Ch.11. Became a God

“Ragnarok”

This game, also known as the War of the Gods, has a worldview based on the battles between constellations that interfered with the human realm—fitting for such a grand name.

It was already a famous game known to anyone familiar with the genre, and I was an avid player myself. I remember enjoying it quite a bit, both for its game systems and pure entertainment value.

“….Ah.”

When I opened my eyes, all I could see was a completely white world.

And facing it, my instinctive thought was that I was no longer a human existing on Earth.

It felt like I had completely broken free from the constraints of space and time.

In other words, a sense of divine power? Or perhaps elevation?

I felt pretty good as confidence pumped through me—like I could truly accomplish anything, create anything.

「Attempting login…」

「Player profile ‘Kwon Newb1233’ confirmed.」

「Logging in…」

「Welcome! ‘Kwon Newb1233’!」

“…What?”

And what appeared before my eyes was a familiar message window with an unfamiliar form.

It floated gently right in front of my vision.

What? An unidentified message window.

Even when I waved my hands to shoo it away, it stubbornly maintained its presence in front of me, as if it wouldn’t disappear until I acknowledged its existence.

“….”

Judging that nothing would change even if I didn’t acknowledge it, I simply followed the familiar sensation and proceeded with the message.

「Warning! The file has been severely damaged!」

Then it spits out an ominous sound.

「Restoring Player ‘Kwon Newb1233’s file…」

「Restoration failed!」

「To preserve the saved file, a temporary file will be uploaded.」

「Do you agree?」

Well, agree or not.

Is this really okay?

「Warning! If permission is denied, you may permanently lose your saved data.」

“Oh, come on.”

In the end, I had no choice but to agree to the content of the window.

Then a number started counting up from 1 on its own.

After waiting anxiously for a while, it soon reached 100, and a clear sound resonated in my head.

「Data recovery complete. ‘Kwon Newb1233’s profile has been temporarily changed to ‘Ron’.」

「Initiating protocol.」

This time there was a meaningful change.

My body, which had been floating somewhere without even a visible form, gradually began to take shape, and my senses started to return.

First, my hands.

Five neatly arranged fingers on each hand were greeting me happily.

‘…They seem whiter than before?’

Should I say my skin has become smoother? There’s a definite difference compared to before.

As I slowly watched my feet being generated, the space around me began to change.

“Oh.”

Despite the continuous inhuman situations, instead of feeling fear, pure curiosity was working overtime.

Next to be generated was the form of a planet that looked like it was modeled after a globe.

“Wow.”

It was so vivid, as if I were viewing a real planet through an ultra-high-definition camera from deep space.

「Welcome back to the world, ‘Ron’.」

Ron. My newly forced nickname, fresh out of the oven.

Along with that awkward title, the window continued to appear and explain the situation.

「The world has experienced one great crisis.」

Countless star clusters spread around a planet that looked identical to Earth.

I know what those are.

‘Constellations.’

Beings that bestow transcendental power upon humans, making them worship themselves.

Thanks to the lunatics who insisted their god was the truth, the game’s main story progressed.

Befitting the title Ragnarok, those who inherited the power of gods began to run wild.

My role here wasn’t much different from theirs.

The player’s role was to establish their own religion and rule over believers.

Starting from a small constellation, gradually expanding their influence.

Of course, there were countless trials and errors.

The power of the constellations that had already established themselves was formidable, and among them were some truly malicious forces.

It was already busy enough trying to recruit believers while being cautious, but with troublemakers coming in, the difficulty was no joke.

‘But still.’

I did it.

A game is ultimately a game.

It’s made to be cleared by overcoming difficulties.

That was the ending recommended by the game company itself.

Having happily completed the game’s main story, I became the greatest god, enjoying the rights I rightfully deserved.

「You became the greatest flow and the most magnificent constellation.」

Next shown is the scene of a vast temple.

Among believers dressed in ceremonial attire, the emblem of my religion is displayed high.

Even though I just picked something random, seeing it treated so grandly makes me feel even more proud.

“…Ooh.”

My heart boils with excitement at the production that makes it seem so real.

It really, really seems real.

「However, the world has not received the attention of the main god for a long time, and believers quickly lost their way.」

“…Huh?”

「As faith was lost, disbelievers emerged from within, causing discord among themselves.」

“What?”

「Signs of another holy war are beginning to appear.」

-Holy war.

I know what that means now.

It’s like an experience event caused by people who have gone too far.

But to dare plot such disruption in a world I’ve cleared—absolutely unforgivable.

“Punish them immediately.”

I really want to play the game right now.

