In this Second Chance at Life, where I can see skills as clear as day, everything feels like a breeze. And to make it even better, I’m spending my days joyfully with my First Love. - Chapter 57

“Yasushi Sashima, as of this moment, the ‘Trial of the Gods’ has ascended into the ‘Trial of the Supreme God.’ Proceed immediately to the divine realm. I shall personally crush you.”

Along with this taunting declaration echoing in my mind, a portal appeared before me—a gateway leading to an otherworldly realm, far removed from this one.

If the voice truly belonged to the Supreme God, then perhaps this portal led to the so-called divine realm.

But what puzzled me was this: why would a being, claiming they were going to crush me, go to the trouble of creating a door and inviting me in? If their intent was to destroy me, wouldn’t it be simpler to come to me instead?

During my battle with Poseidon, I had blanketed the ocean with my mana. With my current reserves, I could protect much of the Earth while simultaneously taking on dozens of upper-class gods at once.

It didn’t feel like this portal was created out of concern for collateral damage to the Earth.

And besides, if they had such concerns, they wouldn’t have sent hordes of gods and monsters in the first place. Hunting them all down without letting a single one escape had been an enormous hassle.

The most logical explanation was that, after watching me fight the gods, the Supreme God realized they couldn’t win under normal circumstances. So, they decided to lure me into their own domain.

I didn’t know the specifics, but it was safe to assume that whatever lay beyond this portal was akin to Poseidon’s ocean—a field where the Supreme God would have the upper hand.

I also considered the possibility of being teleported to some far-off cosmic entity like a black hole or a hyper-gravitational star. But that was easy enough to counter—I could send one of my clones through first to determine where the portal led.

If it wasn’t a trap, what should I do?

To be honest, I wanted nothing more than to pummel this so-called Supreme God.

They had sent an army of monsters and gods to Earth, forced those gods—beings with their own wills—to follow the command “destroy humanity,” and cursed them with an irresistible order.

That alone made my blood boil. I wanted to land at least one solid punch.

Right now, I had 1,000 clones and the 10,000 Slaughter Machine Dolls that Ichika and I had spent two years preparing. Even against the Supreme God, even on their home turf, I was confident I wouldn’t lose—not even in a million years.

With confidence swelling, I made my decision.

I left behind 10 clones and 100 machine dolls as a failsafe, ensuring they could summon me back using Ally Summon if needed. The remaining 990 clones and 9,900 dolls followed me.

From behind my clones, I stepped through the portal.

Into the Divine Realm

The space I entered was one of overwhelming silence, void of sound or color.

In this monochromatic world of black and white, a single figure stood, arms crossed in a posture of exaggerated self-importance.

They looked like a middle schooler—a child—but it was difficult to tell whether they were a boy or a girl.

“Welcome,” a high-pitched voice echoed in the silence.

It was the same voice I had heard earlier, now tinged with arrogance. The figure’s smug grin tugged at their cheek as they stared down at me.

“So, you’re the Supreme God?” I asked.

“Hmph. Such a rude child. Address me with respect—add ‘sama’ to my name, bow your head, and offer your reverence. Yes, I am the Supreme God who created all life on Earth and bestowed it with blessings.

I am known by many names… Jehovah, Christ, Allah, to name a few.”

Christ? That didn’t sound quite right, but it seemed they were claiming to be the God of the Old Testament—the one who supposedly created the world.

As someone without any religious ties, I couldn’t care less about their name or origins.

“So,” I continued, “why would a god who claims to have created this world send hordes of monsters and gods to Earth?”

“Hmph. Isn’t it obvious? It’s all because of you, Yasushi Sashima. You ruined my plans.”

Plans? Ruined?

I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.

“Yasushi Sashima, as of this moment, the ‘Trial of the Gods’ has ascended into the ‘Trial of the Supreme God.’ Proceed immediately to the divine realm. I shall personally crush you.”

The words echoed in my mind as I stepped into the Supreme God’s domain. But the moment I crossed the threshold, it was clear this was not going to be an ordinary fight. The Supreme God had one goal: to break me.

“You… you’re talking about the Niigata Dungeon, aren’t you? That spatial distortion back then… It was supposed to slowly release monsters and reduce the human population at a gradual pace, wasn’t it?”

The Supreme God’s voice took on an edge of frustration.

