With the battle over, the various gods drifted in the depths of space, temporarily unable to determine where they were. The star that they had been fighting near had long since vanished, and they could only tell that they had been thrown into a different region entirely. Theon looked around, trying to identify their location, before turning to face the God of Transportation. We’ll need to rely on you to get back, I suppose…
The human deity nodded his head, fully prepared to activate his domain in order to return them. It was possible for them to go back to Sanctum through the use of Aurivy’s command, but doing so would cause their linked position in the ‘mortal realm’ to remain at this location. It was easier and safer to rely on a god whose abilities were related to travel.
First… Thessa looked at the felyn God of Words with concern. Did you get your domain back?
In the latter half of the godly battle, this deity had suddenly lost his domain, and those who had been paying attention would be able to feel the ramifications of that. In truth, it meant that he was no longer a full god, and would once again have to ascend on his own. Of course, he had not lost his divine body or soul, so all that was left was the easiest step. Assuming, that is, that he was able to form a new domain in the first place.
The felyn blinked, closing his eyes to sense his own powers. After a moment, he shook his head sadly. Seems not. There’s still a connection, I think. But… I can’t access it. I don’t know if I’ll be able to condense another domain. Mister Song, would it be possible to use your domain to help me?
Sinclair looked over at the ‘former’ God of Words. Once I recover some of my energy, I would be happy to help. Dispersing that golem’s strength drained me, though. I probably should not use any more power until I can recover.
Sinclair himself knew his own condition the best. His face was slightly pale, and his energy had plummeted. It was all that he could do at the moment to simply maintain his divine body. Any more expenditure could very likely cause him to lose his life.
The felyn seemed to accept that answer, turning to face the God of Transportation. Perhaps out of habit, he simply nodded his head to gesture that he was ready. Having received that signal, the human god slapped his hands together, spreading them apart to open a new portal. Everyone could see that the portal that had been opened up showed the image of Deckan, the passageway leading far above the atmosphere.
To their surprise, the God of Transportation was startled by the sudden, extreme expenditure of using his ability. Hurry! He shouted mentally, unsure how long he would be able to maintain this portal. At his panicked call, the other gods all rushed forward together, unwilling to be left behind in this unknown region of space.
“So… that’s the first actual god that has died in my world, isn’t it?” I questioned, shaking my head. Naturally, there had been god-level monsters, such as the one I watched fall in Lorek some time ago. But this was the first time that I could remember seeing one of my people who had cultivated their divinity fall in battle. And there were two of them, no less.
I could already begin to imagine the ramifications that could erupt from this event, once it was made public. A god had fallen… their perceived immortality and ultimate power could now be called into question. Would it lead to other gods starting to embrace mortal desires again, accepting the fact that they could be felled now that they see it with their own eyes?
It was hard to say exactly what would happen. After all, there was still Sanctum. This planet had become a community of gods, but had also demonstrated their ability to slay gods. Depending on how they were utilized, they could become a sort of divine police force, but I doubted that Aurivy would take things that far.
No, they have to pay a pretty large sum in order to hire these gods to act. It’s not something that they can easily do for common threats. If the enemy was not someone who had clear intent to destroy an entire world, the forces of Sanctum would likely not be called. For lower threats, such as gods that took over cities or countries, it was unlikely that they would be mobilized. At most, gods might step forward to fight of their own volition.
Looking off to the side, I saw that Ashley and the others had returned to the Admin Room, stepping through the door to enter the living room. “So, how was the trial run?” I knew that Ashley wanted to use this as a means to test the idea of an automatic contribution system, but I did not know what she thought of the results.
She shook her head, letting out a small sigh. “I think I’ll need a few more tests before I can properly implement it as a system. Just calculating who contributes the most damage is easy, but… there are other things to consider, like the effect that a buff has on the party, or the power of debuffs, and even strategy. If you bought a contribution system from the market, it would probably cover all of that, but this is something that I’m making myself.”
I gave a small nod, understanding her problem. “Well, I hate to say it, but I hope you don’t get the chance to test it again.” I told her with a wry smile. Testing that system again meant that there would be another sizable threat. “However, I think that you will, sooner or later. By the way, Aurivy, there’s something that I’ve been meaning to check up on. I figured that I should ask while I have you here.”
“Hmm?” Aurivy blinked, glancing at me with a curious expression. “There something I can do for you, Dale?” As she thought about that, her smile grew wider, almost expectant.
I let out a slight chuckle as I watched her expression change. “I was just wondering if you knew what the progress was like in Fyor. I haven’t really checked on them since I fast-forwarded last, so I don’t know if they managed to resolve the problem with the crystal maze.”
