I Tricked a God

The sun had only just begun to rise above the horizon, bathing the entire valley in golden light.

The morning chill had not yet retreated, and in places a thin mist still drifted above the river, lazily winding its way between the trees before gradually dissolving beneath the advance of the new day.

It was in one such inconspicuous corner of the valley, where at first glance nothing seemed out of the ordinary and there were no important strategic positions, that something strange was unfolding.

Near the river stood a small stretch of purple forest, shrouded in the shadow of an unusual black rock.

From a distance, it resembled a gigantic curved claw jutting from the earth at an unnatural angle, as though some ancient monster had once perished there and part of its remains had simply turned to stone.

The forest itself was not particularly dense, yet the interwoven branches and thick foliage still did a good job of concealing what lay beneath the canopy.

Pressed against the rock, beside a shallow depression at its very base, one could occasionally catch the faintest glimmer of a mana barrier.

It was so well concealed that a casual observer would have mistaken the shimmer for sunlight dancing on a small pond or filtering through the branches.

In reality, however, a small beastfolk camp lay beneath the dome.

Armed soldiers strolled unhurriedly between the tents, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings, while the others were occupied with far stranger work.

Some beastfolk carried massive black crates from the wagons to the rock, while others opened them and counted their contents.

A third group made notes on sheets of paper, periodically comparing their records with one another.

The place looked far more like a secret warehouse than a proper military camp.

Two beastfolk stood at the very edge of the barrier, lazily watching the surrounding forest.

Apparently, absolutely nothing of interest had happened during their watch, because one of them was openly yawning while stretching his stiff neck, whereas the other absentmindedly swept his gaze across the trees and undergrowth before him.

Then, at one point, his eyes caught something strange.

About a hundred paces from the barrier, a bush beside one of the trees suddenly quivered, as though stirred by a light breeze.

Yet the rest of the surrounding foliage remained perfectly still.

The beastfolk guard narrowed his eyes involuntarily, watching the spot for a few more seconds before nudging his companion with an elbow and asking quietly with a smirk, “Rasken ash?”

The other merely turned his head lazily toward the indicated spot, stared at the suspicious bush for a couple of moments, then clicked his tongue in irritation and waved it off.

“Dra... shor varken tal.”

But at that very moment, as the beastfolk dismissed his suspicions, something entirely different was happening beside that very bush.

Although the place appeared completely empty from the outside, in reality three mages were concealed there in deep crouches.

They were Kael, the white-haired archer Norvin, and another short young man with short purple hair and a cloth mask covering the lower half of his face.

It was the third mage who was currently maintaining the spherical barrier that concealed them from the beastfolk. His hands were extended before him, violet mist flowing from his palms and enveloping them on every side.

The barrier seemed to refract the surrounding light, making the bushes, trees, and grass appear completely ordinary, as though no one were hiding among them.

After Norvin's recent movement, however, the purple-haired mage sharply turned his head toward him and narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

Even without words, it was obvious that he desperately wanted to say everything he thought about mistakes like that.

Norvin merely smiled apologetically and spread his hands slightly.

“Sorry, Elias...” he whispered. “It's just that Kael's magic makes my coordination feel a little strange. My body feels unbelievably light.”

Kael, sitting between them with his palms resting on their backs, merely cast a brief glance toward the camp and whispered quietly, “It's fine. They decided it was just some small animal running through.”

Hearing that, Elias momentarily shifted his attention from maintaining the barrier and turned his head slightly toward Kael.

“Remarkable...” he said just as quietly. “I only caught the word ‘beast.’”

Watching the two sentries completely lose interest in the suspicious bush, Norvin grinned in satisfaction.

“With Kael around, reconnaissance is going to be a lot easier...”

Elias, however, merely shook his head almost imperceptibly.

His gaze remained fixed on the camp while the violet mist continued to flow steadily from his palms, sustaining the camouflage.

“We shouldn't neglect the old methods of analysis,” he replied in a whisper. “Even now, we can already tell quite a lot.”

Kael said nothing.

Instead, he recalled the brief briefing Morkroft had given before they left the camp.

“Normally, reconnaissance gathers all the data first, and only then builds hypotheses and conducts analysis...” he thought, continuing to observe what was happening beneath the barrier. “Even without knowing the language, you can understand a great deal...”

