Just then, a lazy voice broke the silence of the hallway.
Suzuki Jun yawned, swaying gracefully as she strolled out of the adjacent room, and gently patted Rose's tense shoulder.
"Alright, you've been eavesdropping by the wall for so long, your ears must be calloused by now. There aren't enough rooms tonight, so just squeeze in with me for now, let's go."
Rose trembled like a startled kitten, about to blurt out a loud rebuttal, but then suddenly remembered the sleeping people inside the room, forcing her voice down to a mosquito-like hum.
"I, I wasn't specifically…"
Her delicate little face turned beet red, but her words of defense seemed pale and weak.
Suzuki Jun, without explanation, put her arm around Rose's shoulder and forcibly led her away.
"Alright, alright, even if you weren't specifically." She placated her in a tone used for coaxing a child, but the mischievous smile at the corner of her mouth grew even wider.
"I really wasn't specifically!" Rose was still making a last stand, her fluffy tail wagging wildly behind her, trying to salvage her reputation.
"Oh, actually, there's nothing wrong with admitting it, and if you're interested…" Suzuki Jun's tone was full of temptation, "you can also have some practical experience with Master in the future, but the competition is very fierce~"
"Ugh, I didn't mean that at all!"
Rose's head almost steamed with white smoke, completely defeated by the bold teasing, and could only let out an inarticulate wail, as Suzuki Jun half-dragged, half-pushed her until they disappeared at the end of the hallway.
The next morning.
Hestia, shedding her usual innocent charm, stood solemnly before all the newly joined girls.
Sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows, casting a sacred halo upon her, making her appear full of majesty.
She personally explained the details of the contract to everyone, as well as the "significant" wager with the Loki Familia.
The prizes were even rarer than divine artifacts: "Loki serving her for a day" and "Loki verbally admitting her superiority"!
Although most of the girls had come for Rhode, after witnessing their Main God's astonishing other side yesterday, their hearts were now filled with respect.
When concepts that defied common sense, such as "Absolute Contract" and "Myriad Worlds," were uttered by Hestia, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence.
The impact this had on them was no less than a mental earthquake of magnitude ten.
That preposterous wager no longer seemed like much.
The girls had initially thought Rhode was just a powerful human hero, but they never expected that he had, without a sound, already made two genuine goddesses his subordinate deities!
This fact left the girls wide-eyed and dumbfounded, their minds blank.
However, once the girls recovered, the contract signing process proceeded unexpectedly smoothly.
After all, in this era, except for a few individuals, once one chose to join a Familia, they would spend their entire lives there.
Although the contract's terms were strict, for them, who already intended to follow Rhode until death, it was nothing.
Especially the three Amazon girls, who were so excited their legs trembled on the spot… though what they were imagining was unknown.
And the system named "Contribution Points" completely ignited everyone's enthusiasm!
Completing tasks allowed them to grow stronger! It allowed them to exchange for various unheard-of magical items and powerful, world-destroying abilities!
Now, every girl in the Familia, in addition to the fixed monthly contribution points as salary, also received contribution points for completing special daily Familia tasks.
For example, turning in rare materials allocated according to rules during Dungeon exploration for exchange, or girls temporarily engaged in logistics work receiving contribution points based on their working hours… all labor had value.
In short, with this mechanism, the girls' enthusiasm reached an unprecedented high, and the nascent Hestia Familia presented a thriving appearance!
Soon, the Familia's division of labor was clear.
The elite exploration team, composed of main combatants, would conquer the Dungeon at the fastest possible speed, raising their levels through bloody battles.
The others would assist Suzuki Jun, responsible for converting the enormous amount of Falna transported from the City of Sin into the most direct combat power.
—Placing massive orders with the Hephaestus Familia, commissioning the Gubnew Familia to undertake an epic expansion of the base…
Everyone, like gears wound tight, began to operate at high speed.
And Rhode, after enjoying a moment of tenderness with a somewhat shy Che Huiyi, kissed her forehead, then vanished from the spot, entering Kamui Space.
He waved his hand, and a massive system panel unfolded before his eyes.
"System, summarize the Wish Point harvest notifications from the past two days."
[Currently compiling earnings from the Solo Leveling World…]
[Detected Li Xiaoxi completed two B-rank wishes, three C-rank wishes, five D-rank wishes… total earnings: 1900 Wish Points]
[Detected Dungeon Exploration Team conquered one A-rank Dungeon, one B-rank Dungeon… total earnings: 1200 Wish Points.]
[Detected Xu Lin completed one A-rank assassination wish, ten B-rank punishment wishes… total earnings: 4800 Wish Points.]
