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There Are Three Ways for Gods to Born in the Pan Continent

One is simply being born as a divine being.

Most gods, including the Goddess of Love, fall under this category.

Generally, those who valued discipline and created various laws and doctrines during the early stages of civilization are the innate gods.

Next is when a mortal accumulates merit to ascend to divinity.

The God of Thieves is a prime example and a rare case.

While their power as a god is relatively weak, they exhibit absolute authority in their respective fields.

Despite receiving only crude worship from criminals, the God of Thieves managed to survive until the end of the War of the Gods, when countless other gods perished.

The last category comprises gods born from concepts and faith.

The World Tree, which became a god from a simple colossal tree, fits this category.

Not born with divine attributes or having built them oneself, but rather received from others. Thus, anyone can ascend to divinity if certain conditions are met, but…

Conversely, if conditions align unfavorably, one can also be expelled from divinity, making such existence quite unstable.

Among the countless weak gods birthed from primitive faith, the majority lost their divinity and met their demise.

Gods that are easy to arise but vanish just as quickly. Yet, exceptions are always present.

The World Tree, monopolizing the faith of the entire elf race… and the God of Play also belongs to this rare category.

If the World Tree rose to divinity through faith due to its awe-inspiring stature, the God of Play was born from the rumors held by people.

In other words, a vague deity that never had a physical form from the beginning.

Therefore, they should be the most unstable of gods, but… rather than disappearing, the God of Play survived until the end of the War of the Gods.

This derives from the uniqueness of the domain of play.

Finding joy is an instinct inherent to humans, transcending time and space.

No matter how strictly the gods tried to govern, the city of Babylon was established solely because life lacked dopamine.

Creatures born with extraordinary abilities that could not ascend to divinity, and evil deities birthed from the darker side of intelligence were commonplace in ancient times, making it a remarkable achievement.

Well, Babylon perished due to the scheme of the Goddess of Purification, and the God of Thieves was born from her death.

Anyway, the human instinct to seek joy is that powerful.

Just like Pompeii, which fell over 2,000 years ago yet still shares its debauched lifestyle with the modern world.

Similarly, even after Babylon’s destruction, its name continued to be known through people.

The problem lies in the fact that this process involved a bit of embellishment and exaggeration.

No matter how heroic the figures, did humans really defeat all the monstrous evil deities and establish a safe city?

Even the reason was simply to have a bit of fun?

To people of the divine age, it likely sounded as absurd as slicing a kiwi bird in half and having kiwi juice pour out or cutting a platypus in two and separating it into a duck and a raccoon.

Thus, they added a bit of setting to it.

In reality, there is a God of Play chasing after joy, and the builders of Babylon were said to be apostles of the God of Play.

The narrative spread and evolved, supplemented with their own version of connection, leading many to believe in the existence of a God of Play that never existed.

The moment those seeking joy in life or gamblers consumed by dopamine fervently offered their faith to the God of Play…

The God of Play was truly born.

An entity of non-existence that became divine through faith.

Hence, the God of Play can appear anywhere if deemed entertaining and can exist simultaneously in multiple places.

Like rumors spreading simultaneously, the God of Play can send out many avatars of itself.

No, actually, there’s no original form. It’s merely countless avatars sharing a collective consciousness that constitutes the God of Play.

Therefore, it’s not surprising if someone suddenly claims to be the God of Play.

From their perspective, it’s as if I unconsciously attract people, and when they approach, I give them a good whack and grumble about it.

Talk about clowning around. And a clown’s job is to bring joy to those around them.

It’s entirely likely that the avatar pops out due to that. The brief show of intimidation is also proof of divinity.

Right. I understand why the God of Play is here, and given they were born from the faith of dopamine addicts, it makes sense they’d have a crazy side for proposing a wager.

All or nothing. A gamble to gain everything or lose it all is an exhilarating pastime for everyone.

But it’s just not my cup of tea.

After all, I don’t expect much in this era. I just want to finish my tasks and return to my original timeline.

If I were to lose in a game against them… I might be irrevocably bound to this time.

An ominous feeling that can’t be explained with words. Is that why? I unconsciously responded with nonsense.

“Well, if we’re doing this, wouldn’t a gacha be better than dice?”

“Ga, cha? What is that? It sounds like a game I don’t know… Did you create it?”

