They all call me an Outer God.

Chapter 296 Origin
"a lot of."

Hephaestus changed his face and clothes, and now he looks quite like the former Garn.

Although his skin was dark, he did not look like a black person at all. He had deep facial features and a handsome appearance, with long curly hair. His head was covered by a dark black cloak.

Ria guessed that he must really like this face, because according to what Ria had seen, all three of Hephaestus's clones had transformed into this appearance.

“It’s really interesting. You are clearly Ria Kercha now, but you’re not like him. The old you was much more pathetic than the current you.”

Hephaestus recalled the intelligence their clones had gathered earlier, as if he had thought of something amusing.

Ria didn't understand what he meant by "joke": "So why are you investigating my past?"

“You should know very well that believers always want to understand everything about the god they worship.”

They wished they could record everything from the day God was born, then write thousands upon thousands of accounts of His great and undeserved achievements.

"Of course we are the same! Every move of the gods becomes a benchmark for our words and actions."

Hephaestus slowly straightened the folds of his clothes, his facial expression slightly sickly.

"If that god doesn't fit our image, we'll kill him and find another one. But don't worry, the current Faceless One is practically perfect!"

"Gurgle—" Little Swarth stared intently at him, his feathers bristling and his body swelling to at least twice its original size.

"With a group of loyal and powerful believers like us, what other believers do you need? We will take care of whatever you want. Your word is our rule."

So why don't you make good use of us, after all, we are so loyal to you..."

Hephaestus touched his heart with one hand, lowered his head slightly, and continued to tempt Ria.

Little Swarth continued to stare at him, his round pupils reflecting the man's image.

The next second, the mythical creature suddenly became enraged. It transformed into a black dragon, raised its claws, and pinned the liar under its claws, opening its mouth to devour him.

Ria stopped it: "Don't eat junk food."

"Hooo!"

Schwarz raised his claws high and then brought them down with tremendous force, smashing Hephaestus's upper body into a bloody mess.

After doing all this, it calmed down a bit, shrank back into a black shuttlecock, and perched on Ria's shoulder, its pupils shrinking to pinpoints, as if it had the urge to bite anyone who dared to come any closer.

"It seems that this mythical creature really likes you; it is more devoted than any of the familiars I have ever seen."

Hephaestus's body slowly recovered, and after a moment, he sat down as if nothing had happened. Then he changed the subject and began to tell the part of the story that Ria wanted to know.

"...Where should I begin?"

"Ah, right."

"A few years ago, a group of people were driven to the Gaikoso Mountains by unscrupulous slave owners to mine coal there."

On the surface, the slave owner was merely blinded by greed and disregarded the lives of his slaves, but in reality, this group of people, including the slave owner, were sacrifices to the mountains—"At that time.

Some people, fearing the extraordinary creature that lingered around the mountains all day, thought it was the wrath of the radiant sun and tried to send people up the mountain to appease its anger.

However, this matter is just speculation, and it is not honorable to do it. Therefore, people can only claim that the Gekkoso Mountains are full of wealth and gold, so as to attract a group of people who are willing to risk their lives for money to go up the mountain.

Although the mountains are teeming with extraordinary creatures, not all places are dangerous. Areas where extraordinary creatures are scarce become popular destinations for people to climb the mountains.

Ria Kercha was one of the people brought up the mountain. He was not good with words and it was difficult to hear him say anything all day long. Moreover, he seemed to have an unknown brain disease and spent most of the day in a daze, unaware of what he was doing.

The mining foreman didn't care. Even if the mentally challenged man had lost his ability to think, his instincts remained. As long as he was given a pickaxe and ordered to "min," he could dig tirelessly for a whole day.

This person can work for 18 hours a day without eating or drinking, and then be given a little food to sleep for a few hours. When he wakes up, he is still a very useful "machine".

This was one of the reasons why Ria's health was so poor in the early days, and why he was so pale. He spent most of his time in the mine, where he was not exposed to sunlight. The only creatures he could call "friends" were probably the wild animals that lived in the mine.

It was a mouse the size of a palm. It would usually accompany Ria in mining, nibbling at the soil with its front paws and teeth, and then carrying out small pieces of coal ore to pile together. When it was time to eat, Ria would share the food with it.

Based on this kind of life alone, when she was sober, Lia thought she was doing pretty well. At least she had a job, friends, and food. Being alive was the greatest happiness.

However, the other workers in the mine didn't think that way. They had all been trafficked here and were looking for a chance to escape from Mount Gekoso. They even kept urging Ria to leave.

“Those disgusting capitalists never intended for us to live. We’re going to act tonight. You’ll cover us, understand? Once we’re all out of danger, we’ll come and rescue you.”

"Don't worry, they won't suspect you."

Who would doubt a machine that only knows how to work?

"..."

Lia listened to them without saying a word, and after a long while, he slowly nodded.

So that night, the workers ran away. Ria watched them leave, and no one came back for him. The whole mine was dark and cold, and he stayed there alone without making a sound. Even the rats around him were noisier than him.

When the miners’ foreman returned and saw this scene, he was extremely angry. He asked Ria what was going on. Ria sat on the ground and looked up at him, her left hand still stroking a rat, her gaze indescribably eerie.

Seeing this, the man understood what had happened; the workers must have all run away, leaving Lia to take the blame.

"You're so pathetic. What are you living for?"

The bearded man kicked the rat onto a rock not far away. It let out a miserable cry, and its movements became very weak.

Only then did Ria react. He quickly ran to the mouse, picked it up, and glared angrily at the man: "Aren't some lives just an eyesore?"

"It's rare to hear you talk."

The miners' foreman looked around and spat on the ground with a hint of regret: "You can talk, you could have reported to me, but you chose to protect them instead."

Hehehe, too bad, they're lying to you. Those people abandoned you without the slightest hesitation.

(End of this chapter)