Reincarnated as a God (Oneshot story test) (Patreon)

Hey, you! I know you've been lurking on Patreon, subscribed but not reading the ongoing story!

Well, good news. This is a oneshot story that'll only take ten minutes to read.

Read it and say hello in the comments. We've missed you!

This is a story idea I've been fiddling with. If I were to write a book around it, it would not be a story following her, but rather the god she meets. Hopefully you find it entertaining.

I enjoyed writing it, so if you guys like it enough, I'll think about doing more with it when Spellheart and Amazon Apocalypse are finished.

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Amice checked the pouch at her waist once again. The big city was a veritable nest of thieves, both in the form of pickpockets and cunning merchants with sky-high prices. She would have to keep a sharp eye out for both. As a simple girl from a tiny hamlet, she was an easy target.

"They're counting on me. I can't let them down," Amice whispered to herself.

Her small hamlet had been stricken by a particularly brutal strain of the plague in the heart of winter. Most villagers were too ill to even leave their huts. And even if they survived this plague, they wouldn't recover before the end of the planting season. If the hamlet didn't succumb to plague this season, it would next year, when starvation set in due to lack of food.

Out of all the villagers, she was the lone soul untouched by the plague. This was taken as a divine sign by her friends and family. To remain untouched must have meant a god had taken an interest in her, blessing her with divine protection. So if any could win the same protection for everyone else, it was her.

That was exactly what her hamlet needed right now -- the favor of a god, any god, to save them from disease and starvation.

"I just need to find a god who will help us. Any god," Amice muttered to herself.

With her heart pounding and a knot of anxiety in her stomach, Amice approached the grand structure of the first temple, the domain of Barus, the god of the harvest.

He would be perfect! Her father regularly prayed to Barus, expressing hopeful wishes every planting season and his gratitude with every harvest. Surely, he would help.

On reaching the temple's grand steps, she had to pause to admire the doors inlaid with gold, the pristine marble columns, and the beautiful stained glass windows that depicted scenes of bountiful harvests.

She felt her bare and dirty feet were unworthy of stepping on such hallowed grounds. But she held onto the hope that Barus would understand.

That hope, however, faltered when she pushed open the grand doors and saw the smile fall from the face of the priest on the other side. He was garbed in resplendent white robes and wore shoes that mirrored the golden trim of the temple. His attire was a stark contrast to her dirt-smudged and homespun dress.

But she pressed on.

"I... I seek the favor of Barus," Amice stammered out.

"And what favor might that be?" the priest asked, his gaze assessing her from head to toe.

"My village...we're stricken with the plague, sir. If we're not healed soon, we won't be able to plant this season."

The priest raised a hand to halt her. "So, you wish for a cure for the plague, or an easy planting season?"

"Well... both, I suppose?" Amice responded, glancing hopefully at the priest. Either would help. Getting both would save them completely.

The priest of Barus nodded solemnly. "To procure both, you will need to part with around two thousand gold and secure the services of a dozen priests for your hamlet. If the plague is of the undead variety, you will also need the presence of a paladin. Now, how much have you brought with you?"

Amice glanced at the pouch at her waist, her heart sinking. "E-eleven copper."

At this, the priest waved his hand dismissively. Suddenly, Amice felt as though she was being forcibly yanked away by invisible guards. The divine power dumped her unceremoniously on her rear right outside the temple steps.

"Ow..." Amice rubbed her sore bottom as she managed to climb back to her feet.

That attempt hadn't exactly gone as planned. However, sulking on the temple steps wouldn't solve anything. Even though she was disheartened, she refused to be deterred. Gathering her resolve, she moved on to the next temple.

Next, she sought the grace of Tira, the goddess of good health. This temple was even more opulent than Barus's, glittering in the sunlight. Tira's priestesses stood outside, their beauty nothing short of breathtaking. She'd heard tales of nobles seeking Tira's blessings to enhance their own attractiveness. Judging by the radiant priestesses in their revealing robes, the rumors seemed to hold water.

However, Amice wasn't after physical enhancements. She simply wanted to restore good health to her hamlet. Sadly, Tira's priestesses seemed even less inclined to entertain her plea than the priest of Barus.

"Run back to your hovel, child. I don't dispense free healings," one of them sneered, shooing Amice away with a wave of her hand.

Undeterred, Amice wrung her hands together. This time, she was ready for the rejection and quickly put forth a counterproposal. "Well... I can't offer money, but what about labor? I could help out around the temple. Maybe Tira would even see fit to grant her blessing to me. Then, I could heal my hamlet myself!"

The priestess of Tira seemed even more taken aback at Amice's proposition than she had been at the thought of offering her services for free.

