Gacha Kingdom Building

-This chapter is written using Catherine's POV-

Uniting an entire world, be it through fear or hope, is a challenging campaign. However, those who manage to complete this feat are handsomely awarded with Demonic Power or Divinity, depending on how they accomplish their quest.

Of course, I ended up on the easiest path. For a vampire, instilling fear in others is just second nature.

After becoming a legendary creature, there was no one capable of challenging me, and the foolish heroes that tried all met their end, serving only to further spread my name, prolonging and improving upon my legend.

I was satisfied with just surviving, I knew what could happen if my power grew too much, but I had climbed too far up. To the point that I acquired the attention of Hwa, the God responsible for the world I was living in.

Thankfully he was too afraid to challenge and kill me. He knew that he would have to bet his life, and at the very least, he would lose enough Divinity to drop his rank among the other Gods.

But one does not survive for so long without being able to maneuver through such a situation.

At the bare minimum, he would lose enough Divinity to drop his rank among the other Gods, so the clever coward came to me with a proposal.

As long as I stayed in his world, the people would continue to fear me, and their faith was going to dwindle due to their God's refusing to intervene.

In this case, he didn't need to kill me. He only had to make it seem like he took care of things, and if done correctly, he could even strengthen their faith.

To convince me not to fight, he told me that if I gave up the Demonic Power I had acquired, he would grant me the Divinity he would've had to use in our fight in small portions.

This way, he would be able to maintain his position while also acquiring a new Goddess as his ally.

It was certainly an amusing idea, but the danger was equally high.

I saw him as an enemy, so giving up power had to be a trap.

However, I could use this in my favor.

By dividing my Demonic power and storing it in some of my dolls, I had a way to reacquire it whenever needed.

So, I accepted his offer and waited for an opportunity.

If he showed me his back, or his fangs... I would surprise and turn the tables on him by using all my power at once.

I knew that fighting a God was delusional, but if I had any chance of winning, it would have to be a surprise attack.

But the opportunity never came. He kept his end of the deal.

Not only that, after I ascended, he helped me look for an unclaimed world with living beings yet to blossom.

And so, under the pretense of a blessing, my life as the Goddess of the Red Night began.

My first planet was called Earth, and since it had only a single race living in it, I thought it would be easy to handle and control.

The human race is prominent in most worlds, they are able to spread everywhere and can survive, live, and thrive under all kinds of circumstances.

While not the most capable by any means, they are still able to use magic, and it doesn't seem like they have a race tendency like angels have for [Light Magic].

Being able to use all kinds of different elements, as well as a physique suitable for physical jobs... not to mention minds capable of understanding and learning most things... they may not rank amongst the best in any field, but they sure are noteworthy in all of them.

Another benefit of choosing this world was their numbers. The planet itself wasn't that big, but they still had billions living in it.

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They were perfectly ripe.

Lapis: "So you went for that one huh..."

Catherine: "Is it famous?"

Lapis: "It's talked about... Its position is quite strange. Far from any other, almost as if purposefully hidden. But if a God purposefully brought life to it, then why was the planet's mana completely dry? Some say it was an experiment from an old God that disappeared or forgot about it, but... Thinking that it was a trap to start a fight, most are cautious of claiming it for themselves."

I've learned that Gods get more eccentric with age. It's the same for every race that has a long lifespan, but I expected them to be more... superior...

Like any other race, they aren't immune to boredom. However, they have unique means to experiment and entertain themselves.

They can play with mortals and other Gods. With themselves. Or with an entire world.

Catherine: "I can't say for sure. It might be that life just blossomed there on its own. The lack of any mana or magic is definitely strange, but who knows? Maybe the planet hates them or something."

It's not that uncommon for life to begin by itself, without anyone taking action, but the rest is pretty much unheard of.

Although it was unique, the novelty alone wasn't enough to make me happy.

The only use I had for that planet, and the only reason I chose it was due to the potential it had to generate large amounts of Divinity.

But I found out that things weren't so easy with the humans of Earth.

They rarely possess feelings and thoughts positive enough to generate Divinity.

Their prayers are filled with selfish requests, and they don't come to me with gratitude.

Instead, they expect me to bend reality to their will, and perform miracles that will only help themselves, even if at the cost of others.

The standard human who has faith in me is still suspicious of my character and actions, which hurts the power of their belief.

When they don't get what they want, the blame falls on me. They are quick to turn their faith into rage and hate, which only generates Demonic Power.

Now that I'm a Goddess, the moment I acquire Demonic Power, it enters in conflict with the Divinity, and they cancel each other.

So in the end, making a profit from them is pretty hard.

They are also surprisingly smart at getting one over the others. The amount of schemes created by people using my name is incalculable.

Obviously, I don't have any desire to target one human specifically amongst the billions, but that doesn't stop them from blaming me for their own stupidity anyway.

It's been 20 years since I've started performing miracles for them, and many still believe in other Gods and myths... some even claim I'm a government conspiracy, whatever that is...

Bluntly, while they have a lot of potential, the amount of Divinity I'm getting from them was hardly worth the trouble.

I was thinking about abandoning this world completely.

