Becoming a God Starts with Acting-Chapter 86: Boasting

"This is my report..."

A hesitant voice rang out, drawing Layla’s attention. She looked up, her gaze falling on the timid young man before her. His hair was so long that it completely covered his eyes. He kept his head down, exuding an air of gloom and caution, yet his back remained perfectly straight.

Layla’s eyes swept over Leonard, her deep gaze carrying an almost piercing clarity as if she could see through anything. Finally, she nodded and said, "Wait for me in the meeting room with the others. Once I’ve gathered all the documents, I’ll join you. It won’t take long, so don’t worry."

She spoke with the gentle care of an older sister.

Leonard pressed his lips together, gave a slight nod, and quickly left the office. Throughout the process, he never raised his head to look at anyone. His excessively long hair made people wonder how he could see the path ahead.

A colleague beside Layla, seemingly pitying him, murmured, "I wonder if he’ll be able to hold up the Curtis family after this..."

Following this dungeon incident, the government had taken advantage of the abnormalities surrounding Leonard to investigate the Curtis family. It wasn’t long before they uncovered the truth—the Curtis family had been secretly conducting inhumane and ruthless experiments to create espers.

And Leonard, the first of the family’s young generation, had been their first test subject.

The government moved swiftly, freezing the Curtis family’s assets and uncovering evidence against them. By the time Leonard emerged from the dungeon, nearly all of the Curtis family’s main branch had been imprisoned. Some were even facing the death penalty.

Now, the once-wealthy and powerful Curtis family was reduced to almost nothing—leaving only Leonard, a frail-looking young man who had spent years suffering in a laboratory. That was why Layla’s colleague worried about his future.

Layla watched Leonard’s retreating figure and casually adjusted her glasses. "He’ll manage."

That was what she had "seen" surrounding Leonard.

Layla’s team quickly compiled a complete summary of the dungeon and gathered the reports from the survivors—Matthew, Maya, Taylor, and Leonard.

Drake leaned back in his chair inside the office, causing it to tilt slightly. His legs were propped up on the table in blatant disrespect. Cocona frowned at his behavior, but no one said anything, as if they were long used to it.

Drake’s sharp, almost menacing gaze swept over the survivors who had just exited the dungeon, lingering particularly on Leonard.

These people would undoubtedly become believers in Nerio. Drake knew that out there, many, many more had already become Nerio’s followers.

As of now, Drake still wasn’t sure about the relationship between the Prophet and Nerio. However, how the dungeon system had introduced them still grated on his nerves.

The strongest god? That should have been Prophet! Or, at the very least, the Prophet should not have been introduced as the weakest god!

From Drake’s perspective, Prophet’s abilities were no weaker than Nerio’s—perhaps even stronger! There had been a grave mistake or maybe an intentional act of misinformation!

Not that I care about Prophet’s reputation, Drake told himself. But as Prophet’s top believer, I should clarify my stance.

His gaze landed on Leonard, and he spoke, "A little mouse... I don’t see anything impressive about him."

He didn’t say Leonard’s name, but his eyes and tone made it obvious who he was referring to.

Leonard lifted his head to look at Drake. Even though his long hair covered his eyes, Drake could still feel his gaze. He raised an eyebrow, waiting for Leonard to retaliate.

However, Leonard lowered his head again and said, "You must be Prophet’s top believer."

Drake’s smirk faded. He would cut him down if Leonard dared to say anything disrespectful about Prophet.

Personal attacks were OK, but slandering a god—especially Prophet—was not!

For some reason, the atmosphere in the office suddenly became strange. Everyone tensed up, waiting for Leonard’s following words.

But then, Leonard seemed to gain an overwhelming sense of confidence. He looked at Drake and hastily said, "Do you have any experience connecting with your god? Please share even a little with me! I’ll do anything you ask, as long as it’s within my ability!"

Everyone: "..."

Alright, this guy was beyond saving. He was utterly devoted to Nerio. Though... that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Drake stared at Leonard, trying to suppress the slight guilt rising in his heart. As Prophet’s top believer, he could never admit that he couldn’t contact Prophet directly—that Prophet only spoke to him when necessary.

With an arrogant smirk, Drake scoffed, "A top believer needing to reach out to their god? God speaks to me on their own. That’s the privilege I have."

Everyone couldn’t help but stare at Drake in astonishment.

Drake lifted his chin, a truly smug smile curling on his lips. That’s right—Prophet had always been the one to reach out to him first. He wasn’t lying! Besides, the Prophet never paid much attention to him anyway, so even if he said this, there was no way the Prophet would notice!

For some reason, that thought left a bitter taste in his mouth.

On the other hand, Leonard immediately looked somewhat dejected after hearing Drake’s words. Nerio had never actively reached out to him... Was it because he wasn’t good enough?

Of course. Gods must prefer exceptional believers—like Drake. Prophet must be delighted with him (Prophet never said that), which was why he took the initiative to contact him (Prophet never did that).

But Leonard quickly brightened up again. Nerio must just be too busy to contact me right now. A god has to be busy—that’s only natural! After all, Nerio did say he liked him and even promised they’d meet again!

Leonard grew excited at the thought.

Everyone in the office watched as Drake puffed up like a peacock showing off its feathers, then turned to Leonard, whose emotions were shifting like a rollercoaster. Yep. Fanatics were never regular.

Just like that, the looming conflict strangely dissipated.

At that moment, Layla opened the door. She carried a thin stack of documents, swept her gaze across the room, and stepped up to the podium.

Frank straightened in his seat and said, "Alright, let’s put everything else aside for now and focus on the dungeon [The River God’s Wife]. This is our most unique dungeon, so I hope everyone pays close attention."

The others fell silent, waiting for the observation team’s report.

Layla adjusted her glasses and began, "First of all, the priority selection of items was ineffective in this dungeon. As a result, more dark espers and ordinary people were chosen instead. More importantly, the dungeon appeared so suddenly that we could not evacuate in time. This may indicate that the invading forces are becoming even more dangerous!"

"Furthermore, time inside the dungeon was synchronized with the outside world, and people outside could faintly hear the voices of those inside. Based on this, we suspect the invading forces are drawing closer to our continent. This could explain why time on both sides is now aligned. The fact that people outside could hear those inside may also indicate that the two spaces are beginning to synchronize!"

With each word Layla spoke, the expressions on everyone’s faces grew increasingly grim.