I Tricked a God

Kael slept peacefully in his new room, the blanket pushed slightly aside, leaving him half-uncovered.

Morning had long since arrived outside the window, and sunlight gradually filtered in through the small window, slowly creeping across the wooden floor. With every passing minute, the golden strip grew longer, until at last it reached the bed.

The moment the ray of light struck his face, Kael’s eyelids twitched slightly.

For several seconds, he remained motionless, balancing between sleep and wakefulness, then slowly opened his eyes.

His body ached pleasantly after yesterday’s exertion. His muscles felt heavy and relaxed at the same time, while his familiar sense of vigor gradually returned, slowly driving away the remnants of sleep.

Smiling faintly, Kael stretched lazily and murmured softly, “Feels wonderful…”

Still gazing at the ceiling, he simply savored the moment for several more seconds.

“It’s been more than a year since I returned to my younger body…” flashed through his mind.

A slightly warmer smile appeared on Kael’s lips.

“And yet…” he continued in his mind. “It still feels good to realize that I’m not waking up within the walls of the Divine Library.”

After lying motionless for a few more seconds, Kael finally rocked forward and smoothly sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

The cool boards felt pleasant beneath his feet, banishing the last traces of sleep, while Kael raised his arms overhead and arched his back slightly, stretching with pleasure.

His spine immediately responded with several quiet pops.

“Today’s my day off…” he muttered, yawning widely. “I need to get some training in…”

And the moment those words left his lips, an eager smile appeared on his face, while a thought flashed through his mind: “A single entry into the Horde’s Bone Tower costs two hundred MMP…”

With those thoughts, Kael waved his hand, retrieving his token from his spatial ring, then channeled a thin stream of mana into it.

Almost immediately, the familiar lettering flared on the reverse side.

The top line read: “Promotion in 2890 MMP.”

A little lower, another inscription glowed: “Balance: 1110 MMP.”

For several seconds, Kael silently studied the numbers.

Just the day before yesterday, such a sum would have seemed quite substantial to him, but now that he knew the prices of the best training zones and resources, the situation had changed somewhat.

“I managed to hit the jackpot…” he murmured thoughtfully. “But even so, visiting the Horde’s Bone Tower feels too expensive.”

With a shake of his hand, Kael dispelled the inscriptions and returned the token to his spatial ring.

“It’s still too early to put on the military uniform, so you’ll have to wait, buddy,” he joked, as though addressing his token.

With those words, Kael rose fully to his feet, pulled a clean towel from the wardrobe, and headed for the door.

“Two hundred MMP is a bit much. But it’s still worth trying once… At least I’ll understand why it’s so expensive.”

With those words, Kael calmly stepped outside, mentally running through his plans for the day and gradually arranging the order of his upcoming training sessions. Now he finally had the means to grow quickly, which meant it would be foolish to let these opportunities go to waste.

✦ ✦ ✦

Stepping out into the corridor, Kael headed forward at an unhurried pace, following the building’s gentle curves before habitually turning toward a pair of double doors standing wide open.

Only a few seconds later, a fairly spacious communal washroom opened up before him.

Rows of stone washbasins stretched along the room, while directly above each one, beneath the ceiling, floated a separate sphere of pure water. Some looked completely full, while others had already noticeably diminished in size, showing how much water the members of the Doomgrin Squad had used.

It was pleasantly cool inside, and a faint dampness hung in the air.

Taking in the unusual emptiness, Kael noted to himself, “Almost the entire squad left on a mission. Looks like that ambush they’re preparing is going to be a tough battle…”

But the moment that thought flashed through his mind, he suddenly noticed movement behind one of the rows of washbasins.

His view of the figure was almost completely blocked by the washbasin itself, but from the thin stream of water flowing down from the sphere, it was obvious that someone was there.

Frowning slightly, Kael took several more steps forward, trying to make out exactly who was behind the row of washbasins.

However, his view was still blocked by the row of washbasins, which, packed so closely together, looked more like a stone partition wall.

