[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 231: Administrator Privileges (2)

"That claw…"

A blue claw.

But upon closer inspection, there was a faint reddish hue swirling within it.

And the energy I felt from it—

Very familiar.

No, this went beyond familiarity...

"It's exactly like mine?"

This energy—it’s exactly the same as mine.

Just a tiny part of the big toe's claw.

From that part of the claw, the light emanating from it carries an energy identical to mine.

Drawn in as if hypnotized, I stepped closer to the claw.

99.99% of my SP was still flowing toward the left arm…

But a small part—

An almost imperceptible amount of SP was being drawn into this claw.

This…

I instinctively knew where it was coming from.

The interest income I'd earned from the SP exchange.

That’s what was being sucked in here.

A massive image, invisible to the eye, appeared in my mind.

"Now I understand."

This is...

The true form of the Creator.

"Was I... part of the Creator too?"

A Soul God.

A class entirely different from that of ordinary gods.

Only this class, which deals directly with SP...

Can shine light upon the Creator’s true form.

Somehow, I understood this intuitively.

Regular gods, after all, exist within a system that leeches SP from their followers.

But Soul Gods can actually produce SP.

A special class that can create something from nothing.

So, does that mean I can truly become a part of the Creator?

"But... I’m so small."

And my location is just a part of the claw.

On this massive body of the Creator, I’m nothing more than a speck of dust on a toenail.

In contrast, the massive left arm was completely engulfed in red light.

That must be the supreme god of chaos—the Creator’s Left Arm.

The scale of it is simply overwhelming.

"If that left arm moved to scrape away the dust on its claw, I'd just vanish."

Seeing the difference between us like this really puts it in perspective.

A difference so great, I’d disappear with a single breath.

But why did it leave me… alone?

"Or maybe... it didn’t leave me completely alone."

The right toe claw, which seemed to carry energy similar to mine.

Right near the source of that light—stood Zeus's status window.

[Creator Zeus]

Zeus’s status window was lodged there, blocking the light from spreading any further beyond the claw.

He’s the one standing in my way.

If I remove that, maybe I could extend my influence from the claw to at least the big toe.

I pressed on Zeus's status window.

Immediately, a voice was heard.

-You are attempting to view the status of a god ranked ‘EX.’

To view this status window, you must use one modification right.

Would you like to proceed?

I currently have 3 modification rights.

They were hard-earned through the continuous consumption of SP on my journey here.

Should I use one of them...?

"Phew… Let’s not be stingy and just use it."

Right now, my biggest enemy is Zeus.

If it helps me gather information on him, SP is worth spending.

Sure, the modification rights are valuable, but it’s not like I have anything else urgent to change right now…

Know your enemy, and you’ll avoid defeat.

"Status window, open."

-One modification right will be consumed.

With that voice, Zeus’s status window appeared.

[Zeus]

[Rank: EX]

[Title: Creator of Chaos, Lord of Olympus]

[Lightning Power: 1,000,000,000,000]

[Chaos: 1,000,000,000,000]

[SP: 1,000,000,000,000]

[Holder of the EX-rank divine artifact of chaos, 'Chaos.']

Possessed Skills: 1,544

A stat window filled with zeroes.

His Lightning Power and Chaos were both at 1 trillion, and he held 1 trillion SP as well.

With 1 trillion SP, he still has less than me...

But maybe it’s those two stats and the divine artifact that make him so powerful.

And the sheer number of skills too.

"Why won’t it show me his skills?"

-Another modification right is required.

Hmm...

Feels like a waste to use a right just to see his skills.

"Can I modify Zeus's stats?"

-To modify a god of a higher rank, a modification right and an enormous amount of SP are required.

-Lightning Power and Chaos are Creator-class exclusive stats. Modifying them requires 1 million SP per point.

-SP modifications require 10,000 SP per point.

"Hmm… So I can't touch Lightning Power or Chaos."

One million SP just to change a single point?

That’s insane.

Probably because I’m a lower rank and hit with a penalty...

To burn through all his stats, I'd need 10 quadrillion SP.

Yeah, I’ll leave those alone.

"Then I should target his SP..."

Should I erase the 1 trillion SP?

10,000:1 is a steep ratio, but if I could drain all of Zeus’s SP...

I might be able to incapacitate him, like when I hit him with that system penalty before.

"Hmm… But it’d cost me 1 quadrillion."

That’s more than half of my total wealth.

Tough call.

What if I burn through all of it and he somehow finds a way to replenish his SP?

He might be able to borrow from the Chaos faction.

It’s weird how he suddenly ended up with 1 trillion SP too.

He was scraping the bottom of the barrel not long ago...

Maybe he had outside support.

"In the end, it’s too risky to act now."

There are too many uncertainties—I need to proceed with caution.

Blowing SP recklessly could bankrupt me.

"If I want to check his status again later, do I need to spend another modification right?"

—That is not necessary. From now on, you can access it freely.

A voice resounding in this space, answering only to me.

If it’s free next time, then using the permission was worth it.

Well then, shall I check the skills too?

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Or…

“Are the powers under the Divine Artifact of Chaos also listed under skills?”

—The Powers of Chaos must be viewed separately. Doing so will consume one modification permission.

Should I analyze the 1,544 skills?

Or investigate the Powers of Chaos?

I'm at a crossroads.

I still have two modification permissions left, so I could use both...

But I should probably keep one in reserve.

So far, I’ve identified four of the Powers of Chaos:

[Erasure], [Banishment], [Assimilation], [Disassembly].

Except for one, I already know their names and functions.

Erasure and Banishment seem like combat abilities.

Assimilation was used when he turned those guys into Black Thunder.

