, albeit small.

While thinking, I've reached a conclusion.

If my body has regressed to that of a mortal then I can’t do anything about this seal.

Unless I find a way to recover my old power, I will never be able to singlehandedly remove this seal.

I might as well give up trying to go back to the well of creation.

Despite this massive problem, I can't ignore the fact that somewhere deep inside me is happy, happy at this horrible predicament.

Ugh, I feel horrible.

If my siblings saw me right now they would think I’m the evil god, after all, I’m smiling ear to ear.

Maybe the Creator is finally having pity upon his caged son.

I have to admit, to be mortal, the thought is exhilarating.

Despite my excitement, my mind wanders to my immediate needs.

I really need to find something to cover my naked body.

I pick up a rock and start flicking it upward and whatever direction it falls to then that's where I'll continue walking.

It drops to the ground.

North huh... 

I go north and while walking, I continue to study my status board.

Every creature in the world has a status board, even the weakest of ants.

It was a rule I decided was needed since Branac and I wanted to be able to quantify the world.

I and my siblings can't be quantified since the numbers don't matter at that point.

I guess my stats are more quantifiable now.

I proceed to study my stats while traveling.

There are five types of skills and each one of them follows a specific set of rules.

Unique skills, like the name implies, are unique to the creature. These are very rare skills and most creatures that have them usually went to great lengths just to get them.

For me to have four of them means that I literally am a black swan, even when they're sealed away.

Innate skills are based on one's race and ability. I'm not showing any innate skills, does that mean this race type is weak? Or maybe they haven't revealed themselves yet.

Extra skills are skills learned from external factors. They are usually skills that are outside of one's ability focus. An example would be a warrior that loves to hunt might develop a skill that allows them to sense wildlife.

Unfortunately, I never had such skills since before this predicament, I was a god. 

Magic skills are spells that I know and can cast. It only registers spells that you have at least cast once.

My Magic skills are empty because while I know every single spell written and not written, I have not formally cast a spell with this new body. 

Custom skills have no origin. This is because they have been created by a single person to be unique. Custom skills cannot be copied unless taught by the original owner. 

It seems I don't have any Custom skills.

Technically skills have a base rank. A weak and easily learned skill would have a lower base rank and a lower skill cap but anyone can easily increase their proficiency in it.

All skills are quantified through the ranking system we created and it gives an approximate level of their power. 

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The following hierarchy is used to rank skills: Normal, Rare, Unique, Legendary, Divine, Godly and Ultimate.

Ultimate skills stand above Godly and are usually unique or innate abilities acquired since birth but there are extremely rare cases for blessed heroic-like figures to create a custom skill that can reach this rank.

Ultimate skills cannot be trumped by any other skill lesser than an Ultimate one. 

It is obvious that they are rare but since I am a god, I was birth into the world with two Ultimate skills.

Skill ranks can go higher by increasing their proficiency. It usually includes constant practice.

While I continue browsing my status board, I see a brown object rustling a bush. What is that?

----------------------------------------

Inside a lavish and majestic palace, a king and his advisor were watching a knight walk respectfully towards them.

Immediately the knight kneels and speaks.

“Your majesty, the reports have come back.

It seems the Knights have come back.

The knight who spoke was currently kneeling a few feet in front of the king.

The king nods towards me and I step forward to receive the report.

I carefully inspect it but immediately hand it to the king.

The king declines and orders me to read it.

I smile. 

It seems the king's trust of me has risen once more.

I bow respectfully and start to read the reports out loud.

Oh... This is new...

At first, I thought it would be another demonic incursion but it seems that something far more interesting happened. 

The reports claim that the heavens parted and bright light, that made the sun seem dark, appeared.

That bright light was also accompanied by a huge ball of energy and it came falling down towards the plains.

This is big news...

Frowning, I approach the king and whisper its contents to him.

The king intently listens to my version of the report. I made sure to explain how 'dangerous' it would be to let the news spread.

The king frowns upon hearing the news. He proceeds to ask for my opinion.

"What shall we do then Argentis?"

"My lord, we cannot allow this information to spread out... I suggest we... silence our informants..."

The king frowns grimly but he understands and nods slowly.

He stands up and calls the attention of the knight. 

The knight looks expectantly.

“Sir Aeroth, your services to the kingdom will not be forgotten..."

A pause happens and Sir Aeroth is slightly confused.

"Unfortunately, this matter is not something that can be known to the people.”

The king’s facial expression looks grim. 

Sir Aeroth seems to misunderstand and proudly declares.

“Yes, your majesty! I will keep this matter a secret even at the cost of my life.” 

It seems that knights are truly only good for their brawn. At least, it is amusing to poke fun at the loyalty of fools.

I look at the king and silently laugh since I know of this poor knight's fate. 

“Yes and I intend to keep it that way”

The king raises his eyebrow and signals the guards.

Suddenly, a hidden door opens and a troop of extravagantly armored soldiers goes to arrest sir Aeroth.

