“You’re waiting for me?”

  Oliver asks, kinda thrown.

  “Yup, big snake deity! Got a name? Our boss at the water palace, the great Lord Aegir, heard about your wild fight in the Chaos Fire Sea. You took down a bunch of level 13s solo—our boss is super interested in you,”

  The lead goat deity says, all respectful.

  Oliver takes a closer look at this crew.

  The head honcho—a goat-headed, humanoid guy—clocks in at about 900,000 kilometers. Level 13, stats all above 70,000. Same league as that metal bull. If he’s got a couple of killer items, he’s top-tier for level 13.

  A deity like this is a slave to the water giant?

  Oliver’s a bit shocked.

  Word is, the Ymir giant clan’s got a brutal way of recruiting servants—soul-binding, hardcore control. Bound servants are locked down tight, no freedom at all. One slip-up, one move the master doesn’t like? Harsh punishment.

  Besides this goat-head, his posse’s no slouches either. No level 12s, but five level 11s, and a ton more lower levels—over a hundred deities total.

  Heck, Oliver even recognizes one—the wolf-head deity. He crossed paths with it at the water palace’s trading market way back.

  Back then, wolf-head scoffed at Oliver’s disguise, thinking he wasn’t fit to join the water palace.

  Now, centuries later, the guy got his wish—joined up, became one of their so-called warriors.

  But even with his big dream checked off, in Oliver’s eyes, he’s still a bug. Way too weak.

  “You can call me Stark. So, what’s giant Aegir want with me?”

  Oliver cuts to the chase.

  “Heh, Stark, you’re one lucky guy! Our great water giant thinks you’ve got mad potential. You can skip the line and join the water palace as a Gold Circle Warrior!”

  Goat-head rushes to say. The deities behind him shoot Oliver looks of envy and jealousy.

  Water palace warriors got ranks—Bronze, Silver, Gold Circle, and Mandela Metal. A guy like wolf-head? He’s a nobody, bottom tier.

  Hit level 10 or rack up some cred, and you might make Bronze—that’s already a big-deal title with better perks.

  Gold Circle warriors? Usually, even level 14 deities gotta earn some stripes to get there.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  But Oliver? He’s being offered Gold Circle right off the bat—same rank as old-school warriors like goat-head.

  No wonder these deities are green with envy.

  Oliver finds it kinda funny, though—slaves with ranks? Fancy slave, still a slave, right?

  “Sorry, I’m not interested. I’ve got zero desire to be a giant’s servant. Far as I know, that giant Aegir’s only level 15, yeah?”

  Oliver replies, cool as ice.

  “You…”

  Goat-head’s caught off guard, but he recovers quick, flashing a wise-old-man smile. “Young guy, you probably don’t get what the giant clan’s all about!”

  Giant Ymir’s a straight-up overlord in the chaos—a beast who can go toe-to-toe with creator god Aether. Nobody knows what level he’s at now.

  Water giant Aegir? Sure, he’s “just” 15—well, word is he hit 16 recently. That’s a fast climb, not far off Oliver’s pace.

  He might be level 15, but he’s got giant blood—born stronger than your average deity. Plus, the giant clan’s loaded with heavy hitters, hooking him up with resources regular deities can’t even dream of.

  If you wanna compare, Oliver’s a lone freelancer, while this guy’s the heir to a mega-corp.

  Nobility, basically.

  Some deities’ strength can’t just be measured by level anymore.

  “You catching my drift? Becoming a servant to the great water giant’s an honor. Getting noticed by Lord Giant? That’s your big break. Don’t mess it up!”

  “No thanks, still not interested,”

  Oliver shakes his head again.

  Giants, huh…

  Kinda cool. Leaning on Ymir’s clout is a big deal, but even Ymir himself might not have an SSS-tier item.

  And Oliver? He’s got one!

  Rumor is, SSS-tier’s the top gear in this world.

  Maybe Ymir’s got one too?

  Either way, Oliver’s banking on his Book of the Chaos Era and World Egg treasures. In the future, he’s not betting against surpassing Ymir.

  Forget the long game—Oliver’s already started creating a world.

  That’s a step ahead of creator god Aether.

  Hell, he’s even nabbed one Authority of Creation!

  Become a servant to some minor water giant?

  No way Oliver’s doing that!

  “Still saying no?”

  Goat-head’s face sours. “You don’t know what you’re passing up!”

  “Lord Caprovorax, this snake’s too full of himself—should we teach him a lesson?”

  “Put this guy in his place!”

  “Show him the water palace’s power!”

  The deities behind goat-head start whispering and hyping him up.

  Caprovorax looks pissed, but his eyes flicker for a bit. In the end, he doesn’t make a move. “No need. We just report this guy’s arrogance to Lord Giant exactly as is. How to deal with him—that’s up to Lord Aegir’s orders!”

  This snake’s recent insane fight record makes Caprovorax hesitate. He’s not jumping to tangle with Oliver.

  He’s only level 13 too, after all.

  Oliver smoked a bunch of level 13s not long ago!

  …

  Meanwhile, what Oliver doesn’t know is that deep in the chaos, in some bottomless dark pit…

  A massive, boundless humanoid shadow slowly cracks open its eyes.

  Yup—humanoid, but not human. Beyond its insane size, it’s radiating fierce golden holy light. Without some special ability, you can’t even make out its real look.

  Regular deities just see a blazing, majestic glow—like it’s a humanoid sun thousands, millions of times grander than the real deal!

  Right now, this figure opens its eyes slow, peering into the distance with a thoughtful look.

  “Strange… feels like someone’s tapped into an authority like mine… The chaos is wild. Is someone else walking my path, trying to create a world?”