I Tricked a God

Two completely opposite crowds seemed to have formed around the Horde’s Bone Tower.

Some looked as though they had just hit a huge jackpot. They laughed, discussed their successful bets, and kept glancing at the board with obvious satisfaction.

Others, by contrast, looked like people whose plans for the entire coming month had suddenly collapsed.

Some muttered irritated curses under their breath, some counted the MMP remaining on their tokens, while others simply sat there looking as though they were going through a personal tragedy.

The curly-haired girl sitting near one of the stone barriers watched the scene with amusement, occasionally glancing at her lanky acquaintance.

He looked so gloomy that he could have ruined the mood of an entire platoon.

Unable to resist, the girl laughed teasingly and said, “Why so glum? You’ll have plenty of time to earn more.”

The man merely shot her an irritated look and cursed, “Oh, screw you. I bet all my money!”

The girl merely rolled her eyes and, propping her cheek on her palm, remarked somewhat caustically, “You need to be more patient. As always, you rushed off to place a bet without even thinking.”

The lanky man merely snorted in displeasure.

“How was I supposed to know he’d stop on the tenth floor?” the man muttered, throwing up his hands in frustration. “A new recruit from the Doomgrin Squad, and he’d even broken Hector’s record… So I thought…”

He trailed off and let out a heavy sigh.

The girl turned her gaze back to the board, where the same number still glowed beside Kael’s name, then murmured thoughtfully, “But the guy isn’t that bad.”

Narrowing her eyes slightly as though calculating something in her head, she added, “He’s already been inside for two hours and he’s still holding on. That’s a pretty good result for a first attempt.”

The lanky man merely scratched the back of his head in displeasure and cursed again, “And what good does that do me? Damn it…”

Muttering this, he stared gloomily at the board as though hoping for a miracle.

✦ ✦ ✦

And at that very moment, Kael sat calmly on the tenth floor of the Tower.

His eyes were closed, while a vortex of gray mana slowly swirled around his body, streaming continuously into him. The concentration of mana here was so high that even without any active effort on Kael’s part, the surrounding mana sought to enter his body on its own.

But now his attention was focused entirely inward…

✦ ✦ ✦

Continuing to steadily recite the Mantra of Primordial Void and carefully controlling every stage of energy absorption, Kael observed the changes taking place, never allowing the process to slip out of control.

The stream of mana flowed continuously into the Mana Core, after which it almost immediately split into two parts. And the larger share went to Libero.

The silver ant seemed to have finally gotten its fill of a long-awaited feast.

With each new influx, he became increasingly lively and active, while his silvery carapace gradually gained greater definition and depth. Even the spirit’s size seemed to be increasing little by little, though the changes remained barely noticeable for now.

The smaller portion of mana flowed into Kael’s own body.

It slowly spread through his channels, strengthening their walls and gradually preparing his body for the coming breakthrough.

Kael’s inner gaze was directed deep within his own body.

It was as though he were observing a complex mechanism whose every component was gradually coming into motion. Streams of mana flowed through the channels, the Core pulsed steadily, and the spiral-shaped marks continued to grow more distinct.

Watching the process closely, Kael noted to himself, “Just a little more, and I’ll break through…”

As he watched another section of the pattern take hold on the walls of the Mana Core, his thoughts involuntarily turned to something else.

“I wonder if I’ll gain a new ability or simply strengthen the old ones?”

Continuing to observe the changes taking place, Kael shifted his gaze to Libero.

The silver ant raised his front legs as though welcoming the unending stream of mana, while a vortex of mana swirled around his small body, almost perfectly mirroring the one currently swirling around Kael’s physical body.

Watching what was happening, Kael thought, “This Tower really is something…”

Comparing his current sensations with his ordinary training, he quickly reached an obvious conclusion: “Libero has never grown stronger this quickly before.”

And as though sensing that his master was watching him, the silver ant suddenly squeaked and twitched his antennae contentedly.

The sight brought a faint smile to Kael’s face.

“Good thing I don’t have to worry about possession…” he thought. “Otherwise, I’d have to artificially restrict the flow of mana into Libero. Which means I’d have to bear all this pressure myself.”

And at the very moment that thought flashed through his mind, Kael suddenly felt something crack near his heart.

Immediately afterward came a powerful pulse.

It swept through his entire body, making the Mana Core shudder violently, and in the very next moment, Kael felt the flow of mana he was absorbing suddenly surge to an entirely different level.

It was as though a previously hidden reservoir had opened inside him.

Mana flooded in at such a speed that even Libero squeaked in surprise, momentarily stopping the contented twitching of his antennae.

“This is it!” Kael exclaimed inwardly.

And at that very moment, his inner gaze caught another change.

A wave of mana swept rapidly through all his channels, spreading outward from the Core in every direction, and immediately afterward, barely perceptible outlines of inscriptions began to emerge across their surfaces.

They looked faint and unfinished, like a sketch or an outline of his future path of growth.

