|~𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕲𝖗𝖊𝖊𝖓𝖜𝖔𝖔𝖉 𝕷𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖍𝖆𝖘 𝖌𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖊𝖉 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖕𝖗𝖊𝖘𝖊𝖓𝖈𝖊~|

Oh? Interesting. Floor 13? Why are there copies of some of my subjects here? This shouldn't be possible…

A flaw in the System? A malfunction? Ah, there was a player requesting a higher difficulty level. While trying to cope with the request, the Tower Protocol made a slight mistake…

Still, how interesting. What kind of creature is it? A human? Weak, almost no ancestral knowledge, and a growth potential close to nil. A fodder race it seems…

How many did he doom with this single request? This will single-handedly change this race's playing field. A (F) Fodder race competing against (E) Extremely Weak ones or perhaps even (D) Weak ones? How ludicrous! Then again, it won't matter in the end. 

This one is an idiot for sure. Hmmm. But it did save these copies from the corruption of that disgusting one. I guess I should reward him. What would be adequate? 

"Hey who are you calling an idiot!" 

A fodder race can barely support blessings in the first place. This one is especially weak, even by his own species standards. How about I bless his Class with the Greenwood affect? Yes, this would do for a wonderful reward. Ah, he has no Class. Truly a failure….

"Hey, who are you calling a failure, you dumbass! A few minutes ago you didn't even know what a human was. Talk about ignorant!" 

I guess I could always give him a seed of growth. It is almost useless but he could change his fate by revering me and sacrificing himself for the forest. Yes, he could obtain incredible power…

"Revering you? Sacrificing myself? How about no!" 

|~𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕮𝖆𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖓𝖔𝖚𝖘 𝕸𝖚𝖉𝖉𝖞 𝕺𝖓𝖊 𝖍𝖆𝖘 𝖌𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖊𝖉 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖕𝖗𝖊𝖘𝖊𝖓𝖈𝖊~|

I felt it. It is no use trying to hide from us. Hehe, even in a copy world your subjects are being taken over. Their hearts are so weak and their minds so pitiful. It makes sense given their Lord.

As expected of one with the title of Benevolent. Such a glorified way to call an utter fool. It is to be expected. Lucky for you that a Player saved your useless subjects, isn't it? Hehe, you will forever be beneath me and you know it. 

Funny how the only victory you have had in forever is in the Tutorial Floor of a Newborn Tower. How very pitiful of you. What will the others say? While the Taint of the World is crushing foe after foe, there you are insulting a mortal haha. 

"Tutorial Floor?! Mister Taint, can you answer a few questions?" 

You want to give him your blessing? I pity the poor guy. As soon as he accepts it he will forever be branded by you, always to be disdained by the better deities. Such a shame isn't it? 

Then again he's a human, isn't he? It's not like he has a future in the first place. Actually, he seems like the perfect champion for you, doesn't he? The very best champion a weakling like you could ask for! 

We all know that your previous one died. It did in such a pitiful manner too. You were so confident in him that you went all in without planting any other seed. 

Quite ironic, isn't it? A forest deity only planting a single seed! HAHAHAHA That's no forest deity, that's a potted plant deity at best!

"Okay, that one was good. But can you guys stop ignoring me?!" 

Go on. Give him your seed. Plant it deep inside him. Even then, he won't be able to compete. It's already too late. Well, too late for a Fodder Rank that is. Any other races could have still hoped for a miracle…

**** 

Josh began frowning in displeasure. 

These guys sure were annoying. Idiot, weakling, failure, fodder and they kept ignoring him. They treated him as nothing but air. Were these supposed to be gods? Perhaps, perhaps not. One had called the other a deity but it could be a title. 

Josh had no way to know for sure. Still, he would remember these keywords: Tutorial, Fodder, Blessing, and Champion. He'd have to slowly research it at some point. 

But now he had a choice to make. In front of him, there was a screen that had appeared. 

[The Greenwood Lord wants to bless you with the seed of growth. Will you accept?] 

It could apparently bring him power, but at what cost? He had to revere a deity and possibly accomplish tasks he had no interest toward. It also seemed like this god wasn't that strong. 

But there was one thing he wondered. If he accepted but found himself unable to believe in this god, wouldn't he instead be selling his soul for nothing? 

There was the lack of knowledge, there was the anger at the being's insults but more importantly, there was a sense of profound discomfort. This had the potential to make him extremely strong or bring him to ruin. 