"Do you have any idea how much my family had to donate to secure my place in Tira's temple? An entire vineyard, given to the goddess. Unless you're hiding a vineyard under those grimy rags, you don't stand a chance. Leave before your filth tarnishes our marble floors!"

Amice's desperation jumped to new heights. Barus and Tira, the two deities her parents devoutly worshipped, were her best hopes. With both turning her away, she was left with no choice but to seek the help of other gods, uncertain of what to expect.

"Kelden aids those who help themselves. You're no warrior, girl," a burly paladin equipped with a gleaming sword curtly dismissed Amice with a shake of his head.

"Wisdom is not granted to the desperate. It's earned through years of study... or substantial donations," a purple-robed priestess of Nessa declared in a tone of finality.

"Blessings from the Goddess of Love demand years of dedication," said in a priestess of Linares, giving Amice a once-over. "Perhaps if you commit to a decade of selfless service in her brothel, she might consider granting you the miracle you're seeking."

Amice felt a chill run down her spine. In a decade, everyone she was trying to save would have perished.

Undeterred, she approached the devotees of Mythalis, the god of fortune and luck, then Elaris, the goddess of nature and growth, and even Tyranus, the deity of kings and rule.

Each time, she was met with a fresh wave of rejection. Her pleas were met with derisive laughter or pitying shakes of the head, dealing blow after blow to her already fragile hope.

As the day dwindled, Amice found herself at her wits' end. Would no god heed her desperate plea?

With a growling stomach, she glanced at the meager purse at her side. The city was even more expensive than she had imagined. The total fortune of her hamlet would barely cover a single night at an inn. She couldn't afford such a selfish expenditure. Instead, she would have to find a quiet alleyway to rest her weary head and resume her search come morning.

Just as she was considering a suitable alley, she heard a voice.

"Psst. Hey. I hear you're looking for a god."

Amice jerked around, scanning her surroundings. Eventually, she spotted the source of the voice - a boy, younger than her, donned in a black hood, who watched her intently from a dark alley.

"...yes..." she answered warily. After a day filled with rejection and humiliation, she had her defenses up.

"Well, it's your lucky day. I happen to be a priest myself," the shady-looking boy from the alley announced. "My god can definitely assist you! Come along, follow me."

Every instinct screamed at her that this was a terrible idea. He would lure her into the dark alley, pull out a knife, and make away with her humble pouch of copper coins.

"I'm not going in there," Amice declared firmly. She might be a naive girl from a hamlet, but she wasn't foolish.

The mysterious boy sighed, pulling down his hood. His gaze drifted to Amice's scraped knee. It was a wound she'd sustained when she was thrown out of one of the temples but had chosen to ignore until now.

The boy simply aimed a finger at her wounded knee and Amice felt a peculiar sensation. New skin began to form, and in mere moments, the scrape was gone, as if it had never been there.

"You healed me?" Amice stuttered, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Can you cure plagues as well?"

"Yes. And if you pledge your service to the powerful and mighty Jeremy, you can do the same. He's always on the lookout for new priestesses."

Amice's eyes sparkled with renewed hope. "Really?"

"Absolutely," the mysterious boy confirmed.

Her trepidation replaced by a glimmer of hope, Amice found herself following the boy deeper into the alley.

***

"Here we are," the boy announced, halting in front of a small alcove tucked away at the alley's end. The spot was humble, and the pale glow of a solitary lantern was the only light that graced the small, shed-like structure. It was even smaller than the hut her family used to store firewood.

"Is this the grand temple of the mighty god, Jeremy?" Amice couldn't help but ask. It was considerably more modest than the temples she'd visited earlier that day.

The boy shrugged nonchalantly. "There are more gods than you'd imagine, Amice. Not all of them hold lofty positions like the ones you're familiar with. Jeremy might not be officially recognized by the other temples, but he's a god nonetheless."

Amice nodded, feeling a flutter of unease when the boy casually mentioned her name. She was positive she hadn't told him her name. But after witnessing the miraculous healing of her knee, she was willing to believe that this boy might indeed have a god whispering divine secrets into his ear.

"Alright... so, would it be possible for you to visit my village? I'm not certain how much we could afford to..."

The boy raised his hands, cutting her off. "Hold on. I can't negotiate any deals on behalf of my god. You'll have to communicate with him directly."

"D-directly?" Amice's eyes widened in surprise.

With a sense of ceremony, the boy opened the shuttered doors of the small hut, revealing a simple clay figurine. The clay was so rough that discerning any details was challenging, but impressions formed in her mind anyway. It was an image of a man dressed in an odd attire, seated behind a desk, impatiently drumming his fingers on the wooden surface. As Amice stared, the figurine seemed to turn its gaze towards her.

Suddenly, Amice found the clay figure and the alley surrounding her gone. She stood in a cozy wooden room, and across from her, sat a man behind a desk.

