The Dungeon and the Gods

Day 17.

Opening his eyes, what Charlie saw was Aishia's beautiful face, which easily put Korean women who gained beauty from plastic surgery to shame.

Feeling a soft sensation on his head, he realized Aishia was giving him lap pillow.

Nerdy protagonists like Bell Cranel would panic in this situation, but Charlie was different from them and calmly enjoyed the knee pillow.

"You're awake, Charlie? You're feeling better?" Aishia asked softly.

"Yeah, I'm not dizzy anymore. Really, experiencing Mind Zero in battle is very dangerous, I have to be more careful in the future so this situation doesn't happen again."

Re-evaluating the previous fight in his mind, Charlie learned a valuable lesson. If Aishia wasn't there, he would have lost his life.

"Success can easily breed arrogance, and arrogance is the curse of success." Charlie sighed.

"It seems my life has been going too smoothly lately, so without realizing it, I became arrogant. If it were my former self, encountering a hostile Level 6 adventurer, I would have run away without hesitation. My mindset changed because I felt that even though I was only Level 2, I could challenge an opponent who was higher level than me."

"The result? I lost badly. If it were another Level 2 adventurer, they wouldn't be able to withstand a few of Revis' moves."

Thinking about this, Charlie regretted his impulsive actions.

In the past, he thought the protagonists in the novels he read were too childish for acting without fear just because they gained power. If it weren't for plot armor, who knows how many times the protagonist would have been killed.

Now Charlie somewhat understood those protagonists' feelings.

When ordinary people gain superpower or supernatural, there are several reactions that will occur.

—First: many people might feel compelled to use their superpowers to help others, especially if they have strong morals and a sense of responsibility. They might save people from danger or help solve problems that can't be solved without superpowers.

—Second: some people might choose to hide their powers, fearing excessive attention or great responsibility. They might still want to live a normal life without being known by others.

—Third: some people might use their powers for personal gain. For example, they might use their powers to improve their financial condition or gain social status.

—Fourth: when someone who was initially ordinary, after gaining superpowers, begins to be tempted to misuse them for selfish interests. This can happen because of a feeling of superiority, a sense of power, or even a drive to fulfill ambitions or personal desires that were previously unattainable.

Charlie felt that he was currently showing the fourth reaction. Even though his mental age was mature, in the end, men will always be childish.

"What are you doing, Aishia?"

His thoughts were diverted as Aishia stroked his head.

"Charlie seemed restless, so I wanted to calm you down."

"Thank you..."

"Mm."

Charlie put aside his complicated thoughts and obediently enjoyed Aishia's loving attention.

"By the way, how long was I unconscious?"

"Maybe an hour or two? I don't know the specific time."

"Where are we now?"

Charlie looked around and found they were both inside a small place illuminated by Aishia using Spirit Art.

"We're inside a tree. I made a hole in the trunk and covered it back up with an illusion. From the outside, it looks like an ordinary tree."

"So that's how it is... You did well, Aishia."

Extending his right hand, Charlie stroked her soft and smooth cheek.

Aishia didn't reject the intimate action; rather, she enjoyed it very much.

"We've been in the Dungeon for four days. Should we return to the surface?" She was concerned about Charlie's condition.

"Not yet. I still want to collect Excelia. Based on my estimate, the basic ability stats in my status are around C~B rank, I want perfection to become the strongest at the same level."

Adventurers can level up when one of their stats reaches D rank. Of course, their strength increase is the weakest at the same level.

He was determined not to level up before all his basic ability stats were at EX rank!

After all, he was the only one who managed to get EX rank stats in history since the gods descended to the lower world a thousand years ago. Even the protagonist of this world, Bell Cranel, only got SSS rank.

How could Charlie sacrifice his brilliant future just for a short-lived glory?

"Why doesn't Charlie update his status?" Tilting her head, Aishia asked.

"I don't want to take the risk of making the Dungeon angry because of the appearance of Goddess Hera's divine blood."

"?"

Seeing her confused expression, Charlie felt adorable, he couldn't help but wipe her face.

In front of Aishia, he didn't need to keep anything secret. So he told her what Hera told him before parting ways in Olympia.

"The gods are forbidden from entering the Dungeon. Their presence causes incredibly powerful monsters to appear. The Dungeon seems to harbor resentment towards the gods. Once it detects the presence of a god, it closes the exit of the room and spawns black monsters to eliminate the god. And if a god dies in the Dungeon, they can get trapped in it instead of returning to Heaven."

"Although it wasn't explained in detail, Goddess Hera mentioned earlier that the Dungeon made a promise with the Promised Time, which prohibits the gods from using Arcanum in the lower world."

"That promise also allows the Dungeon to absorb severely injured gods instead of releasing them back to Heaven."

Aishia listened without interrupting Charlie. After seeing him finish explaining, she asked another question.

"Since the gods seal their powers, they're very weak, right? They're not even different from ordinary people."

Taking a moment to recall his conversation with Hera, Charlie answered Aishia who seemed curious about many things.

"Although the gods are basically as weak as normal humans, some of them are still very skilled in combat so they can even compete with some people who use Falna. For example, Goddess Artemis is a skilled hunter and expert in using a bow, Goddess Astrea and God Zeus are quite skilled in using swords, and God Takemikazuchi is very skilled in martial arts. In fact, Goddess Hera stated that God Takemikazuchi can defeat a First-Class Adventurer."

"In short, the gods who specialize in combat, they are no weaker than adventurers even when their Arcanum is sealed."

For some reason, Aishia was very curious about the gods. Therefore, she asked Charlie many questions.

"Why do the gods choose not to use their Arcanum?"

"I asked Goddess Hera the same question. She said it's to maintain the balance of the game."

"Balance of the game?"

Aishia had a confused expression on her face, not quite understanding Charlie's answer.

"Aishia, don't forget the main purpose of the gods descending from Heaven to the lower world, which is to play!"

After saying this, Charlie sighed and continued.

"The gods are also useless because of their own choices. Seal their powers and live like normal people for entertainment. Only in very rare circumstances are they allowed to use their powers. Saving the world isn't a circumstance they can use to use their powers. Death basically has no consequences for the gods other than boredom. So they don't need to care too much unlike humans."

"Goddess Hera stated that the gods can wave their hands and undo all the deaths and destruction caused by evil, but the Evil Gods can wave their hands and restore it. If the gods and Evil Gods use Arcanum, the lower world will no longer be a fun playground for them."

"They agreed not to do it for that reason, because humans are entertainment for the gods."

That was the cruel truth that the majority of mortal creatures in the lower world didn't know.

Even though the people of the lower world knew that the gods came to have fun, and gave them a blessing called Falna, which gave them inhuman power, they worshiped the gods, and didn't realize the greatest threat to the lower world wasn't the Dungeon, but the gods themselves who could wipe out the entire civilization if they felt like it.

There have been several Evil Gods who have tried to do that. Fortunately, they were stopped by other gods who didn't want to lose the lower world they considered their playground.