The slaves arranged a big celebration for their freedom. Everyone laughed and danced, eating and drinking. However, when Amadeus came down, they all stopped, feeling uneasy acting so foolishly in front of the divine being they followed.
"Why did you stop? I don't have a problem with a little fun," said Amadeus as he grabbed an apple to eat. "Our god is very kind." "Yes, he has a big heart," said the slaves, and then they returned to celebrating but kept glancing at Amadeus with confused eyes.
Avice came running and said, "Why did you come down like this?" Amadeus, confused, replied, "Aren't you the one who told me to come down?" Avice then pointed at his clothes and said, "Why did you come down still wearing your slave clothes?"
Amadeus looked at her and the rest of the slaves and understood why they had been looking at him with confused eyes. They were now wearing proper clothes that seemed to belong to the guards.
"Didn't Arne bring you your clothes? Oh, of course, he forgot. Follow me, let's get you clothes that match you," said Avice. Amadeus followed her to Commander Geoffrey's room. There, she pulled out one of his resized outfits to fit Amadeus. "Come on, try them," said Avice.
Amadeus wore clothes that looked like what nobles would wear for sword training but without the extravagant design. "They look great on you," said Avice, like a mother buying clothes for her son. "Thanks, Avice. This is much better than walking around with a piece of cloth around my body," said Amadeus.
"Let's go back; everyone is waiting for you," said Avice. A window appeared.
[New Item]
/Outfit - Common
/Commander Geoffrey's casual clothes: Worn by Commander Geoffrey when he's off duty. They can take medium damage before tearing - adds 0 defense with no special effect.
Time passed, and Amadeus remained lost in thought, not caring about the celebration around him. The voice of the Crown took his attention. "Are you going to give a speech to your followers?" Amadeus replied confidently, "What are you talking about? I am not going to give a speech."
"Maybe you will change your mind after looking at this," said the Crown, and a window appeared.
[Followers Menu]
Followers number: 546
Overall devotion level: 40%
Avice - legendary follower: Devotion level 90%
Arne - common follower: Devotion level 80%
Bertram - rare follower: Devotion level 80%
??? (the old man) - unranked: Devotion level 0.00001%
/Do you want to see more followers (yes) (no)
"The old man, why does his information seem wrong?" asked Amadeus. "About that, I don't know the reason. Maybe he's too weak for the system to rank. After all, he is the only old man among your followers," said the Crown.
"Then I shall keep a close eye on him until we find the reason," said Amadeus while looking at the old man who smiled when he noticed Amadeus looking at him. "Anyway, that's not the reason I showed you this. Your overall devotion level is 40%," said the Crown.
"Isn't 40% good enough for now?" asked Amadeus. "It's good, but if you want to become stronger faster, you have to work to raise it. 40% means you will get only 40% of the devotion amount you received when the slaves accepted you as their god," said the Crown.
"Since we are at this point, you did not explain how devotion works," said Amadeus. "Wait, I didn't tell you? And you're just telling me now? Anyway, let me explain," said the Crown.
From what Amadeus understood from the Crown's explanation, devotion is the primordial mana that forms the soul of all living creatures. The only way to extract it is through faith and belief. When a soul becomes a follower, its primordial mana is transferred to the god, becoming his fuel.
Primordial mana, aka devotion, can be harvested once the soul accepts the god, then it will be harvested every month on the same day. Two factors affect the amount of devotion that can be harvested:
-The rarity of the follower: The higher the follower's rarity, the more devotion they can give. For example, Avice delivered 10 levels of devotion because she is a legendary follower.
- the strength of the follower: the stronger the follower the more devotion will be harvested from him
-The devotion level: This affects the amount you will get from that follower after the first harvest. The higher it is, the more devotion will be harvested.
"So to increase the devotion level, I have to make them love me more," said Amadeus. "Exactly, so a speech will be just what you need," said the Crown. "I guess I have no other choice," said Amadeus.
