Chapter 4

The god was fuming; however, he did his very best to seem calm and composed.

"I am assuming the reason you brought me back here is not to just chat about your earlier failure. So stop beating around the bush and speak."

Fernic said, he spoke slowly while keeping up his grin.

"FINE! What will it take for you to do the job?"

A reply finally came, though it was more like a hiss.

"Let's see... I said that I would charge double due to my experience, and I also said that I will charge extra, so I hope you have quite deep pockets."

The god only growled instead of saying anything. Seeing that reaction, Fernic's grin grew even wider, but only for a brief moment, then it completely vanished.

"Alright, in that case, I will say what I had in mind. Two body enhancement, in addition, either an at least level three random skill or trait, or four upgrade points I can spend on my skills, or an item, but of course that can not be random, as I want to have something useful or something interesting, not just junk I would never use. And of course, last but not least, returning to the exact time and space from where I was teleported from."

"Oh, I see it now, you want strength so you can extort the next god who summons you?"

"It is only business and perseverance, after all, I do not wish to be summoned to be killed because I was weak."

"Fine! Let's see how much that would cost!"

The god replied; though his anger had dissipated slightly, he was still reluctant to accommodate Fernic's demands. He snapped his fingers, and then a golden window appeared in front of him. From Fernic's side, it was blank, but the god saw a considerable number of details.

As he read through it, his eyes widened more and more. Even a few beads of sweat formed on his forehead by the time he had read the information.

"HOW?!"

"What is the matter?"

Fernic's calm voice came, and the god noticed a slight smirk on his face once again.

"How are you this strong?! It is as if you had been summoned multiple times already! Do you have any idea how expensive your demands would be?"

"No, and I do not care to be frank. You can either hire me, or if you have a third plan, go with that! I told you I would change extra the second time!"

"F-FINE!"

The god shouted as he could no longer contain his anger and frustration, then he once again snapped his fingers. In the blink of an eye, the room they were in was completely transformed into what seemed like a massive vault.

Around the sides, dozens of glass display cabinets were placed, each of which had some sort of item in it. In total, there were three stories for the vault, though it was much taller than that; Fernic couldn't even see its roof. It seemed that each display had some sort of weapon or armour neatly placed in it.

Fernic just walked past them as if they weren't even there. In total, the displays were about a few dozen pieces long, and since Fernic ignored them all, he got to the end quite quickly.

As he walked, he was greatly disappointed by the displayed items. Although they were great and he could tell they were of very high quality, they were not that much better than his own, and he would need to put in quite an effort to upgrade and alter them to his liking, which to him felt like an extra hassle at that moment.

"I know they are quite excellent, I gathered them myself! I will give you one of them, so choose wisely."

The god said with a smirk on his face as he looked over his collection.

Suddenly Fernic stopped by the last display on the ground level. The item in it was exotic. It was unlike all the other items here. It seemed like a black fluffy pompom. But although it seemed like an object, Fernic felt that it was alive.

"What is this thing?"

Fernic asked without taking his eyes off the strange pompom.

"I don't know. I won a bet and got it as a result."

"Doesn't matter, I chose this. Though I don't know how useful it will be, at least it seems interesting."

Fernic added, then turned to stare straight into the god's eye, who returned the gaze. While they were in the vault, although it was only a short while, he managed to calm down.

"Is it possible to go lower on the..."

"No, if you want to hire me, that is the price. Take it or leave it. I don't want to repeat myself anymore."

"F...Fine..."

The god finally admitted his defeat with a loud and prolonged sigh. Then he snapped his fingers. Before Fernic, a golden floating panel appeared.

"You have been offered a quest!

Task: Defeat the so-called demon lord.

Reward:

- body enhancement x2

- previously selected item

Do you accept?

Yes/No"

With a wide smile, Fernic tapped on the "Yes", and then the message completely vanished just as quickly as it appeared. Then, before he could even react, the familiar blinding golden light brought him back to the church.

Without saying anything, he lay back on the bench and stared at the ceiling.

"W-what happened? D-did you..."

The nun asked hurriedly as soon as she regained her vision after the light.

"Yeah, your god finally agreed to my terms, so tomorrow I will have a demon lord, or whatever the thing they call themselves, to kill. Also, I will be going to sleep. Wake me up when it's dawn!"

"B-but the village could be in danger. Without your help, the villagers stand no chance; they would be killed in a matter of seconds!"

The nun quickly replied; however, no response came. Instead, she heard a light snoring coming from Fernic.