Some Answers

The mysterious key my grandfather gave me had a power way beyond my imagination. I spoke with the bulky man in front of the tavern, and he was truly the God of Thunder, Thor.

He had a mug of beer, and he explained me everything. Well, I should be thankful to the fact he was drunk, as that made him give me all the answers I needed.

"This place is a tavern where all the gods meet," he said, "But only gods can come here, or mortals who have special treasures."

I thought about telling him about the key, but Thor didn't ask, so I didn't say it. Another strange thing happened to me when I opened the tavern's door. A message appeared before my eyes, just like the normal system tab people could see.

[Gacha System Unlocked.]

[Complete the quests from the gods and use the earned points to roll for rewards.]

[You can earn many rewards, but be aware that your choices can lead to consequences.]

'A Gacha System? What is this?'

That was the first time I was hearing about it. The system that ruled the universe had skills, attributes and levels, but a Gacha? No, that was never the case.

The fact there was a tavern where the gods met was already mysterious to begin with. Even though the world had divine energy too alongside mana, that didn't mean the deities were real. At least that was what I thought.

Hell, most people thought the same. No one would ever believe me if I told them I just met with the God of Thunder, Thor. That would sound insane.

But those things were happening right before my eyes, and it was impossible to deny it. For a moment, my mind gave in to the idea that all of it was just a dream, and I was trying to find an escape route after everything that happened. A way to ease up my mind.

So I pinched my arm a few times, and nothing happened except for the pain. It was real, all of it. I opened the tavern's door, wondering what would happen next.

The moment I entered the tavern, many people gazed at me. They looked human — at least most of them — but there was something about them that made me realize they were not totally human.

Perhaps it was the aura emanating from their bodies, or their indifferent gaze about the mortal stuff.

They looked at me like they were looking at an exotic animal. I quickly recalled what Thor said.

'Only the gods can enter, or mortals, with powerful artifacts…'

I bet that if the gods gave a mortal an artifact to go there, they would know. So, my presence there sparked their curiosity. How could a mortal they didn't know enter their realm?

After looking around the tavern for a few seconds, I moved toward the counter to speak with the bartender.

"Can I get the menu?" I said.

The man behind the counter had a long dark hair, and he had sharp green eyes. It was like staring at a serpent.

He pulled a menu from the counter and gave it to me. "I have no idea who are you, and you don't look strong. So, spill it out."

It was way different when compared to the drunk Thor. The man wanted to know how I got there.

I didn't say a word. What could I say? What if I said the wrong thing, and the bartender killed me? I needed to get back to my family. I needed to conquer Earth and give it back to humankind, so my life was precious!

"Will you keep quiet? I can make you suffer to get the answers I need."

For a moment, I felt a shiver run down my spine. The bartender was not joking when he said that, and it was getting harder to breathe with his presence there.

But then someone else showed up beside me. It was a tall muscular man. He had 3 meters of height, a muscular body and he wore a white garment.

The most eye-catching feature of the man was his long white hair and beard.

"Are you not treating well one of our guests?" the man said.

I was a weak human. It was not a shame to acknowledge that. My body had just awakened mana, and if the surrounding people were gods, then they were really powerful. But even though I was just an ant when compared to them, I could feel that the tall bearded man was slightly stronger.

"Come on, Zeus," the bartender said, "Aren't you curious about his identity too? How can he enter if he's not a god?"

'Zeus!'

The man next to me was fucking Zeus!

Zeus laughed. "You know very well about the artifacts. Aren't you the master of tricking the humans with those things? Don't act like a fool, Loki!"

The whole thing was just crazy to me. In the end, Loki backed off and didn't say a word. That's when Zeus said, "I need to talk with you. Come with me."

Who would be crazy enough to say no? So, I followed Zeus to one of the many rooms inside the tavern. Some rooms were occupied — presumably by gods — but Zeus had a special room for him, which no one could use except him.

"Do you know why you are here?" Zeus asked.

At that point, I had no idea. First Earth got conquered by aliens, and then my grandfather had a key to the gods' tavern? What?

"Look, I don't know if this is all a dream or if I went crazy after fleeing from Earth, so yeah, I have no idea what's going on!"

Zeus moved toward me and grabbed both of my arms. "So you are not on Earth? Are you speaking the truth?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm not," I said, feeling a pain in my arms.

He realized that and stopped holding me. "Sorry about that. So, can you tell me what happened? For you to be here, then you have the last artifact we produced, so we still have hope…"

I sat there at a table with Zeus, and it was time I got some answers.