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

"Everything is ready." Said Dae

"Remain still alright, else I can't guarantee your safety." Said Dae to the Red jar.

/Snap/

'Dae snapped his finger as a spark of lighting left his hand and hit the ceiling of the room.'

/Rom… Rom… Rom.../

'A brilliant platinum disc of light suddenly appeared above the Red jar'

'If you looked closely, it was actually made of billions of small 3 dimensional constructs, intertwined to make a truly complex structure.'

'Perhaps trillions... Unfortunately, I can't be bothered to count so much.'

"So this is what you came to understand?... Truly… Magnificent. Gods are Gods at the end of the day."

'Dae paused to think and said:'

"Unfortunately, this is useless for me… Thankfully I came prepared."

"But that will come later."

/CLING/

'As if two pieces of glass were touching, a clear clinging sound resonated across the room as a large gray spire appeared in front of Dae.'

'The Spire looked like a white hologram, it was made of hundreds of moving words. It looks as if someone ripped out a piece of the Matrix.'

"First, I will isolate this… Done."

'The Platinum disk started to move.'

'This created a faint dark mist to seep out from inside of the Red jar'

"Tsk!"

I can feel my life being drained… Each minute in this miasma is about a year of my life!

/Tremble/

'The Red Jar trembled as the Platinum disk went further and further away from it. A small and thin line suddenly came from inside it and latched onto the floating disk.'

"Stop it, there is no point crying about this. Please stop, I don't have lifeforce to spare..."

/Treble.../

'The Jar continued to tremble as if trying to convey something.'

I don't speak jar man...

"... The only thing I can say is that if you cooperate, you will end up in the possession of a great master, one much better than someone who would abandon you here for over a thousand years."

'The Jar stopped trembling.'

'Dae took this chance to fully separate the disk from the Jar and lock it inside a crystal cube he took from his inventory.'

"Rather crude, but I managed to preserve over 99% of its integrity, I only lost some energy, so its value should be still the same."

"Now, I need to secure the lost energy."

Nothing shall be wasted!

'Dae took out a flask and all of the dark mist went inside it.'

"Phew… I think I lost about half a year of life just in this… Sigh."

I will recover that later...

Playing around with such high-grade stuff without the proper tools and power is such a hassle.

'If any of the high tier mages of the continent could see what Dae was thinking they would certainly fall unconscious.'

"The Laws are secured… Next on the list..."

'Dae turned his eyes directly to the Jar... Not to the Jar itself, but to something deeper...'

/Tremble.../

"You knew this was going to happen right?"

/.../

"..."

It went silent… Did it accept its destiny?

Although I am sorry for it, it is nothing but a tool destined to be used by others.

Its conscience is the same as a child and in a sense, its emotions are even deeper than that of Humans, but I cant bet Philip's life on it.

Losing a future warrior such as Philip to such a minor oversight might cost this entire timeline...

Or at least the lives of many.

Eridia has full control over the conscience since she was the one that created it, so I need to reset it back onto 'Factory settings'.

'Dae started to chant some very obscure words and move his hands in the air, creating strange symbols.'

'These symbols continued to fuse until they became a large and complex 3D structure.'

"I got it on the first try… Phew. I was ready to repeat this a few times."

'The symbol started to float until it fused with the Jar.'

'But nothing happened.'

"... What?... What happened?"

The conscience should've separated by now…

"Did it have more strength than I imagined? That's a problem... I will have to drain it if that's the case."

'Dae started to analyze the situation until he came to a shocking conclusion!'

"It… It sealed itself!"

How?!

As an artifact conscience, it has full control over the artifact, its body.

But since the artifact was made by another being, it's completely subservient to it and its orders.

"So it shouldn't be possible for it to seal itself under any circumstances since it was given a certain order!"

And that was to understand death!

Until the time it has completed its order, it is incapable of doing so.

You might say it already did so, but that's irrelevant since Eridia needs to give it a new order.

"For it to seal itself under the current circumstances, it would have to use a little of its core energy. And I am sure it doesn't have this level of authority."

Core energy, the power used by its creator to make it.