"Eh, is Xu Lin that diligent…?"
Rhode stroked his chin, marveling.
"Or is it that in relatively peaceful times, the grievances and emotional entanglements between people are more likely to generate wishes…?"
Since his return, the girls in the Solo Leveling World had generated 7900 Wish Points for him.
Although there were still some wish-granting abilities, those things were so insignificant to Rhode now that he didn't pay much attention to them.
[Currently compiling earnings from the Danmachi World…]
[Detected your contractors completed daily patrols… total earnings: 5600 Wish Points.]
[Detected Ke Luoyi and her team completed the mission to rescue those coerced by the Apollo Familia… total earnings: 48000 Wish Points.]
[Your contractors, the Xenos, have not yet produced Wish Points.]
[Current total balance: 78580 Wish Points.]
"Good, Apollo is truly a good god!"
Seeing the last, particularly exaggerated earning, Rhode couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh loudly.
"Giving away real estate, giving away resources, giving away Wish Points… and even giving himself away! So selfless, how can you be called an evil god?"
He turned, his gaze playfully directed at the figure not far away, tightly bound with black cloth strips, nailed to a huge cross in a humiliating posture.
"Don't you agree, Apollo?"
Apollo, of course, could not respond at this moment.
His state was no different from Artemis, who was devoured by Antares in the original work; his divine power was constantly being consumed, yet he could not return to the Heavens.
Trapped in this Kamui Space that isolated everything, he didn't even have the right to call for help from the outside world.
Rhode narrowed his eyes slightly, surveying this specially isolated space.
"It's still a bit empty. When the 'Great Clash' comes, those so-called evil gods might barely fill this place."
Originally, Rhode had no intention of using Typhon against gods other than evil gods, but Apollo had truly disgusted him.
The two things he disliked most were whitewashing and double standards.
Of course, Rhode, who clearly understood his own double standards, didn't dislike whitewashed girls who had utilitarian value.
And Apollo clearly did not have the right to make him hold back.
Finally, he refocused his gaze on Apollo on the cross.
"System, extract all his authorities. How many Wish Points will it cost?"
[Apollo is regarded as the God of Arts and Literature, overseeing light, the sun, medicine, animal husbandry, music, laws, etc. He is the patron god of humanity, the God of Light, the God of Prophecy, the patron god of migrants and navigators, the God of Medicine, and the God of Disaster Aversion and Resolution.]
[To extract all, at least 800,000 Wish Points are required.]
"…"
Rhode's mouth twitched violently.
"I take back my question."
Theoretically, directly letting Typhon devour Apollo could instantly grant most of his divine power.
But Rhode really didn't want his lovely Familia member to devour a repulsive man.
He had originally thought that the Wish Points the girls provided him daily were a lot, but now it seemed they were still far from enough.
After a moment of thought, he casually summoned Totsuka-no-Tsurugi and also threw out the unconscious S-Rank Hunter, Thomas.
Just as he was about to give an order, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
"System, what if I don't kill him, but repeatedly replicate the Fragments of Radiance on him?"
Wouldn't that mean he wouldn't have to go to such lengths to get other Fragments of Radiance?
[… ]
[Detected that the fragments in the Solo Leveling World each carry different powers; simply stacking them cannot form the ultimate Authority of Creation.]
"What a pity."
His idea of exploiting a bug fell through, and Rhode shook his head regretfully.
"System, extract the Fragments of Radiance on him, as well as the 'Enhance' and 'Shatter' skills."
[61,600 points consumed. Current balance: 16,980 points.]
Immediately after, Rhode summoned Typhon.
"Replicate her ability to nullify divine power, as well as the constitution of the Black Goliath, the speed of Zagnut, Magic Reflect, Claw Break, the flames of Amphisbaena, and the healing ability of mermaid blood."
[16,400 points consumed. Current balance: 540 points.]
[Detected that your physique has been further strengthened, the capacity for Shadow Monarch power has increased again, current estimated level Lv8!]
A powerful force, like a surging flood, wildly rushed through his limbs and bones.
Rhode exhaled a long, scorching breath, lowered his head, and clenched his fists. The air seemed to explode under his grip, emitting a series of dull sonic booms.
His toe lightly tapped the ground.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom—
A black streak of light, completely imperceptible to the naked eye, instantly ricocheted wildly within the vast Kamui Space!
Each impact left a deep indentation on the gray block barriers, and the terrifying sonic booms merged into a continuous roar, as if space itself was wailing.
A moment later, Rhode's figure leisurely returned to his original position, not even breathing heavily, his expression calm.
"Not bad. My body's attributes have finally reached a normal level. And..."
