Chapter 439: Assigning Titles and Different Worlds?

Caelus kept looking at the place where the Hollow King had disappeared. He understood very little of what the man had said, and asking more questions would probably have gotten him nowhere.

They were enemies, yet the Hollow King had told him where to find the Abyss. Why would someone who had just tried to absorb their world help him like that?

Then Caelus remembered something that had bothered him since returning to Earth.

The Earth he remembered had no players. People went to work and played games without knowing anything about talents or the Origin Ascension Domain.

Yet the Earth he had returned to was full of people using those powers.

He had accepted too many strange things since entering the Abyss. Now the Hollow King’s words made him question whether he had returned to the same world at all.

Could there be another Earth where he had already died?

If so, what had happened to the people he left behind? Had the Abyss brought him home, or had it taken him somewhere that only looked familiar?

Caelus looked toward the Star King World and sensed his parents among the others. Their presence should have settled his doubts, but he could not stop thinking about the difference between the two Earths.

Perhaps the Abyss held the answer.

He sighed before turning toward his companions. Standing here and guessing would not get them any closer to finding it.

"There’s no time to waste. Keep working toward Lesser God Rank while we prepare to enter the Abyss."

Gorn glanced at the empty sky.

"After seeing that fellow, I don’t think you’ll need to tell anyone twice."

"Good. I want us ready for whatever is waiting down there."

Immediately after returning, Caelus and Sylvia resumed helping their people. Those who had reached Level 10 Origin Lord focused on Divinization, while the others continued training with the resources he provided.

At the same time, the Chaos Faction kept growing.

News of the failed invasion spread beyond the planets they controlled. Reports came from distant galaxies as new groups applied to join, bringing entire settlements with them.

The Tier 2 World was far larger than Caelus had first understood. Even after all that growth, there were still countless places where nobody had heard his name.

When he checked the faction totals again, he found numbers that made him read the entries twice.

[Chaos Faction Members: 90,003,618,291.]

[Faith Power: 231,847,291,654.]

[Contribution Points: 18,372,491.]

Caelus smiled as he opened the benefits list.

With ninety billion members, he could not keep leaving the faction’s rewards half-finished. People needed more reasons to contribute than watching him beat someone on a livestream.

He opened the title progression and checked what he had left unfinished.

[Faction Level 20: Chaos Soldier.]

[Faction Level 40: Chaos Knight.]

[Faction Level 60: Chaos Commander.]

[Faction Level 80: Chaos Warlord.]

[Faction Level 100: Chaos Master.]

Only Chaos Soldier had a finished effect. It increased the member’s damage by ten percent, which was useful but hardly enough to reward every kind of work.

Most members were still far from faction level sixty. Caelus left the Commander and higher titles alone before opening Chaos Knight.

He did not want to give it another damage bonus. A knight should be able to protect someone, so he entered an effect that would help an ally in danger.

[Title: Chaos Knight.]

[Unlock: Reach Faction Level 40.]

[Effect: Knight’s Protection.]

[When a nearby faction ally falls below 30% HP, grant them a shield equal to 15% of your maximum HP.]

Caelus read the result with a satisfied smile.

The shield could give an injured member a chance to escape or receive healing. A strong defender would also provide more protection, making the title useful without simply increasing damage again.

After saving the effect, he moved on to a new title for those treating the wounded.

[Title: Chaos Field Medic.]

[Unlock: Complete 30 verified rescue or treatment assignments.]

[Effect: Recovery items used to heal another faction member restore 50% more HP.]

[The bonus does not apply when treating yourself.]

A person did not need a rare healing talent to help an injured teammate. With this title, even someone carrying basic recovery items could make a difference.

Caelus wanted members to have a reason to stop and help. Keeping a teammate alive should earn recognition just as much as killing an enemy.

Then he created a reward for the people making their equipment.

[Title: Chaos Artisan.]

[Unlock: Complete 50 accepted crafting commissions for faction members.]

[Effect: Once per day, recover half the materials lost in a failed crafting attempt.]

[Recovered materials cannot exceed those actually consumed.]

The title would let all those blacksmith and builders attempt difficult work without losing everything when they failed. Better equipment would benefit the whole faction, so helping the people making it was worth the cost.

After that, he considered the members who helped maintain their growing settlements.

They might never enter a battlefield, but guards and workers still depended on them. Caelus opened one more entry and gave them a reward of their own.

[Title: Chaos Hearthkeeper.]

[Unlock: Complete 20 settlement support assignments.]

[Effect: Establish a rest point that improves natural HP recovery by 90% for resting faction members.]

[Each holder may maintain one rest point. Overlapping rest points do not stack.]

Caelus could already see John placing these rest points near busy roads and training grounds.

Injured guards could recover there between patrols. Members returning from difficult assignments would also have somewhere useful to rest before heading out again.

Once all four titles were ready, he reviewed them together.

Chaos Knight would remain a faction-level reward. The three new titles could be earned through useful work, giving members more choices than fighting for every bit of progress.

[Title Proposals Approved.]

[Apply creation costs and publish rewards?]

Caelus checked the charges before confirming.

He still disliked being charged for several different parts of the same process. However, he had more than eighteen million Contribution Points, and leaving them untouched would help nobody.

[Chaos Knight Updated.]

[Three Contribution-Based Titles Added.]

[Eligible Members May Claim Their Rewards.]

Notifications began arriving almost immediately.

Some members had already completed enough verified assignments to qualify. Others opened the new requirements and began choosing what to work toward next.

Caelus watched the first claims appear before closing the list.

He could not personally guide ninety billion people. Now they had more ways to grow while helping one another, and that work would continue even when he was away.

The titles were a good start, but he was not finished.

Caelus opened the Faction Benefit Creation Kit again and began considering what else he could make. This time, he wanted benefits powerful enough to help the entire faction, including himself.