So Kael had to rise slightly onto his toes and crane his neck.

Only then did he finally get a full view of the stranger.

She was a slender girl with very pale skin and slightly damp, pale bluish hair.

Her hair was cut short, ending just below her chin, though some of the strands had been gathered into a small braid at the back of her head.

Bent over the washbasin, the girl leisurely washed her face, running wet palms over her cheeks and paying no attention whatsoever to what was happening around her.

“Looks like she didn’t notice me…” Kael thought, continuing to study her and trying to get a better look at her face.

And only a few seconds later, his memory helpfully supplied the answer.

“Right… I saw her the day I moved in.”

The inscribers’ workshop immediately came to mind.

Remembering the numerous tables cluttered with materials and the girl who had been completely absorbed in her work at the time, Kael finally recalled her name as well: “Her name is Sierra.”

The next moment, Kael deliberately cleared his throat to announce his presence, and only then said, “Good morning.”

Hearing his voice, the girl turned her head slightly toward him, though she still did not open her eyes.

As though she had not fully awakened yet, or was simply lost somewhere in her own thoughts, Sierra remained silent for several seconds before murmuring softly, “Morning… Didn’t expect to run into anyone today…”

“Me neither,” Kael said with a slight laugh, taking several steps forward. “But Captain Morkroft said I’m still too weak for the coming battle. So they didn’t take me along for the ambush.”

The moment Kael said this, something resembling interest appeared on Sierra’s face for the first time.

The stream of water flowing from the sphere floating beneath the ceiling immediately stopped, and the thin ribbon obediently drew back upward, merging once more with the rest of the water.

Sierra slowly raised her head and, wiping the excess moisture from her face with her palms, finally opened her eyes.

Large blue eyes studied Kael intently for several seconds.

Then she blinked several times, her long, thick eyelashes fluttering as though she were finally waking up, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

“Ah… It’s you, the new guy, Kael.”

Having said this, Sierra quite casually wiped her wet hands directly on her white blouse.

The fabric immediately grew slightly damp and clung to her skin in places, but the girl herself did not seem bothered by it in the slightest.

Still smiling at some thought of her own, she calmly headed toward Kael, slowly making her way around the row of washbasins.

And the moment she fully emerged from behind the row of washbasins, Kael’s eyebrows rose slightly.

Only now did he realize that aside from the white blouse, which hung loosely almost to the middle of her thighs, Sierra was wearing nothing else. Not even shoes.

So every step she took was accompanied by the soft slap of her bare feet against the cool floor tiles.

Apparently, Sierra saw absolutely nothing unusual about this.

Calmly crossing the distance between them, Sierra stopped beside him and held out her hand.

“Sorry I didn’t come to celebrate your promotion yesterday.”

She seemed perfectly sincere as she said it.

“Judging by the sounds from the courtyard, you were having a lot of fun,” Sierra added. “But I had to finish making a lot of talismans and engravings for today’s mission…”

Kael shook her hand somewhat awkwardly, trying not to focus on either her appearance or how naturally she seemed to be acting.

Holding Sierra’s hand, he smiled and replied calmly, “No need to congratulate me. I just got lucky, and the rank isn’t high enough to celebrate anyway.”

Hearing this, Sierra unexpectedly fell silent, looking thoughtful.

Lifting her gaze slightly, she stared up at the ceiling for several seconds, as though seriously analyzing his words, then murmured thoughtfully, “I can’t figure it out…”

“What exactly?” Kael asked.

Turning her gaze back to him, Sierra replied somewhat absentmindedly, “I can’t figure out whether modesty suits you or not…”

Kael merely gave a crooked smile.

He had absolutely no desire to continue discussing his own modesty, so he decided to gently steer the conversation in another direction.

“By the way, I’ve already joined the Inscribers’ Guild,” he said. “I’d be very interested to see exactly what kind of work you do. Maybe next time I could even help you.”

Hearing this, Sierra studied Kael thoughtfully for several seconds, as though turning the idea over in her mind, then slowly nodded.

