My primary objective in bringing in more people to the village was to accrue more power, and make us more defensible, but if there was one added bonus which I hadn’t even foreseen, it was the value of each new person’s life experiences and practical skills.

It shamed me to admit that I hadn’t even thought of that, but it was a relief that they could all help out. We hadn’t just collected dedicated farmers or hunters; there were herbalists in the bunch, along with smiths, artisans, seasoned builders who were familiar with stonework, and dancers!

No one who originally lived in the village danced! It was amazing to watch, and I wasn’t ashamed to say that I joined in on a few occasions.

Things were coming along swimmingly as a result. The stoneworkers informed us that we needed to lay a foundation before starting on the new temple, and once that was done, things progressed rapidly from there. Slabs of stone were brought in almost every minute, the strength of the stronger mages in our fold shocking the newcomers into devoting themselves further into the practice. I was working double-time cleansing everyone, doing two or three at the same time just to satisfy everyone’s cravings for personal power.

But, my intentions weren’t entirely altruistic. As it happened, the worship that a higher ranked mage could bring to bear was… substantially higher than a non-mage. I could sense Len and Ruman’s presences from so far away, even without a temple to my name, and their prayers were worth almost five times that of a mundane man, not that it factored in to how I treated any of them.

After all, everyone had the potential to grow, and even if they chose not to, I would serve them just as faithfully as they serve me to the best of their ability.

In a matter of days, the houses I built, as well as the finished projects built by the people, were all occupied, and now things were starting to get population-dense again. It didn’t really bother anyone, truth be told, and it wouldn’t for quite some time. After all, more arrivals meant more empty hands in need of work, and there was work practically everywhere. Three new houses were built every day, and as they would start to get the hang of it, that number would only increase, especially as more people came in.

With a smith, we finally didn’t have to conserve so much on nails, and as the natural resources here were abundant, only a dozen or so miners had to be allocated to restock our supplies while the population’s bulk focused on building.

Farming was going swimmingly with the continuous influx of new Verdant Green. We still had several years of mining left before the region was entirely exploited, and by then, it would be many, many decades until our supplies dwindled, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

But, while Verdant Green was ‘miraculous’ as my people would have it, it didn’t create plant-matter out of nothing. It fertilized the dead soil and promoted a swift growth of crops, but that growth still had to occur naturally. Our next harvest of our dramatically expanded farmland was expected to occur in two weeks. While miraculous in most situations, our current food stores were almost completely depleted.

The hunters had to pick up the slack from there, while gatherers were out in force, collecting what they could from the forest. The strongest of my people forewent meals some days, though it didn’t bother them (or affect their productivity) at all on account of their newfound prowess in magic. The more they advanced, the less they were bound to the natural world.

I couldn’t wait to see what boons the upper realms would confer.

From my perch above the temple which was rapidly being constructed, a few of my hunters appeared out from the tree line of the forest at high speed. I furrowed my eyebrows as I looked closer at them. Their expressions were clear to me in a moment.

Fear.

Terror!

“All warriors at the ready!” I howled. People dropped what they were doing in mere moments, grabbing for whichever weapon they had. In moments, fifty of my finest warriors marched out the village and towards the trees, where an enormous creature leapt out.

It was covered in bristling brown fur which stood pointing backwards like a porcupine. The front portion of its body was dominated by thick muscles and enormous legs. It had a pair of legs growing from the center of its body as well, easily keeping pace with the enormous front-legs, but the hindmost legs were long and powerful, leaping off the ground.

Its head was simple, dome-shaped with furry bristles pointing backward. Its face looked almost simple compared to the enigmatic workings of its body. Two eyes, two holes for a nose beneath them, and a wide, smiling maw with rows and rows of serrated teeth.

This was no mere beast or a magical beast, but a–

“Monster!” Someone screamed. Spears and swords were at the ready, an impromptu blockade formed the moment the fleeing hunters were out of harm’s way.

The monster collided into the waiting spears. Men and women alike were flung away as the creature thrashed around with the weapons still embedded in its body. More weapons joined them. Over and over, the beast was stabbed, and the most skilful of the bunch dodged away from the protruding weapons each time they came.

In a matter of less than a minute, the monster fell dead.

I touched down as the hunters got up, brushing off dirt and rubbing at the scrapes and bruises. No one was truly hurt. If it looked like that would happen, I would have intervened.

“God!”

“Don’t worry, God! We took care of it!”

I smiled at their happy cheer. Letting them face off against the beast without my help was a good confidence builder, and also physical evidence of how far they had all come. Once upon a time, Ruman told me stories about the might of monsters, how even a single one could waylay an entire town before going down.

It was only through Lenuru’s ingenuity and force of will that the monster which sought to attack the village was killed, earning her the status of a folk hero.

More villagers congregated around the massive corpse, all seemingly searching for answers, but the good cheer assuaged their worries enough that no one was truly frightened.