Amadeus jumped to the first floor. With everyone looking and silence filling the place, he said with a voice full of warmth, "Throughout your lives, you have suffered countless misfortunes, starting with losing your family, then your home, and finally your freedom. But from now on, misfortune will be a thing of the past. I promise you that as long as you follow me, I will make sure you will not suffer."
Everyone started cheering for Amadeus. "We will always follow you, our god Amadeus!" "Long live god Amadeus!" A window appeared.
[Notification]
/Overall devotion level raised: 40% -> 55%
"Is that all?" asked Amadeus. "Humans don't trust easily," said the Crown. Suddenly a window appeared, bringing a smile to Amadeus's face.
Amadeus was heading back but heard something that stopped him. "Our god is the best." "Of course."
"Don't call me god from now on, just say my name," said Amadeus with a disgusted voice from being called the thing he hates the most. "No, we can't, because it's our way of showing respect to you," said Avice, and everyone supported her.
"Then call me master and I won't take no for an answer," said Amadeus with a menacing voice. "Okay, I guess we have no other choice," said Avice. He said, "I will take my leave now. You can enjoy the rest of the night."
the Crown above Amadeus said " weren't you too harsh , they just wanted to show their respect "
Amadeus stopped and said " they should know what kind of a person their following, i am not a priest or a saint so they should not expect me to always be kind to them ". then he started walking.
"Did I make him angry?" said Avice with tears in her eyes.
Back to Amadeus, who was sitting on the top floor looking at the window that appeared.
[Notification]
/Follower Avice's devotion level reached 100%. The user can now copy the follower's ability and use it.
/Follower Bertram's devotion level reached 100%. The user can now copy the follower's ability and use it.
"Show me the skills," said Amadeus.
[Copy Menu]
/Legendary follower Avice skill - passive (power up)
{Genius Learner: The user becomes a genius in all fields by making the rate at which experience rises in any field x10 the normal speed.
Note: It can be upgraded further by just using the skill.}
/Rare follower Bertram skill - active (power up)
{More Strength: For 10 minutes, when activated, the user gains 200 strength.
Warning: After the period is over, the user's strength will return to 50% of its original value. It will return to its normal state after 2 hours.}
"You didn't tell me I could get skills from my followers," said Amadeus. "Sorry, but on the bright side, you got very lucky. These skills seem very strong," said the Crown. "Since we are on the topic of questions, I want to know more about the origin of gods," said Amadeus.
"Forgive me, but that story isn't mine to tell. When the time comes, you will know everything," said the Crown. "But can't you tell me anything about them?" asked Amadeus. "Actually, there is something, but I don't think it's that important," said the Crown.
Amadeus kept looking at the Crown, waiting to hear what he had to say. "Okay, I will tell you, even though I think it's a waste of time."
The Crown revealed a startling truth: the so-called gods were never truly gods. This title was bestowed upon them by their followers, and over time, it became widely accepted. In reality, they are merely another race.
The key distinctions, however, are significant. As the first race to come into existence, they possess a profound connection to the spark of creation. They are the only beings capable of harnessing primordial mana and wielding the power to control aspects of reality.
Originally, they called themselves the Divine. However, they discarded this name in favor of "gods," a label that fed their egos more effectively. Thus, they were known as the Divine race.
Amadeus exploded with laughter after finally finding the answer he was looking for. "Are you alright? If I knew this would make you happy, I would have said it sooner," said the Crown. Amadeus looked at the Crown and said, "Tell me, Crown, if people started to call ants dragons, would the ants become as strong as dragons?"
"Of course not, and I understand what you are trying to say, but isn't it the same for gods or the Divine?" asked the Crown.
"No, it isn't," Amadeus replied. "A god is a being that is all-mighty and invincible. These so-called gods claimed only the name without having the power to match it."
Amadeus stood up, looked at the night sky, and with a smirk on his face, said, "It seems I have been giving them more credit than they deserve, which made me overthink. But now it is all clear in my head. As long as they are not invincible, I will destroy them, and I will erase the Divine race from existence."