On Hiatus: God's Personal Reasons

Chapter 33: Ants Evolve Too

For a while, the world was in an uproar. An unidentified planet, otherwise known as the Second Moon, had suddenly appeared in Earth’s orbit.

Despite the US attempt to dispatch an exploration team and a rocket, the strong force field in the Second Moon’s atmosphere foiled their efforts. It was heart-wrenching to watch the rocket go up in smoke and crash in the live broadcast. Thanks to the two high-ranking Hunters on the team, no casualties were reported.

After that, exploration was banned until something could be done about the force field. Still, to be able to drag the stranded rocket back to Earth, one had to wonder just how impressive those two Hunters were.

The Second Moon in the sky glowed golden at night and green by day, asserting its presence. Both the government and the Hunter Association were on edge due to speculations about a massive spike in gates and dungeons. However, so far, nothing had happened. All was calm, including the life of a certain ordinary Citizen A, me.

“Ugh...” I groaned, slowly crawling from beneath my sheets.

After staying up for almost three days and three nights to work on my manuscript, I felt like dying.

“W-water.”

Rubbing my still groggy eyes, I fumbled around my bedside table for a water bottle. Moments later, I grabbed something, but... it felt hard.

“...Again?”

In my hand was yet another grotesque statue. This time, it depicted a giant giving a thumbs-up to the ants. I assumed it was to commemorate our victory over the cockroaches.

Look, guys, I get how you feel, but can you please stop?

I sighed, glancing at the corner of my room where other statues were stacked. Now that I had ten of them, it felt somewhat like a hassle. Sigh, not like I could get rid of them either.

[Silently Crawling Nightmare pleaded with her gaze, asking to give her the statues if you don’t need them.]

[She begged profusely, saying that she would nibble, suck, and treat those statues nicely if you gave them to her.]

Ignoring the ridiculous messages, I took out a bottle of water from the fridge, chugging it down.

“Phew, that hits the spot.”

Didn’t they say to drink cold water to refresh yourself?

“Awesome.”

Once I had sobered up, I sent the revised manuscript to my editor. I had written about my experience with God-Maker, including all the strange little things I had encountered so far. Pulling all-nighters for three days straight was exhausting, but it felt satisfying to see that I had written a whole volume. It was probably the most rewarding moment for a writer.

The email has been sent to ‘[email protected]’.

Okay, done and dusted. Now, to wait for the review of my manuscript.

“Damn, I’m starving. Is there anything to eat?”

Ding ding!

Just then, my phone rang with notifications from God-Maker. Wondering what was happening, I launched the app. I was greeted by the sight of the Saintess surrounded by her fellow tribesmen.

The ants, which were multiplied to the billions by Proliferating Thumb of God, had reverted to their original number. I did recall it had a duration. Phew, thank god. If they hadn’t, just how much sugar would I have to sprinkle for them? Anyway, what were they up to?

“God Yu Il-Shin said, instead of giving the child a fish, a true parent would’ve taught them how to fish!”

Suddenly, a female voice could be heard. I was shocked, thinking it was a ghost, but it turned out to be the Saintness.

“Praise be to the great, merciful, and omniscient God Yu Il-Shin~!”

Then, a praise rang through my phone in the middle of the dawn. Up until that point, I could only understand the ants through the help of subtitles. But now, I could hear them with my own ears!

The strange phenomenon started after the third statue of myself appeared in my room. If I recall correctly, as the number of the Statue Wi-Fi(?) increased, so did the communion level. Was that why I could finally hear the voices of the ants in my mind?

“With a snap of his fingers, God Yu Il-Shin could easily have defeated the cursed and greedy demons threatening to wreak havoc on our sacred ground! But no! He wanted us to stand on our own two feet!”

No, I just didn’t want to touch them...

“God Yu Il-Shin bestowed upon us a miracle, turning us into an army of millions, teaching our weak and foolish tribe the pride and joy of victory! Alas, this is the true holy grace of god!”

The ants cheered in response to the Saintess’ sermon.

“Waah! God Yu Il-Shin! God Yu Il-Shin!”

“O’ Black Tribe, let us prosper under the blessings of God Yu Il-Shin forevermore!”

Now, all that was missing for the Saintess to become a full-fledged cult leader was for the ants to scream “Hallelujah” at the top of their lungs.

Dear lord, this is so embarrassing. Thankfully, no one else is around to see this.

Flick!

The ants turned to me in an instant, their eyes shining brightly.

“Ooh! God Yu Il-Shin is here!”

“Waaah! Our great and merciful god!”

“Kyaaa! Did he just look in my direction?!”

They were all losing their minds.

Gosh, just stay calm and have some sugar.

Sprinkle~

As I sprinkled sugar over them, the ants danced in joy.

“Heehee.”

Aren’t these kids just adorable?

Ding!

As I was watching them while grinning from ear to ear, a message popped up.

[Saintess is looking at God Yu Il-Shin eagerly.]

Huh? What’s with her?

“Why? You want some sugar too?”

“Lord Yu Il-Shin, may I trouble you? I’d like you to give me a name.” The Saintess asked carefully, holding both her front legs together.

“A name?”

“Yes! Please bestow a name upon this humble servant!”

Why would she bother to ask me for a name now? Well, I guess it’d be awkward to keep calling her “Saintess.”