As if confirming that thought, Elias narrowed his eyes slightly and, without taking his gaze off the camp, whispered, “The enemies here are very weak. If not for the barrier, Norvin and I could easily wipe them all out.”

Norvin nodded in agreement, likewise keeping his attention on the activity beneath the dome.

“The logical conclusion is that the barrier isn't protecting the beastfolk themselves, but the contents of those crates...”

Kael narrowed his eyes slightly.

His gaze drifted to the black metal containers the beastfolk continued carrying from the wagons to the rock.

He studied them in silence for several seconds before murmuring thoughtfully, “That black metal... It looks like a mana-repelling alloy. Materials like that are usually used for long-term storage of ore or mana-saturated artifacts...”

The moment those words left his mouth, Norvin and Elias almost simultaneously turned their heads toward him.

Whereas the archer's face showed ordinary surprise, Elias's gaze became noticeably more intent.

He studied Kael silently for a few moments, then gave a slight nod.

“You've got a sharp eye, Kael. That's exactly what it is.”

Norvin merely smirked.

Still watching the camp through a gap in the branches, he pointed casually toward the crates and said quietly, “There's definitely no ore or valuable artifacts inside... I'll bet ten MMP it's explosives meant to breach a barrier.”

Kael simply answered, “I've got zero MMP, so I'm sitting this one out.”

Elias merely snorted, clearly unimpressed by yet another of his partner's ideas.

Glancing at Norvin, Elias narrowed his eyes slightly and added, “Don't drag the rookie into your nonsense. Especially since your conclusion is far too obvious.”

Then he turned his attention back to the camp, as though evaluating the safest approach routes.

“Let's move a little closer,” Elias finally said, addressing Kael. “And we'll try the surveillance method the Captain came up with.”

Kael simply gave a short nod.

Without asking unnecessary questions, he immediately channeled mana into his companions' bodies, altering their weight with practiced ease.

Pulling a peculiar monocle with several thin rings around its frame from an inner pocket, Elias quickly placed it over one eye and spent several seconds carefully studying the space between them and the camp.

“I'll guide us along a safe route,” he finally whispered without taking his eye off the lens.

The next moment, the three of them moved close together.

Norvin leaned in from one side, Elias continued maintaining the barrier, while Kael wrapped both arms around them, pulling them tightly against him with an iron grip.

Then all three pushed off the ground simultaneously.

With their weight reduced, the leap was so powerful that their bodies literally soared into the air, easily clearing the bushes and low-hanging branches.

In no more than a couple of seconds, they landed softly much closer to the camp, well outside the sentries' field of view.

Throughout the entire movement, Elias only occasionally glanced through his monocle, as though he could already see the safe path threading between the traps.

Lowering the lens, he glanced at Kael and said quietly, “Under normal circumstances, we'd already be done with the mission. We've gathered the essential information.”

“But not today,” Norvin finished for him with a smile.

Raising one hand, he spread his thumb and little finger apart, and almost immediately a thin silvery thread stretched between them, forming something like a bow.

The next moment, Norvin hooked two fingers around the silvery string and smoothly drew the bowstring back until it reached his wrist.

For several seconds, mana condensed between his fingers, forming a tiny arrow before the archer abruptly released the string.

There was a faint flash, and the miniature arrow shot out from beneath the veil of invisibility.

But it hadn't traveled more than a few steps before its form began changing rapidly.

An instant later, the arrow had transformed into a small white bird, which flapped its wings a couple of times before casually flying toward the camp.

Elias immediately raised the monocle to his eye again.

He carefully observed its flight path for a few moments before quietly correcting, “Eleven o'clock.”

The white bird immediately shifted slightly to the left.

“Now two o'clock.”

The bird glided smoothly to the right, continuing toward the black rock.

Throughout it all, Norvin's fingers barely moved as he maintained his connection to the bird, obediently following Elias's directions.

Watching their seamless teamwork, Kael couldn't help narrowing his eyes.

“They really know what they're doing...” he thought as he watched the little bird approach the camp. “Very few people could navigate so skillfully around traps that react to foreign mana.”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

In less than ten seconds, the white bird settled gracefully onto a small ledge of the black rock.

It perched barely ten steps above the barrier dome, remaining completely unnoticed by the beastfolk below.

