Ep. 61 - Tower of Knowledge, New Gods, Subordinates

When Kirito and Asuna went to the second floor, I talked with the gang.

"Well, that happened. Let's go to our new residence. We will stay there for some time so that we can have our long awaited vacation and have you become Gods." When I was done talking, I teleported everyone plus the ship above the largest lake in the 22nd floor.

Then, I erected an island filled with flowers of all types and a tower in the middle. It was almost four kilometers high and the interior was mainly hollow. On the inside, the walls were lined with copies of all books from the ship, all those found in the DanMachi universe, and all the texts found in the AtG universe. The floors were connected with stairs that criss-cross to create a 3D magic circle that fills the entire tower with all the energies that we have encountered and will encounter from now on. I intend to move the entire castle of Aincrad to my inner world, but I will keep this tower separate. Oh, on the topmost floor, there are dimensional doors to our rooms on the ship. Only me and the gang can access the topmost floors, so it's fine, nobody will enter and snoop around. Oh, it was obviously filled with all sorts of defenses and counter-attack formations.

I filled the lake with all sort of profound creatures and normal fish. I also added two giant kois that were in the Divine Spirit Realm. They were constantly moving in circles around the island.

"There we go. The Tower of Knowledge, our residence in this universe. Maybe some other as well. Come on, let's go inside." I said. Freya, Loki, Hephaestus, and Hecate finally understood what being a God really meant. They have a pretty decent authority over what they represent, but Goddesses? Nope. Gods can do anything, know everything, are everywhere. At least, when they want to.

Ok, so… Let me walk you through what happened in the past month and a half.

First: I overcharged my energy gathering formation, basically creating the best cultivation area in all of the multiverse. The cultivation speed here is millions of times greater than in any other place.

Second: everyone became Origin Gods and Goddesses like me, but I will talk about that later. Well, I will give you one quick info: I had to manipulate time to make the process faster, otherwise it would take years, even more time than I took.

Third: the players were blasting through floors with Kirito and Asuna in the lead. Apparently, Argo, Yuna, and Silica were already informed of their quest, so they were all on each other's friends list, ready to get to the 22nd floor.

Fourth: I decided to try and have kids. After becoming a God, I can basically create artificial 'baby juice' and it will actually work, so I decided to always do it from now on and leave it up to chance.

Fifth: Rose managed to convince Blake and Sun and became the 2nd wife.

Sixth: there is no sixth!

So, let me tell you about the God stuff.

So, I had already given them a grimoire with all the information on cultivation and the other energies, to update what they already knew. Each of them had a specific cultivation technique that was the most suitable for them. I also included some dual cultivation techniques just because we all would have benefits from that. What I made sure to include was my knowledge on the laws. Only the knowledge, they would have to comprehend them on their own. Oh, and… Everybody used the same physique changing technique I used.

Now, before you tell me that this is stupid or if I'm not worried about betrayal… I am not. I made sure with a mind-search. I hate to do this to my friends, but I saw that there was not a single possibility of betrayal or back stabbings. Therefore, I helped everyone become Origin Gods and Goddesses like me.

Let's start with Weiss. She decided to make her dominant law 'Glyphs'. And it exists. If it isn't clear enough, laws exist for anything. Even shitting, but I doubt anyone wants to become the God of Shitting… I hope not. Anyway, Weiss officially became the 'Origin Goddess of Primordial Glyphs'. Yang became the 'Origin Goddess of Primordial Adventures'. While the title is a little iffy, it represents her personality and desires, so it's perfect for her. Ruby became the 'Origin Goddess of Primordial Benevolence'. Again, her personality played an important role in her decision. Loki had an upgrade and became the 'Origin Goddess of Primordial Curiosity'. I am considering revising the whole title thing because it's becoming stupid. Anyway, it represents Loki since she is a trickster but particularly curious about anything. It also matches with my law. Freya was promoted to 'Origin Goddess of Primordial Beauty'. I though she would be both Love and Beauty, but apparently her laws were slightly unbalanced. Oh well, you won't see me complaining: becoming Goddesses made everyone look even sexier than before, now imagine the Goddess of Beauty becoming even more beautiful… I dig it.

Hephaestus just got an upgrade and became the 'Origin Goddess of Primordial Blacksmithing'. Hecate became the 'Origin Goddess of Primordial Magic'. Those two are pretty straightforward.

