novelraw Chapter 112: Remover of Obstacles
Chapter 112: Remover of Obstacles
Miss Athena delivered the updated class scores right before the vote.
Since the Second and Third Incursions happened right next to each other, the students only received a single ranking covering the period after Whiro’s attack on Elphion to Hastur’s defeat.
Wepwawet recalled how nervous he had been when he received his first score. He should have dreaded this one, considering it followed a near-devastating world war and all its associated troubles, but he remained strangely serene anyway. He couldn’t quite explain it. Maybe it was because he had realized that while scores would help open opportunities for him after the final Incursion, they didn’t matter as much as the lives of his mortals in the present.
Wepwawet Pesedjet, God of Verglane & Lavaland
Civilization Stats:
Technology: 3/5 (Has taken steps to invite technology transfers with neighboring states, keep it up)
Economy: 3/5 (Has taken steps to introduce modern financial instruments like central banks and integrated another nation, but synergies between developing territories remain lacking)
Military: 4/5 (Best performing military on Elphion, but accrued losses might lead to a collapse)
Demography: 3/5 (Successfully integrated Lavaland’s population and benefits from economic immigration)
Geography: 4/5 (Steps have been taken to exploit natural resources, but parts of the territory remain poisonous or unexploitable)
Culture: 4/5 (The Verglane-Lavaland enmity has been solved; we suggest encouraging cross-communities cultural exchanges to minimize insularism)
Diplomacy: 5/5 (Brokered peace and trade agreements with all neighboring nations against all odds)
Piety: 5/5 (Followers have started naming their children after their god; can’t be more dedicated than that)
Total Civ Score: 31/40 (Civilization shows constant improvements, and the assimilation of Lavaland succeeded beyond expectations. Current technology transfer and economic development should create a strong industrial base if the god does not overreach)
Deity Stats:
Champions
: 5/5. Having three dragons in a retinue borders on insanity, but the army is diverse, highly trained, and dedicated.Miracles: 5/5. The student constantly improves his Miracles through trades and quests, and shows immense creativity with them.
Mana: 5/5. The student has shown exceptional skill in mana management and claimed all Altars within his borders and beyond.
Worshippers: 4/5. The student’s worshipper base has broadened through Lavaland’s assimilation, but many magmorians and kobolds remain skeptical and still need to be won over.
Total Deity Score: 19/20. The student constantly improves, showing great wisdom and ingenuity. One of the few among his class who understands what being a god is about.
Bonus Points:
Incursion Victory: 5 (Won a decisive victory in a surprise Incursion, showing exceptional teamwork with his allies)
Total Score: 55/60.
Commendation: Exceeded Expectations yet again.
‘One of the few among his class who understands what being a god is about.’ Wepwawet nodded to himself, having reached that realization during the fight against Watatsumi and Hel in Lavaland. Yes, I think I know what that means now.
While he was pleased with his progress, his relief paled compared to the joy of some of his comrades. Ganesha nodded to himself in satisfaction, Sun Wukong whistled to himself, muttering ‘one short,’ and Artemis…
“I doubled my score!” Artemis boasted while jumping out of her seat. “Take that, underdeveloped economy!”
In fact, the only people who didn’t appear at least mildly pleased with their scores were Epona and Ishtar, who both scowled; the reason became clear once Athena showed them all the official rankings.
Ranking:
Sun Wukong 59/60
Axomamma 55/60 (Eliminated)
Horus 55/60
Wepwawet 55/60
Epona 47/60
Anansi 45/60
Ishtar 43/60
Artemis 42/60
Hel 41/60
Ganesha 40/60
Watatsumi 38/60 (Eliminated)
“By the Bifrost, Sun Wukong is one point short of the perfect score!” Hel exclaimed in shock.
“That’s right, I climbed to the top of the score tree!” Sun Wukong boasted. “Stand in awe of my skill! I’ll frame it in the Celestial Bureaucracy’s main lobby! That’ll teach those old farts a lesson!”
