Chapter 2: Chapter 2 - The First Believers

Chapter 2 — The First Believers

The forest remained completely silent.

Four armed men knelt before me with their heads lowered while I stood there holding a flashlight like an idiot.

My heart pounded so loudly I was afraid they might hear it.

Calm down.

Act confident.

Movies always say confidence is important.

Unfortunately, movies never explain how to stay confident when you accidentally trick people into believing you’re a god.

The tallest man slowly raised his head.

Moonlight reflected from the scar running across his face.

"Divine one..." he whispered carefully, "forgive our ignorance."

I tightened my grip on the flashlight.

"Who are you people?"

The man immediately bowed again.

"We are hunters from the village of Erald."

Village.

Good.

Not soldiers.

Probably easier to fool.

Another hunter glanced nervously at the light in my hand.

"I have never seen such holy radiance before..."

Holy radiance.

Brother, it’s an emergency flashlight from Earth.

I nearly laughed.

Instead, I lowered my voice.

"You were not meant to witness this power."

The hunters visibly trembled.

Okay.

That worked way too well.

The scarred hunter carefully asked,

"Are you... a god?"

Dangerous question.

Very dangerous.

If I said yes too quickly, it might sound suspicious.

If I said no, they might stop believing.

I needed mystery.

People trust mystery.

"I am..." I paused dramatically, "...something your world has forgotten."

The men exchanged fearful glances.

Nice.

Honestly, I should’ve become an actor.

A cold wind passed through the forest.

At the same moment, that strange warmth returned inside my chest.

Faint.

Gentle.

But undeniably real.

I frowned slightly.

The sensation became stronger whenever the hunters looked at me.

No way.

Was this really divine power?

Faith energy?

The hunters suddenly pressed their foreheads against the ground.

"The ancient gods..." one whispered shakily.

Another muttered prayers under his breath.

I looked upward toward the three moons.

This was insane.

Absolutely insane.

But if this power was real...

Then maybe the hologram was right.

Faith truly created gods.

And these men currently believed I was divine.

Which meant...

I needed to continue the act.

Carefully.

Very carefully.

Because if they discovered the truth too early, I was probably dead.

The scarred hunter spoke again.

"Divine one, may we know your holy name?"

Right.

Names mattered.

Especially for gods.

I thought quickly.

Should I say Kaiser?

No.

Too ordinary.

I needed something larger.

Something mysterious.

Something worthy of worship.

Then I remembered the hologram.

The final ruler of Earth.

The God of Technology.

My eyes narrowed slightly.

"...I am the one who governs divine knowledge and heavenly machinery."

The hunters looked completely confused.

Of course they did.

They probably didn’t even know what machinery meant.

Good.

Confusion creates mystery.

"The forgotten god..." I continued slowly, "...of Technology."

The air became silent.

The hunters stared blankly.

Exactly as expected.

No recognition.

No reaction.

This world truly had never heard of the Technology God.

Which meant one thing.

This identity belonged entirely to me now.

The scarred hunter lowered his head deeply.

"Lord Technology..."

I almost choked.

That sounded terrible.

Still, I maintained a calm expression.

"You may call me Kaiser."

The hunters repeated the name carefully like it was sacred.

"Kaiser..."

The warmth inside my chest increased slightly again.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Was simply hearing belief enough to generate divine power?

If so...

This world’s system was completely broken.

I could abuse this.

No.

Not abuse.

Strategically utilize.

Big difference.

Probably.

The youngest hunter suddenly looked up.

"Lord Kaiser, have you descended from the upper divine realm?"

Upper divine realm?

Ah.

So this world had mythology about heavens and gods.

I nodded slightly.

"Something like that."

Not technically a lie.

I literally came from another world.

The hunter’s eyes widened with awe.

The scarred man hesitated before speaking carefully.

"Our village is under attack from dark creatures. Please... bless us with protection."

I blinked.

"...Dark creatures?"

The hunters looked shocked.

One immediately explained.

"Shadow wolves, divine one. They’ve been attacking travelers and stealing livestock."

Oh.

Monsters.

Of course there were monsters.

Why wouldn’t there be?

I mentally cursed.

I didn’t even know how to fight a normal wolf.

Now I had magical wolves to deal with.

Fantastic.

The hunters waited anxiously.

Clearly expecting me to vaporize mountains or something.

I needed information first.

"How many?" I asked.

"Usually three or four."

"And your village can’t stop them?"

The scarred hunter looked ashamed.

"They possess corrupted spiritual power."

Spiritual power.

Right.

This world’s supernatural system.

I needed to learn quickly.

Very quickly.

Or I’d die.

I slowly walked past the hunters while pretending to think deeply.

Actually, I was panicking.

But apparently godlike silence looked impressive.

Good to know.

After a few moments, I spoke.

"Take me to your village."

The hunters looked stunned.

"You would personally visit Erald?"

I nodded.

Truthfully, I had nowhere else to go.

The scarred hunter almost looked emotional.

"Our village will forever remember your kindness, divine one."

The warmth inside my chest increased again.

Interesting.

Faith reacted strongly to emotion.

Noted.

Very noted.

As we walked through the forest, I carefully observed everything around me.

Blue insects floated through the trees.

Glowing plants covered the ground.

Even the air felt alive.

Compared to Earth, this world felt... awake.

Power flowed naturally here.

The hunters remained nervous around me.

None dared walk too closely.

After nearly thirty minutes, lights appeared ahead.

A village.

Small wooden houses surrounded by fences.

