Chapter 1

#1. Prologue

Jae-in hummed a tune as he played with the tongs. The sizzling sound of the marinating pork belly, which was cooking and emitting a savory aroma, made his mouth water.

"Phew! This is heaven. Nothing else can be heaven."

He wrapped a large piece of lettuce around the pork, took a bite, and sipped his beer. It felt like the thirst he had built up was finally quenched. He had been exhausted and fatigued from pushing himself to work hard for a while, but now it felt like he could finally breathe.

'Good.'

This camping trip was different from his usual ones, which lasted no more than a few days. This time, he planned to stay for two months. Although he would have to spend half of each week in Seoul, he intended to stay here until the next Lunar New Year.

"What should I eat tomorrow?"

He pondered whether to eat the army stew he had brought from a stew restaurant or to have a simple breakfast with bread and soup from a bakery.

"If it snows, I'll eat the army stew, and if it doesn't, I'll eat bread."

Actually, it wasn't a problem that required much thought. No one would say anything if he ate the stew and then had a sweet cream bread for dessert. He just enjoyed the small worries that came with being free from his busy daily life.

"Are you having fun?"

"?"

Jae-in, who was enjoying a leisurely evening with pork belly and beer, suddenly doubted his ears. It was hard to believe that the sarcastic remark from a young woman was directed at him.

"Miss, are you talking to me?"

"Yes, I'm talking to you."

"That's rude. We just met, so watch your words."

"Tsk! What do you mean 'watch your words'? I didn't say anything I shouldn't have."

The woman, who rebutted with a brazen face, was impossible to reason with. Sensing that the argument might continue, Jae-in took out his smartphone. He intended to record the conversation in case of any unforeseen situations.

However, his action did not bear fruit. Before he could start recording, the woman's arm swung widely. The scene that unfolded was enough to make him forget all about recording.

* * *

-Swoosh!

The situation that followed the swing of her arm far exceeded Jae-in's expectations.

He thought she would knock his smartphone to prevent him from recording, but that wasn't the case. After her arm swung, he found himself in space. It wasn't a metaphor; he and the woman were floating in a part of space where a blue planet was visible in the distance.

"What, what is this...?"

"Why are you surprised? Compared to my shock, you don't even have time to be surprised."

"What...?"

"Huh? What! Why are you in such a state?"

Jae-in no longer found it awkward to speak to the woman, who looked about ten years younger than him, in a respectful manner. For some reason, it felt very natural to look up to her.

"Let's say the trip to another Earth was a mistake. But what is this? Not only did you not awaken, but how can you still have your power?"

"Huh?"

"How can this be?"

The woman, who had brought Jae-in to this space, kept shaking her head. The power she had given him was supposed to accumulate naturally without any special effort. She couldn't believe how he had ended up in this state despite having such power.

"I don't understand. Even if you were on a 1st Stage Earth, this shouldn't have happened."

"1st Stage?"

"Yes. You, who should have gone to a 2nd Stage Earth during your growth period, ended up on a 1st Stage Earth, which is in the germination stage."

"..."

Jae-in couldn't understand most of what the woman was saying. However, one thing was clear: he was born in a place where he shouldn't have been.

'But I've lived a pretty normal life so far.'

He had a good relationship with his family and a few trustworthy friends, even if they were few in number. He had lived a quite satisfying life, considering he was born in the wrong world.

"Tsk! Of course. Do you know what power I gave you? Who could resist its influence?"

"Indeed, you can read minds."

"What? Why are you amazed at something so obvious? I need to read your memories."

"Wait a moment."

Jae-in couldn't avoid the hand that approached his head. In reality, there was no way to avoid it. As a human, he lacked the courage to leave the place he was standing on in the dark universe.

His expectation that reading his memories would take a while was completely off. The woman's expression changed instantly as soon as her fingertips touched his forehead, as if she had read all his memories in a flash.

"Unbelievable... What a ridiculous..."

If Jae-in had received even a part of her power, he should have been surrounded by people. He should have given comfort to those who followed and revered him, and in return, received strength from them, creating a natural positive cycle.

However, Jae-in lived a life completely different from his mission. He didn't receive any reverence and only trusted a few people. No matter how much talent he had, he couldn't achieve anything by playing alone.

"Were you an 'ass'?"

"Probably."

"Why! With that face, that body, that talent, why are you like this? Huh?"

"Because of my personality?"

"Nonsense! You, don't go around saying you belong to my temple."

Jae-in's head started to throb as he watched the woman, who was rubbing her forehead in frustration. The scolding and the situation were all unfamiliar and bewildering to him.

"Why are all the lower gods I appointed to my temple in such a state?"

"..."

"One doesn't do the job and just goes around bewitching people. Another is holed up in the mountains, roasting meat. Oh, my god! It's meaningless, meaningless."

"Sorry?"

"Don't apologize with a question!"

The situation was a mess, making his head throb, but the goddess Nit didn't continue to be angry. Although her agents didn't do their jobs properly, it wasn't their fault. She had made a mistake by not finding agents in the lower world and instead assigning the role to lower gods.

'As expected, the only thing I can eat in the lower world is air.'

The only fortunate thing was that other deities, seeing how she treated lower gods, followed her example. They probably had issues of their own by now.

