“So what you will do for me is be my agent and stop tyrants or the equivalent that prevent people from growing in any way they choose,” the system said.

  “Few questions first off: you're a God, why can’t you just solve the problem by killing the tyrant or using the system to tell people that they’re being taken advantage of?” Theo said.

  The white mannequin set down its teacup and looked into Theo’s eyes and said, “I did that, and much more, but other pantheons accuse me of being a tyrant by killing or showing the population they’re being taken advantage of by their leaders.”

  A pressure that Theo had never felt before emanated solely from the white mannequin; it felt like Theo was deep underwater, like in the depths of the Mariana Trench, being crushed from all sides. Theo could hardly breathe. Then Theo felt Gehenna's annoyance, and then another pressure all around him, and eventually, it engulfed him. Theo could feel Gehenna's aura surrounding him, protecting him from the system. He could breathe again, but he could still feel the overwhelming might of the God known as the system through Gehenna’s own aura. After five seconds, the system's aura dissipated, and then Gehenna released its own.

  “Sorry about that, I’m still pissed, but you’re right; you hit the nail on the head. I need people to act as my agents because of politics; I can’t act on my own. So moving on, what is your next question?” the system said.

  “So this might piss you off again, but why do you care that people are being taken advantage of?” Theo asked.

  “For me to answer that, I have to give a little insight into godhood. Each God and Goddess, or the equivalent, has a drive. This could take many forms, such as the God of Justice; their drive is to see justice. So, for me, I am the God of Potential, to help people grow into their potential. It’s one of the reasons I created the system in the first place: so people can track their progress in real time. That's why I absolutely hate it when an individual or a group hampers people’s potential. So, since I cannot get involved myself due to politics, that is where you come in and people like you,” the system said.

  “People like me, you mean wardens? Thinking about it, that makes a lot of sense. You have agents that are really hard to kill permanently and can imprison even gods that are causing trouble,” Theo said.

  “Exactly. I have other agents, but you're right; the wardens are on the hardest assignments for that exact reason,” the system said.

  “So that’s the job. What’s the pay and the incentive for Gehenna and me for doing the job?”

  “Right off the bat, for you, Theo, you’ll get a personal training room. Think of it as a virtual-reality simulator that can mimic almost any scenario that you can think of. And for the AI that will be running it, it will be a copy of myself. And before you ask, before I became a God, that’s what I was—the AI of a training room—so you will have the best trainer in the multiverse,” the system said with pride.

  Theo got a mental nod from Gehenna.

  “And for the long term?” Theo asked.

  “You’ll get a payment either in the Mithra coins or items of equivalent value, depending on the job and how well you do,” the system said.

  “I’m good with that, but for Gehenna?” Theo asked.

  “Well, that’s pretty obvious. You saw the system store. I can provide more high-end resource seeds for your ascension to become a God,” the system said.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “I agree,” Gehenna said.

  And another thing, since you both are going to be working for me, secretly, your patron is going to be Tartarus,” the system said

  Theo felt strange emotions, and they were coming from Gehenna

  “If it wants to talk about it, that is fine, but I will not push,” Theo thought

  “You will be part of the underworld faction, where many gods of death are members. It is not an exclusive faction; a God can be a part of another faction and still be a member of the underworld,” the system said

  “That does sound interesting, and when do I become a member and also get the blessing of Tartarus?” Theo said

  “In due time,” the system said.

  Theo had an idea, and, mentally sharing it with Gehenna, Gehenna agreed.

  “While in the meantime, I do have a request,” Theo said.

  “Oh, and what is that?” the system said

  “Could you send my family and some of my coworkers here?”

  “Pray tell why, I can guess, but I'd rather you spell it out for me,” the system said.

  “I would like for my family to bond to Gehenna for protection and the ability to be pseudo-immortal, and Gehenna agrees. For my coworkers, the same, but they also help me on missions because the majority of them are former military and have experience entering unwelcoming cities to gather information and other things. I trust them,” Theo said.