“Yes! It was meant to steadily cull the population, instill humanity with a sense of crisis, and then—when they were sufficiently terrified—I planned to create countless dungeons all over the world! But you ruined everything!”

Ah, so that’s it. The Supreme God was upset because I stopped everything before it could even begin. Of course, from their perspective, this must have been infuriating. But for the humans on the receiving end of their “plan,” it would’ve been catastrophic.

“So, what was the grand purpose behind all this? Why create those dungeons in the first place?”

“That… has nothing to do with you, a mere human.”

Turning away with a pout, the Supreme God clearly had no intention of explaining further. Not that I really cared about their reasons.

I already knew what I had come here to do.

“I see. Well, regardless of your reasons, stop sending high-level monsters and gods to Earth. This whole ordeal was exhausting enough.”

The Supreme God sneered, their arrogance on full display.

“Exhausting? To me, it looked like you handled everything with ease. This time, and last time. In the end, you dealt with everything single-handedly. I am dissatisfied.

So, Yasushi Sashima, if you agree to one condition, I will vow never to threaten humanity again.”

“A condition? From a god?”

“From me.”

“What’s the condition?”

The Supreme God crossed their arms and sighed.

“Frankly, Yasushi Sashima, you’ve grown far too strong. And that strength is the result of you hoarding all the experience points from my trials.

So, here’s the deal: give me all your experience points and skills. I’ll distribute them across humanity. That would raise the average stats of every single human by at least a million. Think about it—what could be more fair?”

It was true. Even I had thought many times that I had become too powerful.

My stats were so high that there were few places where I could truly let loose. The pressure I exerted on others made normal conversation nearly impossible. And it wasn’t as though I had some noble mission to protect the world or help those in need.

If I gave my stats and skills to the rest of humanity, they would undoubtedly be used far more effectively than I ever could. Governments wouldn’t need to rely on me for dungeon raids or dealing with rogue criminals.

It would be better for the world.

And yet—

“No thanks. I don’t like you.”

The Supreme God’s arrogance, their reckless endangerment of Earth by sending monsters and gods, and their attempt to control beings like Poseidon all grated on me.

At the very least, I couldn’t let this slide without landing a punch.

I took a step forward and swung with everything I had—a punch infused with 8,000 quadrillion units of strength and 10 sextillion units of mana. It was a full-force strike, powerful enough to obliterate an upper-class god’s head completely.

But all it managed to do was slightly push into the Supreme God’s cheek.

“…That hurt. For a human, you have truly absurd power.”

It didn’t work. I immediately tried to appraise their stats—nothing. The appraisal failed to activate.

“What? It’s not working… Are my skills sealed?”

“Of course. Tell me, Yasushi Sashima, who do you think granted humanity its skills and professions in the first place? It was me.”

My stats were almost entirely dependent on skill multipliers. Without them, I’d struggle against even a level 300 monster.

If they could seal my skills, why didn’t they just come to Earth to fight me? Why lure me here instead?

“Ah… so this is like Poseidon’s ocean, isn’t it?”

The Supreme God smirked.

“You’re surprisingly perceptive for a human. Yes, in this realm, all skills are sealed—for you. But for me, my skills remain fully functional.

Now, surely you understand. You have no chance of winning. My stats surpass even Zeus’s. Without your skill multipliers, you don’t stand a chance.

So, surrender everything—your skills, your stats, all of it—and offer it to me.”

I glanced around, realizing that all 990 of my clones were gone.

Even my mechanical soldiers, which I ordered to attack the Supreme God with a mere thought, remained motionless.

It was over.

No matter how much combat training I had done, the gap between our stats was insurmountable.

With a tenfold gap, victory was unlikely. With a hundredfold gap, it was impossible. At a thousandfold or more, I’d be obliterated by the mere force of their breath.

The difference between me and the Supreme God was as vast as the gap between the monsters I had defeated and myself.

I couldn’t die here. Not now.

There were people who would mourn me—people I couldn’t bear to leave behind.

Ichika. I’m sorry. I must look so pathetic right now.

But I want to go back to you.

“Take it. My stats, my skills—all of it. Just leave me alive.”

And so, on that day, I was defeated. My soul bore the mark of my loss.

I lost my level, my skills, and everything I had built up.

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