CHAPTER 137: THE DEITY’S AVATAR

The words thundered in Ryan’s ears, as if shouted by a thousand unseen voices, each one carrying the weight of a killing intent.

"Face me, mortal!"

Ryan’s stomach sank. This had to be the final hurdle of this attack wave. He flicked his eyes to the system interface, but there was still no prompt.

Across the battlefield, Nyman Shaman Agu crouched low, clutching his staff yet unable to cast a single spell. Even the totems around him had cracked and splintered under the force of that voice. Whoever was coming was no ordinary opponent. This was someone high-ranking, an entity from the Elemental Plane itself.

Perhaps even... an Elemental Deity.

The system prompt finally chimed

—

King of the Nyman Step Two: Repel General Eldris of the Elemental Plane – Complete. Step Three Initiated: The repelled Elemental General has summoned its master. Prepare for the arrival of Elemental Deity Adanaya!

—

Ryan’s mouth went dry. "You’ve got to be kidding me," he muttered under his breath. "An Elemental Deity? Every one of them is at least Level 80. If one shows up now, why not just mark the quest as failed and save me the trouble?"

The portal roared and shook as if it were about to collapse under its own power. Ryan kept his gaze fixed on the swirl of light within, as though sheer willpower might be enough to hold back whatever was trying to come through.

He risked a glance over his shoulder. Agu had curled up in a corner, trembling like a chick beneath a hawk’s shadow. Ryan didn’t blame him. Shamans drew their strength from the Elemental Plane, and in the presence of a deity that very power would be stripped away. Agu was as helpless as any ordinary Nyman—maybe worse.

At last, the portal flared wide. Countless elemental creatures spilled out in an instant, but instead of attacking, they dropped to their knees in reverence toward the gate. Ryan’s fingers tightened on his weapon, yet he couldn’t strike them. The system marked them as friendly.

Unless... this was a cutscene.

He turned back. Agu was still shuddering, making no move to trigger any event. But then, from within the portal, a figure stepped forward. The instant it appeared, Agu forced himself unsteadily to his feet.

And Ryan realized he could no longer move. The cutscene had begun.

"Insignificant ant," a voice rang out, smooth yet sharp, like glass cutting through silk. "You dared to steal my treasures, slaughter my soldiers, and even drive back my general. How do you justify this insolence?"

The being that emerged was radiant, a figure of shifting starlight and impossible beauty. Ryan didn’t need the prompt to know who it was.

Adanaya. A lord of the Elemental Plane.

"I have nothing to excuse!" Agu’s voice, though unsteady at first, rose with surprising strength. "I only sought the dawn of wisdom for my people. By becoming a tribal priest, I can lead them from ignorance and earn recognition as beings of true spirit among all creatures!"

Ryan blinked. A moment ago, Agu had been shaking like a leaf. Now he stood defiant before a deity, eyes blazing with conviction.

For a fleeting second, Ryan felt something stir inside him. Even though this was all just a game, the raw honesty in Agu’s words struck a chord. Ryan remembered his own past struggles, the times he had pressed forward through overwhelming odds with nothing but belief to carry him.

Agu knew he couldn’t stand against a deity. And yet he spoke the truth of his heart, undaunted.

Though it was a little sentimental, Ryan thought that even if this quest failed, he would feel a certain satisfaction.

He realized he had drifted into his own thoughts and missed part of the cinematic. When he refocused, Adanaya was already speaking her judgment.

The Elemental Deity would return to the Elemental Plane, but she would leave behind a fragment of herself. That fragment, an avatar, would remain here. If it could be defeated, all would be well. If not, everything would be lost.

Ryan’s pulse quickened. This had to be the most critical point of the quest. He wasn’t certain it was the final stage of this unique storyline, but it had the weight of a last stand.

The elemental creatures that had followed Adanaya into the world now filed obediently back into the portal, one after another, until only a single figure remained.

Ryan’s eyes narrowed. This one would be the vessel. The body chosen for Adanaya’s avatar.

He flicked his interface open, checking cooldowns. Divine Shield was still on timer, but not by much. The cinematic had dragged on for over five minutes, which left just three minutes on the ten-minute cooldown. If the battle went long enough, he might get one more use out of it.

The thought steadied him.

The portal began to collapse, and as it did, the last elemental twisted and reshaped. Its fiery form shifted, stretched, and hardened into something unnervingly familiar. When the light finally broke, what stood before him was no longer a creature of flame but a human shape, gleaming with Adanaya’s beauty.

—

Elemental Deity Adanaya’s Avatar

Leader-class

Level: 32

Health: 125,000

Type: Divine

—

The moment the transformation finished, the fight began.

A wave of power slammed into Ryan, shaking the ground so violently he nearly lost his footing.

-421

Ryan blinked. He braced for agony—but then realized the truth. The damage wasn’t high. It was low.

General Eldris had hit far harder, even through his seventy percent damage reduction. For an avatar of a deity, this strike was... underwhelming.

Something wasn’t right.

He turned his head just enough to glimpse Agu. The Nyman shaman was on his feet again, chanting desperately, hands raised. Buffs washed over Ryan one after another, the same protective auras that had helped him endure against Eldris.

"So that explains part of it," Ryan muttered, settling back into his stance. "But still... this avatar feels weak."

He dashed forward, closing distance with Adanaya’s avatar, his blade flashing. The return damage was laughable compared to Eldris. Blow after blow glanced off his armor, hardly worth noting.

Then he caught it: his own damage.

Five hundred. Nearly five hundred from a normal swing. Against Eldris, the same attack had only pushed past three hundred.

Ryan frowned, quickly pulling up his stats. Nothing had changed. No new buffs, no increase in attributes, nothing at all. His status was exactly as it had been in the last fight.

And yet here, against this supposed deity’s avatar, his power had surged.

His frown broke into a grin.

"I get it now," Ryan said, the words spilling out in a laugh he couldn’t hold back. "I see what’s going on. This quest is already in the bag!"

Confidence surged through him like fire in his veins. The battle that had seemed impossible a moment ago suddenly felt winnable.