Empire Of Souls 162 The Cost Of Divinity 1

Several days pa.s.sed and Aleks remained within his residence while he a.n.a.lyzed and considered the mystery of laws and his own power. He delved deeply into the data and information he now had available to him. It was a constant practice that required a significant investment in time and energy. Aleks never once stopped meditating and researching the system available to him and the Origin of laws within his soul. His understanding of the Origin of Life continued to grow and as his understanding of it grew, the information available to him through Babel also increased.

While wearing his mask, he could see the glow of souls within his domain. They were like fireflies in the night, some brighter than others. These souls were of those who had submitted to his authority and had taken him as their deity. He could see the purity and strength of all of them displayed before his eyes. It was similar to a virtual screen, but only he was capable of seeing it. Others would only see the light glow of his mask and the strange symbols and numbers which moved across it. Watching the data flicker across his vision, he had a feeling of reminiscence. It reminded him a lot of his past world where he worked with all kinds of advanced technology. He was intrigued at how similar it was and he was truly curious what the connection was to what he was seeing and the Tower. He couldn't explain how this system worked, but he definitely knew there was a connection.

Each soul was attached with a number which represented the 'Soul Potential' within them. He could choose to devour their souls, gaining a one time influx of 'Soul Potential', or he could gain a small amount of 'SP' per day from those who worshipped him. In the long term, it was a much better decision to gain 'SP' over time and this was the payment which deities received from their worshippers. Of course, it wasn't as if they received these benefits without expecting to fulfill certain responsibilities and roles within the lives of their worshippers. Those who took a deity as their own expected to receive protection, a place in Heaven, and even tangible benefits.

If one wished to grow stronger, it was possible to an extent to do this with their own power. However, the surefire and easiest way was to do so with a deity as a patron. This was a path to power which required service, but at the same time it was a much safer path than going it alone. Deities bestowed cla.s.ses, abilities, and other beneficial effects to those who served them well. This was a cost in which deities needed to consider, because every ability or cla.s.s bestowed upon a worshipper required expending 'Soul Potential'.

It was quite similar to a redistribution of power. A deity required 'Soul Potential' to increase their divininity, but they also needed to spend 'Soul Potential' when rewarding their followers. Worshippers of a deity had to provide part of their own 'Soul Potential' as almost like a tax to their deity, but at the same time they could obtain greater strength. It was a symbiotic relationship in some ways. However for most mortals they were losing out. A deity might dole out some rewards to its followers, but only a few truly received great benefits and those were usually the most loyal and the greatest contributors. 

Also, if a worshipper was promoted beyond a Legendary cla.s.s to obtain a Mythical cla.s.s, the deity would no longer receive any of that individual's 'SP'. This was why many G.o.ds did not wish to promote their worshippers beyond Legendary. Legendary beings gave a large amount of 'SP' to their deities and only the most deserving of them, or if a deity was in need of more powerful servants, would they choose to promote some. A deity would have a number of such beings within their heavenly domains and it was these Mythical beings which would lead their armies in defending their domains or in attacking others. Legendary beings who entered the domains of their deity in the Heavens were the soldiers that made up the armies of the G.o.ds.

Much of this was beyond Aleks at the moment, but there was much to consider and plan with the information he had. Aleks was slightly different from these deities as he could not receive any 'SP' from the beings he personally created or respecced, but there were advantages too. He had full control over those he created, including the ability to design them to his individual needs. For those he did not create, he would receive 'SP' just like any other deity, but he could also choose to devour any soul he wished to gain 'SP'. This was quite rare and maybe only a few very special beings within the universe were capable of something similar. The system was powerful and filled with endless choices and decisions which needed to be made. 

Aleks noticed that with the over one million tribals and non tribals that served him, he would receive a large number of 'SP' on a daily basis. This was far from his needs though. Since the Barbarians lived a much more dangerous and vicious lifestyle than more civilized lands, the majority of Barbarians were already at the Intermediate cla.s.s. A good number of them were even Advanced cla.s.s beings, but there was a huge shortage of those at higher levels. Only a few were master cla.s.s and there were no Legendary beings among them. 

