GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

Upgrading is the more expensive option. But it comes with the perks of requiring just 5 levels more instead of 10 levels for a new uncommon skill. He will also retain half of his proficiency in the upgraded skill. His power will experience a massive boost since uncommon skills are more powerful than common skills.

However, he went with getting a new skill. It is not because he can't afford the cost of upgrading the skill. He just wants to increase his versatility by getting a new skill.

He got Quick Strike. Unlike Power Strike, Quick Strike focuses on the speed of an attack. It makes his attacks too fast to block. He opted for it over Double Strike or Reinforce, which would make him more difficult to kill.

Then he returned to his schedule. He would train, sleep, fight, buy better equipment, and then do it all over again. He wasn't the only one doing so. In fact, the top 10% were in a frenzy doing missions so as to be able to reach the top 10. They were fighting like their lives

depended on it.

Eventually, two months went by. It was finally the last day of training. They were all arranged on the first floor just like the first time they came here. Ragna was also standing in front of them in his full giant form.

He said to them, "You already know if you are going to become a hero or not. But don't be disheartened if you didn't make it to the top 10. The gods have been watching your performance and might choose anyone of you that fits their requirements. We will know soon if you were selected or not." freeweɓnovel.cøm

They saw the signs immediately. A pillar of golden light fell on certain individuals. There was a golden paper within the pillar of light. It fell from the sky and came to stop in front of the selected heroes, where it hovered.

Some in the top ten received just one piece of paper, but others received more. It meant more than one god was interested in them. So they could pick which contract to sign and which god to work with.

It didn't come as a surprise that the top 10 were chosen. Black Knife, who was the first on the ranking, received 11 contracts vying for him. The second-ranked person who calls himself AB Tfuck received 27 contracts.

The third on the list of top ten received 7 contracts. It was less than the amount that the second and first received. So it wasn't that offers were increasing down the list. TFuck is just an outlier.

Taylor received none. He had tried his best, but he only managed to clinch 11th. He even tried to clear an S-rank mission on his own, but he failed. Apparently, that wasn't enough to impress the gods.

The 10th person was the spearman that beat the D-rank mission without a class. The difference between them was just too wide. It is mostly because the spearman had been doing missions a long time before him.

He was busy acclimating to the use of one arm, which made him lose out time that he could have been using to complete training missions. Now he has missed out on becoming a hero.

He told himself, "It is okay. I am very strong. I am practically the best amongst the remaining 9,999,990 people. If I can't make it in God's Domain without being a hero, then no one should be able to make it."

He was encouraging himself mentally when he heard a loud shout. "I refuse."

Someone in the front had shouted. It was one of those who were offered contracts. Taylor was surprised to see that it was the person with the most offers.

Tfuck waved his hand away and declared again, "I refuse everything. I want to become a god by my own hands. The path might be difficult, but it is what makes the process worth it. I must fight and lose everything that holds me back until the only thing left is what is necessary to always achieve victory. That is the day that I will be called the Martial God."

Taylor's jaw had dropped at the sheer insanity of it. He shouldn't have been surprised by AB Tfuck's actions since the guy was always doing dramatic stuff like that in past games. It is because AB was always taking things too far.

He wouldn't use easy game mechanics like fast travel and would instead do things the hard way, like walking across the map every time, all in a bid to have more realism. But Taylor didn't expect that kind of behavior with the current stakes at risk.

He slapped his forehead, shook it, and said out loud, "Stop fooling around. This is not a game."

His voice shouldn't have left his mouth because of Ragna's influence. He shouldn't have been able to speak, but the opposite happened. His voice carried over and became loud enough for everyone to hear. Tfuck heard him but laughed.

The man threw his head back and laughed. "It doesn't matter what this is. The only thing that matters is that this is my destiny. I must forge myself into the sharpest blade. I need the fires of war and the difficulties of life to hammer out the impurities within me. Only then will I be worthy of becoming a god."

Taylor didn't speak anymore. He felt that he had already done too much, so he kept quiet. The gods, on the other hand, had something to say.

27 gods spoke one after another. One of them said, "So be it." Then they withdrew their contract.

Some laughed in amusement while others in derision, and some just snorted. Some just hummed. They called him various names such as ignorant, stupid, foolish, blind, and many

more.

Taylor didn't sense any anger from them, but he agreed with everything they called AB. In fact, he was getting angry himself. His fist was clenched in anger at the absurdity of it all.