As I regretted saying that, the God of Play’s eyes sparkled with even more interest than before.

Oh boy.

I was sweating profusely while the God of Play started bombarding me with questions, indifferent to my state.

“How many people can play? What materials do we need? How does it work? Is it a game where winners and losers are clearly defined? Or is it a cooperative style? Ah! I’m excited! I came out here feeling a strange incongruity only to find a new toy in an unexpected place! Especially in a time of such dire war!”

“Uh, um. F-First, calm down.”

The God of Play, living up to the rumors and faith that they are madly obsessed with fun, suddenly discarded their gentle demeanor and went into a frenzy.

As I took a half-step back and said that, they came to their senses a bit late and scratched their head.

“Oh dear. I must have gotten too excited. I can wait as long as you need, so please explain one by one.”

“Sigh… Is this really okay…?”

Is it really right to explain the concept of gacha to the God of Play themselves?

Is it possible that the system became a gacha format because I brought it up?

That anxiety washed over me, but… well, it’s probably better to just tell them and gain the God of Play’s assistance.

Power that one cannot control is no different from poison.

But hey, I’ve become all too familiar with the gacha system by now.

Above all, the power given to me takes on the form of a game, so maybe the God of Play made the framework…

Ultimately, the one overseeing it is the benevolent Goddess of Love towards me.

Of course, it’s a time when borders fluctuate constantly and people are wiped out in village-sized numbers, so the gacha might not have as huge an impact as on Earth.

That said, there’s bound to be those who suffer due to getting caught up in gacha… but that’s just unfortunate.

Nodding along, I began explaining slowly.

“First of all, gacha is named after the sound made when picking something from a pile of stacked objects. And, like the origin, it’s about picking one from randomly piled items…”

Blah blah blah, yadda yadda.

Listening to my lengthy explanation, the God of Play nodded.

“I see. It’s a game based on a lottery, but arranged to stimulate desires. The more attractive the prizes, the more people will be captivated. …However, this cannot be purely considered a game.”

“Why’s that? If you draw something good, isn’t it enjoyable? There’s a nice element of showing off to others, too.”

“On a grand scale, yes. However, ultimately speaking, the value of prizes ties back to how expensive they are. Just like how betting one’s meal is less thrilling compared to wagering all your wealth.”

“The value of money is precisely in that universality, so it makes sense.”

“Betting remains the same regardless of whether one resorts to trickery or pre-planned deceit; one must eventually stake their life on the board.”

“Betting your life feels a bit extreme, but… I understand what you mean. After all, you’re standing on the same board, so you might cling to deceit.”

“Yes. I believe I have some of that myself. In any case, the important thing is that, in principle, both parties enjoy on the same terms. …But the gacha, however, changes the game.”

“In what way?”

“I’ve heard that gacha is a game that’s played within a framework provided by someone. If it’s purely for enjoyment, it’s merely a lottery with light stakes. The problem occurs when money is involved. Given how obsessed people are with money, this becomes an inexorable pathway. And if that happens…”

“And if that happens?”

“It allows the party providing the game to exploit the participants endlessly.”

“…….”

I was a bit taken aback. Such insight into gacha’s pitfalls coming so quickly is indeed godlike.

However, I wanted to add something here, too.

“Isn’t it sufficient if the one setting up the board is always you, O God of Play?”

“……!”

The God of Play’s eyes widened with realization. I flinched too, having said it.

Sure, while the Goddess of Love might slightly alter the probabilities for me, ultimately, it was her who must bear the cost of the gacha system’s rules.

Could it be that it was such a rigid system for this reason…!

I turned a blind eye to the unsettling truth that I was unknowingly choking my own neck and continued speaking.

“Regardless, I’ve explained the gacha system, so now please tell me how to control my powers.”

“? I didn’t agree to such a promise.”

The God of Play shook their head casually. A bright light flashed before them, and out popped a somewhat clumsy-looking box, clearly filled with fortune cookies inside.

“Well, I’ve shared something I didn’t know, and since there’s an intriguing element that stimulates desire, I’ll consider your circumstances and grant you a slight advantage.”

“An advantage?”

“Yes. Since we’re at it, I might as well quote your explanation…”

With an unwavering gentle expression, the God of Play continued.

“A pick-up event.”

“Ha!”

I didn’t expect it to update this quickly.

***

To put it simply, the gacha was a success.

 

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