Gradually Getting Out of Hand

"Let's take a look at the Divine Sparks!"

Hermes handed Aiken the Divine Sparks he had picked out.

They were all Divine Sparks other than Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind, so there was no point in keeping them.

"Sure~!"

The Divine Sparks were tiny, too.

But seeing three Space Rings filled with them all at once was still quite a sight.

"Are you still exchanging them all for Earth Crystals?"

Compared to his previous fortune, the wealth he'd get from exchanging these Divine Sparks was still staggering. But after what had happened before, a few trillion Earth Crystals didn't seem like much anymore.

"That's right~!"

Hermes had made up his mind: as long as he saved up ten trillion Ink Stones, he'd exchange them all for Earth Crystals.

He still didn't know how many Divine Stones it would take to refine a drop of Sovereign's Might.

Either way, the more Earth Crystals, the better.

"Hey, he's coming out~!"

"He was in there for so long. He must have sold some treasures."

He had strolled in at his leisure, but he was in a hurry on his way out.

Hermes had to get back quickly.

He wanted to test whether the Golden Space could refine Sovereign's Might.

In the blink of an eye, Hermes disappeared from the entrance to Demon Castle.

All that remained was a group of powerful Demons whispering among themselves and making wild guesses.

A rumor began spreading.

Hermes had unexpectedly come into possession of a precious treasure and sold it to Demon Castle for an astronomical fortune.

The rumor spread with such conviction that people even added details.

For example, where Hermes had found the treasure and how many Ink Stones he had sold it for.

And there was more!

Demon Castle had taken the treasure so seriously that they had even sent someone to Prefect City in the middle of the night to deliver it.

It had been handed over to the Prefect Lord.

Countless Intelligence Dealers were like sharks scenting blood, lying in wait before selling the information to other cities.

"Good grief, people actually believe a ridiculous rumor like that—and they're even helping us fill in the details."

When Aiken heard about it, he hurriedly sent someone to notify Hermes.

He told him not to leave the city for the time being.

Aiken intended to win Hermes over, so he had to show that he cared.

At the very least, he needed to make it clear that he would protect Hermes's interests.

First, he had to distance himself from the whole affair!

He couldn't let those damn Intelligence Dealers drag him into it.

A Five-star Demon who was a Middle God, or stronger, had certainly fused multiple Mysteries.

Once Hermes broke through to become a High God, he would undoubtedly become a major figure.

Aiken wanted to win him over. This was also an investment in their relationship.

If it didn't work, so be it!

But if it did, the return would be billions of times greater.

Wasn't that how connections were built, little by little—especially connections with super-powerful experts?

Of course!

Someone with the power of a Paragon didn't need to cultivate connections at all.

A Paragon was the greatest connection in their own right, and countless super-powerful experts were eager to befriend one.

"Is it true?"

"Looks like Hermes really has made big news!"

Countless rumors spread far and wide. Of course, some sharp minds sensed a hint of conspiracy in them.

But whether the rumors stopped with the wise or not, Hermes had returned.

They also knew that

Hermes's return was bound to set off a new storm.

Yilan City, West District.

Bamer's residence.

"Rumble~!"

One Azure Stone cube after another, each as large as a stone roller, was swallowed directly into the Golden Space by Hermes.

Wisps of ocher energy, almost too faint to see, gathered together.

One trillion, two trillion...

In the blink of an eye, more than nine trillion Earth Crystals had been swallowed into the Golden Space, yet the Talent Panel gave no indication at all.

Hermes didn't know

whether this nearly invisible energy was Sovereign's Might.

The Ink Stones and Earth Crystals he had swallowed before had long since disappeared without a trace, because so much time had passed.

"Ten trillion!"

He silently counted. Just as Hermes thought he had failed to refine it,

countless ocher specks of light, each no bigger than a bacterial flagellum, gathered together.

No, they were even smaller than bacterial flagella, yet he could still sense them in the Golden Space.

Hermes stood quietly at the center of the Golden Space, sensing the tiny ocher specks gradually coming together.

In reality,

this was only his consciousness.

The Golden Space and Talent Panel, which had accompanied him through transmigration and rebirth, were certainly wondrous, but they still couldn't let Hermes's body enter the space.

At that moment, all his attention was fixed on the seemingly endless specks of light in the Golden Space.

If he really counted them, there might be ten trillion.

"Could this be..."

Inside the Golden Space, Hermes had given the order to swallow the Earth Crystals, but now he was more or less just a bystander.

"It looks so much like it!"

The countless specks of light were scattered throughout the Golden Space like billions of stars.

Though tiny, they contained immense, pure energy.

They had to be the Sovereign's Might Hermes had been dreaming of.

He was certain of it, but until everything was settled, he couldn't quite relax.

Within the Golden Space, his consciousness absolutely surpassed all else. Though there was little he could do, he had a God's Perspective over everything.

Nothing could escape his notice.

Hermes could sense the boundless energy contained in the ocher specks of light.

As they continued to gather, an ancient and mysterious aura began to fill the space.

He knew that whether he could refine Sovereign's Might depended on what happened next.

Hermes took a deep breath and began to mobilize his Spiritual Sense, actively guiding the specks along a specific path.

He tried to make them quickly condense into genuine Sovereign's Might.

"Rumble~!"

Time seemed to freeze in that instant. The energy within the Golden Space grew more and more turbulent.

The ocher specks of light began to spin violently, like countless fireflies, only much smaller.

The specks first formed tiny whirlpools, and then a point of light gradually appeared at the center of each one.

It was brighter than the surrounding specks, and more solid, too.

Just then, Hermes felt an unprecedented pressure. His consciousness nearly crumbled beneath it.

So this is the difference between actively guiding them and standing by.

Hermes thought to himself.

But when he remembered that the countless Ink Stones and Earth Crystals he had swallowed before were all gone,

he couldn't bring himself to give up.

Hermes didn't care about ten trillion Ink Stones.

But this concerned whether he could master the ability to refine Sovereign's Might, so he couldn't help feeling nervous.

The pressure produced by the Golden Space might only be trying to expel his consciousness, or it might just be the Golden Space's instinctive response as it ran on its own.

Like the celestial bodies moving naturally through the starry universe, it had its own laws.

Outside interference was not allowed.

Though it was difficult, Hermes didn't give up. Instead, he held his Spiritual Sense steady with even greater determination and continued guiding the specks as they condensed.

Deep down, he had a feeling that if he didn't intervene, either the refinement of Sovereign's Might would fail, or most of the Earth Crystals would be lost in the process.

That was entirely possible.

Just as energy conversion came with losses, refining Sovereign's Might probably worked in a similar way.

Hermes didn't want to take that gamble. For now, he had only a few dozen trillion Ink Stones, so he couldn't afford many attempts.

If they all failed, what was the point?

He might as well find a Sovereign God to serve and be a loyal dog.

Why bother working hard?

Why bother acting proud?