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“Wow… That would be nice…” she murmured, perking up slightly.

She fell silent for a moment, clearly imagining some projects or commissions of her own, then added, “Sometimes there’s just too much work.”

It was at that moment that Kael suddenly realized one small problem.

Sierra still hadn’t let go of his hand.

In fact, it looked as though she had simply forgotten that their handshake was supposed to have ended a while ago.

Still calmly thinking aloud, she occasionally rocked their clasped hands back and forth, completely oblivious to how increasingly awkward the situation was becoming.

So Kael decided to take the initiative.

With a polite smile, he gently pried Sierra’s fingers open with his free hand and finally freed his own.

Surprisingly, the girl didn’t even seem to notice.

At least, outwardly, nothing seemed to bother her.

“Come by the workshop when you have time,” she said calmly. “I’m almost always there…”

With those words, Sierra smiled, gave him a small wave, then turned and headed toward the washroom exit.

The soft slap of bare feet against the tiles sounded again, and only a few seconds later, she disappeared through the doorway.

Kael watched her go, then resumed walking and let out a heavy sigh.

“You can never relax in this madhouse…” he muttered.

Still, thoughts of the strange inscriber were quickly replaced by more practical considerations.

“I should stop by and see her after training in the Tower…” he thought as he approached the row of washbasins where Sierra had been standing earlier. “If I can make useful talismans for the squad, that’ll give me more MMP and more resources for training…”

The longer Kael thought about it, the more sensible the idea seemed.

The combination of training, crafting, and a steady influx of resources looked very tempting.

And the moment he rounded the row of washbasins where Sierra had been standing earlier, Kael’s smile grew even more crooked.

A neatly folded towel was still lying on the stone rim.

Beside it stood several small vials filled with liquids of various colors, obviously intended for washing or skincare.

For several seconds, Kael silently stared at the abandoned items, then shifted his gaze toward the exit through which Sierra had recently left.

“Better pretend I didn’t notice…” he muttered, shaking his head.

After thinking for another moment, Kael merely sighed heavily and added in his mind, “In this squad, you just have to accept your comrades’ quirks.”

With those words, he finally put the situation out of his mind, stopped beside an empty washbasin, activated the magical circle, and opened the flow of water.

A thin stream immediately flowed down from the sphere floating beneath the ceiling, and Kael, scooping the cool water into his palms, calmly began washing his face, his thoughts gradually returning to his upcoming visit to the Horde’s Bone Tower…

✦ ✦ ✦

The morning fog gradually dispersed, revealing more and more details of the enormous military camp.

With every passing minute, there was more and more activity around the camp.

Some of the mages had already left the camp, setting out on various assignments and missions. Others were patrolling the surrounding territories or carrying out less noticeable duties without which such a large military structure could not function.

Those who remained used their free time for training.

On some grounds, the clash of weapons could be heard; on others, mages practiced spells, making the air flare with multicolored sparks. In some places, full-fledged sparring matches were underway, while elsewhere squad veterans simply watched the newcomers, occasionally making caustic remarks.

However, the largest crowd had gathered in the central enclosed area of the camp, right in the middle of which stood the Horde’s Bone Tower.

The tall structure looked as though it had truly been woven from countless white bones, all intertwined into a single monolithic whole. Some of those bones resembled human ones, others belonged to creatures of vastly different sizes, while still others looked so strange that it was impossible to determine their origin at all.

It was through this central area that Kael was now walking.

His clean military uniform sat neatly on him, his squad token was proudly fastened to his chest, and his hair was neatly groomed.

Moving with the flow of people toward the Tower, he carefully studied his surroundings.

Aside from the Tower itself, numerous other training grounds were scattered throughout the central area, each clearly intended to develop specific skills.

Continuing forward, Kael occasionally shifted his gaze from one area to another, trying to determine their purpose.

At one point, his attention was drawn to a small circular platform set slightly apart from the others.