“It is fully deserved,” Wepwawet replied with a smile. Sun Wukong was the only one of them who had fought two Incursions in a row, after all.
Wepwawet felt the most pity for Axomamma. Since she hadn’t won any Incursions or received bonus points, her fifty-five-point score was all built on her civilization and deity scores. She had literally been the perfect goddess to Stalheim, only to be eliminated through the hard luck of the draw.
All of them showed progress from their previous scores; all except for Epona and Ishtar, who had actually lost points compared to the previous ranking when you factored in the fact that the former received a bonus from participating in the Incursion. From the scowls on their faces, Wepwawet guessed they had gotten the message: there were no victors in pointless wars, only different shades of losers.
“I’m no longer dead last!” Artemis grinned from ear to ear, before suddenly realizing Ganesha was at the ranking’s bottom with Watatsumi’s elimination. “Oops, sorry, Ganesha!”
“It’s okay, Arty,” Ganesha replied. “I didn’t participate in any of the Incursions, so I expected as much. I’m just glad I’m steadily improving.”
“The number of participants is shrinking fast, though,” Wepwawet noted grimly. “We’ve lost a fourth of the class.”
How many of them would remain on Elphion to wage the final battle against Apep? Wepwawet guessed that having only lost three people to defeat three out of five Titans was a good result on paper, but the danger would only increase.
“We shall now proceed with the vote for class president,” Miss Athena said. “Each vote shall be secret to ensure fairness; simply register the name of the person you would like to see take office, if any.”
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Epona cleared her throat. “Before we start, Ishtar and I have an announcement to make.”
“Indeed.” Ishtar cleared her throat. “As part of the truce negotiations, and since the two of us have had a few… lighthearted issues…” A few classmates audibly snickered at that part. “Pona and I have decided to sit out of the running for fairness’ sake.”
“In that case, any vote for Epona and Ishtar shall be counted as a blank or protest vote,” Miss Athena decided. “You may now proceed.”
A screen appeared in front of each student, showing the faces of all their surviving comrades still on Elphion alongside a blank option where voters could type in anything they wanted. Wepwawet glanced at Artemis and Ganesha, who didn’t even hesitate about their choice. Though he couldn’t see it, he could warrant a good guess about whom they picked. Others like Hel and even Horus pondered their choice for far longer.
Wepwawet wasn’t sure who to pick. Voting for himself would feel odd,not to mention that he didn’t feel like he deserved the responsibility. True, he had somewhat managed to defuse Ishtar and Epona’s conflict, but it was only a side-effect of his quest to remove an advantage for the lunarians from the board and necessity. He didn’t particularly feel he would fit as an authority figure.
Who else should he pick? Sun Wukong? Wepwawet considered the Monkey King the best B&C player of them all after seeing him in action, and he had been ready to sacrifice himself should the situation call for it. Nonetheless, Sun Wukong wasn’t entirely popular with most of the class and preferred to stick to his own backyard or train rather than lead. Wepwawet thought he was more likely to pick a fight than defuse some intra-pantheon conflicts.
There’s only one reasonable pick, Wepwawet concluded, though it pained him a bit to admit it. Birdface has too much going on for him.
While his cousin was rough around the edges, Horus had managed to force Anansi into playing along, forced Hastur into a draw, helped them secure the win against him, and possessed a highly advanced civilization untouched by the constant wars on the planet. He had been a neutral party outside of Ishtar and Epona’s power blocs, so he could still play peacemaker between them. The only reason Wepwawet could see against Horus’ nomination was the hostility between their families, but the more time passed, the more that felt petty and quaint.
Do I actually dislike him? Horus was an overcompetitive freak, but dislike… dislike was too strong a word. He’s a good guy at heart.
Wepwawet sighed and put his cousin’s name into the System. This was a secret he would take with him to the end of time.
“Very well, everyone’s vote has been cast, so let us proceed with the count.” Miss Athena cleared her throat and announced the votes. “Wepwawet. Wepwawet.”
