For the next three weeks, we all trained in the various arts that we had decided upon. Dana and I each made ten individual summons, agreeing that we wanted to save our last slot to make a cooperative summon involving everyone from the citadel. Of course, we could have made more than the suggested twelve that the information mentioned, but the information specifically suggested that number for a reason.
For myself, I created monsters with the concepts of Space, Time, Life, Death, Fire, Ice, Armor, Blade, Despair, and Hope. Vivi mentioned that there was a way to combine the beasts created with this style, so I created them in pairs following this pattern. According to her, the ultimate expression of the style is to combine all twelve beasts into one apocalyptic monster, which is referred to as the true ‘Beast of the End’.
Granted, that rather confused me, given that the limit for a being’s domains was nine at the highest. The information in the style specifically suggested twelve beasts with different concepts, so my guess was that there was some method of combining the concepts to create more powerful domains as opposed to simply stacking them on top of one another.
As for the beasts that Dana created… I honestly didn’t know too much. After we made our plans for what to do, we began training in different lobbies. I didn’t have the chance to see any of her summons, besides the one we created together.
For my real world counterpart, it took me three weeks simply to create a ki path that would allow me to use Elemental Embodiment fluidly with my Ki of Beginning. After that, I was able to maintain a pseudo-elemental form as long as I wanted, and could properly practice the different techniques contained within the style. There were still some slight differences between the original style and the version that I modified, but it was enough to carry the same meaning.
Once we were done training to a satisfactory level, it was time to create the promotional trailer for the arts. To do this, we would need to acquire a few sacrificial monster gods. Although we would be using gods on the weaker end of the spectrum, the idea was to show that the arts we were practicing were capable of contending even against gods without using divine power.
Naturally, we had not trained enough to fully master any of the arts that we had practiced, as we had not had nearly enough time to do so. By my estimate, I could practice a single art for a year straight and only reach a moderate degree of mastery, unless I used certain abilities to cheat. If anything, the five of us could all be considered as beginners. However, this was why we were only fighting against the weaker gods.
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After the release of the new currency, the economy of the world shook. Items that had been seen as the most valuable due to their sacrificial profit to the highest-rank gods of the Greater Pantheon plummeted in value, while those that were considered valuable before the creation of the divine tokens became valuable once again. Things such as silver and gold, created through the power of Tubrock. These items were previously quite easy to obtain due to how cheap Tubrock’s currency was.
As expected, the biggest impact was on the food industry. Many experienced farmers saw this as a way for them to turn a profit, offering their produce to the gods instead of the people. This caused a food shortage to begin to take shape, forcing people to buy food items off of the Boundless Caravan, either from places like the Metong’s Network or the Greater Pantheon itself.
It was needless to say that Accalia was quite busy during this time, having to hunt down a large variety of monsters in order to keep up with the demand being imposed on her for meat products. While Tryval had his garden to automatically grow items with his divine power, Accalia’s domains did not allow for anything like that. After all, she was not the Goddess of Livestock, but the Goddess of the Hunt. In order for her to obtain materials, she had to do so by hunting her prey.
“Dale!” Accalia called out, all but collapsing against the table where everyone was sitting in the Citadel. It was clear that she was exhausted, her chest heaving as she took panting breaths. “Need… help…”
“Is everything alright, Lady Accalia?” Tsubaki asked, one of her silver avatars immediately helping Accalia into a chair. They had just gathered to begin talking about their progress in training when the lycan goddess appeared before them.
“No, everything is not alright!” Accalia shook her head rapidly. Even now, thin streams of light shot out of her back like arrows, disappearing into the void. “I’ve had nonstop orders all week, more than ten times the usual number!”
The Keeper’s face scrunched up at that. “Ah… we took into account Tryval needing to sell food, but we forgot to plan for your situation, didn’t we? Okay, what can we do to help?”
“Assistants!” Accalia lifted her head to stare at the Keeper. “Like the others, I need backup! They can share my divinity, I don’t mind. But I can’t keep trying to find a hundred different monsters a minute at all hours of the day. Even if I’m making a profit in divine energy, my mind is on the verge of breaking! You think handling prayers was bad? I have to track individual monsters, sometimes of specified ages, hunt them, skin them, gut them and clean them, and then send the relevant parts to people that buy them all in a matter of seconds.”
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The Keeper thought about it for a moment, before giving a small nod. “I think I have an idea.” He said, gesturing to the others. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
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Upon my arrival in the Admin Room, Accalia all but pounced at me, clinging to my arm. “Idea, share, now!” She shouted desperately, staring up at me.
I smiled faintly, patting her on the head. “Your assistants are going to have a far more direct impact on the world than the others, so we can handle this in one of two ways, each with the same general ending theme in mind.”