Norvin smiled in satisfaction and gave his fingers a light snap.

A small white light immediately flared before them and began slowly spreading through the air like a drop of liquid light. With each passing moment it grew larger until it finally became a smooth mirror-like surface, revealing everything the bird was seeing.

The black rock towered directly before it, while somewhat below, the beastfolk continued bustling about, carrying crates and discussing something among themselves. This time, however, they could not only observe what was happening—they could hear everything clearly as well.

Muffled voices drifted from the mirror.

Several beastfolk stood beside one of the open crates, arguing animatedly about something and occasionally pointing toward the rock, while the others continued with their work as though conversations like these were a regular occurrence.

Parting his lips slightly, Kael watched for several seconds before an involuntary smile spread across his face.

“What an interesting spell...”

Norvin immediately puffed out his chest with satisfaction.

“Well, we are scouts, after all.”

It seemed that impressing the newcomer brought him no less pleasure than the mission itself.

But Elias cut them off almost immediately.

“Better listen to them, Kael. Can you make out anything useful?”

Kael simply nodded and focused entirely on the voices coming from the mirror.

At first, the beastfolk's speech sounded like nothing more than a stream of unfamiliar words. But after only a few seconds, Kael's mind began deciphering it, gradually turning the unfamiliar words into meaningful speech.

The words immediately echoed in his mind: “Reinforcements will arrive in three days. If we help capture Whitewater Fort, we'll be rewarded.”

Kael narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to focus only on the important conversations.

Another voice drifted from the mirror.

This time it was female.

“What if our camp is discovered?” came the next thought Kael understood.

The question carried noticeably more tension than the previous words, but the reply came almost immediately.

“Don't worry. Our barrier isn't so easy to destroy. Unless someone of Lieutenant rank comes here, we have nothing to fear.”

Kael narrowed his eyes slightly, continuing to listen to the beastfolk's conversation before whispering quietly, “From the sound of it, they're preparing an attack on a place called Whitewater Fort. They say reinforcements will arrive in three days.”

The moment those words left his mouth, both Norvin and Elias frowned almost simultaneously.

For several seconds they silently watched the mirror, as though comparing what they had heard with something they already knew. Then Elias slowly exhaled through his nose.

“Whitewater Fort?” he murmured quietly. “Looks like they're preparing for a major battle...”

Norvin nodded in agreement without taking his eyes off the camp.

“The main force will engage the garrison, and these bastards will slip up to the barrier under the cover of the fighting and breach it...”

He spoke with such certainty that it sounded as though he had seen this sort of strategy many times before.

Elias pondered something for several seconds, absentmindedly maintaining the barrier concealing their presence, before speaking quietly.

“It's a shame we can't take them out quietly... We could set a trap the enemy would never see coming.”

Norvin merely smirked in response.

“At least now we know their plan. We'll warn Whitewater Fort and ruin their scheme.”

But at that moment, Kael suddenly fell into thought.

Still watching the camp through the mirror, he asked casually, “Why not ask the Captain for help? With him, we could destroy the barrier and—”

“And scare them off,” Elias interrupted immediately. “The Captain can destroy the barrier, but it'll make so much noise the whole operation will be pointless.”

Elias shook his head slightly, as though he himself had once proposed the same solution.

“The moment the beastfolk realize they've been discovered, they'll abandon the entire plan. We'll lose our tactical advantage, and with it, our opportunity to prepare a counterstrike.”

“And it wouldn't be worth it,” Norvin added. “We'd drag the Captain all the way out here just to wipe out a handful of weaklings.”

“And those weaklings fully understand the value of what they're guarding,” Elias continued. “If the situation becomes hopeless, they'll simply blow up the stockpile along with themselves.”

His gaze lingered for a moment on the black crates beneath the barrier.

“In the end, we'd lose the explosives, warn the enemy that we've uncovered their plans, and force them to come up with a new way to attack.”

But instead of agreeing with them, Kael suddenly grew thoughtful.

While Elias and Norvin discussed the beastfolk's plans, his gaze remained fixed on the barrier dome, and a strange gleam slowly appeared in his eyes.

“Are you all right, Kael?” Elias asked quietly.

But it was as if Kael hadn't even heard the question.

