The Cheapest God on the App

The Cheapest God on the App

The difference between a five-star god and a one-star god was about fifty thousand credits.

Unfortunately, I had exactly thirty-two.

Kai Velez stared at his phone screen while sitting on a cracked stone bench outside Vesper University. Students hurried past him carrying glowing tablets and enchanted backpacks, discussing internship offers and divine contracts as if they were talking about the weather.

Kai envied them.

Not because they were smarter.

Not because they were richer.

Well... maybe a little because they were richer.

Mostly, he envied the fact that they actually had gods.

In modern society, success wasn't determined by talent alone. Everyone knew that.

You needed a divine partner.

A god could boost your intelligence, strengthen your body, increase your luck, or grant abilities beyond human limits. The strongest companies employed entire pantheons. Governments negotiated with celestial beings. Even ordinary students could rent low-tier gods to help them pass exams.

The world ran on contracts.

And Kai couldn't afford one.

His screen displayed the Divine Contract App.

Thousands of gods were available for hire.

Fire gods.

War gods.

Knowledge gods.

Dream gods.

Even a few dragon gods.

Each profile displayed ratings, reviews, and pricing.

★★★★★ Solaris, God of Eternal Flame

Contract Cost: 180,000 Credits

★★★★★ Athena Nova, Goddess of Wisdom

Contract Cost: 250,000 Credits

★★★★★ Tyr, God of Victory

Contract Cost: 310,000 Credits

Kai scrolled downward.

And downward.

And downward.

The prices eventually dropped from impossible to merely absurd.

Then they dropped further.

Eventually, he reached the section labeled:

"Budget Divine Services"

The ratings became noticeably worse.

★★☆☆☆

★★☆☆☆

★☆☆☆☆

Kai grimaced.

There was a reason gods had ratings.

A bad god could ruin your life.

One review described a harvest deity who accidentally turned a farmer's crops into sentient potatoes.

Another involved a weather god who forgot how rain worked.

The comments were brutal.

Kai kept scrolling.

His tuition payment was due next week.

His landlord wanted three months of overdue rent.

His scholarship required him to obtain a divine contract before the semester ended.

Failure meant expulsion.

He didn't have many options left.

A notification suddenly appeared.

SPECIAL PROMOTION

ONE-STAR GOD AVAILABLE

LIMITED-TIME CONTRACT

COST: 30 CREDITS

Kai blinked.

Thirty?

That couldn't be right.

He tapped the listing.

The profile loaded.

No image.

No description.

No portfolio.

No references.

Just a single name.

Zephyr.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Reviews: 1

Kai opened the review.

The reviewer had written only four words.

"Never doing that again."

"...That's reassuring."

Despite himself, Kai laughed.

Who even was this guy?

A god with no information and one terrible review.

The listing felt suspicious.

Actually, suspicious was too generous.

It felt like the beginning of a horror movie.

Yet thirty credits was all he had.

Kai glanced at his balance.

32 Credits.

He could either take the risk or watch his future collapse.

The choice wasn't difficult.

It was simply depressing.

He pressed the Contract Request button.

A warning window appeared.

WARNING

The selected deity has an unusually low compatibility score with humanity.

Proceed?

Kai frowned.

"What does that even mean?"

No explanation followed.

The app simply waited.

Proceed?

Cancel?

Kai sighed.

"If this kills me, at least I won't have to pay rent."

He pressed Proceed.

Nothing happened.

For several seconds, the screen remained frozen.

Then every light on campus flickered.

Kai looked up.

Students paused.

Street lamps dimmed.

The sky darkened.

A strange pressure settled over the area.

It felt as if reality itself had stopped breathing.

"What the..."

A crack appeared in the air.

Not a visual effect.

Not an illusion.

An actual crack.

Like shattered glass stretching across the sky.

The students screamed.

Several dropped their phones.

The crack widened.

Golden light poured through.

Ancient symbols drifted across the air.

The campus alarm system immediately activated.

WARNING.

CELESTIAL ANOMALY DETECTED.

WARNING.

CELESTIAL ANOMALY DETECTED.

People began running.

Kai remained frozen.

His phone vibrated violently.

CONTRACT ACCEPTED.

A second notification appeared.

PREPARING DIVINE DESCENT.

Then the crack exploded.

Light engulfed everything.

Kai raised an arm to shield his eyes.

A figure emerged from the rift.

Tall.

Elegant.

Terrifying.

Long silver hair drifted through the air despite the absence of wind.

Golden rings rotated behind his head.

Countless glowing symbols orbited his body.

The pressure alone forced dozens of students to their knees.

Some fainted immediately.

Others stared in stunned silence.

Kai's mouth slowly fell open.

This wasn't a one-star god.

There was no chance.

Absolutely none.

The being floating above the university looked like something capable of ending civilizations.

The figure gazed down.

Purple eyes met Kai's.

The world seemed to stop.

Then the god smiled.

"Found you."

Kai swallowed.

"Excuse me?"

The god landed gently on the ground.

The pressure vanished instantly.

Students collapsed in relief.

The silver-haired deity studied Kai with obvious curiosity.

Then he glanced at the phone screen.

His expression changed.

"Oh."

"Oh?" Kai repeated.

The god coughed awkwardly.

"I may have forgotten to update my profile."

Kai stared.

The god stared back.

Neither spoke.

Finally, Kai pointed toward the shattered sky.

"You forgot to update your profile?"

"Yes."

"The profile that says you're worth thirty credits?"

"Correct."

"The one-star rating?"

"Technically accurate."

Kai's eye twitched.

"How is that technically accurate?"

The god crossed his arms.

"One person rated me."

"..."

"He had a bad experience."

"..."

"In my defense, he challenged me to a duel."

Kai buried his face in his hands.

Of course.

Of course this would happen.

He finally looked up.

"So who exactly are you?"

The god's smile widened.

For a brief moment, the golden symbols around him brightened.

The air trembled.

Even the sky seemed to recoil.

"My name is Zephyr."

The smile became almost mischievous.

"And unfortunately for both of us, we're now partners."

A new notification appeared on Kai's phone.

DIVINE CONTRACT ESTABLISHED.

Hidden Class Unlocked.

Error.

Error.

Unknown Authority Detected.

Kai stared at the screen.

Then at Zephyr.

Then back at the screen.

The semester had officially become much more complicated.

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