GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

Ode watched the reaction of the gods impassively. He did not care about their opinion concerning his decree. He must have support and there's nothing they can do to stop it. Maybe a miracle will happen and a celestial god with a solution will appear. Even if there's a unanimous disagreement against his decree, all he has to do is stop policing the gods. The greedy ones will initiate the battles themselves. But he doesn't want that. More chaos will be counterproductive and wasteful of their limited manpower. Divine wars between grand gods will spread to high, mid, and low gods as they chose sides. That means there has to be modulation to prevent unnecessary deaths.

"To reduce chaos and unrest. All interested Grand gods have to apply to me. Only when it is approved by me will a letter of challenge be sent out. The challenged god will have a period of a day to choose to agree and do battle or refuse and opt to fall. There is no other option. I will not allow random fighting. If the challenge is accepted, then they will fight right here in the colosseum. Any questions." His stern voice rippled with power.

The grand gods that used to have nothing to do began to prepare with confidence or fear for their lives. The ambitious ones felt it was a welcomed change while the satisfied ones felt like it would divide them. Either way, they all knew that they could not loiter about doing anything anymore. Some of the less courageous ones decided to give up there and then. Better to risk the fall from grace than to die to make another grand god more powerful.

The inner city of the ancestral home of the Ghastorix family.

The war summons and its consequences had not affected the inner city much. In fact, the war was not taken seriously. The higher-ups considered it the pastime activity of a great ancestor of theirs while those below considered it an opportunity to show off or display their strength. A war that will change the course of history in the plane became something of a carnival.

The people of the great families and royal bloodlines believed that the war was going to end with only one outcome. It was just a matter of time and they weren't going to lose. They decided to use the short time they had to contribute to the war effort before stronger forces move in and end the war. The Virut plane had been experiencing peace for a long time, not many had experienced war and they had long lifespans. They didn't know that a very strong force is already stirring up trouble within enemy lines.

Some people didn't even know they were at war with the gods. Nothing changed for them, not even the price of goods and services. They heard talks of it but they considered it rumors. War had become a distant concept to them.

While the entire plane had been set into a flaccid turmoil, Soverick's world had not changed much. It had been a week since he last spoke with Hadrick, his vitality core was just about to be completed. The size was big enough that the vitality core was beginning to stress his system. It seemed he had underestimated the cost of creating the largest core possible without the advantage of the innate mana affinity of a high elf. He doubted he would have been able to reach this final step without the life essence he swindled out of Hadrick.

Even with all the assistance he had, his body seemed bent on rejecting the strange organ. In a normal situation, the rejection will be minimal and the body will be able to safely accommodate the new organ. But in his case, he felt actual pain from the rejection process. It was why he was currently sweating buckets. His body was shaking and running a high fever but he couldn't relax one bit or all his efforts will be for naught. He realized that if he had taken things slowly, his body would have gotten some time to adjust and the rejection wouldn't be this serious.

"I blame Ghoto for rushing me. I blame the realm lord for being too talented." He complained. Ghoto and Mihila wanted him to create his vitality core as soon as possible but it was the influence of the realm lord that made him indulge their wish. He wouldn't have listened to them otherwise, because he knows better than them.

"I could have taken things slowly but no. I want to catch up to the realm lord instead. Now, look at me. Even my main body is still a far distance away from becoming a world god. I can only hope the realm lord fails his breakthrough but what are the odds of that happening?" He droned on and on to distract himself from the pain.

His door rang but he ignored it. It was probably Ghoto again trying to check up on him again. There was no way he would open the door and expose his current situation to that overacting man. He chose instead to concentrate and pull through the last steps.

A few minutes later the vitality core formed. Its formation was then accompanied by a burst of vitality. It was like he stopped carrying a heavy load and got into a relaxing hot spring. His shaking stopped and his fever began to cool. He felt his body become full of energy and vitality. It was like he could run forever.

"Finally," Soverick exclaimed. He moved his body about and realized it became easier to move. A thorough examination of his body showed that he will have a lesser problem with stamina.

The body is a miraculous thing. The increase in latent vitality within the cells will increase their activity, healing, stamina limit, and stamina recovery. The most important change is the relaxation of the upper strength limit of the body. In the body strengthening stage, the strength and durability of the body have been developed to the maximum limit that vitality-based life forms can reach, but the body cannot utilize this full strength. This limit is there for the safety of the body, it will only be removed completely when the mana body is achieved.

"Wow, what incredible vitality." Hadrick voice intruded without warning. Soverick didn't mind it because Hadrick was everywhere. The entire city was built for him and around him.

"It is nice of you to show up here." Soverick greeted him.

"Are you a tree? You feel like a tree. Is that what is special about you? No, that can't be right. I was there at your birth. Trees don't come out that way."

"How come you are out of your shell? I thought you would turtle up to preserve your life. An attack can happen at any time." Soverick decided to poke some fun out of the ancient tree while exercising.

"Not funny. I am a tree. I don't have a shell. Trees don't have shells. But you have a point there. I should get a shell. Why haven't I thought about that? You are simply genius Soverick."

Soverick rolled his eyes. "No need for thanks. Isn't the inner city your shell? What about the entire city? You don't need an extra shell."

"You are mistaken. They are my shields. It is different from a shell." Hadrick tried to set him straight.

"Whatever you say, you are the expert on cowardice after all."

Hadrick was not impressed. "Still not funny. But I won't forget your contributions."

"What contributions?"

"Your warning about my safety. It showed how much you care about me. You shall be rewarded for your reminder."

"Great." Soverick perked up immediately. The part about a reward piqued his interest. He couldn't look down on a reward from a family like the Ghastorix with a long history and multiple origin gods.

"What do I get?" Soverick asked with expectation.

"You are in luck because I'm feeling very magnanimous today. You reduced some of it with your earlier snide comments. Still, I give you a promise to protect you as long as you are in this city." Hadrick spoke with pride.

"What use is that? You can't even protect yourself in this city."

Hadrick thought about it for a while before conceding. "How about this? I will protect you from threats up to the level of Sovereigns as long as you are in the city. I will also throw in a talisman made from my leaf that can teleport you from anywhere within this plane to the forest below the city. Cool right?"

"Not cool enough." Soverick shook his head.

"What do you want then?" Hadrick asked.

"For a start. I want all of that and some more tangible benefits. Like weapons, first-class treatment in the city, and library access. I want access to secret archives and skills, Origin weapons. You know, the really good stuff." Soverick began to list what he wanted. He asked for items that will make even a behemoth like the Ghastorix family feel the pinch.