Chapter 79: Natural selection

Percy raised an eyebrow.

Gabe shrugged.

While the chances of any one child reaching divinity were laughably minuscule, it was ultimately a numbers game. Especially for immortal beings who could keep pumping out kids for millennia on end.

Percy asked.

Gabe shook his head.

Percy’s eyes widened. Resource management was a problem all worlds had to deal with. That said, it was even more pronounced in the Vault of Magic, due to its smaller size and barren environment. Consequently, it could only support a small number of mortals. This meant the gods had to be a lot more deliberate when choosing which of their kids to keep around.

“Cube. I wish to purchase one portion of sizian meat. User ID: 004527945512.” Gabe suddenly said.

“Authorization granted. 1 portion of sizian meat is valued at 1 credit. Current balance: 26131. Proceed with purchase?” the soulless voice answered again, as the colourful symbols blinked along the room’s walls.

“Yes.” Gabe said.

“Confirmed. Deducting credits. New balance: 26130. Delivery in 6 rits.”

Percy couldn’t help but wonder what happened if one tried using somebody else’s ID. Though, he seriously doubted the gods in charge had been dumb enough to overlook such a glaring loophole.

SSS

A small circular hole opened in the ceiling a few seconds later, before an amber object fell on the bed.

Percy asked.

Gabe said, before picking it up.

The alien snack was irregularly shaped and about as large as Gabe’s fist. Taking a bite, Percy quickly noticed its texture was rough, its taste bitter. Between this and the spoilt rodent meat he’d eaten back on Huehue, he couldn’t help but reevaluate the food they had on Remior. His world might be far from perfect, but if there was one thing he couldn’t complain about was their cuisine. At least, he’d yet to stumble upon anything on par with Freddy’s Honey Rolls during his travels.

As soon as Gabe finished eating, he began circulating his mana between his sternum and stomach, in a manner very familiar to Percy. And about half an hour later, the meal’s efficacy was exhausted, leaving a burning sensation lingering inside the core.

Percy asked.

Gabe replied, before elaborating.

Percy asked in protest.

Gabe said.

Percy grimaced in disgust. What sort of monsters would treat their children like that?!

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Gabe nodded.

In the context of the Vault – and even Remior – one of the most important factors influencing the ‘quality’ of a god was whether they had a powerful bloodline or not. After all, bloodline abilities had all sorts of weird effects, often letting one do things even gods couldn’t otherwise replicate. Percy himself was a prime example of this. So, while a bloodline wasn’t a requirement for divinity, a god who had one was generally stronger than one who didn’t.



Percy remained silent for a while, contemplating the implications. Strictly speaking, Remior’s gods weren’t much better than this. True, they didn’t treat low-borns nearly as badly and, they also didn’t sleep around to spread their blessings all over the place. That said, their approach to bloodlines was more or less the same.

The constant war rampant between the noble Houses was clearly something that suited the Divine Order. After all, it would only take Phoebe a word to stop it, since nobody would dare oppose her. In other words, letting Remior’s nobles continue killing each other was their version of the challenges, to keep recycling the population, allowing more gods to emerge and powerful bloodlines to mutate.

Percy thought.

By comparison, the Vault’s deities were downright cruel, treating their own offspring as nothing but livestock.

Gabe shrugged.

Indeed, Percy’s latest host was clearly one of the lucky ones, having inherited the full package.

he couldn’t help but point out.

Gabe said, before adding.

Percy replied.

Percy felt a wave of hope inadvertently seeping through their connection, but Gabe quickly quashed it.

the latter said.

he explained.

Naturally, Percy wasn’t certain about that last part, but all his experiences seemed to corroborate that deduction.

Gabe was flustered.

And rightfully so. While life and soul affinities were both categorized as rare, the former were much more common than the latter. The Vault of Magic clearly possessed at least one god with a life affinity willing to donate some of his mana. However, there was no guarantee they had what Gabe needed.

Percy asked.

Percy didn’t understand what the problem was.

But Gabe shook his head.

Percy swallowed hard. He had no idea how the difficulty scaled, but he couldn’t help but picture an army of Green golems like the ones from earlier surrounding them.

he asked.

Gabe said.



As much as Percy would’ve loved to dip his toes into the field, he didn’t argue back. Not only had he promised Gabe he’d try saving him, they also didn’t have enough time for this. Even with their newly repaired body, he estimated they’d last a month or two at most.

he asked.

It definitely sounded like a tall order, but Percy wasn’t one to give up easily.

Sёarch* The NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.