I’ve been too busy with real life to pay attention, but I’m not heartless enough to abandon my believers who are like my children.

After all we’ve been through together!

Placing cute believers and mascots within the religion!

Building rapport with the cute believers!

Recruiting more rare cute believers from elsewhere!

“The best religion.”

Yes. I created my utopia, the best religion.

「Great God, the world still needs your attention and love.」

“Okay, I got it.”

With this level of immersion, I’m confident I can play diligently as if it were real life and my own business.

“Now send me back.”

So, this vivid augmented reality has served its purpose at this point.

「The world still needs your attention and love.」

“I said I understand, I’ll play diligently when I get back, okay?”

「….」

There’s no answer.

-Hello?

I asked alone in a place where no one could hear, but there was no way I’d get an answer.

An inexplicable anxiety belatedly creeps in.

“Hey.”

Or should I say, hey you all?

I don’t know what kind of person threw me into this nonsensical space, but I’d like to be released now.

If you normalize me right now, we can laugh it off cleanly as just a prank.

“….”

And so, until I accepted reality, I was forced to be trapped in this damn white space for a long time.

#

A space detached from Earth, an entirely different world.

『Dianon』

In this world, the battleground of gods where countless believers reside.

“…Ah.”

A believer who had not yet abandoned her god folded her hands respectfully with firm faith.

Before her stood a massive statue, symbolic of the order.

Their god, who had neither a precise appearance nor any direct influence.

And, her god. The Constellation.

The woman was very beautiful.

Had she not been affiliated with the order, she might have led a troublesome life pursued by numerous men.

With red hair neatly falling to her back, at the end of a body proportion blessed by the gods.

A heavenly appearance that doesn’t disappoint is offering prayers devoutly.

Once again, the woman was very beautiful.

But it couldn’t be said that her life had been as smooth as her blessed appearance.

If it weren’t for her Father God, the woman would have led a very, very difficult and hard life.

That’s why the woman vowed to hold only her constellation in her heart and not give her heart to anyone else.

Lisia.

She fell into terrible self-loathing for not being able to protect even the name to serve her constellation.

She didn’t dare harbor any resentment toward the main god.

She firmly believed that this was a disastrous situation brought about by their own arrogance and pride.

That’s why even when the order’s name and the existence of the main god were taken away by abominable forces.

Lisia thought this too was a trial for her love and faith in him.

But.

“Father God, my love, my everything.”

Lisia swallowed her grief and dared to spread word that a great crisis had come to the order.

“I want to see you. I want to embrace you so much that I lose myself in ecstasy.”

“Please, show the way to this poor lamb.”

With this insignificant life, she didn’t have confidence to firmly withstand the coming storms.

The believers’ trust was diminishing day by day, and consequently, the order’s position was becoming precarious.

Perhaps this was the natural course of events since they forgot the constellation’s name.

But Lisia didn’t give up.

She hoped that the brilliant moment would come again.

Father God, please once again leave deep enlightenment and inspiration to the believers.

Please once again bring light to the world that has covered its eyes and ears.

“I believe earnestly.”

And the subject receiving such worship was much closer than she expected.

Moreover, with the help of the system, he was observing Lisia’s figure very clearly and vividly.

Kwon Si-han, no. The man who had now become the main god ‘Ron’.

“…Is that Lisia?”

He couldn’t help but recognize her.

Lisia was a special priest he had personally appointed in the game.

But that was real. A real living person.

“She’s incredibly beautiful, damn.”

And she was a living, breathing woman with the vitality he had dreamed of.

The person he had raised like his own child had become a proper priest, offering worship to him.

This alone made him want to do cartwheels, but there was one thing that bothered him.

“…Why does she look so sad?”

Lisia had a haggard atmosphere as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

「Believer ‘Lisia’s faith level is very low!」

Faith level.

If the faith level of recruited believers is low, there’s a penalty that reduces various stats.

It meant that Lisia was in a very painful state right now.

When he opened the status window to check more details, it was a desperate situation with her faith level below 20.

No, this can’t be.

Clearly, among the faith operations that can be used in the game, revelation and holy war are representative.

「Warning! Hostile forces are rapidly approaching believer ‘Lisia’.」

“Oh shit.”

Moreover, the situation isn’t good.

Opening the map to check, red dots were indeed rapidly approaching outside the prayer room.

And there were too many for her to handle alone.

…Dare they, my believer?

Displeasure rises from a corner of my heart.

I immediately manipulated the manual and touched ‘Lisia’s name.

-BOOM!

At that moment, the hostile forces burst into the space where Lisia was.