On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons

Chapter 27: Yu Il-Shin Doing a Quest

After being out for god knows how long, I finally woke up.

“Mister, are you awake?”

When I opened my eyes, I saw a teenage girl beside me.

“Ms. Sung Mi-Ri? What are you doing here?”

“You didn’t show up at our agreed time. I was worried, so I came over. Do you know how shocked I was when I saw you lying on the ground?! You should still sleep on the bed no matter how lazy you are.”

“Haha, sorry about that.” I laughed awkwardly while scratching my head. “But why are you looking at me like that?”

“Mister, did you get skin treatments?” Sung Mi-Ri stared at me.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Your skin looks good!”

Wondering what she was talking about, I looked into the mirror in the corner of my room.

“...?”

Due to the frequent all-nighters, I usually had dark circles. However, the face reflected in the mirror was smooth and flawless! Other than my skin, my body also felt awesome. My shoulders were no longer stiff, and my chronic headache had disappeared. When was the last time I felt this great?

“But Mister, what is that?” Sung Mi-Ri asked, pointing at a sculpture the size of my forearm.

Wait, what’s that?

Since when did I have that in my room? And why did it look so cursed? It resembled the face of the Four Heavenly Kings at the entrance of temples! Surely, even a child would be terrified to death. Even I was afraid of seeing it in my dreams.

Just then, my skill kicked in.

-----

[Idol Statue of Yu Il-Shin, God of the Black Tribe]

The statue was made by the black tribe in the image of their god. They crafted it to express their gratitude and fanaticism for the miracle bestowed upon them.

Special note: Ugly.

-----

That special note was personal. How could they put this trash in my room?! I saved their lives!

“That statue... looks like you, Mister.”

What? That’s the face of someone who cackled while roasting people in hellfire, you know? And yet, you said that it looks like me? Ms. Sung Mi-Ri, that’s just unnecessary.

“Wow, the more I look at it, the cooler it gets! Also, how do I say this, it looks... cute? Mister, if you don’t need it, can you give that to me? Pretty please?”

She has to be joking, right?

But the glimmers in her eyes said otherwise.

“Ms. Sung Mi-Ri, I’d suggest you visit an optometrist.”

Just as I was concerned about her eyes, the special note on the statue changed.

-----

Special note: Ugly. But the statue casts a strong charming illusion on followers of Yu Il-Shin. Upon seeing this statue, the followers will be infatuated with Yu Il-Shin.

-----

That’s crazy. I don’t need to know all this information!

***

I finally finished training with Sung Mi-Ri. I said “training,” but it was just a pretext to unbind her seal. But since it was an SS-grade seal, progress was slow. I expected it’d continue for another month.

“Lalala~”

Sung Mi-Ri went home with my statue in her arms. I saw her off with complicated emotions. At some point, I gave in to her pleading, but now I was having second thoughts. Was it really alright for a highly-sensitive teenager to keep something like that at home?

[Silently Crawling Nightmare envies the female human, wishing she had that statue as well.]

[All-Cutting Heavenly Sword is upset at the foolish child for not realizing the greatness of the power bestowed upon him.]

Messages from the two stalkers appeared, but I ignored them. Being made to prep all the ingredients at the Chinese restaurant so early in the morning was the last straw. If I were to serve those stalkers again, I’d stop being a human.

“Haa, let’s get down to business then.”

I steeled myself, then set my laptop on the half-burnt table. Somehow, it felt like I was able to get some writing done today. From now on, I’d solely focus on my next submission deadline! I glared at my laptop, my heart and eyes burning with creative passion. However...

“Damn it.”

My laptop screen remained empty, just like my bank account. My willpower didn’t match my work speed; my brain wasn’t working at all!

“Gosh.” I let out a heavy sigh.

Then, my eyes wandered to the phone lying in a corner of the room. Before I knew it, I had launched God-Maker. In my defense, I wasn’t playing a game, but trying to get materials for my writing. I was also worried about the ants that were poisoned last time.

[Welcome to God-Maker.]

[Depending on your choices and play style, you can become a benevolent or a malevolent god.]

Polite yet plain messages greeted me, and the screen changed.

Sizzle.

The first thing I saw was a bunch of ants gathered around something in the cave. They were both joyful and in despair. Did our connection as god and followers allow me to feel their emotions? What made them feel this way?

Then, noticing my curiosity, the termite Saintess bowed to me in deep respect. Soon, the others followed suit.

At last, what they were surrounding was revealed to me. I could barely make it out with my naked eye, but it seemed to be a bud. It was no bigger than the ants’ antennae. My skill activated itself.

-----

[Bud of the World Tree]

Asexual. A newborn sprout from the World Tree, developed with the miracle bestowed by Yu Il-Shin, who had absorbed the Berry of the World Tree.

Special note: It fell sick and will soon wither.

Estimated lifespan: 24 hours 30 minutes 39 seconds.