He simply kept watching the barrier, analyzing it in his mind. “A spherical barrier seems reliable because the load is distributed evenly... But in reality, it's one of the weakest designs.”

Treatises on the art of barrier construction surfaced in his memory of their own accord.

“In the central dimensions, they're only common for everyday use...” Kael thought.

Continuing to watch the shimmering currents of mana flowing within the dome, Kael unconsciously leaned forward.

“If I can determine where the barrier's main support node is located, I'll be able to calculate every point where the load is redistributed...” His gaze slowly traveled across the barrier's surface from top to bottom.

The longer he looked, the more clearly the structure's design took shape in his mind.

“If we strike all the weak points at the same time...”

As he considered the situation, Kael involuntarily recalled a treatise written by a powerful mage who had devoted his life to studying barriers, their various forms, and their hidden weaknesses.

While in the Divine Library, reading works like that, Kael could only imagine such things. But now, staring at the shimmering dome before him, he suddenly began to understand the author's logic far better.

“A barrier is a constantly moving structure...” he murmured inwardly, continuing to observe the barely perceptible fluctuations of mana. “With my perfect memory, if I watched it long enough, I could compare the flow patterns at different moments and calculate the central node.”

The longer he studied the dome, the more clearly its internal structure took shape in his mind.

Kael's gaze traced the barrier's surface as his mind tried to picture how stress flowed through it, where the primary currents flowed, and which sections bore the greatest pressure at any given moment.

“Then I could calculate the strike pattern...” he continued thinking. “Not just any strike, but one that would shatter the barrier at exactly the right moment.”

At that thought, an even brighter spark of interest flashed in his eyes.

“It would be nearly impossible for anyone else to reproduce this. There are too many variables to keep track of simultaneously, and the currents are constantly changing...”

As he imagined how he might put the method into practice, Kael smiled inwardly.

“No wonder even the stronger dimensions rely on brute force...” he thought.

“Kael?” Elias repeated, now sounding puzzled.

But it was as though Kael were still talking to himself.

Without taking his eyes off the magical mirror, he murmured thoughtfully, “If I could destroy this barrier...”

Norvin couldn't help letting out a quiet laugh.

“Your enthusiasm is admirable, but I don't think you're capable of that. We'd better head back.”

Yet Kael seemed not to notice the mockery at all and calmly finished his thought.

“If I calculate the central node, I'll be able to identify the barrier's weak points. Then we'll have a few seconds to strike them all at once and break the barrier.”

But no sooner had Kael finished speaking than Elias answered in a skeptical voice.

“Determine the central node? That's difficult even with specialized artifacts and a full team of barrier specialists.”

For a moment, he looked away from the mirror and studied Kael as though trying to decide whether he was serious or simply carried away by an elegant theory.

“What's more, even when an entire specialized unit handles something like that, the outcome isn't always predictable.”

After a brief pause, Elias shook his head and finished more calmly, “You can't bring down a barrier like that by guesswork.”

Kael silently stared at the dome for several seconds before letting out a heavy sigh.

“I got carried away again... I'd better not argue with my superiors.”

“All right,” Kael said quietly, finally looking away from the mirror. “Forget I said anything.”

Hearing those words, Elias visibly relaxed and nodded in approval. It seemed he appreciated how quickly Kael had admitted he was mistaken.

But just as Kael was about to drop the subject and carefully start crawling back with the others, Norvin suddenly spoke in a cheerful voice.

“Or we could ask the Captain?”

An adventurous grin spread across the archer's face as he added, “His intuition is almost never wrong...”

Elias let out such a heavy sigh that it sounded more like a quiet curse.

Glancing sideways at his partner, he said with clear disapproval, “You seriously need to do something about your gambling addiction. This constant need to argue and make bets is getting out of hand.”

“Oh, come on...” Norvin grinned immediately.

But he never got to finish.

Elias had already pulled a folded paper talisman from his pocket and shoved it into his hand.

“If you want to, use it.”

Then he calmly added, “But you know perfectly well that if you waste the communication talisman, you'll be paying for it out of your own pocket.”

The moment he heard that, Norvin's face immediately twisted into a grimace.

For several seconds, he stared at the talisman as though it had suddenly transformed into an extremely expensive solution to a rather questionable problem.

But then something slowly changed in his eyes. It seemed common sense was rapidly losing out to his gambling streak.