Sir Aeroth's face suddenly contorts in confusion as he is suddenly held down by a dozen soldiers. 

“Your Majesty! What is the meaning of this?”

The king is silent and he appears distant from the knight.

Aeroth looks around for help but in the end, his gaze falls to me.

Aeroth's face contorts in realization as he finally understands what’s happening. His confusion suddenly turns to rage as he glares at me, who is beside the king. 

“It’s you, you snake! You’ve been poisoning our Majesty's thoughts."

Sir Aeroth, who suddenly screamed, looks at the king pleadingly.

"Your Majesty, please reconsider, do not listen to this snake’s evil words!”

Aeroth's words fall on deaf ears as the king stares ahead of him while I smile.

Once Aeroth realizes that the king will not help him, his shoulders slump and he loses the strength to stand.

The king signals them to leave.

Aeroth is dragged away without any resistance.

When the group of soldiers left, the king signals the other guards to leave us alone.

They left without hesitation.

Once we were alone, I purr in the king's ears.

“My King.” 

The king intently listens. His face which was originally stoic is full of stress and fear. When the guards went away, it seems the facade of the king also left.

“This situation is problematic, according to the scriptures, when the heavens open like that, it means the gods have decided to directly intervene in the mortal world” 

I pretend to give a troubled appearance and the king stares at me seriously.

“When the gods had done this before, it always meant that something big will happen”

The king nods understandingly and looks at me with a grim look.

Yes... that's the look I'm looking for.

I continue to prod the king and make sure that whatever I ask will fall under my wants.

"This could mean a prosperous age, a new hero or..."

I purposefully trail my voice to beguile the king. 

This angers the king and he shouts.

"Or what?!"

The king is as impatient as ever.

Chuckling, I continue my sentence.

"... a catastrophic disaster."

The king's face hardens as he hears this.

In a pleading voice, the king asks for my opinion once more.

“What should we do Argentis?”

I've got him now.

I relay my plans that will fit with the king's ideas and my own plan.

“I shall organize a troop of soldiers, to first scout the area and see if any artifacts are there."

The king nods.

"The small troop shall be led by me myself. Should there be any artifacts there, I will present them to you, my king”

I happily place a hand on the king's shoulder, securing him. He takes my hand and grips it tightly.

The king is happy knowing that his trusty advisor is doing his best to help him.

“My king, I promise you, with me around, your name will be celebrated for years and years to come. It will be legendary."

The king smiles at the thought and he nods happily.

“I don’t know where I’d be without you Argentis."

A smile appears on my face.

"I wouldn't know where I'd be without you, my lord." 

Within this smile of mine are my true thoughts. 

The king is a fool.

After the death of his older brother, the true king, and his ascension to the throne, it was an easy task to manipulate the current king. 

He had a weak mind and low self-esteem.

Just give him a few encouraging words and he immediately drank it like it’s the sweetest nectar he ever tasted.

When I left the king's room, I was approached by a knight.

The knight respectfully bows and asks me a question.

"Lord Argentis shall I arrange a troop of soldiers?”

“No, I do not trust these kingdom lapdogs to keep even a single copper coin.”

The knight nods and asks.

“Then Lord Argentis who will we arrange then”

The knight didn’t dare to question Argentis but his curiosity was still rampantly eating him ever since the heavens opened.

Not only him but every race, and every kingdom, either good or evil, was riled up by the opening of the heavens.

I reply with a quiet voice.

“Azael’s Hand.”

The mention of the name sent chills down the spine of the knight.

“My Lord, why them?”

It was apparent that the knight greatly feared this organization.

“Silence”

I myself feared this organization due to their horrible reputation but their strength is nothing to scoff at. 

It is rumored that every member, even the weakest ones, is infused with demonic blood making them superhuman.

With them as my guards, I will be untouchable during the journey and I can suppress any other groups that come from the other kingdoms. 

Hehehehe......

This will be an exciting expedition.

----------------------------------------

Within the forest where I was previously walking, I suddenly emerged from a large concentrate of foliage with no clothes on.

I started running.

Why! Why is it that the first living thing I encounter is a bear, not only just a bear but a hungry one.

I start cursing as I run but I bear the fast footsteps of the bear.

“Shit shit shit shit shit shit”

A few moments later, a gigantic pissed off black bear came following through from the thick foliage.

I quickly cover my ears as it roars.

Shit, it’s getting closer.

I suddenly see its gigantic paw, that has enough strength to snap a human’s spine in half, glide towards me. 

I roll forward and managed to dodge getting snapped in two.

It didn’t discourage the massive bear though.

It threw another swipe.

" Urgh!"

I groan in pain as I fail to dodge the second swipe. I feel sharp claws penetrate my skin and rend my back.

I fell to the ground groaning from the excessive pain and despite my perilous situation, I’m kind of enjoying this feeling of weakness, it gives me a reason to become stronger and overcome this gigantic and lethal obstacle. 

[Gained Title: Masochist]

“…..”