Next, we have Jaune, the new 'Origin God of Primordial Determination'. Now, he is slightly weaker than the rest, but the law is OP. If he has the determination to do something, he gets a massive power boost and is as powerful as me. Pyrrha became the 'Origin Goddess of Primordial War'. Pretty straight forward I suppose. Ais became the 'Origin Goddess of Primordial Revenge'. I was stunned when she told me her dominant law. She said that she has accomplished her revenge after the One Eyed Black Dragon was defeated but wanted to take revenge for those that couldn't. I couldn't say 'no' to her, so she's a vengeful Goddess now.

Ren became the 'Origin God of Primordial Tranquility' since he was affected by his semblance. He didn't hate it though, he likes peace and tranquility, though he doesn't hate an adventure if it's with his friends. Nora became the 'Origin Goddess of Primordial Lightning'. I did show her the black lightning that attacked me during my tribulations, and she loved it. Oh, nobody experienced the tribulations since the Tower was my domain and nothing could interfere with it.

Sun became the 'Origin God of Primordial Yang' while Blake became the 'Origin Goddess of Primordial Yin'. Rose became the 'Origin Goddess of Primordial Wolves', due to her race that threw her laws completely off balance. Amethyst became the 'Origin Goddess of Primordial Assistance'. She said that she was still my assistant/maid and that she wouldn't become anything else. Basically, she is OP as long as she helps others. Otherwise she is a normal Origin Goddess. Diana became the 'Origin White Dragon', while Ariel became the 'Origin Magical Cat'. Those were pretty straight forward since animals' cultivation worked differently from human cultivation. Now, we are all Gods and Goddesses! Except for Aria, but she's just there as emotional support for Ais, so it will be a long time until she gains our trust. Well, she doesn't seem to mind, so everything's fine.

To celebrate the day the gang entered Godhood, I gifted all the players 18 levels and displayed the message:

"World Message!

The 18 companions of the 'Origin God of Primordial Knowledge' have entered Godhood! To celebrate, the Gods have decided to give every player a permanent blessing! They are waiting for their subordinates on the 22nd Floor, in the Tower of Knowledge.

Details:

Blessing of the 'Origin God of Primordial Knowledge': To celebrate a joyous day, here are 18 free levels! They are permanent!"

Now, the Tower also has 19 symbols that represent us.

So, yeah, that happened. Now, the players are on the 21st Floor. Theoretically, it should take them basically less than a week to arrive here. I am waiting for them in trepidation. Playing with these mortals is so fun!

As I thought, after two days, the players cleared the 21st floor Boss. Since it was night time, I decided to start a firework display and light up the way to the Tower. Since we are taking a vacation in this universe, I will just have the players work for me under the guise of quests. Pretty devilish, if I do say so myself (*sips tea after a long time* verily). Now I understand what those protagonists transported into games feel when they start manipulating the players. It feels pretty nice acting like a puppet master. Loki will join me in messing with these mortals. We will send them on impossible missions but prevent them from dying or maybe just request an insane amount of materials for an 'unknown reward', which then turns out to be a crappy weapon or just crap, literally.

The first to reach the Tower of Knowledge were Kirito and Asuna, followed by the three targets from the quest. The seventeen of us were looking at them from the topmost floor, through a projection in the middle of the Round Table. Everyone had their own throne by this point in time, with a different design which best represents their law or race.

When they first saw the island with fluorescent flowers and fish in the lake, they were pretty stunned. They looked in marvel for a little since it was quite a magical scene. This repeated when they actually entered the Tower. Thousands of floors filled with books and staircases with glowing magical circles and glyphs tend to be quite fantastic to look at. Then, they started climbing the stairs, running. They probably didn't realize that this is a God's Tower: the staircases are actually a maze. How could I ever make it simple to mere mortals? I had my fun watching them lose their way for an hour, before teleporting behind them.

"So, had enough of wandering around the same three floors, or should I leave you for another hour?" I asked

"Man, you are awful." said Kirito.

"Oh, thanks! I aim to impress! So you three are the ones I was searching for, huh?" I said and teleported the six of us to the topmost floor. I took my seat on the 'Throne of Knowledge' and addressed them.

"First! Kirito and Asuna! You did well bringing the three girls here! You may choose any one skill from this list or create one yourself. If you want a custom skill, you will have to give me some knowledge though. Oh, and I see that you are getting along very well… When are you getting married? We will attend if you invite us. When you wake up in the hospital, ask about a card with a book on it. When you want to call me, break it in half.

Second! Yuna, the Traveling Bard! You see, I love music, but I don't have much knowledge on it, at least not from this world. I want you to create a music book. Also, I would like you to perform in concerts here at the Tower of Knowledge. I will broadcast your performance in all of Aincrad, don't worry.

Third! Argo, the Information Broker! Information… Knowledge… Just from that I like you already. I want you to create a complete guide to every floor. To do that, you will need protection, of course. What is your favorite animal?"

