I Tricked a God

The warm sun gently illuminated a small mountain valley, strewn with crimson flowers and sparse twisted trees whose branches stretched outward and faintly glimmered.

Meltwater ran down the rocky slopes, gathering into streams and rivulets that wound through the valley, filling it with a soft, steady murmur.

The air was filled with the sweet fragrance of flowers, but now it was overshadowed by something more grounded—a spicy, rich, hearty smell. Warmth radiated from a large campfire, and above it loomed an enormous cauldron, set on a heavy stand, nearly as tall as a man.

Beside it stood a man in red armor, casually stirring the contents with a long wooden ladle.

In front of him, a line of youths from Lasthold had formed.

A little to the side stood Kael and Gilmesh, each holding two plates of food. Both were watching the front of the line, waiting for Girren, who had just approached the cauldron with empty plates.

Kael’s amber eyes drifted calmly along the line of people, then over those already seated on the ground, eating.

Most of them looked exhausted.

The clothes that had been neat and clean when they left Lasthold had now lost their former look—dark stains marked the fabric, tears showed in places, and some of the youths moved carefully, limping slightly as they carried their plates off to rest.

Watching this, Kael noted to himself: “Some of them are already at their limit…”

His gaze lingered briefly on one of the youths, who sat on the ground staring at his plate, as if he lacked the strength even to begin eating.

Then Kael shifted his gaze further, toward Elder Cornelius. Like everyone else, he calmly ate the same meat porridge, without standing out in either behavior or status.

“But today we’ll finally cross these mountains… Hard to believe.”

The past two weeks of the journey surfaced in his mind.

Constant movement. Nights spent in field tents. Beast attacks.

All manner of beasts had appeared almost every day. And although the imperial mages protected the youths, ensuring no one died, that did not mean it came without consequences.

Some attacks did not strike a single target, but entire areas.

Kael glanced slightly to the side, noticing a young man with his arm tightly bandaged.

“If I hadn’t reacted back then…” he noted calmly, “we would have been caught in that acid spray as well…”

But at that moment his thoughts were interrupted by Girren, who approached with full plates and, giving a slight nod forward, asked, “So, shall we go?”

Gilmesh immediately smirked.

“Hey, Girren…”

But Girren didn’t even let him finish, only letting out a slightly annoyed snort, “Gods… spare me your stupid questions.”

Then, casting a brief glance at Kael, he added, “Let’s go.”

Kael only smiled and walked forward beside him, limping slightly after the past few days of travel.

Gilmesh, ignoring the reaction, continued anyway:

“So, Girren. What would you choose: to be a powerful mage, but everyone thinks you’re weak… or to be weak, but everyone believes you’re all-powerful?”

Girren simply walked forward without reacting, as if the question had never been asked.

Kael also looked ahead.

A few dozen steps away, Violet, Roselle, and Lissandra sat on a spread-out piece of cloth. They were chatting animatedly about something, smiling from time to time, while massaging their sore feet. Violet, in particular, was bandaging small sores on her heel caused by friction. None of them had been prepared for such a long and difficult journey.

Watching them, Kael noted to himself: “Over the past two weeks… we’ve all grown noticeably closer.”

He cast a brief glance at Girren, noticing the corner of his lips twitch slightly upward.

“Girren is being a bit disingenuous…” he added calmly to himself. “If he’s annoyed by Gilmesh’s behavior, there’s also a hint of amusement in that irritation.”

Gilmesh, noticing that Kael had also shifted his gaze toward Girren, perked up at once and asked, “And what would you choose, Kael?”

Girren let out a quiet snort.

“Why are you asking him if the answer is obvious?”

Kael only smiled faintly, not slowing his pace.

“There’s a saying: ‘To be, rather than to seem.’ Besides, appearing weak in the eyes of others can sometimes be an advantage.”

Gilmesh frowned, clearly trying to grasp the meaning of Kael’s words. But after a second, he gave up and asked:

“I don’t get it… Which option is that?”

Kael turned his head toward him and, with the same calm, good-natured smile, replied:

“The one where I’m strong… and others don’t realize it.”

Just then, they reached the group.

Roselle, who was sitting with one leg tucked under her and carefully applying ointment to the other, noticed them first. She looked up, grimacing slightly, and said:

“This porridge again… It’s going to start coming out of my ears.”

Lissandra, who was carefully tightening the bandage on her foot, only lowered her head slightly, but her expression made it clear—she completely agreed.

