Becoming a God Starts with Acting-Chapter 124: Get real

Silvanus suddenly appeared at the door of the conference room, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.

His emotionless gaze swept across everyone present then paused on the large camera mounted at the highest point of the room.

[What is this feeling? Who is this—don’t tell me this is...]

[Priest Silvanus!!! There’s no more fitting answer than this!]

[Oh my god, I can’t breathe, his face is no joke, and that cold aura, too—I’m not okay, I’m not okay, I’m not okay!]

[Hahaha, finally, no one will dare to lay a finger on any of the gods again, their representative has arrived—hahaha!]

[I bet his powers aren’t ordinary either. I heard he just suddenly appeared and started talking about the gods, like a bridge for them to come and rescue us. He’s so mysterious that even the highest-level espers have no information on him. My god, he’s so cool!!]

The comments flashed endlessly, and the rapidly increasing "acting points" seemed like they might burn out the notification system of the acting system.

Outwardly, Silvanus showed no hint of satisfaction. He walked past the esper who was still stunned in shock. And that shock was understandable—Silvanus had clearly been very far away, so it made no sense that the moment he opened the door, Silvanus was already right behind him. While he had been running full speed, Silvanus still appeared calm and unhurried, not even a wrinkle in his cloak.

Silvanus stepped slowly into the conference room and repeated once more:

"Do you really think humanity ever had a choice? Was it their help that made you entertain such a naïvely foolish thought?"

His words spared no one—he was essentially scolding the majority of the continent’s population, including many of the espers currently in the room.

Frank and the others had already stood up the moment Silvanus appeared. Feeling the priest’s icy demeanor, Frank truly wanted to wipe the cold sweat from his brow.

Only now did they realize how meaningless their discussions had been—debating whether to trust the gods, wondering whether they should tread carefully. Because, in the end, they still needed the gods. If Silvanus’s current dissatisfaction meant they no longer had a chance to summon them again, then perhaps all of humanity would be plunged into despair.

Layla also furrowed her brows, her expression turning grave.

Why was this happening? Silvanus was never supposed to appear right after a dungeon closed. That was the whole reason she had called for this continent-wide public meeting—to curb the blind fanaticism spreading among certain groups.

Don’t get her wrong—this wasn’t because she had no faith in the gods or resented them.

As an esper who had always fought for the continent and also as someone who gathered dungeon intelligence, she had never had the luxury of turning away from the giant broadcast screens in the sky. Even when watching her own teammates be brutally executed, she had to watch until the bitter end—just to glean the smallest bits of intel.

Because of her unique abilities, she had never been required to enter dungeons herself despite being an esper. But mentally, she had always endured constant battles.

She simply didn’t want humanity to place all their hopes in the gods, only to realize too late that the gods weren’t what they expected—or worse, not as omnipotent as they believed. Then they would turn away and withdraw their faith, and that would only make the gods want to abandon this world all the faster!

She could never let that happen.

She didn’t want to return to those dark days—when humanity had no aid, when failed dungeons expanded one after another when her comrades kept falling beside her, sacrificing themselves for the mission of defending the continent!

Layla’s face even turned slightly pale. She opened her mouth and quickly said, "That’s not what I meant..."

Silvanus raised his hand, cutting her off before she could continue. Layla had no choice but to shut her mouth, her words stuck in her throat like a lump she couldn’t swallow.

"Only believers recognized by the Prophet have a chance to summon Him. However, it is only a chance—that doesn’t mean that the Prophet will appear just because you’re a believer. Only top-tier believers acknowledged by the Prophet will have the possibility to summon Him, no matter the situation."

Hearing Silvanus say that, Drake couldn’t help but subtly raise his chin, his already arrogant demeanor growing even more smug.

Silvanus continued:

"As for Nerio—you should at least be glad he’s so fond of playing around. Because if he weren’t, he’d never show up at all. Even in a situation where there hasn’t been a single casualty or failure, he appeared and made sure humanity had a shot at winning. Forgive my bluntness, but even if he had killed everyone and let Leonard walk out alone, you’d still have no right to complain. They’re not perfect gods. You have no standing to demand or expect them to treat you gently. If you don’t like it, then stop clasping your hands and praying for them to save you. Understood?"