Ganesha and Artemis both winked at Wepwawet at the same time, as if the result of their vote wasn’t obvious enough already.
“Wepwawet.”
Probably Ishtar’s vote, Wepwawet thought. Things are going to turn around now.
“Horus.”
I knew it, there’s no way I could gain a majority with–
“Wepwawet.”
Wepwawet blinked. “Huh?”
“Epona…” Miss Athena sighed as she glanced at Anansi and Sun Wukong. One of the two must have put a joke vote in. “A word I shall not pronounce out loud… and Wepwawet.”
Wepwawet sank in his chair even before Miss Athena called the last vote. He had already secured a crushing majority.
“Wepwawet.” Miss Athena smiled at him. “Six votes for Wepwawet, one for Horus, one for Epona, and a protest vote.”
“Congrats, Wepy!” Ganesha said, his hand finding its way to Wepwawet’s back. Sun Wukong whistled, Ishtar and Epona clapped, Hel and Anansi pouted, and Artemis…
“Yeah, take that birdface!” Artemis shouted at Horus, who looked more shocked by the result than anyone else. “Nobody likes you!”
Wait, wait, I’m the only one who voted for Horus? Wepwawet turned to face his cousin, who returned his shocked gaze. He couldn’t see his cousin pick Epona even as a protest vote or as a joke, which meant–
“Did you vote for me?!” they both asked at the same time, which immediately confirmed their suspicions. “YOU DID
!”Oh gods.
A short, awkward silence followed the declaration, only to be quickly broken by Anansi’s cackling laughter.
“My, imagine if Lord Set were to learn his son had voted for his neme–” Sun Wukong slapped Anansi in the back of the head before he could finish. “Hey!”
“A secret ballot is a secret ballot,” Sun Wukong said with a smile. “Let that be our shared secret… or else I’ll give you the Buddha sealing treatment.”
Wepwawet had never felt so grateful to another god as he did right now. Yet his joy of avoiding another argument with his dad paled when compared to his confusion.
“You voted for me?” Wepwawet asked Horus in disbelief. “Why?”
Horus scoffed. “Don’t get any ideas, the Egyptian Pantheon isn’t this classroom,” he said, his arms crossing in an attempt to look cool and graceful in defeat. “However, I must admit that in this current situation, you are the best person to take the lead on Elphion. A conflict in leadership would only weaken us at a moment when we need a strong direction.”
In short, he was willing to eat his pride and take a step back for the greater good of Elphion; something that probably made him a better god than most.
“You’re… you’re right…” Wepwawet muttered to himself as he came to a profound realization. “The Egyptian Pantheon isn’t the classroom.”
Horus raised an eyebrow, his expression turning solemn. He didn’t need to ask Wepwawet to elaborate.
He could tell his cousin had finally reached a decision.
Responsibility, as ever, meant more work.
Wepwawet had barely been ‘sworn into office’ before Ishtar and Epona asked him to oversee their civilizations’ peace negotiations, which he agreed to. It would also fall to him to organize a common force to deal with both the lunarians and Tiamat’s brood, though Horus proposed to take the vanguard on the latter front since his floating pyramids let him carry troops and rain down bombardments from above. All he needed would be each civilization’s authorization to fly his ships above their territory, which some might resent or dread.
The task was momentous, and yet it paled compared to the one he was about to take on. Wepwawet had considered it through all possible angles, and he couldn’t see himself setting up boundaries without causing some messy spat.
“We should go out and celebrate your victory!” Artemis said once all their classmates returned to Elphion, leaving her, Wepwawet, and Ganesha behind. “You’re now the popular boy, Wepy. That’s a big promotion.”
“We could invite Pele and the other expelled students, too,” Ganesha suggested. “I’ve heard she’s been dying to hear news about Lavaland for a while.”
“That will have to wait,” Wepwawet decided. He would have his hands full in the short term between Filou’s knighting and… the dad thing. “Arty, could I talk to you in private for a minute? I have a pretty big favor to ask you.”