Torches illuminated muddy streets.

People moved anxiously between buildings.

The moment the hunters entered, villagers rushed toward them.

"Did you find the wolves?"

"Who is that?"

"Why are you kneeling?!"

Then the hunters dropped to one knee again.

The entire village froze.

The scarred hunter raised his voice.

"People of Erald! A divine being has answered our prayers!"

Instant chaos.

Gasps spread everywhere.

Several villagers immediately fell to their knees.

Others stared at me in shock.

An old woman started crying.

Oh no.

This was escalating too quickly.

A little girl peeked from behind her mother.

"She’s glowing..."

Glowing?

I looked down.

Tiny streams of pale blue light surrounded my body.

My eyes widened slightly.

The faith energy.

It was visible now.

The villagers noticed my reaction and became even more terrified.

"Divine aura..."

"A true god..."

"The heavens haven’t abandoned us!"

More warmth gathered inside my chest.

The energy was increasing faster now.

I could actually feel it moving through my body.

Like warm electricity flowing beneath my skin.

This was real.

Completely real.

A middle-aged man wearing better clothes than the others stepped forward nervously.

Village chief probably.

"Great divine one," he said carefully, "I am Rowan, chief of Erald."

I gave a slow nod.

"You lead this settlement?"

"Yes."

His eyes moved toward the flashlight in my hand before quickly lowering again.

"What brings a god to our small village?"

Good question.

I had absolutely no idea.

I needed a believable excuse.

"The world has changed," I said slowly.

"Corruption spreads. Forgotten powers awaken."

The villagers listened silently.

Honestly, I was improvising everything.

But mysterious nonsense sounded profound to religious people.

Very useful.

"I have descended," I continued, "to observe this era."

Several villagers looked pale.

The chief swallowed nervously.

"Then... are we being judged?"

I almost said yes.

Then I remembered something important.

Terrified believers panic easily.

What I needed right now was trust.

And resources.

Preferably food.

"No," I answered calmly.

"I am merely curious about humanity."

The atmosphere relaxed slightly.

Good.

Chief Rowan quickly gestured toward the largest building in the village.

"Please, divine one, honor us by accepting our hospitality."

Hospitality.

Finally.

Food.

My fake god career was already improving.

As we walked through the village, I noticed something strange.

Near the center stood a stone statue.

A woman holding a sword.

The statue emitted faint golden light.

I slowed slightly.

Spiritual energy.

Real spiritual energy.

Interesting.

Chief Rowan noticed my gaze.

"That is the shrine of Lady Seraphine," he explained respectfully.

"A minor goddess of protection."

Minor goddess.

So gods here were divided by rank.

Useful information.

"Does she answer your prayers?" I asked.

The chief hesitated.

"Less than before..."

The villagers lowered their heads sadly.

"Her blessings have weakened in recent years."

I narrowed my eyes slightly.

Interesting.

So even gods could decline.

Faith really was their lifeline.

We entered the chief’s house.

The interior was simple but warm.

Candles illuminated wooden walls while a fire crackled softly nearby.

Several villagers brought food immediately.

Bread.

Soup.

Roasted meat.

Honestly, after dimensional travel and accidental godhood, it smelled incredible.

But I forced myself to eat slowly and elegantly.

Gods probably shouldn’t inhale soup like starving raccoons.

Chief Rowan sat across from me nervously.

The hunters remained near the door.

Watching me like I might suddenly explode into divine lightning.

"So," I asked casually, "tell me about this world."

The room became quiet.

Careful.

I needed information without sounding suspicious.

Thankfully, the chief misunderstood immediately.

"Forgive me," Rowan said quickly. "Of course a divine being already knows these lands."

"Yes," I answered calmly.

"However... I wish to hear humanity’s perspective."

Perfect save.

The chief relaxed slightly.

"This continent is called Valtheris," he explained.

"It is ruled by kingdoms, churches, and divine factions."

Divine factions.

Interesting.

"Gods openly influence mortals?" I asked.

"Of course," Rowan answered carefully.

"The gods grant blessings, miracles, and protection in exchange for worship."

So exactly what the hologram described.

Faith economy.

Divine capitalism.

The chief continued.

"Powerful gods rule enormous territories while weaker gods survive through small villages and isolated believers."

Makes sense.

No believers = no power.

Honestly terrifying.

A god could literally starve from irrelevance.

"What about the God of Technology?" I asked casually.

The room became confused.

"...Technology?" Rowan repeated.

"No god by that name exists."

I hid my satisfaction.

Perfect.

Completely perfect.

A divine identity with no competition.

No history.

No church.

No enemies.

This was basically discovering an unused username online.

The hunters suddenly stiffened.

One whispered nervously.

"The wolves..."

Growls echoed faintly outside.

The villagers panicked instantly.

Chief Rowan stood up.

"They’ve returned already?!"

More growls echoed through the night.

Louder this time.

Something slammed against the outer fence.

People screamed outside.

I slowly stood.

Alright.

Time for problem number one.

How exactly was I supposed to defeat magical wolves using modern Earth technology and zero combat experience?

Honestly?

I had no clue.

But if I failed now...

My first believers might stop believing.

And then my new divine career would end before it even began.

I looked toward the doorway as another roar echoed through the village.

The hunters gripped their weapons nervously.

Outside, villagers ran through muddy streets carrying torches.

Then came a howl.

Deep.

Violent.

Inhuman.

Something large moved beyond the fences.

My chest tightened.

Okay.

Maybe pretending to be a god wasn’t actually a good idea after all.