THE GOD EATER

The voice of the caretaker was indifferent as he said, ”Don’t be like the original owners of the Tree of Life Divine Ability. They got too comfortable with what they had, so we came, stole it from them, and then destroyed them.”

”I’ll tell you now that we didn’t steal the Tree of Life just so you can complain that someone stole the smallest part of it. Do better. Be better.”

That was the end of the message. He would have loved to see more, because this only made him angrier.

But after calming down, he said, his eyes stern and angry, ”I should compete, should I?”

”I can do that. I can do it very well. I’ll show that filthy native that he is messing with powers well beyond his capacity.”

He’d made up his mind and immediately sent a message to the unicorn saying, ”Raise the boost from 100% to 200% per advancement.”

But then he changed his mind and said, ”No. Make it a 250% boost to their lifespan every advancement.”

”Oh great, and mighty Apex God,” the unicorn said with heartfelt awe. ”These mortals are lucky to have you. You’re too generous.”

”Yes, I am generous,” he said with a sneer.

”And tell them that I am willing to pay anyone who recruits new believers 2 years of lifespan. Go now and tell them of my grace,” he said before he cut off the channel.

After making the changes, he seemed to relax. But he quickly remembered he had only 1 million years of lifespan.

That should have been enough to live a very long time, and he thought it was a lot. However, as he calculated how many people he could recruit with a million years of lifespan, his face fell.

”It is the fault of this forsaken world. Why must I use lifespan to fight? Why is there no way to replenish lifespan naturally?”

”And there is that Ragnarok. This is also his fault.”

”Fortunately, he is only a new Dao Lord. He shouldn’t have much lifespan. And when I gain a footing with my sect, all of the lifespan I’ve gained will be returned.”

In a proper, healthy Domain, Dao Lords, Demigods, Celestials, Mountain Gods, Sky Gods, or whatever they are called at this stage of power don’t usually use their lifespan for anything.

The upper realm usually has powerful energy called Natural Energy. Celestials can live forever on this energy, using it for all of their needs, including as a replacement for lifespan.

Natural energy is not as powerful as lifespan as a consumable resource, but thanks to it, Celestials can be called Immortals when they are not really immortal. This is the kind of benefit that other Gemini younglings enjoy in healthy worlds. Unfortunately, he wasn’t so lucky.

As it turned out, his luck was so bad that he was forced to prove his worth in a dying Domain while competing with some native who got lucky somehow.

The more he thought about his situation and compared it to what it could have been, the angrier he became. But this was far from the end.

Over the next few days, it had to give out lifespan to everyone making new converts and to everyone advancing. Each loss of lifespan meant that he had secured a new believer, so he should be happy.

But the cost of the lifespan he was giving out was also getting to him. He felt literal pain anytime he had to give away lifespan. The physical impact was minimal. The emotional impact was what he struggled to deal with.

”To think I was told that I was immortal. Yet, here I am, dying a little bit every day without fighting.”

”I guess this is how to prove my worth. But why must it be against some native?” he asked in frustration.

A few days later, his anger soared and reached a new peak when he received a new round of updates from the unicorn.

The unicorn said, ”My God, I come bearing news. I am afraid it is bad news.”

”Just spit it out,” he said impatiently.

So the unicorn hurriedly said, ”I heard news that the Olympic Sect has increased the reward for each advancement to 300%.”

”That bastard,” the Apex God said, roaring in anger.

The roar shocked the poor unicorn, who became too rattled to speak. The Apex God had to urge it, saying, ”What else?”

”According to the news, the Olympic Sect was also offering 3 years of lifespan for each recruit. I didn’t believe it, so I went to investigate. After a few hours of inquiry, I can personally attest to the validity of the news.”

Despite being incensed enough to burn down a world with his anger, he still said, ”Good work. You will be rewarded nicely for your service.”

As they say, one shouldn’t punish the messenger for the message they bear. He even tried to smile and speak in a soothing voice, but all he could manage was the sound of a blade’s edge being sharpened.

The unicorn shivered all over when it heard its god’s voice, but the content of the message was good, so it said with joy, ”I live to serve you, my god.”

It tried to sound joyful, but a hint of barely suppressed fear remained. The Apex God didn’t take this against it. In fact, the Apex God felt happy to hear the fear, as it meant that some things were still right in the world.

While he was feeling sufficiently feared and appreciated, he said, ”It seems the Olympic Sect is hell-bent on being generous to mortals. In that case, I too have decided to be generous to the mortals.”

”Hear my decree! I shall bestow 350% of the lifespan of any mortal who advances using my pathway.”

”I shall also give anyone who helps me to recruit new believers 4 years of lifespan for each convert. Go now. Let everyone in the world hear of this.”