The divine winds stirred lightly across Clark's barren domain.
It was still a wild, untouched place — just raw hills, scattered rocks, and grass that whispered in the wind. But in his hand glowed something unreal: a scroll of cosmic light.
---
> **[Item: God's Residence – Tier 0 Palace]**
> *Function: Core Divine Structure. Grants Faith generation, unlocks Throne, and enables further constructions.*
> *Construct Now?*
---
"Let's start this properly," Clark muttered. He tapped *\[Confirm]*.
The scroll disintegrated in a shimmer of gold. At once, the earth trembled as luminous lines carved themselves into the soil. Foundations spiraled out. Stones levitated into the air, slotting into position. Pillars rose like divine fingers reaching toward the heavens.
In seconds, a divine structure emerged from nothing.
---
### [Structure Constructed – God's Residence (Tier 0)]
> * **Faith Generation:** +10/day
> * **Divine Throne Interface:** \[Locked – Rank 1 Required]
> * **Follower Capacity: +10
---
A ripple of golden light expanded outward from the temple like a heartbeat.
> **\[System Unlock] – Trade Area Activated**
> ➤ You may now access the **Divine Marketplace**. Currency accepted: **Divinity / Divine Crystals**
> **\[System Unlock] – Global Chat Activated*
---
Clark's eyes narrowed. "Marketplace and global chat... finally."
He pulled open the *[Trade Area]** first.
---
### [Divine Trade Area – Beginner Tier]
> ▸ Healing Spring Blueprint – 50 Divinity
> ▸ Faith Harvesting Orb – 80 Divinity
> ▸ Rare Recruitment Token – 100 Divinity
> ▸ Weapon: Embersteel Spear (C-Class) – 200 Divinity
> ▸ Random Treasure Chest (Uncommon) – 150 Divinity
> *Warning: Supply is limited. Prices may rise dynamically.*
---
> "So this is what real growth will cost," Clark muttered.
And all new gods only had 100 Divinity— just enough for **one advancement** or **one good purchase**.
> "A hundred divinity," he repeated slowly. "It's nothing."
He glanced at his own inventory.
---
### [Clark's Resources]
> ▸ **Divinity:** 100,000
> ▸ **Divine Crystals:** 1,000,000
> ▸ **Wood / Stone:** 1,000,000 each
> ▸ **Faith:** 0
> *(Conversion: 1 Divinity = 10,000 Crystals / 1,000 Faith)*
---
Clark smirked. "I could buy the entire market ten times over."
---
### [Global Chat – Region 098: Umbra Cluster]
The chat was chaos:
**\[Ashur\_Godslayer]:** What the hell?! Why is my domain filled with lava?!
**\[LadyMara]:** Anyone else get a B-Class talent? I'll trade items for alliance.
**\[VoidGuts]:** F— I spent my 100 Divinity on a healing fountain, and now I can't ascend!
**\[LightLord]:** Rank 1 gods… already? That's not possible.
**\[PhantomTree]:** WHO THE HELL GOT SSS class
**\[SaintJade]:** Lol that's a glitch. No one gets more ...
**\[Ashur\_Godslayer]:** Maybe… maybe one person did.
Clark quietly closed the chat window.
---
He stepped into the newly built divine palace. Cool air flowed through marble arches. At the center, a throne-shaped outline hovered above an empty altar. Which was Still locked.
He then turn and took out the summoning scroll.
The summoning scroll shimmered with radiant inscriptions. Clark stood in the center of the newly constructed **God's Residence**, its vaulted ceilings echoing with unseen power. Marble pillars gleamed under ambient divine light, and the empty dais ahead pulsed in rhythm with the core of his domain.
---
> **\[Recruitment Order – Activated]**
> *Unit: Random Tier Recruit – Upgraded from D-Class Banished Crusader → SSS-Class Fallen Angel: Seraphiel*
> *Would you like to summon now?*
Clark inhaled. He nodded.
> **Confirm.**
---
A ring of black fire traced itself around the dais. Angelic sigils spiraled outward — some glowing gold, others dark and cracked like ancient wounds.
Wind rushed through the chamber, divine and dreadful.
And then she appeared.
Descending from the summoning glyph with grace and power was a tall, ethereal figure. Wings — **eight in number**, torn but majestic — slowly unfolded behind her back. Her silver-white hair streamed down like silk, kissed by shadows. Her eyes glowed with starlight laced with sorrow and wrath.
She knelt without hesitation.
---
> "I am **Seraphiel**, once of the Ninth Choir, now fallen. Banished from heaven, severed from the Celestial Chorus... I exist only to serve."
> "You who summoned me... if you will it, I shall fight, bleed, and perish for your name."
---
Clark didn't answer immediately. He stepped forward, his gaze never leaving hers.
This wasn't just a minion.
This was a being of legend — shaped by war, tempered by exile, and now kneeling not out of coercion, but by **choice**.
---
> "I accept your loyalty, Seraphiel," he said clearly, his voice calm but resolute.
> "Stand with me — not as a slave, but as the first pillar of the god I will become."
Her head rose slightly, lips curling into a faint, reverent smile.
> "Then let my blade be your judgment... and my wings, your wrath."
