Taking On the God of Pain

"The God of Fiction really has some interesting ideas. But if you've already got so many characters, why not add the rest of the gods too?"

"This is the move list... Huh? It even has online multiplayer?"

For the first time, the God of Death noticed this feature. He glanced to the side and saw a familiar face—his kobold friend.

'Isn't this guy supposed to be off preparing for the Magic Academy exam? What is he doing here playing games?'

With that attitude, he had no chance of passing. He'd probably hand in a blank test during the first round. The God of Death snorted at the kobold's laziness, then sent him a battle invite.

"Want to bet something on this?" The kobold's eyes gleamed with excitement. He knew the boy in the black hat was loaded, not to mention, he probably wasn't just an ordinary person—maybe an alchemist or something.

People like that had a few defining traits. First, they were rich. Second, they had even more money. And third, they had so much money they didn't know how to spend it all.

"One gold coin. I'm going to win. You have any money on you?" asked the God of Death, smirking. The kobold's face lit up with relief.

'The last time this kid boasted he will win, he got wrecked by the game.'.

The two of them started their online PK match, and the other players around them, seeing what was happening, quickly followed suit, searching for opponents to challenge.

The list of gods in the game was much shorter than the actual pantheon, and there weren't even the full nineteen gods. After a bit of thought, the God of Death picked the one who could fight best from his memory.

Among the lesser gods under the main pantheon, the best fighter wasn't the God of War. Sure, the God of War had a full arsenal of moves—charge, whirlwind slash, skull split, leaping cleave, nerve strike, heart punch, limb sever, charged attack, unlimited brawling, and crossblade strike—but his real job was actually healer. That's why hospitals had his insignia, and his church was called the War God Medical Church'

In ancient times, when gods lost in battle, their domains would gradually be replaced by new gods.

The new God of War had taken on aspects of the God of Healing. He wasn't like the old God of Warfare who oversaw large-scale battles.

This new God of War's full title was the God of Battle and Recovery, shortened to WarRev, and further simplified to God of War.

So, his arsenal included all sorts of healing abilities, except that under his new domain of battle, those healing arts had transformed a bit.

Think of it like this: it went from drinking potions to performing surgeries, from internal medicine to surgery.

That's how you get divine skills like Battlefield First Aid, Overdose Blood Transfusion, Precision Strike, Anesthesia Fist, Hormonal Rage, Bone Reset, Neural Rewiring, Natural Delivery, Ultra-High-Speed Suturing, and Sterile Field. These techniques advanced the medical field in ways you wouldn't believe.

So, the modern God of War wasn't necessarily the best fighter, nor could he guarantee victory for you. But then again, neither could the old God of War.

In war, you start the fight, but no one guarantees you'll win.

So, the god the God of Death chose was:

[God: The Last Serpent, Anantashesha.]

The God of Death pressed the button to confirm.

In the real universe, the Last Serpent's domain was "Seizing Victory." Its divine artifact was the Ring of the Invincible Serpent, symbolizing inevitable triumph. The god itself was a massive king cobra, representing the final, ultimate outcome.

Those who worshipped the Last Serpent were typically the weakest, the ones always at the bottom. But in moments of crisis, they could pray to the serpent, and it would respond, turning them from the weakest into the strongest, granting them a victory they could have never achieved.

However, after victory, a stronger foe would inevitably appear to crush them. The price for the Last Serpent's aid was that while it granted you victory, someone else would soon steal it away, leaving you in a worse position. Yet despite this, people worshiped the Last Serpent devoutly.

Because most of them never tasted victory even once in their lives.

The God of Death trusted this long snake, believing it would bring him victory in this match.

The game quickly loaded into the battle screen. The God of Death glanced over at the god the kobold had chosen and couldn't help but burst into laughter:

"The God of Pain? Come on, you really need to learn more about the gods out there. How could the God of Pain even hope to match the Last Serpent?"

The God of Pain was one of the four main gods of the Gray World, served by the Church of Pain, whose job was to alleviate people's daily suffering.

Suffering came in many forms: physical pain, emotional wounds, environmental torture, unfulfilled desires, the despair of shattered hopes, or the envy that gnawed at your soul. All of these fell under Pain's domain.

The Church of Pain would extract these pains from people and offer them up to the God of Pain.

But constantly removing pain would eventually lead to a state of emotional numbness in the patient. Of course, that numbness could be restored with the right stimulus, ensuring the god had a steady supply of followers to harvest.

After all, if no one could feel pain anymore, and no one was carrying heavy burdens, the God of Pain would starve.

But even so, compared to the Last Serpent, this god's power was insignificant.

The game loaded into the battle arena, and the God of Death picked the industrial zone of the Gray World as the background. Gears turning, steam hissing—this grim factory setting came to life on the screen as the God of Pain and the Last Serpent clashed in a heated PK match.

"Light punch, heavy punch—wait, why is the Last Serpent headbutting for both light and heavy attacks?"

"Let's try a skill. →↓→+A."

The God of Death had the Last Serpent spit venom, drenching the God of Pain in poison. The kobold's character immediately hit the ground, groaning in agony.

But then, the God of Pain, whose health bar was clearly depleted, stood back up—and his health bar started filling up again.

"Oh, right. The more this guy suffers, the more he enjoys it. In this game, getting hurt actually gives him a healing phase?"

That was the God of Pain's nature.

The God of Death cursed under his breath, realizing he'd been tricked. Meanwhile, the kobold had gotten the hang of the controls. He started spamming the God of Pain's skills, and the God of Death rapidly familiarized himself with the game, once again pushing the kobold into a corner!

"Time for the finisher! →↓→←AC."

Victory Reversa.l

The Last Serpent's three divine power bars were full. His ultimate move activated, and if he was at a health disadvantage, the move would swap the health bars of both characters and paralyze the opponent for 1.2 seconds, creating an opportunity for a comeback.

If he was at a health advantage, the move would deal massive damage and steal one of the enemy's divine power bars.

The kobold's God of Pain was on the brink of death, his health hanging by a thread. The God of Death couldn't resist taunting: "Your skills are garbage. The God of Pain can never beat the Last Serpent."

But the kobold remained calm—mainly because his brain capacity was too small to understand why he should panic.

As the saying goes, when the gods close a door for you, they're probably tearing down a wall too.

The kobold had his God of Pain hit the Last Serpent with two quick skills. First, he used Embrace the Pain, freezing the Last Serpent for 0.5 seconds, then followed it up with Relieve the Pain, entering a two-second invincibility phase. Taking advantage of this, the kobold's long-legged God of Pain found an opening and launched the Last Serpent into the air with a well-timed kick.

What followed was a classic combo straight out of the textbook—low kicks while crouching, trapping the Last Serpent in a corner and keeping him airborne.

The God of Death furiously mashed the joystick, but the kobold's combo was unexpectedly smooth, and the Last Serpent couldn't touch the ground until his health was completely drained.

The God of Death sat there stunned. When the kobold reached out for the gold coin, the God of Death leaped to his feet, slamming his hat onto the screen in frustration.

'Damn it, fuck!' He was going to take on the God of Pain head-to-head.

'What the hell is with a two-second invincibility? This character is broken.'