"Hello, I'm Jeremy," the god introduced himself casually. "And you must be Amice. I've heard a great deal about your little dilemma."

Taken aback, Amice promptly fainted.

***

Upon awakening, Amice found herself once again in divine company.

"Ah, excellent, you're conscious again. I've put together a brief presentation for you," Jeremy the god stated.

A large sheet of paper filled with diagrams had been set before her. Looking down, Amice realized she was seated in the grandest, plushest, and most comfortable chair she'd ever experienced.

Overwhelmed, Amice leaped out of the chair, falling to her knees in deference. It was, after all, what a mortal should do in the presence of a deity.

"O great and mighty Jeremy, my praises ring a thousand-fold for hearing my plea," she stammered. How had she come to be in this extraordinary place? Usually, gods only revealed themselves to their most devoted disciples. Jeremy appeared to be a minor and somewhat overlooked deity, but any god stood as far above a mortal as an emperor towered over a simple village girl like her.

Jeremy nonchalantly waved his hand, and in a blink, Amice found herself repositioned in the sumptuous chair. "Enough of that now. If you wish to show respect, simply pay attention to my presentation and be prepared to ask questions afterward. Now, where were we? Ah, yes. What is your understanding of how temples function?"

Amice stiffened, realizing she was being put to the test by the deity. Fortunately, she'd spent her entire day visiting various temples. Otherwise, she might have faltered in her response.

"Primarily, temples accept novices at a young age, often alongside a substantial donation from their families. The deities grant their followers abilities based on the favor they've accumulated from their patron. Some are able to heal minor injuries while others can decimate hordes of the undead with powerful miracles," Amice rattled off, finding it challenging to meet Jeremy's penetrating gaze, despite his seemingly amicable demeanor.

"That is indeed the model most temples in this world operate under. It's functional, but... rather inefficient. I like to be more specific in the distribution of my favors. People tend to be more committed when they know what they stand to gain." Jeremy motioned toward the diagrams displayed before her. "This here is the favor rewards chart. You earn Divine Favor Points from me, and then you can exchange them for miracles. Notice this here? Remember the lad in the alley who guided you to me?”

Amice nodded as she stared at the chart. It was a rather beautiful piece of art, but that was to be expected of a god.

“He earned 200 Divine Favor Points as a referral bonus.” Jeremy the god continued. “If you decide to join my followers and begin amassing your own Divine Favor Points, he will be rewarded accordingly. This is how I motivate my followers to spread my word and assist new recruits. Honestly, that's how the entire business functions. It's a massive pyramid scheme with me at the pinnacle. But that doesn't mean I can't distribute some of the wealth amongst you, my followers. Or in this case, a share of the reality-altering Divine Power."

"Pyramid scheme?" Amice questioned, her brows knitted in bewilderment.

"That's how deities gain power," Jeremy clarified. "Gods derive their power from prayers, then reallocate a share of that power as they deem fit, and to the worlds they consider appropriate. I've selected your world as my field of operation, largely because the gods here have become complacent. They have exploited this place like a garden, reaping an infinite amount of prayer energy while reinvesting sparingly in return. That creates an ideal environment for a fresh contender like me to enter the industry with an updated business model. This is where the concept of referral bonuses comes into play."

"B-but... aren't gods all-powerful? That's why they're gods!" Amice exclaimed in astonishment. How did she end up here? One moment, she was a naive village girl stepping into a shady alley, and the next thing she knew, an enigmatic deity was divulging the mysteries of the cosmos to her.

Jeremy shook his head in mild amusement. "Ah, to possess omnipotence – that would make this whole godhood business a lot more straightforward. Heck, I'd be content with omniscience if it were within my grasp. Unfortunately, I'm rather limited at the moment. But that's my problem! Our current concern is you. You want to rescue your hamlet, don't you?"

"Yes! I do." Amice vehemently nodded her agreement.

Jeremy stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm... if it's just a matter of a few minor healing miracles, particularly if they don't need to happen quickly, it shouldn't be too difficult. You'd just have to perform a few minor tasks for me to earn the necessary Divine Favor Points. You could amass all you need within a week. So, what do you think? Are you ready to become my first priestess?"

Overwhelmed yet determined, Amice nodded, and the god extended his hand. "Welcome aboard!" he declared cheerfully.

<Note>

Anyway, that’s the story that was on my mind today. I’m thinking maybe the world is due to be destroyed to some otherworldly horror, and all the other gods have given up on it. Soon undead hoards will roam the land and otherworldly horrors shall reap the land.

And only the hope for this dying world is the surprisingly straightforward god Jeremy, formerly of the marketing department of a business on Earth.

I’m still mulling the idea over, but it could potentially turn into a series in a year or two when I’ve finished some of my current stuff. What do you guys think?