Kael stopped beside them and shifted his weight slightly off his tired leg, simply handing Roselle a plate and calmly saying:

“It can’t be helped. We’re on a journey, not out for a stroll.” Then, smiling faintly, he added: “At least we won’t have to put up with it much longer.”

Roselle took the plate, her fingers brushing his for a moment, and replied with a soft smile, “Thanks.”

Kael handed the second plate to Violet, who at that moment brushed a strand of violet hair away from her face and, straightening up, said with a slight smile:

“Thank you, boys.”

But the relaxed atmosphere didn’t last long—in the next moment, Gilmesh’s booming laughter rang out. Without slowing down, he practically flopped onto the cloth, making it crumple beneath his weight, and cheerfully declared:

“Alright! Get your stinking feet off our ‘table’!”

The girls, who had been smiling just a moment ago, immediately froze—Roselle jerked her leg back, Violet flinched, and Lissandra hurriedly reached for the fabric, trying to cover herself as their faces quickly flushed.

Girren, who had been standing nearby and was just about to sit down, froze for a second, then exhaled irritably and snapped:

“Are you thinking with your ass, Gilmesh?”

Kael, meanwhile, calmly lowered himself onto the cloth between Gilmesh and Violet and said casually:

“Gilmesh is just judging others by himself.”

He turned his head slightly toward him and, raising an eyebrow, added:

“Unlike you, the girls take care of themselves. I’ve never noticed any bad smell from them.”

Then, smiling slyly, he leaned forward slightly and, now openly teasing, continued:

“But you… next time you take off your boots, do it far away from us. Otherwise, we’ll die before we even reach the Empire.”

At this, Lissandra suddenly let out a quiet laugh, covering her mouth with her hand.

Violet and Roselle also visibly relaxed, though they still almost simultaneously tucked their legs under themselves.

Meanwhile, Girren sat down beside Gilmesh, handed one of the plates to Lissandra, and said briefly:

“This is yours.”

She smiled softly and nodded her thanks.

Watching this from the corner of his eye, Kael noted inwardly: “I’m glad Lissandra is gradually opening up.”

But at that moment, a bowl of porridge was set down on the blanket in front of him—Gilmesh, grinning, set it down in front of him and loudly announced:

“Enjoy your meal, everyone!”

“Enjoy your meal,” Kael echoed, lifting his own bowl.

They sat in a circle, and soon the conversations faded, giving way to the clink of spoons and a quiet, peaceful hush.

Holding her bowl in one hand and lightly covering her mouth with the other as she chewed, Violet glanced at Kael and asked:

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“By the way… why did the old man call you over?”

The others also quieted, listening in.

Kael swallowed unhurriedly and looked at her.

“He asked about how the people of Lasthold were doing.”

He scooped up another spoonful of porridge, calmly brought it to his mouth, and, beginning to chew, added:

“I get the feeling he just enjoys talking to me. Lately, Elder Cornelius has been praising my progress in understanding their language more and more.”

Violet nodded slightly in agreement and, blowing on her spoon before putting it into her mouth, said:

“You really have improved a lot. I don’t understand everything you’re talking about… but I can definitely say your pronunciation and sentence structure have become very similar to the imperial mages’ speech.”

Kael simply shrugged lightly and replied:

“I hope so. These skills will soon become essential.”

But inwardly, he corrected himself coldly: “In two weeks, I’ve already mastered almost the entire foundation of their language…”

He calmly took another spoonful of porridge, continuing to eat without showing the slightest tension.

“But it’s better to keep the accent for a while longer and occasionally make mistakes.”

With his memory—where not a single detail was ever lost—learning the language posed no difficulty at all. All these days, he had constantly listened to the conversations around him—every phrase, every intonation, every exchange between the imperial mages, gradually building a complete system in his mind.

“Progress that is too fast will only draw unnecessary attention…” he noted inwardly.

Meanwhile, Gilmesh, his mouth full and not even trying to chew properly, grumbled:

“I don’t like that old man. He’s always talking to you, but hasn’t told us anything about their Empire.”

Kael swallowed calmly and, giving a slight shrug, replied:

“The Empire has strange customs… As I understand it, everyone strictly follows their status and duties. If he hasn’t been ordered to handle this, then he won’t teach us. It’s just not his role.”

Roselle, sitting across from him, lifted her chin slightly and, absently stirring her porridge with a spoon, added quietly:

“Maybe… that’s how it should be.”