It constitutes the artifact's power and strength, hence, if you drain it, that's the same as crippling the artifact's power and potential.

"So no God would ever allow their artifacts to use it."

"Unless… Eridia never had full control over this artifact."

And that would mean…

"Eridia… didn't make this… This seems to be confirmed by the fact that the artifact has been quite autonomous so far… This isn't common with such a thing."

Normally, it would use everything in its power to punish those who profaned against its master, but I didn't see any such behavior so far.

"... I only saw… Self-preservation..."

'Dae suddenly had an immense smile.'

"The Jar of all life wasn't made by Eridia… She must've found it."

Considering she has quite the influence over it, it's probably...

"An Ancient relic she repaired to its current state."

"Pf… HAHAHAHAH!"

This is getting better and better!

"Alright… Plan Z… Improvise."

(Adapt...)

Since its conscience sealed itself, I can't do much about that without completely, destroying the artifact.

"But this is good either way. Once I have Philip make a pact with it, his control over it will be higher than Eridia's… Although it won't be 100%..."

However, by the time the Pact between the Gods ends, He will certainly have complete control over it.

"I will make sure of it."

"Even if he doesn't, by that time, if that bitch thinks she can descend and retrieve the Jar… She will be in for a very rude awakening."

'Dae sat on the ground as he thought.'

"Part 1 is done."

The easy part has ended.

Now for the hard part…

"Time to remove the pesky mark, although this won't help much, I would have to do it eventually, so it's better to do it now… Sorry Philip, but the first God Kill achievement shall be mine."

'Dae placed his hands on the Jar.'

'His right hand started to distort as if it was phasing out of reality.'

/Glup!/

'As if he had placed his hand in a bucket full of water, his hand entered the Jar. Not by the hole in the top, but by the sides!'

(Like Mario's paintings in Super Mario 64)

'Dae's entire arm entered the Jar, he seemed to be looking for something until his expression lit up with glee as he pulled with all of his strength!'

/AHHHHH!/

'A terrific scream that could only come from Asian horror movies assaulted Dae's ears.'

"Urg… For a Goddess, your scream hurts more than a Banshee."

'In front of Dae was a phantom-like figure of a woman.'

'This woman's beauty was so great, that even when veiled, she gave others the impression that she was beautiful.'

'And that was indeed the case as she removed her veil, revealing a beauty of unimaginable proportions.'

"... I never saw a Human as daring as you." Said the phantom of the woman.

"I saw everything."

"The boy who held untold potential."

"The boy who holds the power to surpass the demons."

"But you are by far the strangest of all."

'Dae gazed at the ghost with a love-stricken face… Dae was hypnotized by the woman's beauty!'

"You know of things beyond that of a mortal, knowledge that shouldn't possibly exist."

"Although my knowledge is not all-encompassing, I believe the other possibilities are completely unlikely. This leads to a single conclusion… You must have breached the 'wall'."

"By whoever means you used to breach this world walls… I cannot help but be curious."

'She looked at the hypnotized Dae in wonder.'

"Why don't you tell me? Tell me who you truly are..."

'Her melodious voice echoed in Dea's ear as he nodded.'

"I am..."

'Dea told her everything… About how he turned back time using the *****...'

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

/Clap Clap/

"... Incredible. To think that was such a thing… Humans never cease to impress."

'She placed her hands on her cheeks as she thought.'

"Perhaps this is the unpredictability of life?"

"Whoever… This is a violation of the pact, and of the *****"

'She seemed confused.'

"What do I do?... It's such a waste to get rid of this Human… Who knows when such an opportunity will come again?"

"But if I act here, this projection will surely dissipate before the time comes..."

'She came to a decision:'

"I will give you an opportunity. Consider it as my mercy since you profaned my being."

"You will serve me forever and help me in ascending beyond the confines of this world."

"And in exchange, I shall allow you to be my apostle."

"Accept my mark..."

'She went all of the ways to the prostrating Dae and lifted his cheek.'

'Her eyes glowed with the beauty of a small cosmos as she approached Dae's lips.'

