Chapter 196 Tough Conditions, Unique Reward
While Lunara was holding tight to the egg, Sterfen sighed and put his arms around her. "Luna, you know that it will be best for our daughter. And, she'll still know about both of us, we can visit her every now and them."
"Do you two have contact crystals?" Assuming that they didn't, considering how long they had been hiding, Jack threw two purple crystals onto the table. "These are high-tier contact crystals. They'll let you contact anyone instantly, no matter where they are on the continent, so long as you link the crystals with the person your contact."
Lunara picked up one of the crystals on the table. "So, with this, I could call you or my daughter at any time?"
"Correct. And we could do the same, just in case something happens and your daughter needs your help. Besides, me and Maura won't be her parents. She can think of us as her brother and sister than you'll know we'll take the best possible care of her."
The Water Goddess was silent, still struggling to agree, but she eventually nodded.
"Alright, then how about you go and help our daughter hatch. In the meantime, I'll explain a few things to Jack. Since he'll be caring for our daughter and is willing to be her big brother, I'll be nice and help him, like I would a son."
Shocked at how cooperative Sterfen was, Jack put up his hands innocently. "I won't turn down your offer, but I'm surprised you'd be so willing to--"
"Jack, you're the champion that my faction chose and supports. Also, you've managed to save my wife from the biggest regret of her life, her greatest worry and misery. Since you'll be protecting my daughter and helping her grow, the least I can do is share some of the many secrets I know," explained Sterfen.
"And my information network is only second to Daruun's, but unlike him, I can say anything I want without worrying about the laws of fate," Sterfen laughed with a proud smile.
"In that case, should I call you father?" Jack joked around with him.
"To be honest, I'd find it an honor. With someone Jack J. as an adopted son, I think we'd be the envy of the gods. If Luna is fine with that, I wouldn't mind it."
Jack froze, not expecting the God of Secrets to agree so easily. He thought it would be fine to play along with the joke, but didn't expect to get setup.
"I have two conditions," stated Lunara. "First, swear on your life to protect our daughter, like a true brother would. Second, swear to kill that pestro Halmut, even if it isn't necessary for your mission as Daruun's champion."
Not sure how to respond, Jack just stared at the two gods. "Hmm, the first condition is a given. If she's in the party, I'd be willing to lay my life down to protect her. The second condition is the one I'm not sure I'll be able to fulfill."
"Then you can forget having her in your party. A true big brother would willing to protect and avenge his sister and parents. If you can't do that, how could I ever accept such conditions?" reasoned Lunara, making her intentions clear.
"But--"
"She has a point, Jack," Sterfen chimed in. "Otherwise, we'll just have to thank you for returning our daughter to us with a warm meal."
Pondering the offer, Jack started to wonder what he would have to do exactly as a champion.
If his true goal was to cleanse the gods, then there would be a chance that he would have to fight Halmut anyway, whether he liked it or not. It would make sense since Jack would have to face either Halmut's champion or the other gods.
"Jack, please accept these two conditions," begged Lunara, catching Jack off guard. "I hate to admit it, but you and your party will be the best place for our daughter to grow. And you also might be the only one who could kill that pestro and free me from the contract I made long ago."
"Contract?"
"If you agree, that and more will be explained," stated Sterfen. "I'll tell you how we became gods and how it is you can do the same. Considering your mission, you'll have to become a god at some point, Jack."
With a pounding heart, Jack was hard-pressed to turn down the offer. The only doubt was Halmut, would Jack be able to kill such a powerful being, a main god?
"I… I'll accept the terms."
"Wonderful!" Sterfen rose to his feet and walked over to Jack.
He stuck his arm out, wanting to shake Jack's hand. But when Jack reached out, Sterfen pulled him up into a hug. "Then, I guess I'll have to start calling you by your newest title. Jack, I'm sure you'll make me proud, Son."
Suddenly, a blaring alert flashed across Jack's eyes, leaving his notification alert golden in color.
Too curious not to open it right away, Jack opened the notification and almost lost all of his strength in shock.
[New title earned: Demihuman]
[Become a Demihuman: completed]
[Become the son of a god, gaining their support and their ultimate, unremovable blessing. Unique reward earned for becoming the son of two gods. Unique reward: 500 skill points.]
As Jack inspected his golden alert, he was too distracted to realize what was happening to him.
Everyone was staring at him. His body was giving off a golden light, blinding the party members.
Lunara watched her husband, surprised that he was willing to give Jack such an opportunity. She understood that each god was capable of choosing a single mortal as a son or daughter, and that person's fate would forever be linking to that god's fate.
If that person were to perish, the god would lose their title and power as a god, also losing levels in the process.
But if that person successfully became a god, the original god who made the new god their child would gain the potential to become a main god, gaining levels in the process.
It was the riskiest move a god could make, hence why Lunara only agreed after giving strict conditions. And if those conditions were not met by the selected son or daughter, they would lose their title as demihuman and that god would never be able to choose another son or daughter again.
The golden light didn't last long, only for a brief moment, so it had vanished by the time Jack's attention came back to the other's.
He looked at them all, surprised to see them looking at him with open mouths and such astonishment.
"Don't mind them, Jack, they're just in awe of the new title you just gained. You're now a candidate to become a god, a demihuman."
Jack heard Sterfen's comment, now gaining a better understanding of why they had given such a strict requirement as killing Halmut.
"Demihuman?!"
The party was still going through a rollercoaster of emotions. What was surprise quickly turned into confusion, because they had never heard of that term before.
"Before I explain, please excuse my wife. I'm sure she wants our daughter to hatch as soon as possible," laughed Sterfen.
"Please, excuse me." Lunara sent down the stair, and a blue glow immediately came through the open trapdoor.
"Now, Jack, let me explain what it means for you to be a demihuman and then we'll see if you have any unanswered questions, okay?"
Jack nodded. "Sure, I'm all ears."
"A demihuman, like I said earlier, is a candidate to become a god. A god can only select a single mortal to make a demihuman, and it's a great risk to the god. If the candidate fails to become a god within ten years of being selected, then the candidate will lose the title of demihuman," explained Sterfen.
"The god who selected that candidate will then face punishment, losing their status as a god and the levels they had gained as a god. But if the candidate successfully becomes a god in the allotted time, then the god who selected the candidate will gain levels, EXP, and the opportunity to become a main god."
"Hmmm…" Surprised to see that the risk and reward were so great, Jack paid close attention.
"As a demihuman, you gain no additional benefits until you're lv. 89. At that time, you'll gain the skill to absorb a new type of energy, and once you've accumulated enough of that new type of energy you'll reach lv. 90 and become a god."
"Now, a word of warning. You'll be considered our son from this time forward but you shouldn't declare this publicly while you're so weak," stated Sterfen. "If the other champions learned about this, they would hunt you down. As a champion of a main god, that god is not able to declare you a demihuman, but I doubt that you haven't already received some amazing benefits that even I don't have as a champion."
"Any questions?"
"How did you and your wife become gods? Was it through one of the main gods?" asked Jack.
Sterfen nodded with a slight chuckle. "You're smart. I became a neutral god because I accepted Daruun's offer years ago."
"So, that means Halmut was the one who offered it to Lunara? Wouldn't that technically make Halmut her father?"
"Correct, Halmut is indeed her father."