RISE OF EROS

While Zaros and Lugia were discussing Andrew being a god candidate, Andrew and his companions returned to their room at the inn and discussed what they had learned.

Oliver was the first to speak, and with concern, he said, "It seems that the problem with the fallen god is more serious than we thought." Aki and Zany, though not the best at thinking through these issues, also nodded in agreement with Oliver.

Andrew, for his part, did not feel the same way. In fact, he was only concerned about the dragon named Carcom and the organization he allied with since they wanted to revive the fallen god, but honestly, he wasn't afraid of them.

As powerful as they might be, Fluffy had assured him that they would be on par with Zaros, Lugia, or Elidyr in the worst scenario, since if they were stronger, they would be forced to ascend as gods.

Although it would be difficult to deal with several of these demigods, escaping with Fluffy's help wasn't hard, so he wasn't afraid, as he had ways to escape and could even defeat one of these legendary demigods, though with some sacrifices.

His true fear came from the fallen god itself. The reason gods could not remain in a mortal world like this was that all divinity originated from the initial creator god.

Although ultimately this divinity evolves and becomes their own, its origin does not change, so when one surpasses the threshold, they must return to the divine land, meaning there is no one above the legendary demigod level in this world, and Fluffy could somehow handle them.

The problem was the fallen god. Although the origin of the fallen god's divinity is the same as the others, the corruption it has undergone creates different rules compared to other gods.

In short, if the fallen god revives, the mortal world will not expel it or force it to ascend, so, it would be an unmatched existence in this world. Even during the war 1,000 years ago, many gods descended, but that was under special circumstances.

With this said, Andrew's fear was that this fallen god might revive soon, because not only would it be the most powerful being in this world, but it could start spreading its corruption everywhere, complicating things.

It was assumed that once Andrew ascended as a god, he would have control of this world, and if the fallen god revived, even if they managed to defeat it, which would already be difficult, the world he would govern would lose many years before recovering.

A god obtains power differently from experts and demigods. Gods strengthen themselves with divinity, which they derive from their believers, meaning in Andrew's case, it would be the inhabitants of this world.

If they are destroyed, he will not be able to strengthen himself, and although the divine world sounds great, it really is not very different from this place, except it belongs to the gods. So, Andrew could not help but worry about the dark future ahead.

Fluffy, who could hear his thoughts, said, "Master, the situation you're thinking of is certainly worrying, but don't lose sight of the horizon. You still have a long way to go before ascending. I think you should focus on the present and not on a distant future."

Andrew understood Fluffy's point, but the concern did not leave him, so he asked, "What do you think I should do to strengthen myself?" to which Fluffy responded, "I have already told you, but you refuse."

Andrew frowned upon hearing this, as he knew what Fluffy was referring to. He was a god candidate of sex and eroticism, so practicing this would strengthen him, but Andrew had been reluctant to be so libertine.

Initially, this was due to the mindset from his past life. He held the belief that playing with women's emotions and treating them as mere objects to gain power was not appropriate.

Now that he had several wives and concubines, his perception had changed a little. Certainly, he did not see them as objects to improve his strength, but he no longer worried so much about having multiple partners.

However, as the situation stands, he increasingly feels his thinking is wrong. It was too slow to increase his power this way, and he needed to change, but he was still conflicted about the feelings of his wives.

Sensing the confusion and internal moral struggle Andrew was having, Fluffy made him a proposal, "Master, I'm not telling you to turn women into objects. Why don't you discuss it with your wives? You don't have to sleep with every woman you come across, but be more aggressive."

Andrew thought about this carefully and couldn't help but admit that Fluffy had a point. He decided to talk to his wives once Damon handed over the establishment that would become the Heavenly Palace of this place.

His intention was to inform them that he would be more active from now on, as the fallen god's threat was pressing, and if he continued as he had been, he would face many problems.

The ideal scenario would be to stop the fallen god's resurrection, but if he couldn't prevent it, at least he needed to be close to releasing his final divine seal to even think about standing a chance.

With this decision made, he said, "Let's not worry about that for now. At the moment, we are too weak to do anything, so it's not worth fretting over. Let's stick to our plans."

Oliver, Aki, and Zany, though worried, agreed with Andrew's disposition and stopped discussing the matter. The elder Lugia and Vaelyra left the city shortly after speaking with Zaros.

They were now in a great hurry to reach the demon kingdom, and although they wanted to talk and get to know Andrew better, it wasn't convenient for them to do so, as they didn't know where enemies might be, and getting too close to Andrew could reveal their identity, something they didn't want to happen.

In fact, this was the same reason Zaros had not approached him much after their conversation. Three days later, Damon sent a messenger pigeon to inform Andrew that all the formalities had been completed and he could go and receive the establishment.

Excited, Andrew and his companions took a carriage and arrived at the establishment where Damon was waiting for them. Upon stepping out of the carriage, Andrew approached, and with evident excitement, said, "Duke Damon." Experience exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire

Damon also smiled, greeting Andrew as he replied, "Everything is done. From today, this place is yours." Andrew thanked him, and Damon gave him a tour of the place. Damon had taken a little longer with the paperwork because he was making repairs to the minor damages he had found and showed Andrew everything he had fixed.

Andrew thanked Damon for his support. Just giving him the establishment was already a huge favor, so fixing these details was going above and beyond. However, this time, Andrew accepted it.

He had decided not to be so proud and accept the advantages and opportunities that arose. Damon, noticing that Andrew wasn't refusing, nodded with satisfaction, as this benefited him.

He had noticed that Andrew tended to reject help and gifts as if he didn't want to owe anyone anything, and he wasn't wrong, but Damon knew this wasn't sustainable in the long term.

Although being in debt is a bad thing, in this world, it is a necessary evil. Furthermore, fortunately for Andrew, the Pixoy family didn't seek unreasonable benefits; they only wanted friendship and help in times of need.

Damon, his wife, and children didn't know what Zaros wanted from Andrew, but they sensed it was important, so they acted as instructed, helping Andrew and treating him with respect.

After the tour, Damon didn't stay long, and Andrew quickly named the place as a Heavenly Palace. In seconds, the establishment received the mark of a temple, and without wasting time, Andrew teleported to Dunnas Palace.

Andrew's and his companions' sudden appearance in the Dunnas Palace office surprised Candice, who was working there at the time. However, her surprise didn't last long, and she quickly composed herself, running toward him and hugging him with tears in her eyes.

It had been several months, and she missed him. Andrew smiled upon seeing his wife and stroked her head for a few seconds before leaning down and kissing her lips tenderly.

As they separated, he smiled at her and said, "I'm back." Candice also smiled and replied, "Welcome." After the intimate moment, Andrew spoke again, "Can you gather everyone? There's a lot to talk about."

Noticing Andrew's seriousness, Candice nodded and ran to call everyone. Oliver, Aki, and Zany sat on the sofas in the office, waiting for the others, who didn't take long to arrive.

The first to appear were Carolina and Helena, who, like Candice, leaped onto him and kissed him. Then Sansa, Castor, and Vala arrived, and Andrew took the opportunity to congratulate them.

Vala's belly was already a little swollen, but not too much. Gaston, Canna, Erick, Marie, Sofia, and their children arrived next, and the office became lively as the kids were excited to see their father.

The last to arrive was Victoria, as she wasn't at Dunnas Palace at the time, but upon receiving the message of his return, she rushed back and, like the other girls, leaped onto Andrew, kissing him.

Once everyone was gathered, Andrew adopted a serious expression and, looking at everyone present, said, "We have many gains this time, but also a lot of worrying information."