/PIERCE!/

/GASP!/

'Out of nowhere, the seemingly hypnotized Dae pierced the goddess' stomach with his right hand.'

"Ho… How?"

'The Goddess was surprised, but no anger could be seen in her eyes, only wonder.'

'She was curious as to how Dae finished her off and escaped her charm.'

"Even in your final moments, you still only see me as a puny mortal. No fear, no anger, nothing... I guess Gods sees things from another perspective."

Even though I dealt a critical hit to her, she gazes at me the same way a child gazes at an ant...

"Oh? I am indeed capable of feeling emotions, but the way I comprehend and show them is on a different scale to a Mortal such as yourself."

"I am not depreciating you though, since this is just how things are. There is no need to be angry about such a thing. Would you be angry at the sun just because it rose and shone light onto your face in the morning?"

'She wasn't angry, nor did she show any other emotion. She was completely uncaring for her death and defeat.'

"Life and death, two parts of the same coin..."

"This projection may have met its end, and with it, more than a millennium of effort. But this is all part of life."

"If there is one thing I learned with Humans is that persevering through hardships can cause growth. I need to accept this loss in order to progress, although it is a shame that I won't be able to pass such revelations to my main body."

"..."

'Whoever, Dae seemed livid. Anger could be seen in his eyes.'

"This is what I hate so much about you all…"

"You all act as if you could understand us, and empathize with us… But you are wrong."

"Being all high and lofty, you speak as if you did nothing wrong. Tell me, just how many died so you could understand death?"

"What a redundant question."

"You are trying to apply ethics to something completely beyond a Human understanding. It's clear that no proper answer is ever going to be achieved."

"And even so, you would have to go through each and every one of my followers' deaths. Some were deserving, others weren't. Many were saved through my teaching while many were condemned."

"Yet… You don't care about such things… But I guess this was expected. Humans can only see as far as their eyes allow them to. Human Hypocrisy is famed across multiple dimensions after all."

'Dae's anger did not increase nor decrease. He remained solemn as he gazed at the goddess.'

'He knew she was right, but he refused to accept it.'

'Because she was also wrong.'

"There was a saying… Gods can't mix with the Mortal since they are eternal."

And this is the reason why.

"You may only speak the truth, but this is from your perspective."

In the future, how many would be exterminated only for the growth of such Gods?

No matter how right they are, how beautiful is the future they promise…

"I will destroy everything."

People should be allowed to walk the path they deserve and not be condemned to die just because that's the "Natural way" of things.

"... So do you plan to walk on the paths of demons?"

"I won't since I will kill them as well."

"So it's mass genocide the grand answer you came up with? Disappointing, you are nothing but a follower of Chaos. I expected more from a being like you."

'Dae smiled.'

"I don't… I won't follow chaos... You can't even begin to understand what I have planned... "

You might be a Goddess of knowledge but you're far from predicting the future.

/Splurge/

'Dae removed his hand from inside her stomach and pulled out a white orb'

"Interesting… I wonder how my true self will react to your plans. How amusing..."

"But you didn't answer my question. How did you kill me?"

"... I used a useless Skill… One that you would never imagine."

"Hm?... I wonder… I might be weak but that doesn't mean a Mortal can just resist my charm. Even a Demi-God would find it hard to do so..."

"The only way to get away from this is to… Be immune from it… Ah! I see."

'She seemed to have a Eureka moment.'

"It was during that time when you were playing with those dolls right?"

"..."

'Dae smiled.'

"Who knows?" He said with a sly smile

"Wait!"

/Crack!/

'Dae crushed the white Orb, making the phantom disappear into smoke.'

'At the same time, he received a message window, but he brushed it off for now.'

"Phew."

Although she seemed fine on the outside, I am sure she was planning to take me down as soon as I let my guard down.

"I had to keep her occupied by making use of her curiosity."

"The easiest part was getting out of her charm… Well, I didn't."

'If you were to notice, Dae's eyes were still unfocused.'

"Deactivate… Puppeteering."

[The Skill, Puppeteering Level 2 has been deactivated]

'Dae's unfocused eyes suddenly regained their clarity.'