Outwardly, Kael only nodded and continued eating, but in his thoughts, an entirely different chain of reasoning had already begun to unfold.

“But I still managed to find out a few things…”

Fragments of conversations, overheard phrases, and rare remarks dropped by Cornelius surfaced in his mind.

“Although the Imperial Branch remains the main power… there are at least two other major ones.”

He slowly ran his spoon along the edge of the bowl, maintaining his outward calm.

“The Lunar Mage Branch… and the Primal Element Branch.”

Thinking about these names, he added inwardly: “Almost certainly—they are descendants of two ancient Empires…”

But one important question arose in this theory: “Then… what happened to the Abyssal Shadow Empire?”

Recalling other fragments of conversations, Kael continued inwardly: “Was the ancient war to blame for everything?”

A sharp, cold interest flickered in his eyes.

“As far as I understand, the Empire is at war with the beastfolk… But what are they doing in the Human Dimension? Were they the cause of the fall of those three ancient Empires?”

He slowed his spoon slightly, not noticing it himself.

“The three ancient Empires possessed colossal power… and the three Gods patronized the Human Dimension…”

But at that moment, the flow of his thoughts was torn apart by a thunderous roar rolling from above, as if the very air trembled from an alien force.

Almost everyone froze at once and lifted their heads.

High in the sky, near one of the mountain peaks, a massive figure appeared—a gigantic red serpent, its body coiling through the air as it slowly glided along the cliffs.

A frightened murmur spread through the crowd.

But almost immediately, Cornelius’s loud voice rang out, and Kael translated it without even thinking:

“Stay calm! This beast is not dangerous!”

And indeed, right before their eyes, the giant serpent, showing no interest in the people, slowly turned and, coiling along the slope, disappeared behind the rock outcroppings.

The tension in the air gradually faded.

Kael, calmly finishing his porridge, shifted his gaze to Violet and, tilting his head slightly, said:

“Will you share some healing ointment? I need to take care of my feet too. For the past few hours, I’ve barely been able to walk.”

Violet nodded without a word and, moving her hand to the side, retrieved a small jar from her spatial storage.

“Here.”

“Me too, if possible,” Gilmesh immediately added, leaning slightly forward.

Violet shot him a sideways glance and, with a faint edge in her voice, replied:

“No problem. Just keep your stinky feet away from us.”

Gilmesh froze for a second, then broke into a wide grin and nodded, “Deal!”

That made everyone laugh, realizing there was simply no point in taking offense at Gilmesh. Even Girren, trying to keep a serious face, could not hold back a faint smile.

✦ ✦ ✦

Two hours passed almost unnoticed.

Once everyone had eaten, caught their breath, and at least somewhat relaxed their tired muscles, the group rose again, instinctively forming into a column and moving on without any commands.

To their surprise, the field of red flowers did not end.

Leaving the open valley behind, they continued along a narrow path between the rocks, where dense clusters of crimson flowers still stretched, as if the valley itself did not want to let them go.

Even after several more hours, the scenery barely changed.

Insects darted among the flowers, small birds flitted past, and lizards of all sizes lazily crawled over the stones and stems.

Violet, watching this, narrowed her eyes slightly and murmured:

“It’s so strange… these little ones are afraid of us. But their larger counterparts are always trying to attack us.”

Kael, not slowing his pace, replied calmly:

“In fact, they aren’t counterparts. Ordinary animals are just animals. Many of them don’t even possess mana, and if they do, it’s only in a rudimentary form.”

For a moment, he shifted his gaze to one of the lizards darting under a rock and added:

“The ones attacking us are more likely possessed animals—changed under the influence of a spirit that has possessed them.”

Violet nodded, not taking her eyes off the lizards darting among the flowers.

“You’ve mentioned that before…” she said thoughtfully. “But I still don’t fully understand the process. Why do entire groups of identical spirit beasts exist, and not just solitary ones? Or is it more accurate to call them possessed beasts?”

Kael paused for a moment, slightly slowing his step, as if considering.

“I don’t understand much myself,” he said calmly. “I hope the Empire’s libraries will have answers to questions that remained unanswered in Lasthold.”

He shifted his gaze forward, continuing at an even pace with the column.

But in his thoughts, the answer sounded far clearer: “There is too little mana in the Spirit Dimension… In mortal worlds they develop faster, which is why they find ways to enter this world.”

For a second, his gaze lingered on a group of small creatures scattering from the approaching column.

