That protagonist is trash; I could do better!

Hall relaxed and calmly accepted "death".

Outside the stone coffin

Ereshkigal carefully transferred some of the power of the underworld ruler, observing the changes in the Hall spirit inside the sarcophagus with each step.

She had never even considered the idea of ​​humans inheriting divine authority, let alone heard of it.

In the eyes of humans and deities of this era, this is something beyond common sense, like telling someone in modern times that the Earth is flat.

"So far, everything is going smoothly."

Ereshkigal found it incredible.

"It's more accurate to say it went too smoothly!"

"The reason is that Hall fully accepted the power without any rejection."

"Could he be a god too!?"

"..."

"No, it should be related to the mysterious and unpredictable power that is bound to his soul."

More than an hour later, the stone coffin was opened again.

Ereshkigal slumped to the ground, panting, her pretty face flushed, but not from shyness, but from the pain and exhaustion of being unable to breathe after strenuous anaerobic exercise.

The transfer of some of her powers was a significant drain on her, reducing her spiritual foundation power and presence concentration. Even so, aside from worrying about Hall's safety, she accepted Hall's proposal without any hesitation.

A hand was stretched out in front of her.

Ereshkigal looked up and saw Hall's concerned expression. A relieved smile appeared on her face. "That's great. It looks like it was a success."

Hall simply picked her up and kissed her forehead: "Thanks to you, Ellie."

Ereshkigal rested his head against Hall's chest and chuckled, "That's right. If you can't give me a satisfactory answer, I'll turn you into a spirit and keep you by my side forever."

Having completed the power transfer ceremony, Hall carried Ereshkigal back to Kusa City.

The two stood at the highest point of the city, overlooking the entire dark and silent dead city.

Hall said, somewhat puzzled, "Ailee, speaking of which, we haven't seen a single undead tonight."

Hall still vividly remembers the last time he was overwhelmed by a sea of ​​skeletons.

"Um... I sent them back, otherwise seeing them would spoil the atmosphere, wouldn't it?" Ereshkigal said apologetically.

Sure enough, this girl is incredibly cute and has such a strong girlish heart.

"Let's begin now."

"What should we do?"

"No need to rush, just watch from the side. I'm going to modify the terrain and buildings of Kusa City and the Underworld."

Modify the terrain and buildings?

Ereshkigal was puzzled and, aside from curiosity, didn't care much. Kusa City was originally a human city, so it didn't matter how it was modified. As for the Underworld, apart from the cold rock and soil, there wasn't even a weed in sight, so changing the terrain was meaningless.

Tiamat.

Hall's consciousness reconnected with Tiamat.

“Yes, Master,” Tiamat, now in spirit form, replied.

“Share power with me.”

"Understood," a soft voice replied in Hall's ear.

Even with the power to change the rules of the underworld and alchemy, transforming the entire terrain of the underworld entrance area would be a massive undertaking for Hall.

To achieve this, it is necessary to share a portion of the Sea of ​​Origin of Life with Tiamat, thereby obtaining an infinite supply of magic power far exceeding that of the Star Cup.

Hall used magic to create a ball of light that emitted a strong glow, and then covered it with a cone-shaped shield to ensure the directionality of the light.

The goddess of the underworld asked curiously, "Hall, what is this?"

"round."

"round?"

"That's right, the foundation of alchemy represents the cycle of matter and energy."

Simply put, it's the law of conservation of energy, a fundamental concept in alchemy.

The wind elemental spirit familiar grabbed the luminous object and flew into the sky, the faint light gradually spreading and enveloping the entire city of Kusa.

Hall took a deep breath, his heart pounding intensely. His body and mind connected, and with each breath he extracted true ether from the atmosphere of the Age of Gods. Vast magical power surged within him, transforming him into a humanoid dragon.

It provides internal magical power while simultaneously drawing in external true etheric elements.

Hall's magic eye glowed, and his pupils formed a cross.

Snapped!

With a clap of his hands, magic formed a closed loop within his body, which then touched the earth.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle~!

A powerful blue light emanated from Hall's hand, and in that instant, the world changed.

Rumble!

Kusa City trembled slightly, billowing smoke and dust.

In the outermost area, blue light emerges, forming a circular array along the circle reflected by the luminous body, and then dispersing into even more blue light rays.

Ereshkigal watched in astonishment as streaks of blue light emanated from the ground and pierced through the city of Kusa.