'Small strings of energy suddenly appeared in the air as a phantom copy of Dae materialized and fused with his body.'

"That was uncomfortable..."

What I did was pretty simple, I used puppeteering on myself to control my body from a 3rd person perspective.

The way it works is quite complex since this isn't the normal use for this Skill.

"But it was the perfect and most optimal way for me to escape her charm… I thank those boring days and those funny guys for teaching me these tricks."

Yes, this is nothing but a trick.

Those with the proper Skills and Abilities could easily take me out if I used this Skill on myself.

"However... As expected, she noticed pretty quickly when I mentioned… I had to risk myself to have her lose her guard, and it was worth it."

To think a God wouldn't even detect that I was using such a Skill…

She was just as weak as I had imagined.

'Dae gazed at the gray mist floating in the room.'

'Prismatic light seemed to exude from inside it.'

"I can't let this go to waste as well right?"

'Just like when he absorbed the dark mist, this gray mist was also absorbed into a small flask.'

"Part 1 and 2 are done..."

"Now that I removed her divinity and dealt with the Jar… It's time to make a deal..."

'Dae stored the Jar inside his inventory and took out the crystal cube.'

"Activate Skill..."

Trade Offer.

[DING]

[You have used the Temporary Skill, Trade Offer LvMax]

[The target has been set, sealed *****]

[Processing… Error]

[The item value surpasses Skill Level]

"Use Skill, Economic Balance."

[You have used the Temporary Skill, Economic Balance LvMax]

[For every product, there is a buyer]

[A possible client has been found]

[Error, the value of the item surpasses Skill Level]

"I want to use my previous reward right now."

[Processing...]

{Request Accepted}

'The message seemed different this time, the color of the window went from a wealthy green to dark.'

[Changes are in progress...]

[According to the level of the trade, to protect both sides, Trade Offer has merged with the Skill Economic Balance]

[The Temporary Skill, The Price of All things Lv? has been created]

[The previous client has refused to trade]

[Please name a client]

Phew, I was worried someone would actually accept it.

Thankfully, those guys are too prideful to accept such trade and they just brushed it off like a bunch of fools.

"This will be embarrassing..."

"I want to make an offer to the one who watches frogs jump out of their wells, the one who strolls down the mountain to gaze at flowers."

"His domain is life but he also loves Gold."

"His first name is Mih, symbolizing his desire for change."

"His second name is Jyr, given to him by his mother"

"God of Humans and Animals, he is Mihjyr God of Trade."

Urg… That was awkward… Hold it in, the customer is coming…

[A trade offer has been made]

'The seconds passed as Dae waited, if he didn't manage to sell the item today, he would have some trouble.'

'Going around with such objects is too dangerous, he might as well destroy it.'

'After all, none of this was in his initial plans. He could very well live without it.'

'However, Dae isn't willing to lose such an opportunity.'

[The client has accepted to trade]

'Space tore on the middle of the room as a middle-aged man passed through it'

'He looked old and tired, but he carried the dignity of a noble'

"... Oh my… What a surprise! This is a story to tell for ages!"

'Although he looked serious, his voice and way of speaking were very...'

'Odd and jovial?'

"Hum… The Pact has not been broken, what an interesting way to make contact! How about it, young men? Are you willing to sell me the method?"

"..."

Don't let yourself be fooled by his charisma…

Things got super dangerous…

"I am indeed willing to sell it but… That's not the target for today's trade. And in any case, selling it to you might end up in a breach in the pact."

"The gains more than compensate for the dangers hoho… But you are right, show me what you got first… Although, I doubt it is as good as this information."

'Dae did not beat around the bush and took out the cube.'

'It was the crystal cube, a small Platinum disk shinned from within.'

"THAT?! HOW DID YOU?... Cough! Apologies… Please, proceed."

"..."

Interested now, are you?

"Are you willing to trade now?" Asked Dae

"It depends on the price" Replied the old man.

I will give you a reasonable price...

Old man... I am going to take even your slippers with me today!

"There are two ways of doing this." Said Dae

"I have a list with everything I want, you just need to accept the trade."

"Accept before even looking at it? How can I guarantee you aren't going to rip me off?"

