Chapter 423 - 1 Billion requirement

Caelus slowly opened his eyes as the last of the light sank beneath his skin. The number before him remained unchanged.

[Combat Score: 1,375.]

He closed his hand and felt the muscles respond without the slightest delay. His flesh felt denser, yet moving it took less effort than before.

Even the faint brush of Sylvia’s sleeve against his arm felt clearer. Beneath those changes lay something harder to describe, a sense that his Soul had settled firmly into place.

"This is way better than I expected."

Sylvia opened her eyes beside him and turned her hands over.

"It feels strange."

"Strange how?"

"Like my body was always supposed to be like this, but something was missing before."

Caelus smiled as he understood what she meant. His powers had carried him far beyond what his flesh could manage alone, and now his body was finally catching up.

"And we’re only at ten percent."

"Then I can’t imagine what one hundred percent will feel like."

He reached for the Divinization interface again. Before he could check the remaining cost, another window appeared.

[Lesser God Ascension Requirements.]

[Body Divinization: 100%.]

[Soul Divinization: 100%.]

[Faith Power: 1,000,000,000 per individual.]

[Complete the Lesser God Ascension Trial to fully merge with your Divine Body and enter the God Domain.]

Caelus clicked his tongue.

"One billion each."

Sylvia leaned against his shoulder to read the window.

"How are we going to get that much."

"We will figure something out."

He opened the kingdom interface beside it, and his smile returned.

"But we have more than a hundred million people."

The population stood at roughly 106 million. Most of the newly claimed territory still belonged to Genesis Kingdom without belonging to the Chaos Faction.

John’s people had already shown him how much that difference mattered.

"We should make everyone else join the faction too."

Caelus contacted John through the communication channel and brought up the recruitment controls.

"Spread an order across Genesis Kingdom. Every citizen is required to join the Chaos Faction."

"I get it done lord." John replied from the other side.

Caelus also sent the same instructions to his old members. Soon the order appeared across the kingdom, along with the faction’s benefits.

[Innate Power Activated: Prime Mind Manipulation.]

His mental perception spread through the nearby streets. He caught the voices of players gathering beneath the announcement.

"We already serve the Star King. What’s the difference?"

"Open the benefits page and see for yourself."

"Oh. Why weren’t we in this already?"

The first recruitment notices filled his screen before the conversation ended. More followed so quickly that he changed the display to a single rising count.

Almost nobody objected. With the Star King Administration handling recruitment, even the distant settlements began joining.

Caelus watched the Faith Power climb while Sylvia rested against him. The increases came in uneven bursts, with some small groups contributing more than crowds several times their size.

He opened the details of one increase.

Strength and potential both mattered, but the list also included conviction and accomplishments. A follower’s value could not be measured by counting heads alone.

"Come on." He mumbled as the total crossed another million.

Sylvia glanced up at him.

"You’re staring at it like that will make it rise faster."

"It might."

She laughed and settled closer.

By the time the flood of notices slowed, the total had passed a quarter of a billion.

[Faith Power: 250,000,000+]

Caelus rubbed his hands together. That was a much better starting point.

Another notification appeared over the total.

[Ding! Chaos Faction Faith threshold reached.]

[New Function Unlocked: Faith-to-Contribution Conversion.]

"Oh, this is going to come in handy."

He opened the new function and checked the rate of conversion.

[10,000,000 Faith Power may be converted into 10,000 Contribution Points.]

With enough Contribution Points, he could build more faction benefits and more importantly get more pillar cards. One thing he lacked was pillars.

He would no longer have to wait for every point to come from faction activity.

Then he turned toward Sylvia with a grin.

"You know what time it is, Sylvia?"

She ran a finger along his chest and gave him a cute smile.

"Do you want to make love?"

He was taken aback by her reply, then with a grin he spoke again.

"That too. I will gladly take you up on that offer."

Before she could pull him closer, he opened another system window.

"But first, we gamble!"

Sylvia’s hand stopped against his chest. She looked from him to the wheel before reaching up and pinching his nose.

"You’re such a baby."

Caelus tried to grin through her grip. She released his nose and wrapped her arms around him instead.

"But you’re my baby."

He kissed her forehead and held her against him while selecting Faith Power.

[Talent Activated: King’s Gamble.]

Fifty million entered the wager.

That amount could push both of their transformations forward. Losing it would mean watching a large part of their progress vanish without gaining anything.

Sylvia noticed the number and looked up at him.

"Only fifty million?"

"For this one."

"That last part worries me."

He pressed the confirmation before she could pinch him again.

[50,000,000 Faith Power wagered.]

The wheel spun, carrying the multipliers past the pointer in a bright blur. Caelus kept one arm around Sylvia as his free hand closed against his knee.

The wheel slowed near zero.

His smile tightened as the edge crept beneath the pointer. One more movement carried it past the losing result.

[Multiplier: 2x.]

[Faith Power obtained: 100,000,000.]

"Yes!"

He pulled Sylvia closer and kissed her cheek.

"My lucky charm."

"You’d better remember that when you lose."

"I’ll never blame you for that."

"Good answer."

He moved the entire payout into the new conversion function before the wheel could tempt him again.

[100,000,000 Faith Power converted.]

[Contribution Points obtained: 100,000.]

Caelus leaned back with a broad smile. A hundred thousand points left him room to do far more than add another small benefit.

Roughly two hundred million Faith Power remained.

His eyes drifted back toward the wheel.