Chapter 321: Karma (XXXIX)

“So, you’re the new guy who just ascended, right?” Tyrian leaned back, one arm resting over his chair.

“Yeah,” I nodded slighly.

“Really?” Kael muttered, his expression turning half-amused, half-pitying.

He ran a hand through his silver hair and sighed.

“You’re fucked, dude.”

I blinked once.

“Why?”

“You do realize the Divine Realm isn’t exactly one big happy family, yeah? It’s split into factions.” Kael gave a small dry laugh.

“More like packs of wolves. Everyone wants more land, more followers, more divine influence.” Vanya smirked, swirling her cup lazily.

Tyrian nodded.

“And since you’re not part of any group, you’re an easy target. New gods usually are.”

Liora leaned forward slightly, her tone softer. “They’ll probably try to pull you into their side first. If that doesn’t work…”

“They’ll strip you for resources,” Selindra finished, her voice quiet but teasing. “And maybe your divine core if they’re in a bad mood.”

Divine Core, huh?

If they knew my Divine Core is the Yggdrasil tree, they wouldn’t dare even come close to me, as my self-destruction can probably take a quarter of the divine realm.

“That’s putting it lightly. You’ll have gods sending gifts, fake invitations, all that friendly nonsense. But behind it? They’ll be measuring your power.” Kael clicked his tongue.

Vanya grinned.

“Oh, and if you look weak, they’ll just take whatever they want. Followers, domains, relics, everything.”

“So there’s no real order here?” I asked curiously.

“Hah!” Tyrian snorted. “There’s an order. Just not one that protects people like you. The strongest make the rules. Everyone else pretends to follow them.”

Liora nodded.

“There are three major factions right now,” she said, counting on her fingers. “The Divine Concord, the Celestial Dominion, and the Primordial Court.”

Selindra sighed, flicking her hair over her shoulder. “The Concord are the self-righteous ones—’justice, balance, harmony,’ blah blah. They act noble, but they’ll stab you the second you turn around.”

…That should be the Goddess of Light’s faction.

“Dominion’s worse,” Kael added.

“They only care about control. Politics, armies, titles… they think everything belongs to them.”

“And the Primordial Court? Those are the ancient ones. The ones who don’t play nice with anyone. Old gods who don’t care about rules anymore.” Vanya smirked.

Tyrian leaned forward, elbows on the table. “Wherever you end up, they’ll expect loyalty. And if you say no…”

“Then they’ll make an example out of you,” Selindra said, twirling her knife around her knuckle.

“That’s how this place works.”

I leaned back in my chair, silent for a moment.

“So no actual freedom, huh?”

Carliat spoke softly for the first time since introductions. “There’s freedom. But only if you can protect it.”

Everyone looked at her for a moment. Even Selindra stopped smiling.

Then Vanya chuckled.

“She’s right. The only real freedom up here comes from strength.”

“And luck. Don’t forget that,” Kael added.

I smirked faintly, glancing around the table.

“I see.”

Selindra crossed her legs, her golden eyes lingering on me. “You’re taking it well. Most new gods panic when they hear this.”

“Panicking won’t help,” I said simply.

“Besides… if they want to target me, they can try.”

Tyrian laughed.

“That’s the spirit. Just don’t die too early, alright?”

“You sound confident. Maybe that’ll help you survive,” Liora smiled gently.

“Or get you killed faster. Either way, it’ll be fun to watch.” Vanya grinned, tilting her head.

Selindra rolled her eyes. “Don’t scare him. He’s already surrounded by vultures.”

I ignored her commentary and turned my attention to Kael, who seemed to know the most about the Divine Realm’s politics or whatever they called it.

“Then tell me,” I said, resting my elbow on the table, “who should I be careful of in this academy?”

Kael leaned back, his expression turning thoughtful. “Careful of, huh? Alright… there are three names you should remember.”

He raised his hand, counting them off with his fingers.

“Lunara, Thaliel, and Emyria.”

I blinked once.

“All women?”

Tyrian burst out laughing before Kael could answer. “Yeah, I had the same reaction, man. Welcome to the Divine Realm, where the Goddesses run the show.”

Vanya smirked, nodding lightly. “He’s not wrong. You’ll find out soon enough, most of the powerful ones up here are women.”

“Matriarchal structure, through and through. Don’t get me wrong, there are strong gods too, but… let’s just say the ladies here have the sharper claws.” Tyrian nodded, still grinning.

“And the sharper tongues.” Selindra chuckled softly, sipping her drink.