Aurivy had a sudden look of realization, her eyes going wide. “Ah! That, the whole ‘nomnom tasty mage’ thing? Well…” She brought a hand up to lightly tap at her chin. “About a year or two ago, they figured out a way to get around it. It wasn’t easy, since they had to send in people without a proper team formation, and the best scholars were naturally mages.”
“From what I remember, they had to tame a few magic monsters, and then bring them back to a lower floor. That took a while just by itself. Then, they studied the bodies of those monsters to find out why the crystal floor didn’t eat them. It turns out that their mana is specially attuned to the crystals there after evolving in that floor. Thanks to that, the maze doesn’t eat them because they register as part of it.”
“Right now, they have two variations for how mages can act in that floor. First of all, there is a ring that they’re selling on the twenty-fifth floor, which attunes a mage’s ambient mana to the same wavelength. The problem is that this ring can’t support the full power of a high-level mage, so they’re not able to go all out if they’re wearing it. It’s really just a solution for backup mages or those that are moving there in order to live as part of the growing city just inside the floor.”
“And the second option?” I asked, feeling like the ring would definitely not cut it for a full adventuring squadron. Sadly, exploring such a complex maze without being able to utilize magic is suicide. Even I would not want to go there, as my mana would no doubt cause me to become a prime target.
“The second option is a potion that some alchemists are making. They sell it in the town on the twenty-sixth floor. It is able to fully attune a mage’s mana, but only lasts for twelve hours.” Aurivy had a somewhat mischievous smile on her face when she revealed that information, causing me to ponder over what she had said.
“The rings are sold on the twenty-fifth floor, but the potions are on the twenty-sixth. That’s probably due to them needing the environment to make the potions, but still. It means that they are forced to buy a ring if they want to be able to get to the potions shop. Even if a ring only has to be bought once, it ensures that they will be able to help cover the production and research costs.”
“Right!” Aurivy pointed at me and nodded her head. “As for the exploration of the maze… they’ve hit about three percent so far. And that’s only because they found someone to guide them.”
“A guide?” I blinked in confusion when I heard that. Who would be able to guide them through a completely unknown maze in a floor that had never been properly explored?
“Yeah, someone got a special achievement for navigating complex structures, and it gave them the ability to find the correct path in things like mazes. The only real problem is that he’s not a fighter, let alone a high level one. He’s… you could call him a casual explorer.”
I gave a small nod when I heard that. “And given the strength of the gravity on the twenty-sixth floor, that means that he needs all sorts of items in order to simply survive there. Plus, when an actual battle starts, the team he’s with will have to protect him. Even one stray attack from the monster that appears could kill their only way of advancing.” This definitely would have caused the speed of their exploration to slow down, because they had to devote a lot of manpower simply to protecting one liability.
After thinking about that, I glanced over again. “How did someone even get an ability like that, though?” Granted, I had a similar ability, but that was because of an achievement I earned as a Keeper. It shouldn’t have been so easy to get a power like that as a mortal.
Aurivy grinned as she heard that. “I might have had something to do with it. This guy’s a bit of an online griefer, and was harassing Julia and I to the point where she almost deleted her game account to get away from him. So… I sent him to a dimensional maze created with my divine power, based on the dungeon that Petra used way back in the Dungeon Master war.”
Seeing my disapproving look, Aurivy let out a laugh. “Don’t worry, I made sure that there weren’t any monsters, and to send in food when he needed it. It was only mildly traumatizing for him to try to find the correct path in hundreds of layers to finally make his way out. In the end, he was rewarded with an achievement that granted him a pathfinding ability, and he learned not to be such a jerk online. I’d call that a win for both of us.”
I let out a long sigh at that, shaking my head. I could easily remember how devastating Petra’s dungeon had been when she was in that war. Technically, she still had the core, but she rarely used it in the present day. Each floor was a large area, with the path forward being concealed in a seemingly random shadow. Choose the wrong shadow, and you get sent back a floor.
However, what’s done is done, so there was no point getting upset at Aurivy at this juncture. Especially so given the fact that it did not appear that the man was in any real danger. If anything… it could be considered divine retribution for insulting a god, even one from the Greater Pantheon. He might not have known who he was messing with, but… the gods of legend in my old world did far worse for far less.
“Okay. No matter the cause, it seems that he’s able to help them navigate the maze. It shouldn’t be long now before they find the next floor, right? Or is there something else that I should be aware of?”
When Aurivy heard my question, she lowered her head in thought. “Well, the path of the maze shifts now and then, so it’s hard to say for sure. They can never take the same route twice, and have to rely on their own resources during travel. I don’t think that they’ll be able to map the entire floor any time soon, given its size, but… once they get enough manpower and resources, they should be able to march directly to the end gate in a single journey. Right now, they’re being restricted by the number of potions that they can carry, and are trying to find alchemists willing to join their expedition force, as well as a stable supply line. Once they have all of that, they should be good to reach the next floor.”