"W-well, I have a pet mouse at home… I miss him…" she said.

"I see… Close your eyes and imagine your little friend. Good, now… Open them." I said. I had created a familiar version of her pet mouse. There is one thing that I haven't told either her or Asuna: these familiars will follow them to the real world or any other virtual world they go to. "Argo, this little furball will protect you. He is way stronger than the 100th Floor's Boss. I'll also give you my blessing, so that you will never die in Aincrad."

"I will also add my blessing. As long as you are determined to accomplish your goal, you will have enough strength to do so." said Jaune. He likes Argo's business. Information that can save your life for a sum. Pretty good deal, I'd say.

"By the way, after this discussion I will issue quests and rewards, so don't worry.

Now then, fourth! Silica, the Dragon Master! Well, I just wanted to meet the girl that befriended a dragon. You see, Diana here is a dragon as well, a dragon Goddess, to be precise-"

"Yes, and I already smell that you are a good person. You and Pina will receive my blessings." said Diana, cutting me off.

"Rude little dragon… Anyway, this is it. You can consider me some sort of NPC while in the game. If we didn't have enough of our little vacation by the time you clear it, you will see us in the real world as well. Who knows, I might just become your teacher at school…" as I said that, I issued some quests.

For Kirito and Asuna:

"Congratulations! Quest Complete!

You have completed your quest and brought me three interesting players. Good job! Since I am a very generous God, I will give you my blessings so that you don't die and will allow you to choose one skill from the following list. If you exchange some knowledge, you could even make your custom skill. Who knows, maybe the skill you will gain will transfer to real life. You can only find out with time…"

For Yuna:

"Congratulations! Quest Chain Found!

How talented, little Yuna, how pure… I want you to create a music book for me, the materials will all be provided. In addition, I want you to start holding some concerts here in the Tower of Knowledge. Let the people know that SAO isn't just a death game, but your reality for now. You still have to live here for probably a year or so, you will have all the time you need. Oh, your friend Eiji is welcome here as well, to support you. He is a great person, maybe spend some more time with him."

For Argo:

"Congratulations! Quest Chain Found!

Dear Argo… You have no idea how many people the information you sold has saved. I want you to save many more people, so start creating the most detailed guides you can. Your new familiar is more than enough to protect you. In addition, you have the blessings from me, the 'Origin God of Primordial Knowledge', and from Jaune, the 'Origin God of Primordial Determination'. You will not die and always have the strength to accomplish your goals if you stay determined. Now, go and explore! The information business is yours to dominate!"

For Silica:

"Congratulations!

I just wanted to meet the Dragon Tamer of SAO. You are an adorable little girl. Diana, the 'Origin White Dragon' would probably like speaking to you. Plus, she will bless you and your partner Pina. SAO isn't all fun and games, but it isn't all death and sadness either. Find something you like and enjoy your time if you can. Oh, and... Stay away from Rosalia, she is from the Titan's Hand."

They stared at their messages for a while.

"I really can't tell if you are a really strange NPC or a real God…" said Kirito

"What do you think, Kazuto? Who am I? A crazy programming error, or a generous God? You can only discover if you cut my vacation short, so get to clearing those floors. We are 19 Gods, I guess we can come up with some quests to boost you and Asuna. Oh, yeah! Now that I think about it, how is Haku?"

"Oh, Haku is great! He is like a cat! A super strong and sometimes scary cat…" Asuna said.

"Wonderful! So… What do you say? Want to become the subordinates of the Origin Gods?" I asked.

"Sure!" They all said together.

We had dinner with them in the end. I brought out a lot of food, including their favorites, which I got from their subconscious. The five kids all cried when they tasted the familiar tastes of home cooking.

Freya and Ruby calmed down the girls, while I was stuck with Kirito. Well, the kid is edgy, but he's still a teenager stuck in a death game. I'm not sure how the old me would have reacted…

"You are all very brave kids. Push forward, I guarantee you will get back to your families. Come on… We could even meet up and have fun in the real world! You'll be our tour guides! So don't worry. Think of this as an adventure! You can find love, friends, enemies… So many things you can do!" I said.

That seemed to work and calmed them down. To put their minds at ease, I created a black card with a silver book on it and 'knowledge' written on the back.

"This is the same card you will find when you wake up. Tear it, and I will find you. It works even here in Aincrad or any other reality you end up in. Take one each and use it when you need me. It's a reward for being so courageous."

Silica then asked: "When we wake up? Then you really are Gods?"

"You will have to find out. I told you: for now, think of me as a crazy NPC." I said and winked.