“Fine, then,” he declared a second later. “Worst case, I'll do this mission for free.”

Elias merely rolled his eyes, clearly regretting ever handing him the talisman.

“What an idiot...” he muttered. “The Captain will have to reply too. Which means they'll charge for not only this talisman, but the second one used for the reply as well.”

Those words noticeably shook Norvin's confidence, yet the adventurous gleam in his eyes remained.

“All right, maybe I'll end up owing a little...”

“A little?” Elias snorted. “Not only will you be working for free, you'll end up in the red.”

Watching the exchange, Kael couldn't help being surprised.

“Are communication talismans really that expensive?”

“The kind that the enemy can't detect and that work over long distances are,” Elias answered calmly. “I'd even say they're absurdly expensive.”

Hearing that, Kael glanced at the slip of paper in Norvin's hand and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

The talisman looked rather simple, and hearing how much it cost immediately piqued his professional curiosity. “Maybe I should try making something like that... It would be far more profitable than brewing elixirs...”

But at that very moment, the talisman Kael was studying suddenly lit up.

The paper immediately began glowing with a soft light, while the runes upon it awakened one after another.

Adjusting his snow-white hair, Norvin reported eagerly, “Small fry and explosives beneath the barrier. They're preparing an attack on Whitewater Fort in three days.”

After thinking for a second, he continued with an even broader grin, “But that's not why I'm calling. Captain, I need your intuition to settle something. The rookie here says he can calculate the barrier's central mana distribution node and bring it down. Do we believe him or not?”

Standing beside him, Elias merely let out another heavy sigh.

Meanwhile, the light of the talisman slowly began to fade, returning the sheet of paper to its ordinary appearance.

Silence settled over them once again.

Then, in the next instant, a small floating light flared to life beside Norvin.

Before it had even fully formed, Morkroft's familiar raspy laughter drifted from within it.

“That sounds like complete nonsense,” the Captain said cheerfully. “But for some reason, I've never felt more at ease.”

At those words, Elias turned his head toward the floating light so sharply that it seemed he wasn't sure he had heard correctly.

But Morkroft continued, “If you're confident, do it. It wouldn't be the first time we've looked like lunatics.”

Silence hung over the three of them for several seconds.

Even Norvin apparently hadn't expected such immediate approval.

Meanwhile, the floating light began to dim slowly, and just before it faded away completely, the Captain's voice came from it once more.

“If you fail, be ready for punishment. Especially you, Norvin.”

Then the light vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

The moment it disappeared, a satisfied grin slowly spread across Norvin's face.

He stared for several more seconds at the spot where the communication spell had just been hovering before murmuring contentedly, “If the three of us manage to capture that stockpile... And then the squad sets up an ambush...”

He didn't bother finishing the sentence.

There was no need.

Judging by the expression on his face, Norvin's thoughts were occupied neither by the coming battle nor by the risk of failure.

He was already mentally counting money he didn't even have yet.

Noticing that look, Elias merely cast his partner a weary glance before deciding to return to more pressing matters.

“How much time do you need, Kael?” Elias asked.

Hearing the question, Kael spent several seconds calculating something in his mind before finally answering, “About half an hour. Then I'll be able to say for certain whether I'm ready to do it or not.”

Elias simply nodded.

His gaze swept over the barrier dome once more before he said calmly, “All right. We'll wait.”

Then he turned to Norvin, noticed the archer was still grinning at his own thoughts, and added with obvious displeasure, “And wipe that grin off your face. Better prepare for our retreat.”

Norvin merely snorted, but Elias clearly wasn't finished.

“Actually, this is for the best,” he continued with poorly concealed sarcasm. “Kael will learn from his mistake at your expense, and that'll be a good lesson for him.”

“Hey! It's called taking initiative!” Norvin protested.

“It's called a gambling addiction.”

While the two of them continued their familiar bickering in hushed voices, Kael had already dropped completely out of the conversation.

His entire attention was fixed on the spherical barrier.

The shimmering dome was reflected in the magical mirror while Kael's mind followed the movement of its mana currents step by step, searching for patterns where most mages would see nothing but chaotic radiance. Each passing minute of observation gradually completed the image taking shape in his mind, drawing him deeper and deeper into his calculations until he almost completely forgot that his companions were even beside him.