Around three dozen mages sat there with their eyes closed, completely immersed in meditation.

Most of them were at the Marked Mage stage, though there were also a few Channel Mages among those present.

Seeing this, Kael thought, “Looks like this is one of the most primitive training zones…”

Studying the fluctuations of mana around the platform more closely, he almost immediately grasped the reason.

The air there was noticeably denser than usual.

“Apparently, the whole point of this zone is simply to increase the concentration of mana in the surrounding area.”

Such a solution seemed fairly crude, but it was quite effective for weaker mages. Especially for those who had yet to reach the Marked Mage stage.

Glancing at several Channel Mages sitting in the far row, Kael gave a wry smirk.

“And I haven’t even broken through to Marked Mage myself yet…” he thought. “I could easily have ended up in their place. I’d be serving as an attendant, hauling cargo, or doing some other routine work. Though without all the miracles that happened to me, I wouldn’t even have made it to the Empire…”

Still, Kael did not dwell on the thought for long, merely muttering to himself, “All those ‘what ifs’ are worth exactly nothing…”

Smoothly shifting his gaze away from the meditation platform, Kael continued surveying the other training zones.

A little farther on, another training zone caught Kael’s attention.

In the distance stretched a training ground filled with several dozen stone pillars of varying heights. They rose above the ground in chaotic rows, forming a veritable labyrinth of obstacles, but after watching what was happening there for even a few seconds, it became clear that the pillars themselves were only part of the challenge.

Metal spheres the size of a human head hurtled between them at tremendous speed.

Some moved along straight trajectories, slicing through the air with an unpleasant whistle. Others abruptly changed direction in midflight, as though obeying the will of an invisible puppeteer. And some vanished in one place altogether, only to reappear somewhere entirely different a moment later.

Soldiers constantly moved amid this chaos.

Some leaped from pillar to pillar while simultaneously maintaining a body-enhancement technique. Some ran along the ground while sustaining complex magical constructs around themselves. Others fought imaginary opponents without ever ceasing to dodge the flying projectiles.

Watching what was happening, Kael involuntarily slowed his pace.

“I need to think about broader training too. The depth of my magical power is a key factor, but not the only one that matters…” he thought, continuing to watch as the participants simultaneously dodged, concentrated, and maintained their own techniques.

Beside this training ground was another zone that looked far calmer.

In the middle of a circular stone platform stood an enormous tree that seemed to have been carved entirely from white stone.

Its trunk was so broad that it would have taken several people to encircle it with their arms, while hundreds of translucent crystals of various sizes grew on its branches in place of leaves.

Dozens of mages were now sitting beneath this tree.

Fragments of spells floated in front of each of them.

Some maintained spheres of mana, some formed the shapes of their contracted spirits, while others spread mana over their bodies, trying to cover themselves completely.

At first glance, everything looked quite peaceful.

However, every few seconds, one of the crystals on the branches suddenly flared, and at that very moment, an almost imperceptible wave rolled across the platform.

The mages’ spells immediately shuddered under the impact of the wave and burst apart.

Several people grimaced in particular irritation after yet another flash, clearly having had their efforts ruined more than once already.

“Concentration training…” Kael thought, letting his gaze linger on the white tree for a moment. “And not under ideal conditions, but with constant interference.”

Without stopping, he continued onward, soon noticing another unusual zone.

This time, a long pool stretched before him, except it was not filled with water at all.

Thick silver mist slowly churned inside it, concealing the lower halves of the soldiers’ bodies.

Some of them slowly pushed forward, as though overcoming powerful resistance.

The silver mist constantly seeped into their bodies.

One man suddenly began coughing and spat blood onto the ground, prompting the supervisor to immediately roar, “That’s enough for you! Get out before you seriously injure yourself!”

“Simulating injuries to the mana channels?” Kael thought, watching closely. “The benefit isn’t clear, but I suppose the point is to test your limits…”

As he began to understand the overall logic behind the training here, Kael found himself gaining a measure of respect for those who had designed such zones.