Everyone fell silent. Silvanus’s words hit like a harsh slap, jolting them. Yet, at the same time, they woke many up.

[Wait a second... did he just say that even if Nerio killed everyone and left Leonard alone in the dungeon, it wouldn’t be a problem?]

[I seriously...]

[I told you—we can’t put faith in gods like this. They don’t even seem like gods. Their personalities are full of flaws...]

[Hey now, weren’t you the ones who chose to worship them voluntarily?]

[This is not what I imagined at all. Would Nerio really kill people? Silvanus is exaggerating. I don’t believe it!]

[Some people are already shaken in their beliefs after this? Ridiculous. Honestly, Layla might not be wrong. Neither is Silvanus, even if he’s this cold.]

Leonard looked like he wanted to say something—he felt certain Nerio would never do such a thing. But he knew this wasn’t the time. No, it was necessary for the fervent believers to wake up. The gods truly weren’t perfect.

Suddenly, Drake walked up to the camera and crushed it barehanded, silencing the chaotic flood of comments.

Then he turned toward Silvanus, his expression more serious than ever before.

"THEY really have flaws. Even if they’re small, I don’t care. But could you explain more clearly? What do these flaws mean? Is it because of what you once said—that they’re bound in chains and trying to break free? Is that why they’re not perfect?"

All eyes turned to Silvanus, waiting anxiously for his answer.

Only Benjamin spoke coldly:

"There are some things we don’t need to know."

Frank shot him a sharp look and said flatly:

"As expected, the high believers do know something. I’ve always suspected it. Benjamin, if you know, then we need to know as well."

Attention shifted once more back to Silvanus, who remained standing where he was—his face still cold, his expression unchanged.

Silvanus: [...]

Silvanus: [!!!]

Why is the script heading in this direction? What does Benjamin know that the others don’t? What is he planning to say? To ask?

[I haven’t written the script this far yet. System, I can’t keep up with their pacing.]

[Khak khak khak khak]

The system suddenly unlocked a laugh Silvanus had never heard before.

Silvanus didn’t even fully understand what was happening anymore—but he did understand what everyone was talking about. What he needed to do now was build a script. The problem was... he had no idea what Frank was implying Benjamin knew. Nor why Benjamin seemed to silently acknowledge Frank’s accusation.

And Benjamin—he was one of the high believers—specifically, a devout follower of the archangel Raphael. Silvanus didn’t know whether Raphael had revealed something to Benjamin...

[Like your fake godhood, for example.]

The acting system’s voice rang out with unmistakable mockery.

Sometimes, Silvanus genuinely wondered why creation had granted the system such vivid, human-like emotions—emotions that were anything but mechanical—yet hadn’t given it a complete database to answer his questions correctly.

[I can hear your thoughts, you know!]

Silvanus ignored the system and looked toward the humans before improvising:

"That’s right. The gods need more faith—but faith doesn’t exist only in this world. That’s why I said: it was never humanity’s choice. It was they who chose you."

Before anyone else could speak, Silvanus continued:

"I only came to tell you an obvious truth—one the deluded are too blind to see. Be prepared. You’ve seen what this dungeon was like. Nothing will be easy anymore."

And with that, Silvanus turned and left, giving humanity no chance to say another word.

No one followed him. No one tried to stop him. They knew—if Silvanus didn’t want to be caught, no one ever could.

A strange, heavy silence settled over the room.

Finally, Benjamin’s voice broke the stillness:

"I have a major meeting with the devoted followers of Archangel Raphael. I’ll be taking my leave."

"You’re not going to tell us anything about what you know?" Frank asked, his voice stern.

Benjamin smiled.

"Unfortunately, I don’t know all that much either. Only the angels know what’s truly happening. I merely follow their will."

He bowed slightly, said no more, and walked out.

Frank and the others watched his retreating figure, unsure whether the mystery behind all this was something good—or something deeply ominous.