From the approximately 400,000 Basic cla.s.s beings who served him, Aleks received about 4,000 'SP' per day. There were approximately 600,000 Intermediate cla.s.s beings and this would provide Aleks about 30,000 'SP' per day. His 80,000 Advanced cla.s.s beings gave him 8,000 'SP' per day. Although there were about a dozen Master cla.s.s beings that had been a.s.similated into his army, the number was negligible. 

So, on a daily basis, Aleks would currently earn a little over 42,000 'SP'. That meant that in a week, just by doing nothing, Aleks would earn almost 300,000 'SP'. This was just with the numbers of worshippers he had now, once those numbers grew, so would the amount of 'SP' he gained. Deities had many millions of worshippers and those at the top would number in the hundreds of millions. Also, they would earn this for the life of their worshippers and all future generations that worshipped them. Subordinate deities within a pantheon would also be forced to provide a quarter of their 'SP' to the deity they were subordinated to. So it made sense for a powerful deity to create a pantheon if they could. Deities who joined pantheons had to give up quite a lot of their 'Soul Potential' but they also gained from this relationship. They had the backing of a powerful organization and powerful deities who would defend their members and represent their interests in the council.

The number may seem a lot, but every time a G.o.d promoted one of their followers or provided new abilities to their followers, it would cost 'SP'. This was why deities were selective in who would be promoted and what abilities could be acquired. Of course, only those with potential could be promoted to begin with and it wasn't entirely up to the deities. Each person's potential was different so if they didn't have the potential to be promoted, they would forever stay where they were. This was not an obstacle for the beings Aleks himself created or respecced, but this came with its own cost. He could never receive any 'Soul Potential' from them due to the connection that existed between his creation's souls and his. 

Aleks was truly in a bind when he considered all this information. Even though he was receiving 'Soul Potential' on a daily basis, most of the 'Soul Potential' he received was being used to preserve Lariel's life. This meant he could not provide much support to those who worshipped him and it would be difficult for him to fight an extended battle. He would need to acc.u.mulate quite a bit of 'SP' first, along with uniting the entirety of the Steppes and perhaps the entire wildlands as well. Only then might it be just sufficient enough for his needs. There was nothing he would love to do more than to chase after Maa'loch and end his life for good, but he wasn't prepared for that just yet.

"I must accelerate my plans a bit. It shouldn't be long until I consolidate my control over the Steppes, but I doubt the other DemiG.o.ds will just allow me to do so without some interference. They must have heard by now of what is happening here and should be making a move soon. Both the Spider Queen and the Blood Sovereign have been eyeing these lands for a long time and they most likely will see this as an opportunity."

As much as Aleks hoped to rush his plans along, there were too many considerations. 

"Hmm, Grobak was sent to conquer the entirety of the north of the Steppes, which is a vast swathe which extends all the way to the ocean in the west and the Federation in the east. The dragons should soon have consolidated all of the south of the Steppes which similarly is a large area like the north, but is extremely mountainous. All that is left is to secure the eastern border that touches upon the lands ruled by the Federation. The Steppes will need to be separated into Duchies to manage the territory. The Dragon King and his descendents have been protecting the southern border of the Steppes from the Spider Queen for a long time, they are sufficient and one Duchy can be given to them. The only issue is that the Dragon King is injured and wouldn't be able to fight against the Spider Queen. In the north, the tribes of the Steppes have guarded against the vampires. They no longer have the support of their ancestors though, it is a tricky situation. The Blood Sovereign hasn't been seen in a very long time, so Grobak should be able to defend the north as long as the Blood Sovereign remains hidden in his lands. With the Harkul chief gone, the eastern border is not secure, but I think Lariel can handle that for now with the forces we have. The Federation is still embroiled in their own conflict and the churches are reeling from their losses."

Aleks a.n.a.lyzed the complicated situation and he knew that he could only take it step by step. He just needed time, time to strengthen himself and time to strengthen his rule. Only, would his enemies give him that time? He could only plan accordingly.