Poor Goddess
As we strolled along the evening streets, Mei and I were enjoying the pleasant weather. I quite liked this region; it had a moderate climate, and the summer evenings were delightful. We were munching on some local delicacy that resembled a sweet treat made from melted and baked sugar. I couldn't recall its name, but it had a slightly bitter taste. Ah well, sometimes I do miss the cuisine from my previous life. Unfortunately, the locals here have different priorities, and their focus is on using spirit-enhanced herbs and cultivating in spirit-rich lands to enhance the taste. It does make the food more tasty, but if the base ingredients aren't great to begin with, there's only so much you can do.
As I was lost in thoughts about the cuisine from my past life, Mei walked happily beside me, and then, Ding! I heard a sound inside my head. I checked what is it, it was a response to my earlier feedback, where I complained about the strange treatment from the goddess! Holy fuck! They were offering me the opportunity to make couple more minor wishes to compensate for my issues. Hmmm, I thought it through a little
1) I wish for the Check-In system's rewards to be more tailored to my needs, so if I desire cultivation techniques or items, the rewards would align with those preferences. It might not sound that powerful, but it could be quite beneficial.
2) I wish for the limitations and troublesome aspects of my perks to weaken gradually with my cultivation growth, so I won't be too restricted by them.
Since I suspected that I wasn't communicating with the goddess directly, I decided to try something daring to perhaps mess with her a bit. What could go wrong?
3) I wish for the goddess to experience mortal life, so she could understand what it's like for ordinary people.
Well, the third wish was a little petty, and I doubted they would actually grant it. But it definitely boosted my mood! Hahaha! At least I hope they will fulfill the first two wishes to some extent. They don't seem too complicated after all.
***
Somewhere in the heavens, in the region of Earth:
The goddess sat at the table, squirming uncomfortably in her chair as she tried to justify herself to her superior, a middle-aged man with silver hair exuding an aura of power. He looked so tired that it was almost pitiful to see.
"Do you understand that our task is to gather all the pearls, and they must be collected voluntarily? Have you ever wondered why?" her superior asked, sipping on some drink and looking at her with a weary expression.
"Well, it's just a matter of collecting them. What's the big deal? His wishes were fulfilled, so he should be grateful and bow down to me. But instead, he complains like a petty fucker" the goddess replied dismissively.
Her superior rubbed his temples tiredly. "You still haven't thought about why it's so important to gather them voluntarily, have you? Do you know that our highest deity is stuck at the level of Middle Awareness?"
"Yes, I'm aware" the goddess replied, tilting her head slightly.
"Well, to overcome this problem, according to the oracle, he sealed his powers in these pearls and scattered them throughout the world. Now they need to be collected, so when the accumulated emotions of all the grateful people come together, they will help him advance to the next level of cultivation. This will also benefit all the other deities in his jurisdiction, as it will become easier and they'll have access to more resources. Now, imagine what will happen if, instead of gratitude, he receives irritation or even hatred from these pearls? I understand that it may seem insignificant with just one pearl, but you've made 15 mistakes with these pearls so far. What should I do with you?" her superior sighed.
"Understand and forgive?" the goddess offered timidly.
After a few seconds of silence in the office, the superior burst into loud and hearty laughter, even roaring with amusement. "Hahaha! Can you believe it? The young lad came up with something to deal with you. Maybe you'll get smarter from this, hahaha! I'll send you on a little vacation, or may be not so little" he said with a mysterious smile.
A sense of unease and impending trouble washed over the goddess.
"No, no, I don't know what he proposed, but I'm sure it's nothing good. I promise to do better," she pleaded, folding her hands in a begging gesture.
"Don't worry, everything will be fine. I've already consulted with your mother, and she approved the plan. Good luck in your new journey, and try not to die, otherwise, you'll have to start all over again. Your mother said she'd arrange that" the superior explained.
"What do you mean?" the goddess asked with a doomed tone.
"Just a little something. You'll have to live a mortal life..." he replied casually.
The goddess thought to herself, well, it's not so bad. Mortals usually live around 50-100 years, at most. Long, but bearable.
"Yes, I forgot to mention that it will be in the same world where you sent that young lad" the superior added.
The goddess froze. 50-100 years? This little fucker got me trapped for millennia!
"Your mother said it's time for you to find a husband, so off you go, with a song in your heart!" the superior continued with a grin.
"No, no, no! These could be thousands of years! How is this fair?" the goddess protested.
"Don't worry, your mother said she'll come to visit you" he said, snapping his fingers, and the goddess vanished into thin air.