“First, we give you a group of custom-made assistants like the others, but then you help them quickly train up to a level where they can take some of the pressure off of you with their incarnations.” Accalia nodded her head quickly, as if already willing to agree to that idea.
“The other option is for you to select people among the most talented priests and hunters that worship you, and help them ascend to godhood under the condition of helping you manage your orders. Both options would lead to the formation of Accalia’s Hunting Squad, it would just be a matter of whether you wanted them to be Companions or mortal gods.”
Accalia hesitated for a moment when she heard that. “Mortal gods wouldn’t be able to keep up with the demand, would they..?”
“That’s where you make it up with numbers.” I explained, guiding Accalia to the couch. “On the other hand, if I simply buy you assistants, or bring those mortals to the Admin Room, it could take months or years for them to get to a level where they can hunt powerful monsters. Additionally, your hunting squad would be able to be active during invasions, and could do so far more easily as mortals.”
Accalia pursed her lips, clearly thinking it over. She was the Goddess of Wisdom as well, after all. “Can I pick people from the gods already serving me?”
“Only if they’re subordinates.” I told her with a shake of my head. “Otherwise, it will be harder to link them up with your divine energy to automate the process of delivering orders and handling payment, won't it?”
She let out a soft groan at that. “Okay, let me think. I’ve currently got two subordinate gods. That’s nowhere near enough. If I’m making up the demand with numbers, I’d need at least a hundred, probably around five hundred to be safe.”
I gave a small nod at that, thinking that even that was on the low end. Although five hundred gods seemed like a lot, it was a miniscule amount when you were dealing with a population in the tens of trillions, taking into account the Metong Network. “How long will it take to promote people to subordinate gods on that scale?”
Accalia let out a soft hum, her brows furrowed in thought. “Three days? If I’m only selecting the most powerful individuals, they will already meet all the energy requirements. All they need is a baptism of divine energy in three stages to guide them. I’ve handled the process before, so I’ve already memorized how to do it.”
Now that caught me by surprise. I expected that it would take weeks at the earliest. For it to only take days meant that she had refined the process considerably. “What do you want to call your new squad, then?” Although I had suggested a name, I ultimately wanted this to be something that Accalia created for herself.
Accalia glanced up at me with a playful grin, her tail wagging behind her. “My Huntresses.” My eyes twitched slightly when I heard that, though it was clear she had already decided on that.
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“Mom, I’m going out for work!” Samantha called out as she left, her silver dress fluttering. As the Goddess of Family, she had decided to take up a small job helping families that were suffering hard times. In essence, she had become a specialized therapist, while also using her power to help people track down family members that had gone missing.
“Have fun, dear.” Her mother answered with a nod, a happy smile on her face when she saw her daughter leave. As a mother, she was immensely proud of what her daughter had made for herself. What more could any mother want from their child, when they had already gone beyond mortal limits and achieved godhood? It was enough to let her heave a sigh of relief.
Once her daughter had left the house, she rose to her feet as well, lightly stretching to remove the stiffness from her joints. “I suppose I should go out and stretch my legs, as well.” She muttered to herself, walking over to a far wall, where an intricately carved bow was resting on a rack.
“Samira Black.” A voice spoke up from behind Samantha’s mother. In an instant, the bow was in her hand, her body spun around and a silver arrow nocked. However, her eyes went wide when she saw who her arrow was pointing at. “Sorry, did I come at a bad time?” Accalia asked with a grin, the woman lowering her bow.
“Lady Accalia. Please, forgive my rudeness.” The arrow dissipated, as did the silver string it had been attached to. Samira gave a deep bow towards the goddess as she begged forgiveness, knowing that she had just aimed a weapon at one of the most powerful existences in the world.
“It’s fine, really.” Accalia walked over, supporting Samira and making her stand upright. “If anything, I came to ask you for a favor.”
Samira looked at Accalia, unsure of what she meant. “What is it that I can do for you?”
“You can start by dropping the formalities.” Accalia told her in a lightly scolding tone. “If you accept my request, we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other in the future, and I can’t handle the stiff tone all the time.”
“Then… what do you want?” Samira asked again, rephrasing her question.
“I want to make you a goddess. You see, I’m forming a team of powerful people like yourself. This team will be composed of the best hunters in any world, and will help me in two ways. First, they will serve as a layer of defense when the world is under siege. And secondly, they will help when I receive orders for specific monster components.”
Samira’s brow twitched slightly when she heard that, specifically how Accalia’s tone changed in the second half. Clearly, the last part was what she was most desperate for, but Samira wouldn’t let it show that she had picked up on that. “If there is a way for me to help you, then I will naturally do so.”
“Good!” Accalia nodded her head with a beaming smile. “Then, I am happy to welcome you as one of the first members of my Huntress Corps.”