“A monster has appeared,” I said, addressing the crowds from above. “With the combined efforts of our brave warriors, we managed to fell it without issue. I believe that the reason that it came to attack us was because it could sense the increased ambient magic energy in the air. It sensed this and attacked us. This simply means that if we continue as we are, more monsters will attack.” The crowd gasped, but I tried my best to radiate cheer. “Take heart! If this one was felled so easily by an impromptu strike team, imagine what we could achieve if we were ready for them! I say let them come, and let them have a taste of our mettle!”

Resounding cheers sprung forth. Those who were armed shoved their weapons into the air, while others raised their bare fists. Readiness, blood thirst and excitement wafted out from the crowd in waves.

Then the tree-line exploded outwards from the forest as rows of magical beasts ran towards us with wild abandon.

As the humans would sometimes exclaim… fuck.

With the limited power that I had, I could only do so much as I summoned a blue fireball above my head, the size of an ox, and sent it flying towards the nearest beast. It tore a furrow through the earth as it eliminated half a dozen of them, and half a dozen again as it detonated.

I began to flicker, my form appearing translucent as I came face to face with my mortality. I made a difference in this fight, but this would be it for me if I fought harder.

I had to trust in my people to win this.

000

“Stay with me, Asken! Please, please stay with me!”

It was already too late. Asken’s heart soon gave out and his brain ceased its activity as his body could no longer sustain itself on so little blood.

Though the injuries were not uncommon in the village, I never… this was the first death which I had personally witnessed. Asken was an immigrant from the Southern river valley. He came here on Ruman’s behest, to live a life of purpose and prosperity, in service to me.

And in his service, he had paid the ultimate price. His soul slipped out of his body and dissipated into the environment, and Asken was lost forever.

I transferred as much love and comfort as I could into his wife, Bera. Her sobs grew louder, but I continued. I would like to have her know that she would always have me, though I was aware that I could never fill the void that Asken had left.

Once I was done, I exited the house and walked aimlessly to whoever needed me the most.

My priestess Nyarai caught up to me soon enough, a smile on her face. A smile? Why was she smiling? Didn’t she know that Asken was dead?

“The final tally is forty-nine magical beast carcasses. This will keep us well-fed for a long time. We will salt the meat for preservation, but otherwise, I don’t see us running out for several months!”

Food? Was that what she was thinking about? When Asken was dead?! “He’s dead,” I told her. “Asken is dead, and all you can think about is food?!”

Nyarai’s smile fell. “Great God, I apologize, but… who is Asken?”

Shock hit me like lightning. She… she didn’t know who he was?

But… why would she? She came from a completely different village than him, and he had only been here for a few days, not even enough time for him to unlock a single meridian as of yet while juggling the responsibility of building new houses.

Nyarai didn’t know who Asken was because she didn’t go out of her way to know about everyone, not like I did. She had no reason to, for that simply wasn’t her job.

“Someone has died,” I amended myself. “Several more are direly injured.”

“We are giving them the best care that we can,” Nyarai responded. “Mountain herbalism is a potent art.”

“Okay, but-“

“Great God,” Nyarai interrupted, lowering her voice. “I am so, so sorry for your loss. I wasn’t aware that it would affect you so harshly, but…” she gulped. “You need to hear this, so please do not get angry. People are going to die under your care.”

My eyes widened as I took in her complete sincerity. “W-what?! B-but I can-“

“Do very little without a temple,” she sighed. “And I fear that your limitations may yet supersede a simple lack of power. There are… folk stories, of a time with gods. They were powerful and capable of all sorts of miracles, but… they were restrained from taking the lives of man. I am not sure if this applies to you, but if it does, there is precious little you can do in the way of helping us fight wars. The monsters have attacked, but more shall come. The City of Neulea, Atheopolis beyond it, the orcs, and threats yet unforeseen. It will be impossible for all of us to survive these onslaughts, but most of us will, and that is what should matter. You cannot do everything, Great God.”

“B-but…” I bit my lower lip as I clenched my fists. “Then what good am I?”

She reached upwards to touch my shoulder, and gave a comforting smile. “Good enough. More than that, you are amazing. Though you seek to take us to great heights, I would ask you to temper your expectations just a little. We are so much further ahead in life than we have ever been, and it is all thanks to you.”

I nodded shakily. She was right. I am a God, and my aid helped them rise to where they currently were. I had to become more powerful for them to become powerful as well, and though the sacrifice of my people was always regrettable, it was an unavoidable facet of life.

I sought to defeat death, that was my original goal the moment I stepped into my role as their God. It was plain arrogance to think that I could achieve this lofty ambition so early into my tenure.

“Now,” Priestess Nyarai began as she led me towards a few elders; Fern, Nergal and Sylock. “They would wish to speak to you with regards to city management. They want a wall built post-haste, and are waiting on your orders on how much of the area it should encompass. Lead us, Great God.”

Always.