"Please do your job properly this time."

"What job are you talking about...?"

"What job? Isn't it obvious what you should do? To help humanity, or rather, explaining it now is pointless since you'll forget meeting me anyway. Oh, my head."

"..."

The woman in front of him was a goddess, and he seemed to be a lower god in her temple. He had some kind of mission, but he didn't know what it was or how to do it.

'Somehow, I feel like I should follow her words.'

Although he didn't know who she was, he felt he should trust and follow her. It didn't feel strange to him.

"Of course. I'm like your parents."

"Ah!"

"Even if my appearance changes, my essence doesn't. So, you should feel close."

"I see."

"Yes. Rather, let's wrap this up now."

What was she going to wrap up? Was she going to send him back to Earth? Or was she going to make him be born in the world he should have been born in?

Jae-in's mind was filled with questions that came to him without any order.

A more chaotic scene was unfolding in a part of the universe. Countless stars moved as if following someone's command, transforming into several gears that formed a single shape and emitted light.

This change occurred as the goddess Nit, who had brought Jae-in to this place and was the one to correct the misalignment, revealed her power.

-Clank! Clank!

Jae-in pulled himself together to avoid being overwhelmed by the massive presence that suddenly surged. He was afraid that if he lost his focus even for a moment, he would be sucked into the massive gears. If he got caught in the gears, he would be crushed instantly.

Nit, after the shape of the gears was fully revealed, pointed at them and looked back at Jae-in. Her gesture clearly meant for him to enter the gears.

"I..."

"There's no need to be afraid. Do you think I would harm you?"

"But..."

"Hahaha. Just jump in. This is just about correcting a misaligned gear."

Jae-in swallowed hard and looked at Nit with a desperate expression. Despite his trust in her, he had no intention of jumping into the gears. No matter how reassuring her words were, the pressure from the scale was hard to shake off.

"You. What are you saying? You used to sneak into places you were told not to go and cause trouble."

"I don't remember that."

"Ah! That memory! I'm not going to harm you. This is just a passage to the 2nd Stage Earth, where you were supposed to go."

"Before I jump, can you give me something to protect myself? And can you answer a few questions?"

"What?"

"You said you're like my parents."

Nit's eyes widened. She had said that, and it was true. But to bring it up at this crucial moment and demand protection so boldly—where had her respectful lower god gone?

"What will happen to me when I go to the 2nd Stage Earth?"

"If you wish, I can leave a replica of you. Or I can erase everything related to you. What do you want?"

"Please handle it appropriately."

"Any other questions?"

"What should I do in the future?"

Nit suppressed a sigh. Even if she explained now, he wouldn't remember meeting her. His memory would be completely erased, so there was no need to explain. But this bold lower god wouldn't listen without an explanation.

"Your mission is to be a spiritual pillar for humanity."

"Huh?"

"Being a politician, religious leader, or scholar is fine. Whatever you do, your job is to help humanity grow without developing any spiritual deficiencies."

"Like love and peace?"

"Love and peace are fine, and so are freedom and equality. Whatever it is, as long as it helps humanity grow through the great changes they face."

Even after hearing the explanation of his mission, he couldn't understand exactly what he was supposed to do. Was he supposed to become an anthropologist or a cult leader? It all sounded like nonsense.

"Do you have any more questions?"

"No."

"Good. Then go in now."

"What about something to protect myself?"

"…You don't forget such things, do you? You completely forgot about your mission."

The gears were not dangerous, as she had promised. They were like a boundary line between the 1st Stage Earth and the 2nd Stage Earth, and it was normal to pass through them without any protection.

'Why is this guy, who is under my protection, so obsessed with protection?'

It was perplexing to ask for protection when there was no need for it. On the other hand, he would clearly suffer from the mission she had given him, so it didn't feel right to just send him off. Besides, Jae-in was not the type to venture into dangerous places.

"This place is not really dangerous. You don't need protection. Instead, I'll give you this."

"What is it?"

"It's called a Growth Elixir. While its effects last, whatever you eat or learn will be several times more effective."

"How long will the effects last?"

"Probably about ten years for a human body."

Jae-in quickly swallowed the pill on his palm. There was no reason to refuse an elixir that would make studying and exercising several times more effective.

"Now, go."

"Yes."

"Please don't play around this time and do your job properly."

"Yes."

Nit shook her head as Jae-in bowed to her and headed towards the gears. The Growth Elixir could be made again, so it was fine, but she was frustrated about how to change the lower god's personality.

'Is the water in the lower world bad? He used to be a good kid, even if he occasionally caused trouble... I wonder if he'll do his job properly this time?'

For some reason, she didn't think Jae-in would work hard. It was probably because of the memories she had read earlier. He found it annoying to deal with complicated situations and enjoyed playing alone. Moreover, he treated the god's mission as nonsense.

It would be good if he remembered the mission, but the memory of meeting her would be erased, so it was unlikely.

"Hehehe. Look forward to it. I'll make you work even if you don't want to."

Nit planned to visit the temple of the god of relationships. She intended to create troublesome relationships for her bold agent to make him work diligently. If he had many precious relationships, he would stay on the right path for their sake.

'Have a good trip.'

She watched Jae-in, who hesitated for a moment in front of the gears before jumping in, and then disappeared.