I Have a God Simulator

「Yao City」

A gaunt man in black slowly materialized within the Divine Hall, his body completely shrouded by wide, black robes.

Before him stood a tall, gray Divine Statue.

The God’s face was indistinct, and it sat upright at a stone table, as if looking down upon the myriad living beings at its feet.

Beneath the Divine Statue stood a figure in a red cloak.

She wore a white, full-face helm adorned with two curved antlers. The bizarre helm resembled bone, or perhaps marble or white jade, its smooth surface reflecting a cold glint in the firelight.

Through the helmet’s eye slits stared a pair of sharp, apathetic red eyes.

"What is it?" the red-eyed Apostle asked.

The cloaked figure pushed back his hood, revealing the bare white skull underneath.

Philos’s jaw clacked as he spoke, his voice strained. "Miss Selena, Yan City has fallen into complete chaos. The Slave Traders have transformed the city beyond all recognition..."

"So what?"

Selena was dismissive. "That is an affair for mortals. As long as they continue to believe in Lord Yao God and offer up their Faith, it has nothing to do with us—even if they slaughter one another until rivers of blood flow."

"I’m just... afraid things will get worse."

The Skeleton Man chose his words with care. "You see, a second sun has appeared in the sky, which is bizarre in itself. On top of that, some citizens have started to mutate. It’s impossible to determine whether Beastmen have infiltrated their ranks or if they are transforming into Beastmen themselves..."

"Neither Lord Yao God nor Lord White God has returned to this world."

"I was hoping... would you be willing to intervene and set things right? Population and Faith are both matters of concern to our Lord God..."

The Female Tyrant glared down at the Skeleton Man before her. "Are you telling me what to do?"

"I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare!"

"Then shut up."

Selena spoke in a reprimanding tone. "Remember. We serve only the Lord God. Mortals are none of our concern."

"Yes."

"Where is the Snowman?" Selena asked.

"I don’t know its whereabouts... Jimmy is always running all over the world... I’ll take my leave now."

Philos sighed and turned to leave the Divine Hall.

Suddenly, Selena’s voice came from behind him.

"If it becomes truly necessary, I will act."

Philos felt a little relieved.

This Tyrant was difficult to deal with; she was, after all, an esteemed Demigod. The only reason she deigned to serve as an Apostle was because of Yao God’s immense power.

Philos found himself missing Miss Isabelle and the Blood Knight, Necied.

You never know what you have until it’s gone.

The previous Head Apostle, Miss Isabelle, had been gentle and approachable. The Blood Knight, Necied, was silent yet reliable.

’Lord God, when will you return...?’

After leaving the Divine Hall, Philos piloted the Skeleton King Armor, traveling underground until he was just outside Yan City. Pulling his cloak tight, he stepped onto the streets and silently observed.

The city was now a different place entirely.

Many people on the street wore chains around their necks—they were slaves. Beside them, slave masters and Slave Traders alike would occasionally crack their whips, lashing these apathetic-looking pieces of human property.

Twenty years ago, after Mayor Shang Li of Yan City died in a shipwreck, the merchants seized power. They then overhauled a whole series of the city’s policies.

Two of these changes were the most important.

First, they abolished Yan City’s mayoral system, replacing it with a Citizen Council that would make all decisions regarding the city’s governance.

Second, they legalized the slave trade.

The Citizen Council was merely a front, with the vast majority of its members being merchants and members of the Salt Race. Because of their superior bloodline and their blood ties to Commander Salt Geller and Ascetic Elder Yan Jiu, the Salt Race was the most powerful human faction in the city.

The merchants and the Salt Race controlled the Citizen Council, implementing a comprehensive plan centered around the slave trade.

First, they demanded that every citizen pay taxes, arguing that everyone must share the costs of the city’s construction and maintenance.

The tax rates varied by profession: merchants paid the least, followed by Scholars, with farmers paying the most.

Consequently, a great number of farmers fled Yan City for Yao City to the east, where they resettled and began to farm once more.

Yao City was different from Yan City. Its Divine Hall Council did not force everyone to pay taxes.

However, due to the city’s strong theological atmosphere, its citizens would donate money to the Divine Hall each year. The Divine Hall Council used these funds to maintain the Divine Hall’s cleanliness and solemnity and to cover the various expenses of the Holy City. This had become an unwritten custom.

Once the tax policy was introduced, the demographic divide between the two cities grew even more distinct.

Yao City’s populace consisted mainly of farmers, Hunters, fishermen, and Scholars, while Yan City was mostly home to merchants, artisans, and the wealthy from various industries.

In the long run, Yan City would face a severe labor shortage.

And so, the legalization of slavery was conveniently passed into law.

Slaves could quickly fill the labor gaps across all the city’s industries.

In Yan City, not only was the buying and selling of slaves permitted, but free citizens could also sell themselves into slavery. Slaves were primarily sourced from Overseas natives and islanders who held heretical beliefs, as well as criminals and debtors.