They weren’t simply making the mages stronger.

They were deliberately preparing them for the most unpleasant situations that could arise on a real battlefield.

Looking around and taking in one training zone after another, Kael came to a simple conclusion: “There’s something here for everyone…”

For newcomers, there were grounds with an increased concentration of mana. For combat mages, there were zones that developed their reflexes, control, and ability to fight under constant pressure. For veterans, there were far more dangerous trials whose purpose he could not yet fully understand.

However, as he gradually approached the center of the training complex and once again shifted his gaze to the Tower rising ahead, Kael merely smiled faintly.

“But my goal for today is obvious…” he murmured with anticipation.

By this point, there were noticeably more people around the Tower.

As he drew closer, Kael could already see a large crowd gathered near the wide arched entrance.

Beyond the arch, Kael could see the interior of the Tower, where numerous platforms spiraled upward along the walls like a gigantic staircase.

At that very moment, a tall girl with long black hair calmly passed through the entrance.

The instant she crossed the boundary of the arch, the air before her suddenly rippled faintly, as though an almost invisible barrier stood within the passage. At the same time, the token on her chest briefly flashed, and the enormous white stone board standing nearby immediately displayed something new.

Glowing symbols raced across its surface, forming a new line: “Moriana. Record: 58. Current position: 1.”

But as soon as the girl took several steps across the first platform and climbed higher, the inscription on the board changed again.

The line “Current position: 1” flickered, and the number changed to two.

A few seconds later, the number changed again. Then once more.

Watching this, Kael quickly realized that the board showed not her ranking, but her current progress through the Tower.

As Moriana climbed higher and higher along the inner platforms, the number continued to gradually increase, as though marking every floor she passed.

Just then, a sudden commotion broke out around him.

“All right! Bets are open!”

“Step right up, don’t crowd!”

“Last chance to change your prediction!”

Shouts rang out from several directions at once, instantly enlivening the already noisy square.

Soldiers began moving across the area, all heading toward the same person.

Following them with his gaze, Kael noticed a scrawny man with a red beard so long that it nearly reached his knees.

Despite the chaos reigning around him, the bearded man looked perfectly calm.

Standing beside a small folding table, he accepted the soldiers’ tokens with astonishing speed, channeled mana into them, and deducted MMP. The next moment, he returned the tokens while simultaneously jotting something down with his other hand in an enormous notebook that looked more like a historical treatise.

Yet the stream of eager bettors showed no sign of slowing.

Some soldiers approached him with confident expressions, while others argued at length, gesturing animatedly as they tried to make their case.

Meanwhile, the number on the board continued to slowly rise.

And with each new number, the crowd grew more animated.

“Come on, Moriana! Break the record; I need the money!”

“Oh, give it up, she just got back from a night mission! She’s not going for a record today!”

“Fiftieth floor at most!”

Watching this chaos, Kael merely gave a crooked smirk.

The crowd around the Tower looked more like a marketplace or an underground gambling den than part of a military camp. Some fiercely argued over Moriana’s chances, others hurriedly squeezed their way toward the bearded man, while still others were already beginning to celebrate their future winnings even though the run had not even ended yet.

“I think I’m starting to understand why Norvin fits in so well here…” Kael thought with amusement, once again sweeping his gaze over the spectacle.

But almost immediately, his thoughts returned to the Tower itself.

Looking at the spiraling platforms rising beyond the entrance arch, he involuntarily recalled yesterday’s conversations with Hector, Elias, and the others.

“And not one of them ever told me what to expect inside…”

Whenever he asked a direct question, everyone either began smirking mysteriously or changed the subject.

“They wanted it to be a surprise…” Kael thought.

The longer he remained near the Tower, watching the people around him, the changing numbers on the board, and the excitement this place inspired even in experienced soldiers, the more his curiosity grew.

“All right…” he thought. “I’ll find out for myself right now.”

Still looking at the Tower, he involuntarily quickened his pace, anticipating the training ahead.