Chapter 410 - 299: Isaac: Maxu Kant? You Otherworld Gods... Are Really Something

Chapter 410: Chapter 299: Isaac: Maxu Kant? You Otherworld Gods... Are Really Something

"Divine Master?" Mephisto asked, a look of confusion on his face as he noticed Isaac’s gaze.

"It’s nothing," Isaac said, nodding with a smile.

’Mephisto truly is a pleasant surprise. It’s a shame the power of a Virtual Divinity can’t be increased further. Otherwise, his future accomplishments would be immense. He has the makings of a Divine King!’

’Of course, a Tier Four True God isn’t bad at all, especially in the Wilderness Dungeon, a world where the conventional power level caps out at Tier Four.’

After a moment of quiet reflection, Isaac turned his attention elsewhere. For him, Mephisto’s talent was impressive, but that was all. At the end of the day, he belonged to this world. Even if Isaac eventually solved the problem of enhancing a Virtual Divinity’s power and found a way to take people away...

...Mephisto most likely wouldn’t leave with him.

’The reason was simple: the man placed great importance on the humans of this world.’!

’And that was his greatest virtue. If Mephisto actually left with him, Isaac would lose his admiration for the man. Isaac was willing to persuade a sinner to repent, but he wouldn’t dream of corrupting a saint.’

While Isaac was lost in thought, the mortal women of the Underground Palace City quickly gathered before Mephisto’s Divine Hall. They looked at Isaac with a mixture of confusion and anticipation in their eyes.

Clearly, they had already been told the purpose of their summons on the way here.

This made them incredibly excited, but also deeply worried. ’After all, with so many people gathered, and only one to be chosen... the odds were impossibly slim!’

Isaac watched the women gather before the Divine Hall, his brow furrowing slightly. ’Less than five hundred... not even a sixth of the Underground Palace City’s total population. And that’s including children and the elderly!’

’Even accounting for the two previous rounds of Follower selection that had filtered some out, the number was still too low.’

After watching for a moment with a frown, Isaac couldn’t help but sigh. ’It can’t be helped,’ he thought. ’Women generally have a harder time surviving in the wild than men, and face more difficulties. Besides, the population of the Underground Palace City didn’t grow naturally. They were survivors rescued from all over the Wilderness, which naturally resulted in a low proportion of women.’

’However, the situation should improve in the future. Once the Mother Goddess is in place, her Divine Power should greatly enhance fertility. With a bit of proper guidance on top of that, we should be able to gradually increase the female population.’

As he thought this, under Mephisto’s expectant gaze and the Fighting God’s complicated one, Isaac extended his right hand. A Five-Colored Crystal Stone, large enough to be held in two cupped hands, flew forth. A divine radiance burst from it, enveloping all the women below.

Unlike the casual way he had previously sought a host, Isaac was undoubtedly much more serious this time. This wasn’t due to Mephisto’s influence; it was for one of Isaac’s experiments.

’I want to see what kind of difference there is in the final outcome between a randomly selected host and one chosen by the Virtual Divinity itself.’

’Still, I’m not getting my hopes up too high. The reason is simple: the Virtual Divinity has a fixed upper limit. Since its power level can’t be raised, a host’s compatibility is just a matter of how quickly they adapt.’

’As for resisting the Erosion of [Divinity]...’

’...that’s just a fantasy. The gap between a mortal and a Deity is simply too vast. Even when dealing with a mere Tier Four Deity, this immense disparity makes their [Human Nature] incredibly fragile.’

’Honestly, forget about this level of compatibility. Even Mephisto—that paragon of virtue, almost ridiculously so—I don’t believe he can ultimately resist the Erosion of [Divinity]. At best, he can only delay the process as long as possible and leave his own mark upon his [Divinity].’

’That’s all there is to it.’

’Expecting any more than that would be a slap in the face to Transcendents like us, who clawed our way to Tier Four step by step on our own power!’

However, in contrast to Isaac’s nonchalance, Mephisto was filled with anticipation. To the people of the Wilderness World, one more Deity meant one more sliver of hope.

This was especially true for a Mother Goddess, a Deity associated with [Fertility]!

’Compared to me,’ he thought, ’this Mother Goddess is the true hope for humanity’s future!’

’As the de facto ruler of the Underground Palace City, I am well aware of our current situation. This is merely a false prosperity, sustained only by the radiance of the Deities. It can be maintained for a few decades at most; a century would be the absolute limit.’

’The reason is simple. In a city of three thousand, a full third of the population consists of Divine Creatures!’

’While this grants the Underground Palace City formidable defensive capabilities, Divine Creatures are not human!’

’They cannot reproduce!’

’Among the remaining humans, women are scarce. And from that small number, we must exclude the elderly. There aren’t many, but they exist.’

Before Becoming a God, Mephisto had been the leader of a small human community. Though he had never taken a formal census, he could sense that their birth rate was far from ideal. ’If things continue this way,’ he worried, ’the Underground Palace City might eventually be home to nothing but Deities and Divine Creatures!’

That was not an outcome he wished to see.

He had been wracking his brain for a solution to this problem, but before he could find one, the Divine Master had simply solved it for him!

’Truly worthy of the title Divine Master!’

Mephisto glanced at Isaac, his eyes filled with adoration.

In contrast to the pure-hearted Mephisto, the Fighting God’s expression was far more complex.

The Fighting God understood with perfect clarity that the appearance of a third God meant the Underground Palace City would soon have a third leader.