As slaves became a common commodity, they grew popular in Yan City, and the city’s entire cultural climate shifted rapidly.

The rich purchased slaves in large numbers. These slaves not only cleaned houses, hauled cargo, planted crops, and served as guards, but could also be beaten and berated at will.

Furthermore, because slaves were private property, just like livestock, their owners were not required to pay any additional taxes for their upkeep.

Thus, the mass exodus of farmers didn’t lead to a labor shortage in Yan City. Slave Traders brought in droves of slaves, selling them to the rich, and this cheap labor force filled the void left in the city.

Philos had witnessed all of these changes.

He had always suspected that the merchants were inextricably linked to Mayor Shang Li’s death.

Unfortunately, he lacked proof.

The merchants never spoke of the matter, as if it were some kind of taboo—as if Shang Li himself had never existed.

Another key figure was Commander Salt Geller.

Philos found it hard to say that Salt Geller had done anything wrong.

Salt Geller continued to lead the Corrupters on patrol, day in and day out, never once slackening his duty.

He never interfered in internal human conflicts, only stepping in when Extraordinary Powers invaded or caused widespread Chaos in the city.

Slavery in itself wasn’t the problem.

What worried Philos was the potential for a chain reaction between the slaves and the second sun.

Suddenly, he heard a panicked voice.

"The sun is out! Quick, get back inside!"

"Heavens, why is it so early today!"

The people on the street descended into chaos, scrambling for their homes as if for their very lives, leaving the street in total disarray.

Philos raised his head.

Though he was only a skeleton, it didn’t stop him from observing the world with his Fire of Faith. Such was the power a God bestowed upon an Apostle.

In the sky, another sun slowly emerged from behind the normal, golden one.

This second sun was like the other’s shadow, pitch-black in its entirety.

It slowly slid out from behind the other sun, its dark shadow spreading across the sky, making it look as if the entire firmament was fracturing with black cracks.

The black sun’s appearance was accompanied by wisps of black mist that filled the air, casting the whole world into twilight.

Near the corner of a wall, a stray dog lying on the ground suddenly arched its back. Its fur bristled as its body swelled a full size larger, a sickening CRACKLING of shifting bones echoing from within.

Black, bloodshot-like veins appeared in its eyes. It drooled, scanning left and right for prey.

The frenzied hound looked toward a nearby eave, where a young child was standing with only one shoe.

The child’s face was ashen with terror. His body, for some reason, was frozen stiff, and he could only tremble. He watched helplessly as the monstrous hound charged, its sharp fangs growing closer and closer as the stench of rot assaulted his nostrils.

The next second, however, a claw of bone shot out from the ground and caught the ferocious hound mid-lunge. With a gentle squeeze, the monster went limp and collapsed to the ground.

Philos picked up the shoe from the ground and handed it to the child.

"Go home now."

The child took the shoe and hurriedly put it on.

"Thank you, sir! Though... I don’t have a home..."

"Can you tell me your name?" the child asked, mustering his courage. "I’d like to at least be able to remember your name."

"I’m just a random passerby."

A sudden gust of wind whipped Philos’s hood back, revealing the grim skull underneath.

The child’s eyes widened, his face lighting up with joy. "It’s you! Lord Philos, the King of White Bones!"

Philos quickly pulled his hood back up. "You’re mistaken. I’m just an ordinary passerby. Now go."

"Yes! Thank you, Lord Philos!"

The child glanced back over his shoulder as he ran.

Philos sighed.

’What am I doing?’

’At first, I just wanted to investigate the connection between the second sun and the beast transformations. That way, when Lord Yao God returned, I could earn a little credit.’

’Lord Yao God’s other Apostles are all too powerful, which puts a lot of pressure on me. I’m becoming more and more marginalized, so I have to find a way to earn our God’s attention.’

What he hadn’t expected was that by killing so many bestial monsters during his investigation, he would earn the praise of people everywhere. He even gained the title "King of White Bones," and his fame grew ever greater.

Now, whenever he discovered civilians being attacked by monsters, Philos couldn’t stop himself from intervening.

’One wrong step leads to another... There’s no turning back now.’

The Skeleton Man looked up at the sky.

’Lord Yao God, please forgive my vanity and weakness.’

...

「On the other side of the world.」

The Snowman sprinted across an ice plain, its spherical body rolling frantically over the ground, its red flannel hat streaming behind it in the wind.

Behind it, a group of Ice Giant Monsters gave chase, striding forward and wielding entire trees as weapons. They swung them wildly, desperate to smash the little Snowman into smithereens.

Jimmy yelled, "Stop chasing me! Stop chasing me!"

"It’s just one Dragon Egg! It’s not like you laid it yourselves! Can’t you just go find another one?! This is a gift for the Lord God!"

The Ice Giant Monsters behind him roared with fury, hurling the massive trees in their hands at the little Snowman.