I could just throw this Divinity to some dolls, recover my Demonic Power, and then go to start a legend in another world.

I might even be able to go back to the previous one. If I made it appear as if I had won against their God, the fear in them would certainly double, and so would the Demonic Power that they could generate for me.

As for Hwa's hopes... Who cares? As long as I get to survive, I don't mind scamming a God or two.

While this was the plan I set in motion, a few happenings made me halt.

Hwa had decided to participate in a Divine event with me. He saw how useless and weak the inhabitants of Earth were, and gave me one of his worlds.

The idea was to use the Divinity generated there to allow me to perform miracles more often on Earth. This way, their faith in me should increase, and I would be able to have more room to interfere and put them on the right track.

Since there was no downside for me, I started accumulating the Divinity to put this plan into action.

However, before I could invest anything, I sensed the power of The Traveling Merchant.

I don't know this man, but it's impossible not to hear gossip about him.

A God-Eating fiend. An unparalleled and unstoppable monster. He stands toe to toe with Asdrea, the oldest God.

They say that just being in his presence is enough to make a new God fall to their knees.

I never thought being like them would have one, but judging by their fear, this guy was their predator.

If he had come for me, I would just temporarily abandon all my Divinity using my dolls, but before that...

His presence created an opportunity for me.

The Dungeon had to be blocked so that incursions from stronger worlds didn't happen against Earth, and I would normally need the permission of the Gods who placed the barrier to release it.

But the enemy of the Gods changed that. He gave me the perfect excuse to unblock the Dungeon.

While this increased the risks for the people of Earth, I welcomed it with open arms.

Friendly exchanges created the possibility of my name being spread to other worlds, and if some countries happened to be conquered, the people of this world would finally start to struggle enough to desperately turn to me.

Through wars with stronger beings, the mana in the world and their mean level should also increase.

This would grant me more Divinity, and better chances at Divine Events.

While a solid plan, as if to spite me, they have managed to control who enters and who leaves quite well...

And more importantly, since I was set on abandoning this place... I made a few preparations that they'll now have to face.

The first one involves this girl, Lapis.

She is one of the oldest Gods I know of. She's even older than Hwa.

The only reason why she's not on par with him is that she loves these underground rings where we bet a lot on Divine Events.

I call them underground rings, but... While they are normally frowned upon, it's the older Gods who participate the most.

Due to their boredom, they seek enjoyment from risks, and due to their standing, it's hard for anyone to point it as a wrongdoing.

Lapis: "Still... you're pretty bold to participate in this rigged game. As promised, I didn't pick one of my top-tier worlds to go easy on you newbies, but... You do know that Felix and Julie are going to work together, right?"

Catherine: "It doesn't matter. After all the trouble they gave me, their loss might actually make me feel vindicated. And if they happen to win-"

Lapis: "I didn't take you for the naive type. I've seen some records, they are shit."

I can't blame her for that conclusion.

While they are said to be humans, their nature is close to that of a demon.

It's not just their faith that is lacking, but also their cooperation. They have a hard time trusting each other.

Their levels have risen considerably fast in just one generation, but their use of skills and understanding of their own Gifts is still incredibly primitive. Not to mention their magic theories...

When facing others with the same level, their loss is pretty much guaranteed.

Catherine: "In my experience, I found out that there's no such thing as zero chances..."

Time and time again I've been surprised by unlikely scenarios. The fact that I'm still alive should be a miracle in and by itself.

Since I was going to abandon this place anyway, what would otherwise be a risky gamble actually holds no consequences for me.

Even if they lose, I might come out on top.

No... whatever happens... even if I'm thrown at the bottom.

I'll crawl my way back up.

No one will claim my life. I'll use whatever is necessary to ensure my safety.

All that the pathetic humans from this planet need to do is act like the good little stepping stones that they are.

By failing me, they are only failing themselves.

The more they show their worthlessness, the more I'll squeeze everything out of them.

Catherine: "It's about time to announce... shall we start?"

Lapis: "That's a terrifying smile... But I like it! Want me to give you a hand?"

Catherine: "Don't take me for a fool. I might be a new God, but I've been around for a long time."

She is dangerous. I know that from the bottom of my heart.

Her blood... it has a unique, nauseating smell.

It's hateful. My instincts scream that I should attack her.

But I know that I would be no match. While her outer shell is that of a friendly fool, when I look into her eyes, I see something sinister lying in wait.

I'll strive to avoid her as much as possible from now own.

Since the clock was about to strike midnight, we paused our talk to make the announcement.

[People from Earth, listen carefully.

A special Divine Event has started, and Earth has been chosen as one of its participants.

The Dungeon entrances have been sealed, and anyone who has remained on Earth will be considered one of its citizens for the purposes of the Event.

Your world and three others shall be connected and become one for 500 hours.

During this time, the other Gods and I will register the number of deaths suffered by each planet.

The world that has caused the most deaths to another during this period will be able to select and take one continent from another world for themselves.

I hope for your safety, and wish you good luck.]

I say that with utmost sincerity, as our fates are linked.

Prove to me that you are worthy. Show me how you struggle and survive even when the odds are stacked against you.

Or at the very least, provide me with some entertainment before I abandon you.