'Dae smiled'

"The rules of this trade will make sure that both sides win in some sense, even if one considers himself to have lost some wealth, the trade will make sure that both sides win on a fundamental Level."

"The other is to simply leave it to be completed automatically… But that has a higher chance of displeasing both of us at the same time."

'The Middle-aged man thought for a moment.'

"I know very well how this works… So be it, we are going with the first method."

"Good then..."

"Whoever. I will not trade anything related to my existence and divinity. Nor anything in my private collection."

'Dae smiled disappeared.'

"That's a problem… Old man, you have no valuable items that can match this outside of your private collection. So stop trying to go for numbers over quality."

"You know what this is right? Don't be petty now."

"There are too many sentimental and important things in the vault for me… I can't just part over with them..." Replied the middle-aged man

"..."

He is so stubborn.

Keep trying, I will never reveal what I am looking for.

Not without a price...

"If that's the case, I am only forced to trade with someone else."

"Hm? Aren't you afraid of becoming my enemy?"

'His voice was deeper and an invisible pressure started to press on Dae.'

"Aren't you cheeky old fart. I will tell you the same, you should be afraid of us instead."

I need to act tough here...

"I took the divinity of a God, I can take it from another, much less a minor one like you."

'The old man started to sweat a little.'

"I was just joking… But tell me, what is that you want from my private collection?"

"You think I am dumb? If I tell you, wouldn't you refuse to sell it?" Asked Dae

"And what would I gain if I did that? Self-satisfaction?" Replied the old man

"If I tell you, I want double the amount of the material items. Information has a price."

I need to have a backup plan in case I can't get that… So, open up old man… Urg... That was kind of strange...

"What an absurdity! You are putting on a price on something that's mine?! You are the biggest fraud customer I have ever seen!... 10%."

"You truly are a God of trade! You butcher those values like a swordsman! 90% or nothing."

"Do you want to kill this old man?! I have a family to provide! Think of all of the centuries it took me to gather my current hoard! 25%!"

Family?! Don't be cheeky! You are famous for being a weak-ass man! Can't even woo an angel!

'Dae and the God continued to discuss for a few more minutes until they reached a common ground.'

"5-5-50%!" Said the God in a tired tone

"Barely what I wanted, 55% and I will accept."

"My soul... It's as if my soul has been taken out of me!" Replied the old man

'Another System window materialized in front of Dae'

[The deal has been updated]

"Great… Great... Now tell me!"

"I want the Nameless Crown."

'The God seemed to think for a moment.'

"Hm? That item? There isn't anything special about it..."

There was a time when I tried finding out what it did, but the only thing I found out was that the Crown was incomplete.

I never had a clue as to how to finish it though.

"Stop trying. Nothing more will leave my lips unless you want to raise that percentage past 100."

"Tsk, I was just being curious."

'The old man snapped his fingers and a large translucent portal appeared behind him, a beautiful angel with 12 pairs of wings was on the other side of the portal.'

'The environment seemed to be a golden vault with an untold amount of riches.'

"..."

That's… A 12TH Class Angel…

'Angels gain a pair of wings every time they rank up.'

(Thanks narrator)

And he is using it as a vault guard?

I guess he is one wealthy God… Even though he is weak, his troops are well fed and trained.

"Get me these items." Said the Middle-aged man as a translucent paper appeared from above Dae.

'The angel nodded and within a second, it gathered all of the items into a large bag.'

'It is being used since it was too difficult for Dae to identify if it was a male or female.'

'It may even be both...'

"Done... Everything you want is in there." Said the middle-aged man.

"Alright, then the deal is..."

"Wait." Said the Old man

"Is there anything more?"

'He picked a Gold coin and threw it at Dae'

"I can see you are a valuable customer, if in the future you have any interesting items to sell, come to me."

'And with that, the old man stepped on the portal and left'

"...Mihjyr… You look so young."

In the future, he would lose a bet against another God and lose his divine status.

Being forced to walk the land of mortals even though the Gods' pact had already ended.

Because of this, he would age at an incredibly fast pace as time would start to take away his life.