Kael sighed.

“Anyway, back to the point.” He straightened up, lowering his voice slightly.

“First, Lunara. She’s the Goddess of Judgment. Smart, cold, and ruthless. Her divine court handles all disputes inside the academy, and she’s known for breaking people’s divinities when she’s bored… she’s also the Student Council President.”

Student Council President?

That also exists here, huh?

But Lunara, huh… for a moment, I almost thought of Luna’s sister, who is also the Goddess of Judgement.

…Maybe she is?

Nah, I doubt it.

That woman hated my guts.

“Yeah… I’ve seen her do that once. Didn’t even blink,” Liora shivered a little, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

Slowly, Kael continued.

“Second, Thaliel — the Goddess of the Abyss. Don’t let the title scare you; she’s not technically evil, but she’s unpredictable. Her domain touches the Void. Some say she hears things from beyond it. You cross her, you disappear.”

“Lovely,” I muttered.

“And lastly, Emyria. Goddess of Creation. She’s… different. Calm, polite, but too curious for her own good. She studies divine cores like toys. If she ever gets interested in yours, pray she doesn’t decide to take it apart to ‘see how it works.’” Kael grinned.

Tyrian suddenly raised his cup.

“To survival, my friend.”

“Oh, come on, don’t scare him too much. He looks like he can handle himself.” Vanya laughed.

I glanced at her, then back at Kael.

“So, in short, all three of them are trouble.”

Kael nodded firmly. “Exactly. They might act friendly, but if they take notice of you, it’s never for something simple.”

“He’ll be fine. He’s already sitting with a goddess known for trouble.” Selindra smirked, brushing her hair over her shoulder.

I raised an eyebrow at her. “You mean you?”

“Who else, sweetie? She smiled sweetly.

“And that’s exactly why he won’t be fine,” Tyrian groaned slighly.

…

We left the dining hall not long after that, laughter still echoing faintly between us as the group began to scatter in their own directions.

Kael gave me a lazy salute with a smirk, Tyrian waved a hand behind his back, and Carliat just nodded silently before disappearing into the crowd with the other two girls.

I sighed quietly and was just about to leave when…

“Hold on~”

Selindra’s voice came from behind, smooth and teasing. Before I could react, she pulled me by the arm, pulling me toward a quiet corner hidden between the marble pillars.

Her eyes glimmered like soft pink crystals as she smiled up at me.

“Here,” she murmured, slipping a folded piece of paper into my palm. “That’s where my dorm room is~. If you ever get bored… come find me, little god.”

Before I could even speak, she leaned forward just enough to blow a slow, deliberate kiss toward my face, her lips curling mischievously as she winked.

Then she turned away, hips swaying as her figure shimmered into faint, rosy light that vanished down the corridor.

“…”

I looked down at the paper, then at the empty air she’d just disappeared into.

“Unbelievable,” I sighed.

I crumpled the note lightly, shoved it into my pocket, and started walking again.

My next class was… Politics.

The very sound of it already made me feel tired.

Still, as I walked through the corridor, I could feel the faint pressure of her divine aura lingering behind me like perfume in the air.

Watching… waiting.

But this time, it was gone.

I stopped for a moment, glancing back over my shoulder. The strange, suffocating presence that had been following me since earlier… had finally vanished.

“Ah… did she finally leave?” I muttered, exhaling in relief.

Reaching into my pocket, I took the paper out again, staring at it briefly. Then, with a small smirk, I flicked my fingers, and the note dissolved into fading wisps of red light.

Of course, I wasn’t going to be charmed that easily.

The so-called Goddess of Lust… was just another distraction I didn’t need.

Besides, I’ve already got Christina if I truly want to relive my desires on somebody. Not that I believe that that’s going to happen…

“Politics… huh?”

But seriously, politics?

Like, who gives a single fuck about politics?!

I might as well skip that class.

“If you skip any classes, you’ll be deducted a merit point.”

A voice suddenly spoke my thoughts, causing my eyes to widen slighly as I turned around to look at who was speaking.

…Fucking hell.

“Although you’re new to this academy and to the divine realm, you will need to follow the rules either way; that’s how it is.”

I simply nodded, passing her.

“…Rude,” she muttered, walking away.

Oh my fucking god.

How come I’m so unlucky?

To think that Lunara is actually Luna’s sister?!

Yup…

That was supposedly Lunara, and the only way that I noticed that was because she had a band on her right arm that said “Student Council President”.

How unlucky, huh…

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