If you observe the sky above Kusa City, you will find that Kusa City is enveloped by a pentagram-shaped circular array.

Boom boom boom!

The earth cracked and the terrain changed. All the buildings in Kusa collapsed instantly, and even more Gothic buildings with styles out of step with the times rose up.

Although the building was just created, it looks like it has been weathered by time, full of a dilapidated sense of the era.

These buildings were designed by Hall himself or referenced the style of the Sixth Singularity, the White Sanctuary.

Hall's mind was divided into hundreds of parts, and he transformed Kusa City according to the pre-designed plan.

Half an hour later, Kusa City was completely transformed.

Hall surveyed the entire medieval city and nodded in satisfaction: "The basic environment is now complete. All that's left is to add the details. That can be left to the earth elemental spirits."

Beside her, Ereshkigal was stunned. Even she, the mistress of the underworld, could not easily accomplish such a thing, let alone build a city in half an hour.

Destruction is easy; creation is difficult.

Hall smiled and extended an invitation to the goddess of the underworld: "That's enough for today, Ereshkigal. How about we take another walk together, tour this city I created, and I'll explain the information related to Dark Souls?"

“That’s quite an amazing change. Well, I’m even more interested in the dark soul game you mentioned now.” Ereshkigal nodded seriously in agreement.

Such a huge commotion told her that Hall was serious, and this so-called game was not as simple as she had previously imagined.

Chapter 419 Judge Guda

Next, Hall and Ereshkigal strolled around the newly created yet dilapidated Gothic city.

The building density is much higher than that of the original Kusa City. The moonlight casts long, narrow shadows, which, combined with the deep, dark alleys, make the city look even more sinister and terrifying.

The goddess of the underworld was filled with curiosity and excitement, marveling at Hall's architectural skill.

Hall explained the core concepts and content of the game Dark Souls, which requires the assistance of souls and spirits from the underworld, to make contracts with spirits, to create monsters, and then human souls can also participate in the game itself.

“Arei, I know what you’re thinking. You want to protect humanity in your own way.”

"However, I will not accept your approach."

"This game, or perhaps a test for humanity, is the answer, the key to determining the outcome of our bet."

"The world is set in the context of the departure of the ruler of the underworld, the imminent collapse of the underworld, and the descent into a fireless darkness."

Hall explained the world's setting.

Ereshkigal listened intently, her eyes growing brighter and brighter, as Hall's words perfectly suited her tastes.

For a goddess, what Hall said was not difficult to understand; creating a small world was not difficult for a god.

The key lies in the rule setting that Hall mentioned.

Under the rules of the underworld, just like in the real Dark Souls game, spirits do not truly die, and the world is built around this core concept.

Each time a spirit dies, its spirit origin is weakened until it degenerates into a monster that thirsts for souls and attacks spirits with complete spirit origins.

The human soul must experience countless deaths in this world, accept the fear of death, and accept the fate of destruction. The only hope is to find the power left behind by the ruler of the underworld.

The human who obtains the power will become the next ruler of the underworld, but in reality, this is nothing more than burning their own soul to exercise the power of the underworld and delay its collapse.

The world will eventually fall into darkness, and humanity will eventually be destroyed.

Under such desperate terror, will humanity simply perish, helplessly awaiting death and accepting its fate?

If so, then even if Ereshkigal wins the bet.

If not, and someone completes self-sacrifice, using their own soul as a torch to continue the world, then Hall wins.

After hearing Hall's overview, Ereshkigal was interested and even thought that the game of Dark Souls was a cruel and despairing world.

It is more difficult than the current predicament facing humanity, and it tests the resilience of human nature even more.

“I’m getting more and more interested. I will do my best to assist you in creating a dark world of souls, and I look forward to the results,” Ereshkigal assured Hall.

Creating a world is not difficult, but creating a world with complete rules is entirely different.

Therefore, Hall needs the assistance of Ereshkigal, the goddess of the underworld, to rewrite the rules and create the dead.

For the next week or so, Hall spent his time reshaping the terrain and buildings of Kusa City, devising many "Miyazaki Hidetaka conspiracies".

Terrain kills, trap kills, treasure chests, and enemy skull decoys are all filled with "Miyazaki Hidetaka's malice".

Even Ereshkigal exclaimed that Hall's design was excessive when he saw it.

······

The spacious open space was covered with tombstones, overgrown with weeds, and littered with crumbling walls. The bricks and stones paving the ground were also dilapidated.