Disassembly was the skill used to extract SP by breaking down souls.

That one remaining power...

Do I use an modification permission to find out?

Or would it be better to go through the 1,544 skills?

“If I identify the Powers of Chaos, will I also gain resistance to them?”

—I cannot answer that.

The voice flows out, emotionless.

But hearing that answer made up my mind.

“I’ll view the Powers of Chaos.”

—One modification permission will be consumed.

[EX-grade Divine Artifact, ‘Chaos’]

[Erasure]

-Erases the target. Displays an SP exchange ratio of 1 to 100 million, nullifying all defensive skills. If full resistance to the power is developed, the efficiency drops by half.

1 to 100 million...

Nullifies defensive skills.

What a monstrous power.

Even with full resistance, the ratio is 1 to 50 million.

Good thing I only sent a clone.

[Banishment]

-Distorts the dimension around the wielder. Any attack that attempts to harm the wielder is completely repelled and banished to another dimension. If the attack carries over 1 trillion SP, it is instead converted into a barrier to block it. The attack is defended against at a 1 to 100 million SP exchange ratio.

Why is everything 1 to 100 million...

To burn 100 million SP, you’d need 10 quadrillion total.

My Soul Energy Emission Technique is efficient, so it balances out a bit...

But if we clash head-on, I’ll take a massive loss.

[Assimilation]

-Assimilates beings of lower godhood or above, allowing absorption or complete subjugation. The wielder can use all of the target’s skills and absorb their SP.

Assimilation works only on lower gods and above.

Maybe it looks modest compared to Erasure and Banishment.

That’s probably why he ended up with 1,544 skills.

He must have assimilated the gods of Olympus and turned them into Black Thunder.

So he inherited all their skills.

[Disassembly]

-Breaks down souls to extract SP. All SP contained within the soul is fully extracted.

Normally, SP vanishes during soul disintegration.

So you’d expect only a small yield relative to the soul’s value.

Unless you’re a Soul God.

But this power allows perfect extraction, even without being a Soul God.

Very efficient.

If I’d left human souls unattended, he’d have disassembled and devoured them all.

Good thing I kept them isolated.

And now the final remaining power...

[Fusion]

-Melts down worlds. Through processes of disassembly and assimilation, it fully becomes one’s own. Fusion takes one second per 1 SP of value.

-Currently in progress on planet "Jupiter" and "Earth."

Fusion.

When I received the Chaos status window, I too became a Soul Fusionist.

So this is the final power...

That last message gave me chills.

Currently in progress on planets?

Jupiter, and Earth?

“Is it possible to fuse entire planets?”

—In practice, energy is being concentrated on only one.

The voice offers a sudden piece of advice.

“Only one?”

—Yes. Jupiter’s volume is 1,300 times that of Earth. His true power is being focused on Jupiter.

Even though Zeus was so strong on Earth…

He’s actually on Jupiter?

Just how strong is his brainpower and chaos stat?

And the guy only had a trillion SP...

—Of course, volume and SP consumption for fusion aren’t perfectly proportional.

“But considering the 1,300-fold difference… it must be Jupiter.”

—Correct.

Zeus is attempting planetary fusion on both Jupiter and Earth.

So… he’s trying to consume the planets themselves?

That bastard Zeus…

What a ridiculous scale.

—If he fully absorbs the planet, even a Soul God will have a hard time stopping him.

“I get that, but… why are you suddenly telling me all this? It’s suspicious.”

A system giving me advice?

Didn’t I experience something similar earlier?

Like with the neutral Divine Artifact, ‘Soul Sword’.

I don’t want to get blindsided again.

“Why are you suddenly giving advice?”

When I questioned it, the voice responded immediately.

—I am obligated to support administrators.

“You mean I’m an administrator? Why?”

—Because you are a Soul God. All Soul Gods can act as administrators in this space.

Hmm...

I see.

This one seems more favorable toward me.

There's been something I've been wondering about for a while.

“Yeah… so it’s because I’m a Soul God, huh? But do you know why I was chosen for a soul-based class?”

—I do.

The system responds without hesitation.

And at the same time, a light shines from the claw.

—The lowest of all beings, a human. Among humans, one with the lowest possible attributes—Soul God Kim Jiho.

Lowly, lowest...

That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it?

Suddenly, I remembered Hercules.

He said his stats were 30/30/30 from the start.

While mine were… 3/3/3.

—The lowest among the lowest. You were… a mere speck of dirt under a fingernail, if compared to humans. No one ever expected such potential to bloom from such a being.

Listening to this, I feel like I’m being treated like a complete piece of trash.

But the voice had shifted from its usual deadpan tone—it now carried a sense of admiration.

—Many have shown potential as Soul Gods. But none clung to the Soul God class like you did. Some abandoned it for noble ideals, others to survive.

“I was just desperately trying to survive too, you know.”

—I regard that highly. For a human, perhaps this expression is apt: even in the filthiest gutter, a flower has bloomed.

This damn thing.

Who are you calling gutter trash?

Still… it seems to genuinely admire me.

Though it’s kind of annoying.

—I greatly value the instincts that allowed you to bloom from the gutter.

“Cut it out with the gutter talk already.”

—I will help you become the right hand of the Creator.

“Yeah, right. I’ve already been screwed over by a system like you once. I’m not buying it. I’ll live while maintaining my ego. I’m the most important person in this world.”

Self-discipline before family, before ruling, before world peace.

I have to thrive first before anything else does.

After being stabbed in the back by that Soul Sword jerk, I can’t help but be wary of even this one’s kindness.

But in response to my words, the voice seemed pleased.

—That is a good attitude. Please maintain it. At all costs.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]