With a thought, a flowing layer of shadow instantly covered his entire body, and the corners of his mouth curved upwards uncontrollably.
"Paired with a Holy Body that cannot be destroyed by physical attacks, and now immune to divine power and magic... the types of attacks that can harm me are now few and far between!"
Rhode beckoned with his right hand, drawing a longsword to him, and lightly flicked the blade with his index finger.
Buzz—
The tough steel longsword disintegrated into countless tiny metal particles without even a whimper, scattering down from the air.
"As expected of monster skills specifically for 'first strike kills,' none of them are useless."
This kind of skill that directly destroys equipment is also heaven-defying.
Rhode felt the changes in his body, took a deep breath, and then fiercely exhaled towards the metal powder on the ground.
Whoosh—!
A torrent of blue flames, like a waterfall, swept out, covering everything.
Space itself warped from the terrifying high temperature, and the metal powder was instantly vaporized without a trace.
Rhode nodded, satisfied with the flames' effect, then felt a little regretful.
"It's a pity if only I could release it directly through my eyes... This release method doesn't resemble Amaterasu; it's more like Great Fire Annihilation."
After experiencing all his newly acquired abilities, Rhode's gaze fell upon Thomas's corpse. With an expressionless wave of his hand, he ended him.
After extracting his power origin, Rhode then integrated the origins of various S-Rank Hunters, such as Huang Dongshu, that he had plundered from the Scavenger Guild, reshaping them into a tall, sharp-featured woman with short hair.
She opened her eyes, and the arrogance and sharpness within them instantly transformed into absolute fanaticism and reverence upon seeing Rhode. She knelt on one knee without hesitation.
"From today on, your name shall be Pride."
A barely perceptible hint of joy flashed in Pride's eyes.
"Yes."
Having completed all this, Rhode looked at his remaining two-digit wish points balance, feeling a pang of pain.
"System, accept Layla's wish."
[Special Wish accepted.]
[Time: 10 years ago.]
[Location: City of Sinners, Bergen.]
The girl, who didn't even have a name, was brought to that [Room] when she was still an infant.
Dim, desolate, the air filled with the desperate smell of rust.
There were many other infants like her here.
Feeling uneasy and ignorant, the infants and the girl often cried.
Even when hungry, there was no warmth from a mother.
In this room where no one helped her, there were also tall people.
The people in white clothes would call them [Wastrels].
When they dragged him out, the Wastrel screamed and struggled incessantly.
The next moment, a 'snap' sound was heard.
In the eyes of the infant, a liquid that couldn't be identified as red splattered from the Wastrel.
The Wastrel became completely silent.
And the girl's face was also splattered with that [crimson liquid].
For the girl, whose sight, smell, and hearing had not yet fully developed, feeling the temperature of the scorching liquid was everything.
—If I don't shut up, I'll become like that too.
Without knowledge or experience, using the talent called instinct, the girl immediately understood this.
The scorching liquid on her face gave birth to something that could be called [Self] in her.
From then on, no matter how loud the cries around her were, she never cried again.
The dimly lit room was rarely visited.
But none of the unattended infants died.
The girl realized it was thanks to the blue light particles falling from the ceiling.
After absorbing them, she wouldn't be hungry or thirsty. Instead, her mind became blank.
By the time she realized it, the infants had forgotten how to cry, becoming like plants that only grew with vacant eyes.
Only the girl maintained her consciousness, absorbing the light particles to survive, quietly darting her eyes to observe her surroundings, and repeatedly moving her body when the people in white were not present.
After an unknown period, her limbs gradually grew, and the girl realized the rules of this room.
Children like herself, those closest to the door, would be taken out of the room, and that child would never return to the room.
Only the [Wastrels] were exempt from this rule, but they also would never return.
The girl believed that was [The End].
Even the girl herself didn't know that she belonged to a race called Pallum.
Although their bodies were small, their abilities related to their eyes were excellent.
It was thanks to these eyes that she was able to discover the room's survival rules during her growth from infant to toddler.
Soon realizing her turn was coming, the girl attempted to escape from her own cradle, moving to an empty cradle deeper in the room.
This bold attempt saved her.
The adults in white clothes who came from outside the room tilted their heads at the empty cradle and took another child instead.
They didn't notice the girl who had switched places at all.
The girl was the oldest in this room, but even as she grew, she was smaller than children of other races.
Switching places, desperately ignoring the other children who looked at her with vacant eyes, she continued to live for a long time.
Until one day, she realized that her body, which was growing despite her dislike, was about to make them notice the change in order.
Driven by her instinct and desire to survive, the girl seized the opportunity when the main door was not tightly closed, gathered her courage, and walked out of the room.