-----

Berry of the World Tree? Was that weird berry offered by the ants as tribute back then? After eating it, I instantly recovered from serious burns. I still recall how much I regretted not selling it.

So this bud was the World Tree? My greed swelled.

Imagine if this bud grew into a huge tree and bore lots of fruits... Jackpot!

I’d no longer have to worry about my retirement plan as a writer! Except, there was an issue...

-----

Special note: It fell sick and will soon wither.

Estimated lifespan: 24 hours 29 minutes 49 seconds

-----

Even now, the bud was rapidly withering. Determined, I clenched my fists, saying, “Let’s save it!”

All for my bright retirement years.

-Ooh, the god is resurrecting the World Tree for us!

-As expected of God Yu Il-Shin!

-Kyaa! I love you, God Yu Il-Shin!

The ants rejoiced, dancing at my resolution.

[Yu Il-Shin bestows the Blessing of the Growth God on the Bud of the World Tree.]

The first thing I tried was to sprinkle Bacchus-F—no, Blessing of the Growth God on it. I dipped my chopsticks into the liquid and trickled a droplet on it...

Sizzle.

Blue light began to envelop the bud.

“Ooh!”

However, the light only lasted briefly. In the next moment, the leaves reverted to their withering, deep yellow color.

Ding!

[The disease is hindering the growth of the World Tree.]

I thought it was a solid idea, but it didn’t seem to work.

“What else can I do?”

I proceeded to access the God’s Shop.

Ding!

A long list of thousands of items appeared in the catalog. Surely, there must be a power or item that would be useful here. Sigh, it would still be a hell of a job to find it, though. Almost like finding a needle in a haystack.

As I scrolled down the catalog, I spotted some items with the “New!” label on it. Huh? Were these new arrivals? One of them caught my eye.

-----

New! [Tears of Infinite Abundance (Low-tier God)]

Category: Exclusive Item for Benevolent Gods

Price: 20,000 Gcoins

Effects: Cures all plant diseases through the goddess’ grace.

Special note: Can only be used after being acknowledged by the goddess.

You can only purchase it after completing the prerequisite quest.

Note: Gcoins won’t be refunded if you fail to complete the quest.

-----

“Oh?”

The description that it could cure all plant diseases drew my interest. Wouldn’t it be able to cure the Bud of the World Tree? Nevertheless, if I wanted to purchase it, I’d have to complete a quest first. And if I failed, a refund wasn’t possible. The last part only made me uneasy. Didn’t that imply there was going to be a risk?

“Hmm.”

After giving it some thought, I proceeded with the purchase. Before arriving at that decision, I had looked at other items, but this was the only one that could cure plants. Besides, other recovery items cost millions of Godcoins.

“Well, it’s only 20,000 Gcoins anyway.”

It was worth the investment.

Ding!

[You have purchased Tears of Infinite Abundance.]

[You paid 20,000 Gcoins.]

[A quest has been activated!]

Slight anticipation and excitement rushed over me. What kind of quest was it? As a genre writer, I naturally expected it to be a high-difficulty quest, especially considering the circumstances. Usually, the location of the quest would be specified, allowing the protagonist to save people.

Ah, but I’m worried if the quest is too hard...

But didn’t I have Sung Mi-Ri? I should be able to overcome it, probably.

Ding!

[Quest: A single good deed a day makes the world a beautiful place]

Huh? What kind of quest name is that?

-----

Infinite Abundance was a benevolent god.

In order to use her item, one must prove their goodness. No good deed is too small. Benevolent gods do not discriminate against them.

Good deeds required to complete the quest: 0/100

Duration: Unlimited

-----

“Uh, uhm...”

All kinds of thoughts swirled in my mind. This wasn’t quite what I had been expecting.

Anyway, she wants me to do good deeds, right?

***

As per the quest name suggested, doing a good deed a day wasn’t that bad. But at this rate, the Bud of the World Tree would wither and die. It’d be wise for me to complete this quest today. Thus, I sprang into action.

Clack.

With a tong and a garbage bag in each hand, I grabbed the cigarette butt from the ground and threw it away. Soon...

Ding!

[You helped clean the world.]

[Your good deeds have increased by 1.]

[Good deeds done until quest completion: 10/100]

“Oh, it’s up by 1 again.”

For the past hour, I had been picking up trash in my neighborhood, resulting in 10 good deeds done.

“Haha, this is quite rewarding.”

I wiped the beads of sweat off my forehead while looking at the clean streets. Was this why people do good deeds? It might be boring, but at the rate at which I was going, I should be able to achieve 100 good deeds with ease.

“Nice! Let’s work hard for a bright retirement plan, Yu Il-Shin!” I yelled in high spirits. I imagined the great World Tree growing fully, bearing a lot of berries.

...Little did I know, that was only the beginning.

Three hours of street cleaning later, I checked my progress...

[Good deeds done until quest completion: 10/100]

“Why! Why isn’t it going up?!”