“Sometimes—not alone. In entire groups… merging with whole packs of ordinary animals.”

Kael only narrowed his eyes slightly and, saying nothing more aloud, continued forward.

And just as Violet opened her mouth to ask another question, a strong gust of wind suddenly struck, hitting their faces and carrying a strange, unfamiliar smell.

Moist. Slightly salty. With strange, unfamiliar notes.

Kael involuntarily slowed, drawing in a breath.

He had never smelled anything like it, but somewhere at the edge of his memory, lines from books he had once read surfaced.

“Could it be…” he murmured quietly.

But at that very moment, Cornelius’s voice rang out, “Tora arien!”

Kael’s heart suddenly quickened, and he almost immediately shouted the translation:

“We’re almost there!”

The column picked up speed slightly, and after just a few steps they began to round a rocky outcrop.

Sunlight suddenly struck their eyes, blinding them for a moment after the darkness of the gorge.

But as soon as their vision cleared… the front ranks froze.

Some stopped involuntarily, others simply stood still, unable to take another step.

From behind came confused and irritated voices:

“What is it?”

“Why did you stop?!”

People began pushing forward, trying to see what was happening.

And everyone who came around the bend froze in the same way. Their faces changed, and their eyes widened.

“What is that…”

“That’s… water?”

Before Kael’s eyes, a steep descent opened between the rocks, widening into a vast open space.

Near the bottom stood a white tower with a red roof, and on either side of it, massive stone walls stretched into the distance, as if sealing off the passage they had just come through.

But his gaze did not linger on the structures.

Beyond the walls and the tower lay something that stole the breath from his lungs.

An enormous mass of water stretched all the way to the horizon, its pinkish surface extending so far that the boundary between sky and water nearly vanished, leaving only faint silhouettes of land somewhere in the distance.

There was simply too much water.

So much that the mind refused to accept it at once.

Near Lasthold, there had been nothing even remotely similar—not a single body of water that could have prepared them for this sight.

None of the youths of Lasthold had ever seen anything like it in their lives.

Voices immediately rose from behind:

“Kael, what is that?!”

“Ask Elder Cornelius!”

With each passing second, more such cries rose.

Kael, without even turning to the elder, raised his voice slightly and answered:

“I’ve read about this… It’s a sea—a lake of enormous scale!”

A new wave of astonishment rippled through the crowd.

“A sea?”

“And what’s that?” another voice called out.

Kael turned his head toward the tower, noticing a strange structure swaying near the very edge of the water.

He narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the details.

“Looks like… some kind of transport?” the thought flashed. “For moving across water…”

For a moment, he wondered: “Could that be a ship?”

But at that moment, the general confusion was sharply cut off by Cornelius’s voice as he began to descend.

His command sounded firm and decisive, leaving no room for doubt.

Some of the youths immediately followed him, trying not to fall behind, but others froze in place, not daring to approach the boundless water.

“My… head is spinning…” someone muttered, clutching a neighbor’s shoulder.

“This water… it won’t swallow us, will it?” a tall girl asked anxiously.

For a moment, the column broke formation, torn between fear and the need to move forward.

Kael, quickening his pace, caught up with Cornelius and, switching to the language of the Empire, carefully asked, “Elder Cornelius… What is this?”

The old man, clearly in high spirits, did not answer immediately, as if savoring the moment. Only after a few steps did he smirk and say, “Just a little more, and we’ll finally return to the capital.”

Then, pointing ahead—to where the massive structure swayed beyond the tower—he added:

“Prepare yourselves for your first journey by ship.”

Hearing this, Kael flinched almost imperceptibly.

The confirmation of his own guess stirred something strange within him. Without expecting it, he swallowed, feeling something long forgotten—almost childlike anticipation—stir deep within.

Turning, he looked at his companions, and a faint, slightly sly smile appeared on his lips.

“We’ll be sailing across. Get ready.”

Roselle’s eyes widened at once, and she almost cried out:

“What?! I can’t swim! And none of us can swim that far!”

Kael only shook his head, calmly walking down the slope.

“We won’t have to swim ourselves.”

After a brief pause, clearly enjoying the reaction, he added:

“You’ll all understand soon enough.”

At those words, a new wave of emotions spread through the group—fear, wariness, confusion… but along with it, a growing spark of curiosity lit up in their eyes.

Even those who moments ago had been afraid to approach the water now quickened their pace, trying to see what awaited them ahead.