A spar? Really?
Even with my enhanced strength, I think this Oni could pick me up and fold me like a fresh set of laundry if she wanted to.
"Do not worry, Mister Lin, I am quite hardy myself so you don't need to worry about hurting me."
Woman, I'm more concerned about you knocking my teeth out instead of me hurting you…
But it seems like I had no say in this because she stood up and I was basically escorted to the arena outside where she took off her suit jacket and unbuttoned the top few buttons of her blouse, revealing a deep cleavage.
She didn't even bother taking off her heels and just adopted a fighting stance opposite me with her fists raised in something like a boxing stance.
I guess I'm doing this then…
There was no signal for the fight to start and she immediately kicked off the ground to rush towards me, her figure seemingly a blur before she appeared before me with her fist raised.
I reacted just like how I would when those wolf headed Anomalies tried to attack me and met her punch with one of my own.
Our fists collided and a shockwave exploded between us, her snow white hair billowing from the blast.
If this was the normal me before the sudden enhancement of my strength, I'm pretty sure my fist would be broken by now but I was currently a match for her.
Also… I think she's holding back as well.
She tried to respond with a roundhouse kick but I blocked it with my arm and shoved her back, forcing her to leap back to avoid losing her footing.
This may not be the right time to think about this but… I'm surprised to find that she was wearing perfume since a floral smell wafted to my nose when she got close.
She did not give up and tried to unleash another flurry of attacks but I met her fist for fist and kick for kick, neither of us backing down from each other.
I wasn't sure if I imagined it but I think I saw a feral grin appear on her otherwise stoic face for a brief moment before it disappeared.
One of her punches got past and struck my chest, the impact causing me to grunt in pain before I powered through it to counterattack.
I managed to land a punch in her abdomen after ducking under another one of her punches which sent her skidding back, the Oni letting out a growl in pain when she finally stopped.
The air around her then shifted and it looked like there were sparks of electricity gathering around her which made me realise she really was also most likely an awakened person and she was about to unleash her power on me.
She punched her fist forward, and a bolt of lightning fired out from her fist, crashing into the wall behind me, barely missing me.
Umm… This is still a spar right? Because I'm pretty sure if that had hit me, I would probably be dead…
But looking at her… She doesn't seem intent to stop so I assume there was something special about this place that allows us to fight without worry? Especially since I noticed the lightning hadn't even left a mark on the wall.
She punched her fists out a few more times and I did my best to dodge them all.
Seeing that I was at a disadvantage in a ranged fight, I kicked off the ground to close the distance.
She tried to fire off another bolt of lightning again but I ducked, letting the electricity fly above my head before I delivered a blow towards her abdomen once more.
My fist made contact once again and she skidded back a metre, only for her to immediately recover and punch out another lightning bolt towards me.
There was no way for me to dodge it at this distance.
Just as the electricity neared me, I felt the same pull at my chest area and I instinctively recoiled right as a ball of light was pushed out from my chest, absorbing the lightning and protecting me from it.
The ball of light flew up into the air before the light slowly subsided to reveal a jade coloured book within it which floated down in front of me.
Both Olivia and I looked at the jade coloured book that had appeared out of thin air in front of me.
What is this?
Olivia made her way towards me and I thought she was going to do something to me until she sank down to sit on her knees in a seiza position.
I was wondering why she suddenly changed her position but felt that it might be a little awkward to ask, especially considering the fact that despite her sitting on her knees on the floor, she was still pretty much the same height as me standing up.
"This confirms it," She breathed, her eyes locked on the book that was still floating in front of me. "There is no other room for doubt. You are the newest awakened Mortal God."
I turned back to look at the book, "Just because of this book?"
"It is a divine artefact, my lord. The fact that you managed to summon a divine artefact proves beyond a doubt that you are a Mortal God."
My eyes snapped back to her, "What… Did you just call me?"
"You are a Mortal God, my lord."
That's not what I meant but whatever, I just needed to confirm I wasn't hearing things about the 'lord' part.
I finally realised that her sudden change in position was because she now knew that I was a Mortal God beyond a doubt. I wondered if she was thinking that if she didn't treat me with reverence, then I might do something to hurt her.
I wanted to assure her that I didn't really have those thoughts in mind but I had something more important to worry about right now.
The book in front of me was still floating like it was waiting for me to do something so I reached out my hand and tried to touch it.
The moment my hand was about to reach it, the book suddenly flipped open and revealed a whole bunch of empty pages until it stopped at a single page that was the only one with an entry on it.
The page showed an illustration of the Anomaly that I had fought and almost died to except that it was drawn in the chinese brush painting style.
This is… Interesting… Is this some kind of bestiary that records monsters that I have beaten?
While I was still wondering what exactly this book was supposed to be, Olivia spoke up again.
"I believe that this divine artefact should be a clue as to who your mythological counterpart is. Do you have any idea of any mythological figure who has an artefact like this?"
I grimaced, "I have to admit that I am not that well versed in mythological stuff so I don't know what it could be with so little information… But… This really means that I am a Mortal God?"
She nodded, "Yes, my lord. The first and only one in our country right now."
"I… See… So… What does that mean for me now?"
I knew that there's no way she brought me all the way down here just to tell me that I became a Mortal God and then just let me go back to my normal life like nothing happened.
Olivia then bowed her head, "On behalf of the Ministry, I would like to be the first to formally welcome you as the very first Mortal God of Singapore and the third Mortal God of the South Asian Conglomerate. We have a protocol in place which would activate the expansion of my branch to accommodate you in the event that a Mortal God would awaken within our city. Would my lord like to hear about this protocol?"
"I mean… Is that even alright for someone like me to hear it? It's like… Top secret or something, right?"
She raised her head, "My lord… I believe you are still unaware of the position you currently hold. Right now, in this World, you stand above everyone else as a Mortal God. In this country, your word is now law. No one is above you."
I grimaced at her words.
It might sound really nice to be told that you are suddenly the most important person in the entire country but I know for a fact that it's because that position comes with expectations and responsibilities tied to it.
"Can I have some time to think about this?"
She paused before she nodded, "I understand that this news is something that might be shocking to you, my lord, but the reality cannot be denied and I would fully recommend that you accept the protection that our Ministry will provide for you. Your life before this is essentially gone, you are no longer just an ordinary citizen."
I can obviously see the irony in her words where she mentions about me being at the very top and my word being law but yet I am unable to run away from this responsibility that was heaped on top of my shoulders.
But that's the truth about Mortal Gods. With that power that they wield, they become the pillar of the country as they would allow their people to march into rifts to mine for Mana Crystals, the one resource that everyone is now after in this world.
It powers everything and also enhances the abilities of awakened individuals, meaning any country that is able to mine and stockpile Mana Crystals without relying on a foreign nation to do so controls their own fate. A country without a Mortal God essentially has to rely on the generosity of another country with a Mortal God to sustain themselves.
The countries in this part of the world might have formed a conglomerate to remain independent while working together on paper, but everyone knows that the two countries that possess Mortal Gods are the ones who basically dictates all the terms and conditions that the other countries have to abide by.
Everyone else has to capitulate to them and if you don't, you could expect your people to suffer when your supply of Mana Crystals is reduced to a trickle and requests to deal with portals appearing in your lands are ignored.
Since our country now has our own Mortal God, they will do everything they can to make sure they capitalise on that to be able to stand on equal footing as all the others that also have them.
As much as they might say the country will put you above them… The Mortal Gods themselves are still basically decorated chess pieces that everyone is playing against each other.
And that… It seems… Is now my fate.
Just for the record… I never asked for any of this.