“Hmm, okay, let me think about it for a moment.”

“Of course! Even if it takes a lifetime, this servant is willing to wait for as long as Lord Yu Il-Shin requires!”

Isn’t the way she looks at me kind of troubling? How can an ant’s eyes look this beautiful?

Briefly, that thought flashed across my mind.

Alright, since she’s white, maybe Whitney or Boney? Nah, those names are for a dog, not an ant. She’s slightly dense, so what about Baeksoon?

After contemplating for ten minutes, I realized something—my naming sense sucked.

“Pfft, hahaha! Mr. Yu! What the hell is this name? You call your main character ‘Sam-Shik’?! In the future, never name your characters again, got it?”

I recalled the time when my editor-in-charge ridiculed me. Actually, now that I thought about it, that was annoying.

What’s wrong with Sam-Shik?! Despite how tacky it might sound, it’s the most fitting and memorable name for a main character!

“Gosh, why am I overthinking this so much?”

It was just a name for an ant! I thought of naming her Ant, but since she was a girl, I decided to go with Anty.

“Alright, let’s go with Anty. What do you think?”

“Hic, hic, hic, Lord Yu Il-Shin! Thank you for your grace! Your servant, Anty, swear by the name you have bestowed me, that I will be your most faithful servant for the rest of my life!” Anty nodded gratefully, wailing all the while.

I was starting to feel guilty for giving her such a crude name.

“D-dear Lord! Please bestow me a name too!”

“M-me too!”

“Lord Yu Il-Shin, please”!

Ding!

[The 100 followers from the black tribe plead desperately to God Yu Il-Shin.]

The other ants caught on and began to request for a name.

Fine, since I’m in the mood today, why not? 100 of them? No problem!

“Okay, get in line. That’s right. You, Il-Ho. Next, Yi-Ho, then Sam-Ho. Hey, Oh-Ho! Don’t cut the line!”

***

“...Okay, you’re Baek-Ho. That’s it! Phew, this is actually tiring. I’m covered in sweat!”

“Mister! What are you doing?”

“Gasp! You scared me! Huh? Ms. Sung Mi-Ri, it’s been a while. Working as a Special Task Hunter must be tough, I assume?”

Ever since the Second Moon appeared, experts speculated an increase in gates and dungeons. To anticipate that, a Special Hunter Task Force was created. As a matter of course, a rising star Hunter like Sung Mi-Ri was included. It had been three days since we last met, so I assumed that she had been busy. Her shoulders slumped like a tired puppy.

“We’re mainly on standby now. Work isn’t too hard, but still... I’m sad that I can’t continue lessons with you.”

“Haha, those training sessions aren’t much. Since it’s your day off, why don’t you take it easy?”

“No, Mister! Start the training!”

“Ouch! My arm is about to fall off! Slow down!”

“Let’s go, Mister!”

Thus, I left with her to start our training. Unbeknownst to me, change was happening in the world of God-Maker.

Ding!

[Names of Saintess and the 100 black tribe followers are being updated.]

[Saintess Anty, Black tribe member Il-Ho, Yi-Ho, Sam-Ho, Sa-Ho, Oh-Ho, Yuk-Ho, Chil-Ho, Pal-Ho, Gu-Ho......Baek-Ho.]

[With the blessings of Yu Il-Shin’s innate power Proliferating Thumb of God, the Saintess and the black tribe had defeated demons summoned by Cockroach. Converting the accumulated experience points...]

Ding!

[Experience points of the tribe have reached the maximum threshold!]

Ding!

[All conditions for race evolution have been met!]

[Conditions for race evolution: Name bestowed by god and maxed experience points.]

Ding!

[Evolution begins!]

***

“Phew, I’m so exhausted.”

I was currently on my way home after training with Sung Mi-Ri. Even though she did all the training, why did I feel so spent?

“Did I not eat enough?”

Ugh, I want to eat some meat.

I would if I hadn’t stripped my bank account bare to catch those roaches.

Haa. Since I had submitted my manuscript earlier, should I ask for an advance for my royalty? But according to my editor-in-charge, my CEO was looking for an excuse to get me fired. In the end, I decided against it.

Actually, Sung Mi-Ri did offer to reimburse me for the training sessions. But as an adult, how could I bear being indebted to a kid—especially one who had saved my life and even covered my house renovation?

“Haa. Should I look for a part-time job?”

I suddenly recalled the name card from the boss of the Chinese restaurant I was given a while back.

Importance of a Happy Family.

We handle the meals of a harmonious family.

Speedy delivery! Open 7 days a week!

I recalled the look on his face when he begged me to work for him on a part-time basis.

“Hmm...”

Should I ask about the salary? When I was about to call the number, I realized that my phone was missing. Ah. I must’ve left it when Sung Mi-Ri rushed me out of the house earlier. I hurriedly went home.

I found my phone hidden under the covers in a corner of my bed. God-Maker was still running on the screen. I must have forgotten to lock it.

“Huh?”

Something seemed off with the ants.

“Y-you guys, what the hell happened?”

To be more precise, the screen didn’t show any ants, but something else.

Waddle waddle.

Dribble!

Amongst them was a charming little girl with white hair and blue eyes. She ran toward me.

“Wah! He has descended! Our great and merciful God Yu Il-Shin!”

...Who are you?