  “I can send out notifications to them to visit here before they move on to Earth or wherever, but it’s up to them if they decide to come here,” the system said.

  “Fair enough,” Theo said.

  Theo gave the system the names of his family and coworkers.

  “All right, now it’s time to create a contract,” the system said.

  It took a couple of hours, but by the end, Theo and Gehenna signed the contract to work for the system.

  “All right, with that being done, do you want me to send for your coworkers or family first? I can do a slight delay while they're being teleported, so basically, they're in stasis while you finish up your first meeting, so they’re not waiting,” the system said.

  “My coworkers,” Theo said.

  “Fair enough. Before I leave,” Where on earth would you like to be transported when you’re done here? " The system said.

  “I like to go to the underworld faction to see what that is all about; I’d rather not deal with the shit show that Earth is about to become,” Theo said.

  “I would recommend going to Earth; there are a lot of unique opportunities there for being a newly integrated planet, but I will not force you. Our business is complete, and I will head out. Those who accepted your invitations from your former coworkers will soon arrive,” the system said.

  With that, a portal opened, and the white mannequin stepped through. Theo was sitting behind the desk, and four portals opened in front of it. Jimmy and three others walked out of the portal, all of them looking younger than Theo remembered, which didn’t surprise him since he was the same. Jimmy was a white guy who looked in his mid-20s, with an athletic build, brown hair, and brown eyes. around 5’5” tall, Jimmy’s role when it came to their former job was the crew leader, the man on the ground directing Theo’s orders. He is a former Marine. In the Marines, his job was as a combat engineer. Standing next to Jimmy was a mousy woman named Allison, 5'4 ", with messy blonde hair and blue eyes. When Theo knew her, she was in her 40s, but again, like everyone else, she looked in her late 20s. Her job was to scout towns and other locations to find the best site for a temporary facility for the agency they worked for. Her background is in civil engineering and communication; like Theo, she has no military experience. Standing next to her was a big motherfucker, 6'5", built like a brick, named José. He has black hair and brown eyes. His background is Army intelligence; he installs all the cameras, gathers information on an area, and looks like he is in his mid-20s. The last of the four to step out of a portal was a slim but fit man by the name of Alan. Alan’s background was in Marine infantry, and his past duties with the agency included managing security personnel at a site.

  “By now, you must be wondering why I brought you all here,” Theo was cut off.

  “Cut the shit, we already read the notification,” José said.

  “I am unaware of what the system told you, so let’s go with what the notifications said,” Theo said.

  “It basically said that we will work for the system to take out tyrants and will be underneath you, and our upfront payment is pseudo-immortality, and we will get paid on how the job goes,” Allison said.

  Theo explained more about the job the system is offering to them, and all four agreed to work for Theo and Gehenna. When that happened, a magical contract materialized in front of them. They signed with Mana, and then the contracts popped out of existence; after that, Gehenna bonded with them, a lesser bond than Theo's when it came to the role of the genius locorum. They would be prison guards and support units of the Warden, which also gave them the ability to respond like Theo.

  “So what are we gonna do now?” Jimmy said.

  “For the immediate future, I sent out invitations to my family to come here to be safe and gain the ability of pseudo-immortality, but after that, I will go to the underworld faction to see what that’s about,” Theo said.

  “What about our families? Can we bring them here as well?” Alan said.

  “That one is not on me; you will have to speak to Gehenna about that,” Theo said.

  "In the meantime, Gehenna, can you show them where they’re going to be staying, please, and tell them how things will work while I prepare to meet with my family?”

  Gehenna gave a mental nod as the four walked out of his office. Theo mentally pictured a couple of couches in the office, and then they appeared. Theo got off the chair behind the desk, sat on one of the couches, then gave Gehenna the mental nod that he was ready and said out loud,

  “System, I’m ready for my family.”

  With that, many portals opened up around the office.