Becoming a God Starts with Acting-Chapter 87: Be Careful

The signs that the invading forces are evolving have never been good.

Layla continued, "Since the dungeon [The River God’s Wife] has been permanently closed, I won’t dwell on it any further. A summary and a full report of the dungeon will be officially published on the government website, so I hope everyone will follow up on that. The important part of today’s meeting is our new god, Nerio."

Leonard straightened up the moment he heard Nerio’s name.

Layla glanced at the report in her hand and said, "First of all, according to the dungeon system’s description, Nerio is the strongest god."

"Ha, the dungeon’s descriptions have never been accurate," Drake scoffed, openly objecting.

Layla looked at him and replied, "We have no evidence that the dungeon system’s notifications are incorrect."

Drake stood up, his expression serious. "Then tell me—didn’t it say that Prophet is the most useless god? Is he useless?"

Layla fell silent. The answer was, of course, no.

At that moment, all eyes turned to Mr. Adonis, the association’s president, who had remained silent as a mere observer throughout the meeting.

Mr. Adonis sighed, then closed his eyes. A strange energy enveloped him, causing some non-association members to gasp in astonishment. They had never known that an ability could be used outside a dungeon!

It was well-established that esper abilities could only be used within dungeons. Until now, apart from the mystery surrounding Drake’s massive blade, no other ability had ever been detected outside of a dungeon. If abilities could be used freely outside, the entire continent would have already plunged into chaos—without needing an invasion.

The energy surrounding Mr. Adonis disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. He opened his eyes and said slowly, "The dungeon system describes things according to the gods’ perceptions."

There was an undeniable truth—Mr. Adonis’ brief statements were never wrong.

The answer to the dungeon system’s descriptions at that moment became clear.

Frank couldn’t help but murmur, "So, Prophet believes himself to be the most useless god, while Nerio believes himself to be the strongest god."

Drake let out a bitter laugh, anger bubbling beneath his amusement. He suddenly thought of why Prophet always seemed so withdrawn—had he convinced himself of his uselessness and was now punishing himself for it?

Gods could be truly incomprehensible sometimes. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

Leonard, too, thought of Nerio. But to him, no matter what Nerio believed about himself, there was no doubt—he was firm.

Not caring what the two top believers were thinking, Layla continued, "Next is Nerio’s abilities. So far, the most apparent power we have observed from him is water manipulation."

She pressed the remote in her hand, and the projection immediately switched to the scene where Nerio saw the enormous merfolk figure appear. Leonard and the others finally got a clear view of Nerio from the front. They almost held their breath at the sight—especially Leonard, whose eyes widened in shock. Even as his eyes grew dry, he refused to blink.

So this was him? What an overwhelming presence!

Then, the projection shifted again, showing Nerio as a young boy. The boy held out his hands, with little stars forming a ridiculous-looking picture in his palms. The glow reflected in his eyes, making him appear innocent and pure.

The room fell into stunned silence.

Frank sighed, "The contrast is just... too much. Not even the slightest resemblance. Let’s add acting skills to Nerio’s abilities!"

Ignoring Frank, Layla continued, "Another of Nerio’s abilities appears to be related to foresight—he can see the solutions to problems."

Such omnipotent abilities—it was no surprise that the system had declared Nerio the strongest god.

Drake clicked his tongue. He couldn’t deny that Prophet’s fellow deity possessed formidable powers.

Meanwhile, Leonard sat to the side, his eyes excitedly shining. What could be better than hearing about the greatness of the god he worshipped?

"However, the real issue we must focus on is Nerio’s personality."

Layla’s words made the atmosphere in the room turn more serious. Indeed, they had all witnessed how Nerio toyed with humanity.

Matthew spoke lowly, "Until the very last moment, we thought Nerio was a monster trying to lure Leonard into becoming one."

"Nerio was present from the start, yet he never intended to save all of humanity. He also had no hesitation in killing those who dared to target him. He enjoyed humanity’s fear and found it amusing. He seems to enjoy seeing others terrified of him, whether human or monster. In short, he simply does whatever he finds entertaining," Layla continued. "However, that doesn’t mean he has completely abandoned humanity. After all, he did intervene in crises thd have wiped everyone out."

"I feel like he only did that because he didn’t want things to end too quickly—it wouldn’t be fun otherwise."

Drake muttered under his breath.

And this time, no one thought he was wrong.

Layla nodded. "That is also a valid theory. So far, every god has had their distinct personality. They may appear friendly, but we must be careful not to cross their boundaries. And we must be especially cautious with Nerio—because we have no idea what that boy will do next."

In other words, ordinary people could quickly become mere tools for Nerio to make things more "interesting."

Layla concluded, "We will head to the shrine of Priest Silvanus to learn more about Nerio and the next developments in the dungeon." At this point, Silvanus had indeed become a trustworthy figure among humanity.

"Next is the issue of strengthening civilian defenses. Since dungeons now appear suddenly without warning, they severely impact evacuation efforts. Outstanding espers will be assigned to lead defense teams across various locations on the continent instead of being concentrated at headquarters. At the same time, we will issue a decree for all citizens to enhance their physical strength, increase their training, and improve their survival skills. From now on, the dungeon will not spare anyone."

Layla spoke in a slow yet firm tone—this announcement would be delivered to the entire continent.

Even as he stood in the priest’s shrine, Leonard had yet to process everything fully. He had been dazed throughout the meeting, his mind consumed with thoughts of Nerio.

But after the meeting, he received a huge piece of news—he was to become the new head of the massive Curtis family. Even though part of their assets had been confiscated, the Curtis family remained a "monster" on the continent.

Leonard had never been trained for this role, but a thought crossed his mind: as long as he had power and wealth, he could expand Nerio’s influence by spreading his teachings on a large scale!

At that moment, Leonard responded to Layla without hesitation: "I will take over the Curtis family."

Having already anticipated this answer, Layla calmly nodded and said she would ensure a smooth transition of power for Leonard. She also mentioned that she would send people to assist him.

"Silvanus is always like this! Seriously, when will he drop his habit of showing up late? He has a shrine now, but he’s not even in it! He told us before that we could find him here, and now we can’t even see his shadow!" Drake grumbled in frustration.

If Silvanus had heard him, he would have cried out in protest! It wasn’t that he didn’t want to show up—he had only just woken up from his evolution!