It was an utter humiliation for him, even more, when the bet was fraudulent, to begin with.

So he spent a lot of time and resources training new and powerful warriors to participate in the...

"In a sense, I owe him my current circumstance, even though I never directly met with him."

As a merchant, a God even. He has no sense of right or wrong.

Money is all that matters, and he is going to favor the one with the most money…

Until he suffers some losses.

"The reason why he was targeted was exactly because of that."

Most of the Gods didn't care much about the Mortal world, but Mihjyr had a slightly different vision about it.

He believed that if the Mortal world was destroyed, his profits would plummet.

Only through a balance could he make the most profit, and he accused the other Gods of being short-sighted.

"In the end... "

He was cut down. A fool that couldn't read the collective will of the Gods.

'Dae looked at the pile of items on the ground, people would die to get some of these items.'

"Barely enough for 3, but that's enough..."

I thought it was impossible to get that last achievement without immense sacrifices, much less for 3 to get it but...

It might be possible.

'Dae picked the gold crown on top of the pile of items and checked it'

[Gold Crown of ******

Description: Just a Gold crown

Effects: Just a Gold crown

]

"... It's clearly censored... The fucking judges..."

Although... I wonder if they expected me to do what I am thinking... Hehe.

'The crown had 33 gem slots on it, but all of them were empty.'

"I got it… In the first month to boot."

"This is escalating way too quickly… Freeda, you were right. Being a reincarnated being is way too OP."

'Dae didn't lose any more time and started to process all of his items.'

'He had a few hours to get all of them ready and to also clean the room.'

'Who would have expected that two Gods had made their appearance in this inconspicuous place?'

'Dae took this time to also take a look at his System windows'

[DING!]

[You have destroyed a fragment of a God's Divinity while being nothing but an initial state Mortal!]

[You have made an achievement never recorded in History!]

[Your name shall be remembered through generations]

[Through thick and thin, you have killed the aspect of a God, gaining the Title, Divine Slayer]

[You may choose from a set of rewards]

Heh, it was easier than I thought.

Level 1 God kill, let me see those options…

I feel like I am speedrunning life...

"The choices are… I will have to think a bit later."

"But I only got Divine slayer?... What a shame, the divinity fragment was truly on its last legs."

Better for me anyway.

'From here it took a few minutes until the next one appeared'

[You have made a trade with a God!]

[You have gained the blessing of said God]

[The temporary Skill, The Price of All things Lv?, has been changed into, The Price of All things Lv1 (3/3)]

[You have gained the Title, Divine merchant]

[DING!]

[The trade has been completed and now, the processing fee shall be collected!]

[According to the rules, the seller shall pay the tax]

"..."

That won't do…

"Activate Skill, Tax evasion."

[The temporary Skill, Tax evasion lvMax has activated]

[The price of the tax is being recalculated...]

{Someone has to pay, according to the *****, the client shall pay in the seller stead}

[Collecting Payment]

…

/Somewhere beyond the world.../

"What a surprise… Truly… What a SURPRISE!"

"Who would think that bitch would leave such a precious thing behind? And for a Human to get it..."

I got something I needed and dealt a blow to that woman… Two birds in one stone.

Although I lost a precious item from my collection, I couldn't be more satisfied.

"With this, I might as well surpass my understanding of Life… How long did it take me to reach this point? To think a Human would help me advance..."

"Hahaha! Fate can be such an interesting thing..."

[DING!]

{COLLECTING FEE!}

"What?"

'As Mihjyr was distracted with his new item, a lot of gold and gems were suddenly sucked into a large black hole in the ceiling.'

"AHHHH! MY GOODIES?!"

WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?!

"IT CAN'T BE?!"

DAMN YOU HUMAN!

...

"Phew, I did it..."

All of that preparation was for this moment…

"And everything went perfectly."

Although I had to abandon some developments, in the end, this was worth it.

"The month is almost ending… It's time to let Philip go on on his journey. Things will only get harder from here on out."

'Dae continued to mix and prepare many potions on the ground.'

'The first month of our heroes adventurers may be coming to its end, but their adventure has only started'

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