The System Awakens: Rise of the Champion

"You are the first human to evolve, which means there is a way, a solution, a cure to finally stop the extinctions that now seem inevitable."

"Yes, I evolved on my own, but that doesn't mean I have the cure you gods speak of. All of this happened because I have the ability to do so, that doesn't mean I can solve it."

"I don't have the power to create higher ranked beings, or the ability to turn lower ranked beings into higher ones. I just have the power to turn into them, okay?" Damian stated, sighing.

He was starting to get really annoyed.

"As far as the creation of higher ranked beings goes, that can only be done by progenitors and I'm not one. There aren't any in existence. All you gods are doing right now is coming to me and wasting my time, time I'd rather spend training or fooling around," Damian continued, standing up from the chair.

"If you gods are as great as your stories claim, then use your own authorities. I mean, you are literal gods, and I know you're some of the higher ranking ones in your respective pantheons. I'm sure you could come up with something. So, I ask you respectfully, leave me alone."

"Come on, this concerns the continuance of all the races in the universe. Do you really think we would leave you alone, knowing there's a possibility you could undo the threat of extinction?" the goddess Nike said, smiling slightly.

"We are gods, we can wait as long as it takes to convince you. And until you're convinced, you can't train or do anything, because we'll be there. Standing. Watching. And we'll make you the most annoyed you've ever been until you agree to our proposition."

"Seriously?" Damian suddenly felt his respect for the gods drop several levels.

"Don't take her the wrong way," the goddess Freya added, glaring at her fellow goddess Nike.

"What she meant is, we're really in need of your help. We're willing to do whatever it takes to make you our ally and help us ensure the universe continues on."

"Jesus Christ, you gods are annoying," Damian sighed.

"Are you a Christian? A follower of the Heavenly Father?" the Hindu god Brahma asked.

"I was raised Christian in the orphanage I grew up in, but I don't consider myself religious anymore," Damian replied.

"You just said 'Jesus Christ' a moment ago?" the Greek god Hermes chimed in.

He wasn't particularly fond of the Heavenly Father and had never interacted with Him, largely because the Heavenly Father wasn't known for being talkative.

As the god of communication, Hermes found that particularly irritating.

"It's just a force of habit," Damian said. "I'm not under the influence of any god, not even the Heavenly Father I once looked up to as a kid."

"Look, we could keep going back and forth like this for a long time, since all of us are basically eternal, but I don't want to do that," Damian continued.

He didn't know if the goddess Nike would actually do what she threatened, or if she was just messing with him.

But either way, he didn't want to find out the hard way.

So he figured if he couldn't get rid of them, maybe he could use them instead.

Get all the benefits without the downsides.

"Let's hear it," Brahma said, smiling as though everything was going just fine.

"I'll accept your discipleship," Damian said, "but only if I get to draw up the contracts on my own terms."

If the gods agreed to his conditions, Damian would extract every benefit possible while making sure they had no influence over his free will, decisions, or his path toward infinity and invincibility.

And if they refused because his restrictions bruised their godly egos, great.

That would solve the problem for him without any further effort.

Either way, Damian would win.

And no, he didn't care about missing out on divine blessings.

If they refused, he'd make it on his own.

He believed in his talents more than he believed in gods.

"Fine," the gods agreed.

"What do you want? And please, don't make the contract too unfair for us."

"I'll try," Damian grinned.

[You have triggered the Contract function]

[Your targets: the gods have been set]

[You are making a contract with the following gods and goddesses]

Freya, Vanir Goddess of love, fertility, magic, and battle

Brahma, Hindu God of creation

Nike, Greek Goddess of victory

Hermes, Greek God of travel, trade, and communication

Hathor, Egyptian Goddess of love, beauty, and motherhood

[State the conditions of your contract]

"First condition: the gods cannot have any sort of influence on my decisions, life, relationships, my faction, or anything I choose to do with my life," Damian stated firmly.

"Fair enough," the gods agreed.

"The second condition: I want the gods to bless me with all of their divinities at full capacity, regardless of whether they're considered minor or major."

"That's a small thing compared to saving the races from going completely extinct," Nike replied.

Each of the gods has different divinities through which they channel their powers.

These divinities are representations of entire concepts.

When we say they are the representation of a concept, that doesn't mean they are the concept itself.

Rather, they are beings who channel power from that concept, and their existence is shaped by it.

For example, a goddess of love would be shaped by love, just as a god of war would be shaped by war.

Concepts are a fundamental part of the universe.

In fact, they are a fundamental part of all living beings thriving within it.

When someone becomes a god, they essentially become a representative of these aspects of reality.

Without a god to represent a particular concept within any pantheon, that concept would cease to function in reality.

For instance, if there had never been a goddess of love in any pantheon, then the concept of love would never have existed.

It simply wouldn't be real.

Even the creation of gods depends on concepts.

If a concept exists but doesn't yet have a god representing it, there is always the potential for one to come into being.

When that happens, a god representing that newly formed concept will eventually be born somewhere in the universe.

All the gods standing before Damian are representatives of such concepts, and these concepts are the source of their divinities.

Using their divinities, gods can shape or create anything as long as it falls within the scope of their concept.

For example, Hathor, as one of the goddesses representing the concept of love, can sense, read, create, or even erase love between any entities, whether it's between two or more living beings or even between a living being and a non-living object.

Likewise, Brahma, as a god of creation, has the power to bring anything into existence using the might of his divine concept.

Right now, Damian was asking the gods to bless him with all the concepts they represented.

Being blessed by a god meant the person receiving the blessing would gain significant access to the power of those concepts.

In rare cases, it could even awaken a dormant ability within them, triggered by the influx of conceptual power.

Concepts were incredibly powerful.

While Damian wouldn't gain the full powers or abilities of a god through their blessings, he would receive immense authority within the Tower Realms.

Among mortals, he could do almost anything with that kind of power.

Blessings were the greatest gift one could receive from a god, but they came with downsides.

Being blessed meant falling under the god's influence.

However, Damian wouldn't face that problem.

His first condition clearly stated that the god could not influence him in any way.

Another downside was that gods had the ability to revoke their blessings whenever they wished.

"My third condition," Damian said, "is that I will help the god, but only in matters that I have the ability to deal with, and only if it won't cause me any trouble or harm."

"I can agree with that too," one of the gods replied.

"The fourth condition: the gods will not make me fight their battles, or involve me in conflicts between gods or pantheons, unless it directly concerns me or anyone I care about," Damian continued.

"Fine with that too," the gods agreed once more.

This made Damian raise an eyebrow.

So far, every condition had benefited only him, yet the gods were still agreeing.

They were getting almost nothing in return for the blessings they were offering.

"Look, I know what you're thinking," said the goddess Freya.

"But as we said before, we only want to protect you and maybe get your help in preventing the extinction of the races."

"Fine," Damian said, "then I will agree to the discipleship if you accept the final, fifth condition of this contract."

He paused before stating it clearly.

"The gods must help me grow as strong as possible, to the fullest extent they can, as long as it doesn't negatively affect me, my faction, or anyone I care about."