---
### [Follower Summoned – Seraphiel]
> * **Race:** Fallen Angel
> * **Class:** Divine Commander
> * **Rank:** SSS-Class
> * **Level:** 1
> * **Loyalty:** 90
combat power**1000
Divine Qi 1200
> * **Skills:**
> ▸ Heaven's judgement (Area Holy-Dark Smite)- cost 100 divine Qi
> ▸ Command Aura (Allied Buffs)- 50 Qi
> ▸ Dark Covenant (Sacrifice HP to empower master)- 500 Qi
Note
Consumes 10 divinity per month.
---
Clark opened her status page, scanning it carefully.
Seraphiel stood beside him as an equal might — wings folded, hand resting lightly on her sealed greatblade.
Still fresh from summoning her, Clark's mind turned back to the notifications blinking softly in his interface.
[Ascension Available – Rank 0 → Rank 1 (Lower God)]
He opened the details.
Requirements Met.
▸ 100 Divinity (Owned: 100,000)
▸ God's Residence Constructed ✔
▸ At least 1 Follower ✔
Unlock: Skill Tree, Domain Expansion, Divine Throne Access.
> **\[System Notification] – Ascension Conditions Met**
> *Ascension to Rank 1 (Lower God) now available.*
>
> Cost: **100 Divinity**
Clark pressed [Ascend] without hesitation.
Suddenly, time halted.
A surge of weightless energy yanked his body upward. In a blink, he was drifting through a vast astral sky, surrounded by floating ruins of ancient thrones — shattered remnants of gods long lost.
A force beyond language seared itself into his very being.
It wasn't painful — but it was all-consuming.
Above him, an eye of creation opened, its spiral form filled with galaxies and deathless laws.
Clark gritted his teeth as arcs of silver-blue energy tore through him — burning something old away and replacing it with something new.
Then: stillness.
[Ascension Complete – Rank 1: Lower God]
▸ Domain Expanded: 2km → 3km
▸ Divine Throne Interface Unlocked(Allows a God to name his domain)
▸ +2 Random Divine Skills Acquired
▸ +2 Skill Points Gained
▸ Skill Tree Access Unlocked
[New Skills Acquired – Rank 1 Initiate]
▸ Skill 1: Divine Eyes (Active Ability)
Cost: 10 Divinity per activation
Duration: 5 minutes
Gain spiritual vision that reveals falsehoods, hidden stats, enchantments, divine signatures, and flaws in structures or beings.
Range: 10 meters (increases with level)
Upgrade Cost:
Lv 1 → 2: 1,000 Divinity (reduces cost, extends duration)
Skill 2: Divine Will (Toggle Ability)
Cost: 5 Divinity per minute while active
When active, your divine authority asserts itself over your domain.
▸ +10% follower effectiveness
▸ +10 loyalty gain
▸ Increases pressure of divine decrees
➤ Upgrade Cost:
Lv 1 → 2: 1,000 Divinity (reduces upkeep cost, increases aura range)
Clark narrowed his eyes. "They burn through divinity…"
Just each level up requires divinity that doubles at each level...
But he wasn't worried.
Where others had only 100 Divinity, he had over 99,000.
Enough to burn through a battlefield if needed.
He activated Divine Eyes without hesitation.
[Skill Activated – Divine Eyes]
−10 Divinity
His vision immediately deepened. The marble around him faded to transparent overlays. Lines of energy. Hidden inscriptions. Even the divine palace foundation glowed with a weak but elegant script — previously invisible.
A divine fissure — microscopic and unstable — pulsed in one corner of the floor. Another god wouldn't have noticed it for weeks, maybe months.
Clark simply nodded.
He disabled the skill.
Then he toggled Divine Will.
[Skill Activated – Divine Will]
−5 Divinity per minute
Instantly, a pulse radiated from his body — not light, but authority. The air around him bent slightly. His throne crackled with responsive energy. Even without speaking, the walls of the palace seemed to lean toward him.
He stood at the center of it all.
No doubt. No hesitation.
This was power.
****
As the last traces of divine energy settled in Clark's newly awakened domain, a sharp, clear **bell chime** rang out — not once, but **three times**, each time followed by the exact same message.
The sky shimmered faintly across all domains.
The words appeared, golden and absolute, before the eyes of every godborn soul on the continent.
---
> Global System Notification:
> Congratulations to \[Name: ???] for being the first mortal to ascend to Rank 1: Lower God.
> A Universal Rank-Reward Chest has been granted.
> The path to godhood has officially begun.
---
The message aired again.
Then a third time.
And with each repetition, the sense of weight it carried only grew heavier.
Across the Divine Continent, silence turned to shock — then to chaos.
---
🗨️[Global Chat – 00:19]
**@VoidMonarch**: Okay… aired three times. What kind of monster did this?
**@SilverFang**: Who the hell is ???
**@FlameDagger**: I thought talents were hidden, but still… this guy must've gambled everything.
---
🗨️[Global Chat – 00:20]
**@ScarletEmpress**: Spent 100 divinity already? That's so dumb.
**@AshLord**: Bro's probably stuck at Rank 1 with nothing left.
**@Zephyrian**: Wait… the **Universal Chest**? That's game-changing. He's not dumb — he's dangerous.
---
Clark closed the chat window.
His name hadn't been shown. His talents remained hidden. His resources — far beyond the others — untouched by their ridicule.
> "Let them talk," he said quietly. "They still don't understand."
His eyes shifted to the glowing chest that had materialized in front of his throne — **shimmering faintly with cosmic power**.
A reward granted only once per milestone.
And only to the first.