Josh didn't want to serve another. Perhaps this was all a mistake, but Josh hesitated no longer. He refused. That is when he heard the deities' voices. 

~He refused, he totally refused! Haha, talk about a slap in the face! You have been rejected by a lowly Fodder-Rank mortal. How does it feel, oh great Benevolent Lord?~ The Cavernous One was laughing. 

~ That is only because he does not realize the opportunity he has. He is young, hence why he is ignorant. But it does not matter. It only requires a little tweak. You can try and taunt me all you want, it is useless. Here, watch!~ The Greenwood Lord declared confidently. 

"How about you stop calling me ignorant and start explaining? If you can't even hear me right now what kind of weak god are you?" Josh ridiculed. 

[The Greenwood Lord wants to bless you with the seed of growth. Increases potential passively. The promise of great power. Compatibility with humans 100%. Will you accept?]

"No thanks!" Once more Josh refused. 

~HAHAHAHAHAHA You can't even sway such a weakling! This was worth sending a strand of consciousness here!~ The Cavernous One uttered again. What was that about a strand of consciousness? 

~It seems my Benevolence has been mistaken for weakness. Here, with this, he won't have any choice but to accept. Let me see how he will react to this.~ He seemed extremely confident. 

[The Greenwood Lord wants to bless you with the seed of growth. Should you refuse, you will instead receive the Greenwood Lord's Curse. Will you accept?] 

~Going to so much trouble to convince a mere mortal! How ridiculous. Well, now the outcome is obvious. No mere mortal will ever dare…~ He seemed peeved about this boring outcome. 

The outcome was obvious, was it? Josh couldn't help but internally chuckle. These gods really seemed full of themselves, didn't they? They weren't even here in person it seemed.

Josh would be cursed should he refuse? He had always been someone proud. He could be defeated and humiliated, but he wouldn't accept it. 

So what if it was a god trying to bully him? So what if he could become a powerful slave? So what if he was potentially heading straight to his doom? He was Josh Motherfucking Malum. 

He smiled radiantly. A forest deity, was it? His morphing weapon took the form of a lumberjack axe. Then he started hacking. He hacked at the shrooms, he hacked at the trees, he even hacked at the random vegetation. 

The creatures screamed in horror. They ran to the best of their abilities but kept dying. Without the nightmarish teeth, they were nothing but overgrown mushrooms. He mercilessly cut down the creatures he had just saved. They weren't real anyway…probably. 

Did this serve any purpose besides venting? No, but it was all about sending a message. Humans may not be the strongest but they sure could be petty! 

"Tell me, oh great deity. How does it feel having your subjects cut down like weeds? Does it feel nice?" 

~HAHAHAHAHAHAHA This human is interesting, should I try and offer him a blessing too? Ah, it seems my time is up…~ The Cavernous One was cackling as usual as the sound of his voice faded away. 

~HOW DARE YOU! Puny and worthless human! You shall perish along with your kind! Of that, I will make sure. You will be the first and they will follow! This is my vow, there shall be no escape from it!…~ The Greenwood Lord bellowed so loudly that Josh felt his head ring. 

Then they both disappeared as suddenly as they had appeared. Well, Josh had only heard their voice and had never seen them. He didn't feel any different but there was one tiny change to his status screen. 

- S Curse of the Greenwood Lord: Active 

Marked to death by the Greenwood Lord himself along with humanity. Your own doom shall be the precursor of humanity's destruction at the hands of a vengeful god. 

Talk about ominous! That was definitely an "oops" moment. Still, for some reason, instead of being worried, Josh could only think of two things. 

1) At least now his status screen looked less empty 

2) Didn't that just give him godlike powers?! By committing a single suicide he could decide the fate of the entire human species?! Talk about OP!

That is when a message popped. 

[Congratulations on Completing Floor 13 Hellish Mode!] 

"System, are you seriously going to act like gods didn't just show up? Alright, whatever. What is the reward?"

Josh expectantly awaited. He had already received a curse from some bullshit god. He truly hoped it would be worth it.

[Reward: Big Chungus Ring E+] 

Looking at the item description, Josh didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The ring showed no special skill or stats. This probably meant that it was part of a set. That meant he'd have to farm this Floor over and over. 

But seriously, what the hell was a Big Chungus?! He hoped it wasn't what he was thinking…