Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 396 Leaving
Having abandoned his truly embarrassing "cousin," and driven by fear to evolve into a more human being, Rean focused his attention on his work.

He was about to leave. Rean suspected that He, who was not in a hurry at all, could drag it out for a long time, but some things that were meant to come would come sooner or later.

"It's settled then. Please come and help as soon as possible. Although it might be inappropriate for me to say this, your future positions will be quite precarious if I'm not there during this initial stage."

Those who inherit the heroic spirits of the gods are basically all at the level of shepherd, which is the highest level among these clergy.

Now that the new church has been established, the pastors are being managed in a free-range manner. Those pastors who were originally performers or artists are naturally frantically trying to gain popularity and attention.

Rean did not forcefully demand that the other successors participate in the establishment and expansion of the new church as soon as possible; he himself was a proponent of slacking off. This outsider attitude of acting only as a spokesperson and urging others actually earned him the unanimous favor of the candidates.

But he simply reminded these candidates that if they didn't come soon, their future position would be quite precarious.

It wasn't Rean who was in a hurry; he was just stating the facts. You weren't there when the "enterprise" started, and you weren't involved in establishing the first batch of "business relationships," so don't expect to be marginalized when the board of directors and departments are set up.

Rean's statement, however, earned him the trust of most people. What they feared most was that Rean, the "referee" supported by the kingdom, would actually participate in the formation of the church and gain control.

While it's rare for a referee to step in and win the game, it's not impossible if there's enough incentive.

The dominance of a true God's church is enough to turn morally upright people into a moral vacuum.

In the eyes of those who inherited the throne, Rean was like a true "classical knight," merely holding the authority of the god on behalf of the gods, leaving the "throne" vacant, a moral exemplar. But in reality, Rean held "divine authority" above the authority of the Pope, and he really had no need to participate in the struggle between "mortals."

"Perhaps, in the eyes of the high and mighty gods, the politics and power struggles of mortals in the church are like children vying for favor."

"When children are vying for attention, they won't kill each other with a knife, at least most children won't."

The gods themselves gave a subtle answer, and even more subtle a metaphor.

"It's like those backyard power struggles where people talk about love and peace but are actually devoid of emotion. Killing the other person can bring you to power, but if the 'emperor' finds out, everyone is doomed."

From this perspective, perhaps this is a good thing in some sense for the gods? At least, it's not a bad thing.

"As long as it doesn't affect the development of the church, it's a good thing. If they don't get caught up in the infighting, they'll cause trouble. Not letting high-ranking clergy sit idle is a lesson I learned at great cost."

His words were tinged with sadness, as if he had some painful memories to recall.

"Tell me about it so I can have a laugh?" Rean was indeed a little interested, after all, he was also worried about messing things up, and it would be good to learn from his predecessor's mistakes.

"Ha, that was a long time ago. Back then, I wasn't using the name of the God of Drama. The negative aspects of the divine office attracted some ambitious people. Some of them seemed normal most of the time, but at crucial moments, they used the name of sacrifice to distort my divine will."

"Wow, you really are an evil god."

The god was about to leave, so he stopped acting and directly taught Rean some "experiences of being a god" that he might never use in his life.

I must say, there really is a lot of experience with failures; it seems like I can fail at anything I try to do.

The more you listen, the more helpless you feel, and the more you doubt whether there is any hope left for this world.

"Of course there is hope. Look, it's been thousands of years, and we've failed so many times, but the world still exists, doesn't it?"

The seemingly indifferent deity wore a smile at this moment.

His vision is completely different from that of mortals, but as an "evil god," he strangely believes that the world can still exist and that mortals still have value.

[Synchronization rate increases by 1%] As the teaching process progressed, accompanied by the notification sound of the synchronization rate constantly increasing, Rean became increasingly closer to the essence of this god.

He has loved, hated, struggled, despaired, rebelled, given up, and started over again in a long cycle. He is both a benevolent god and an evil god, attempting to create peace while also instigating war. It is difficult to describe such an existence with a simple good or evil.

"If I really have any advice, it's just to do whatever you want and not let yourself regret it."

In the end, the deity gave what felt like a perfunctory answer.

But Rean sensed that this was His most helpless and sincere advice after He had experienced so much and found counterexamples to any suggestion He could offer.

Since you're likely to hit a wall no matter which way you go, you might as well choose the direction you like best. After you hit it, at least you can say, "This is what I like."

Rean also realized that this god was not "unloving of mortals" or "unloving of the world." He might be an exceptionally emotional being, otherwise he wouldn't be a god of art and literature. It's just that everything he loved probably no longer exists, and he is now acting unusually indifferent.

"Living a long time might not be a good thing."

"No, it's a good thing, especially since you can see your enemy's ugly state as he dies."

When love is gone, can hate remain forever? Rean was somewhat amused and exasperated. It was true that living a long time often leads to some kind of abnormality.

For clergy, communication with the deity is extremely precious. Normally, only bishops of the rank of Grand Shepherd or above have the opportunity to make a wish and communicate with the deity "once".

Rean's act of listening to divine will caused his synchronization rate to rise continuously, and his priestly rank to accumulate.

Not becoming a Grand Priest is actually a divine refusal for Rean to achieve this; for him, becoming a Grand Priest is not a good thing right now.

Others who borrowed divine power to become high priests had already reached the pinnacle of their lives and could enjoy being high priests for life. But for Rean, using divine power to achieve a crucial breakthrough, and even to some extent distorting his soul, was completely unacceptable.

That advice to "make a good choice" might also imply that such decisions should be considered in advance.

For Rean, breakthroughs in Dragon Spellcaster, Paladin, or even Mage are more suitable for him than those in Priest.

Those who rely on external forces are never suitable for Lee Eun-suk.
"Alright, next time we meet, I should be able to tell you most things frankly. Heh, I'm really looking forward to it."

"I'm not looking forward to it at all. Wouldn't that be cursing me to die sooner?"

Rean sighed. This god was more powerful than expected, but he always exuded a sense of powerlessness and numbness that Rean disliked. Was his future destiny destined to be so difficult?
But this time, Rean's question received no answer.

This restrained and silent deity departed quietly.

Even at the very last moment, He still hid too many secrets and always maintained a certain distance from Rean.

They talked, but didn't open up to each other.

Offer assistance, but do not interfere with decision-making.

The instruction is limited to "common sense," minimizing any self-inflicted influence.

It seems that watching juniors mess around brings more joy to a person who is merely a tool than to do anything themselves.

My era has ended, and I am no different from those who came before me. I hope your era will forge a new path; even if it cannot, please walk to the end with a smile—a poet of sorrow and joy.

(End of this chapter)