“I’ve got to find a place to boost my strength…”

  Oliver muses, but he doesn’t rush off. Instead, he starts wandering around the trading market outside the palace.

  The deities at this outer market aren’t exactly powerhouses—the strongest are only level 10—but over the years, thousands, maybe tens of thousands, have gathered here.

  That makes this market pretty lively. Some of the vendors’ wares even catch the eye of a heavyweight like Oliver.

  It doesn’t take long for him to buy and trade for a bunch of stuff.

  Like an A-tier item: the Spider Venom Bead. Supposedly forged from killing a level 12 spider deity. Oliver doesn’t care about its raw damage, but the poison primal rune inside? That’s useful to him.

  Then there’s the Primordial Pool of Pure Water. It’s just a B-tier item, but the ultra-pure water it holds is rare as hell—made of the cleanest water elements.

  This pure water isn’t on Ymir’s flesh level, but it can tide over the gem space’s water shortage for a bit.

  Oliver started with nearly 600,000 pounds of Mandela Metal, but after shopping around, he’s down to 100,000.

  That stash was built up over years of raiding and hoarding.

  Think about it—600,000 pounds of Mandela Metal is worth an S-tier item.

  In just a short spree, Oliver’s grabbed odds and ends that nearly match that value.

  In truth, back when Oliver visited the Fire Giants' palace, he had come across a trading market as well, but it was clearly nowhere near as bustling as the one before him now. The variety of goods here was far greater, and the rarity of the items was noticeably higher. Despite the Fire Giants boasting higher ranks and a broader sphere of influence, why was their market less prosperous? Oliver surmised it was a matter of time. His last visit to the Fire Giants’ market had been ages ago. Over the years, the Chaos World had evolved. The gods engaged in trade more frequently and had grown increasingly open to it, unlike before, when they were like wild beasts, clashing violently, with the only way to seize another deity’s possessions being through slaughter.

  “Not bad, not bad. A level 9 deity with deep pockets, snapping up so much stuff in one go. Bet this guy’s a beast in a fight too. Lord Aegir might pick you as a palace warrior—big shot potential!”

  His big spending, plus his decent level, draws a crowd of deities. They can’t help but gush over him.

  This whole “picked by Lord Aegir to be a palace warrior” thing? It’s the same deal as the fire giant Surtr’s slaves.

  Only difference is, Aegir slaps a fancier label on it—“palace warrior.” Truth is, anyone who takes the gig gets their soul controlled. Slaves, plain and simple.

  But even so, for a lot of weaker deities, becoming a palace warrior is a badge of honor—a pipe dream.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The chaos world’s too brutal right now. Regular deities barely survive—easy prey for others to hunt.

  Hook up with Aegir as a slave, though, and you get protection. You can grow in peace.

  “Becoming a palace warrior isn’t that easy.”

  While the crowd’s hyping Oliver up, a level 9 wolf-headed deity juts its chin out, bragging loud and proud. “Rules say you’ve gotta hand over a Chaos Ember to the water palace. Normal deities—where’d they get the chops for that?”

  “I poked around the Primordial Fire Sea for centuries and only snagged one…”

  The wolf-head boasts but cuts itself off.

  Clearly, it’s not spilling the beans on where exactly that Chaos Ember came from.

  Its senses are sharp—it picks up that this snake deity in front of it might be level 9, but its power vibe seems weak.

  Weak power, loaded with loot? If this were the Primordial Fire Sea instead of the water palace, it’d have gutted this guy and taken everything already.

  Thinking that, the wolf-head can’t help licking its lips. “Man, I’d love to run into him in the Primordial Fire Sea…”

  This Primordial Fire Sea’s a massive fire zone nearby—naturally born in the chaos, they say. Fire elements and fire primal runes mash together there to form Chaos Embers.

  Crazy rare stuff.

  The water giant Aegir’s all about water elements—so why’s it after this?

  Maybe trading it with other giants?

  After all, Chaos Embers are hot commodities—packed with pure fire runes. Even Oliver’s drooling over them.

  “Tens of thousands of deities hang around the water palace and Primordial Fire Sea, but in a century, less than ten make it as palace warriors. Most are buddies or kin of existing warriors…”

  “Us regular deities? Becoming a palace warrior’s a damn long shot!”

  What Oliver wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole, these ordinary deities are chasing hard. That’s the gap strength makes!

  With that in mind, Oliver doesn’t linger at the market. His soul-disguised body drifts off, soon merging back with his real self.

  He tosses some snacks he bought—explosive soul rock crumbs—into his mouth. His giant snake jaws chomp a few times, and he sighs.

  “Didn’t expect this market to have snack-like stuff already. Doesn’t boost strength, but damn, it tastes good.”

  It reminds him of his human days—burgers, donuts, cola…

  “The Primordial Fire Sea sounds like a goldmine… If I can snag some Chaos Embers, my power’s gonna spike.”

  No hesitation—Oliver pulls up his map and bolts for the Primordial Fire Sea.

  No wishing bottle this time. He grabbed a basic map of the place at the market—cheap and easy.

  A few years later, he’s there—the legendary Primordial Fire Sea.

  It’s way more epic than he pictured.

  In the dark chaos world, flames form an ocean. Up close, this fiery sea stretches damn near endless.

  Some vendor-like deities hawk gear and meds to fend off the fire’s heat at the edge.

  Oliver doesn’t need that crap. Primal runes—dark ones, elemental ones—flicker across his body, shrugging off the flames’ heat with ease.

  Boom!

  His 1-million-kilometer body, now recovered, plunges into the fire sea, making the boundless flames churn hard.

  The regular deities nearby jump, spooked by the ruckus.

  “Something huge just went in—like a freaking giant snake!”

  “With a body that big, its strength’s gotta be insane!”

  A bunch of deities yelp, hearts pounding.

  And in that crowd? A familiar face—the wolf-head deity.

  He grits his teeth, staring where Oliver went, muttering low. “Damn it, one day I’ll be that strong too!”

  His face screams envy at this massive snake.

  Course, he’s got no clue that the “weak” snake he wanted to rob at the market not long ago is the same beast right here…