“Huh? Sure.” Artemis scratched the back of her head. “I mean, you can stay, Ganesha, if it’s not–”
“No, no, don’t worry.” The elephant god sounded suspiciously happy with himself. “I’ll take solace in living up to my title of Remover of Obstacles, if you know what I mean…”
“I don’t?” Wepwawet replied, suddenly confused. Had his friend anticipated this?
“You will, and you’ll both thank me for it,” Ganesha replied before returning to Elphion. “See you soon!”
Artemis scowled. “You know, I’ve had the feeling he’s been playing us for a while, but it doesn’t feel malicious.”
“Same.” What game was he playing?
“Anyway, what was that favor?” Artemis asked. “Sounded important.”
Wepwawet took a deep breath. “Would it be okay if I crashed at your place for a while?”
“Huh?” That took her aback. “Sure… is something going on with your dad?”
“No, but it will.” Wepwawet sighed. “I’m going to say something to my father that he really won’t like. I would crash at my mother’s place, but I suspect that will only make things worse.”
“I see…” Artemis matched his gaze for a very, very long time. “Do you want me to come with you? As moral support?”
“No,” Wepwawet replied immediately. “I appreciate it, but it’s something I have to do myself.”
“I get it.” Artemis nodded in understanding. “But yeah, no problem, you can stay at my place for as long as you want.”
“Just like that?” Wepwawet was rather surprised. “I thought you would have hesitated. I’ve got no idea how long this might last.”
“I mean, I kinda figured we would get our own place eventually since we’ve been dating for a while and our dads are…” Artemis chuckled. “You know, our dads…”
“Oh, yeah, that makes perfect sense–” Wepwawet’s thought process came to a sudden and abrupt halt as pieces of a puzzle suddenly aligned in a way that shook him to his core. “Oh my gods… we’re dating.”
“Uh, yeah, we’ve been for a while now?”
“No, no, we’re actually dating! I formally introduced you to my dad, we had a movie night date, and now I’m moving in with you!” Wepwawet had even begun to think of her as his girlfriend. “Is this… is this getting serious, or am I seeing things?”
“I mean…” Artemis blushed lightly and sheepishly looked away. “Do… Do you want us to become serious?”
She hadn’t said no.
Wepwawet had picked up on a few signals since they started fake-dating to deter his father, but part of him always blocked them out. Artemis had been one of his best friends since forever, so he guessed he feared what would be the consequences of getting out of that comfort zone.
Now that they have been on a few dates and grown mature enough… it just felt right.
“Yes,” Wepwawet decided. Truth be told, he simply couldn’t picture himself settling down with anyone else in the heavens. “Yes, I… I would like to give it a serious try, if… if you’re okay with it, considering your vow of chastity.”
“About that, I’ve got to set some boundaries first.” Artemis sheepishly scratched her cheek. “I’ll be blunt, I’m not at all into the sexy bedtime stuff. I could do some handholding, maybe snuggling too, but I would rather stay a virgin goddess, you understand that?”
“Okay.”
“Don’t think it’s a stepping stone towards getting into my pants the way my Champion Orion tried to do, it’s never gonna happen. I’m serious. I don’t want you to become disappointed afterwards–”
“Arty, I’ve known you since we taught mortals how to build pyramids,” Wepwawet cut in. As he told Victoire once, he wasn’t that kind of god. “I’m not your dad.”
“Oh, thank the gods you aren’t!” Artemis smiled in relief before moving on to hugging him, a gesture which he returned. “It means so much to me, Wepy. I was so afraid to come forward because I thought it would be a dealbreaker!”
“It never was,” Wepwawet reassured her as he squeezed back. “Thanks for being there for me.”
It probably wouldn’t change much in their relationship, except that they would take more time for themselves, live together, go on dates without Ganesha, maybe adopt a godling or two. The heavens knew Artemis’ side of the family left a great many of them running around.
There still remained the question of how to breach the subject with Ganesh–
Oh gods.
Ganesha called himself the Remover of Obstacles.
And what greater obstacle was there to a relationship other than the friend zone?