Kael immediately understood that this was merely the foundation, only now beginning to form, and that it would become increasingly distinct as his magical power continued to grow.

“I need to focus!” Kael shouted inwardly, immediately bringing his attention back to reality.

✦ ✦ ✦

Opening his eyes, the first thing Kael noticed was that the vortex of mana surrounding him had grown significantly denser.

Gray energy swirled around him in broad streams, continuously being drawn into his body, while the pressure of the tenth floor now felt completely different. Where before it had slowly pressed in on him from all sides, his body now seemed to greedily absorb most of that pressure.

However, something else caught Kael’s attention almost immediately.

The girl he had passed earlier had long since stopped meditating.

Sitting one level below, she stared at him with wide eyes, having clearly witnessed the entire breakthrough from beginning to end.

Meeting Kael’s gaze, the girl flinched slightly and opened her mouth, about to say something.

But at that very moment, another surge of mana burst from his body.

A muffled boom sounded.

The wave of energy swept rapidly in every direction, and before the girl could react, she was literally shoved backward.

With a short cry, she lost her balance and tumbled down to the level below, hastily grabbing the edge of the platform with both hands.

But before Kael could even properly react to what had happened, the mana he had released suddenly changed direction.

The wave spreading in every direction abruptly began to swirl, as though obeying some invisible force, before rushing back toward its source.

In the next instant, all that energy flowed back into his body in a single stream, dispersing the vortex swirling around him with a rush.

Suddenly, the air grew calm again, and the surrounding mana returned to its usual state, as though nothing unusual had happened at all.

Kael himself, however, immediately felt the difference.

An unfamiliar sense of power spread through his body.

His channels seemed wider, his Core heavier and more stable, and every drop of mana within him felt far more distinct than before.

“Damn… That girl…” Kael suddenly remembered.

Glancing over, Kael was about to apologize to the girl when a faint burning sensation on his forehead suddenly distracted him.

“Hm?” he murmured, unconsciously touching his forehead with his fingers.

Curiosity and anticipation proved stronger than his desire to apologize.

With a quick wave of his hand, Kael pulled a small mirror from his spatial ring and immediately stared at his reflection.

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And almost at once, his lips stretched into a satisfied smile.

Just above the point where his eyebrows met, a silvery mark had appeared—his personal attribute as a Marked Mage.

It resembled a strange crescent, its sharp tips pointing upward toward his hairline.

But when Kael looked more closely, he murmured, “That isn’t a crescent… Those are the sharp mandibles of an ant…”

Watching his own smile widen in the reflection, Kael involuntarily shook his head.

“I broke through…” he murmured quietly. “Finally…”

But almost immediately, he sensed that he wasn’t the only one who had changed.

Something seemed to stir within his Mana Core, prompting Kael to close his eyes once more and turn his inner gaze inward…

✦ ✦ ✦

And the moment he looked at Libero, the reason immediately became obvious.

The silver ant had changed as well.

His mandibles had become slightly larger and sharper, his legs had developed small serrations, and the spirit’s aura now felt noticeably more predatory. The changes were not drastic, but they were clearly noticeable, as though Libero and his master had taken their first step toward a new stage of development together.

Watching this, Kael merely thought, “Congratulations on our breakthrough, Libero.”

As though hearing him, Libero immediately raised his front legs and clicked his mandibles contentedly.

Watching the amusing sight, Kael merely gave a satisfied hum, thinking, “Looks like he’s every bit as pleased as I am…”

But in the next moment, Kael sensed another change.

The bond between him and Libero seemed to have deepened.

He saw no images and heard no foreign thoughts, yet for one brief instant, he had the strange sensation that the silver ant’s consciousness had touched his own. And almost immediately afterward, Kael became aware of something new.

It was so sudden and natural that it even left him momentarily bewildered.

“A new ability!” Kael thought in delight.

And along with his understanding of the ability itself came the knowledge of exactly how to use it. Not through knowledge, not through experience, and not even through some mystical revelation. Rather, it was as though this ability had always been a part of him, and he had simply remembered its existence.

Burning with the desire to test his new ability, Kael immediately returned his attention to the outside world.

Opening his eyes and smiling in anticipation, he raised a hand before him and slowly clenched his fist, simultaneously channeling mana into it.

Almost immediately, something unusual began happening around his hand.

The air in the immediate vicinity of his skin distorted slightly.

“The range is limited…” Kael noted to himself, estimating the extent of the distortion. “About three finger joints out from the surface of my skin…”

However, the effect was noticeable enough for Kael to immediately understand—the ability was working.

Watching the space around his hand subtly tremble and warp, he analyzed the new sensations.

“Now I can alter weight not only in my own body, and not only by channeling my power into an opponent…”

Slowly turning his hand and feeling the distorted area move along with it, Kael narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.

“I can alter the weight of anything that comes close to me. More precisely, anything that touches this area…”

Continuing to consider the possibilities of his new ability, Kael involuntarily smiled.

“It’ll be simply indispensable for defense…” he murmured quietly.

The moment he imagined a projectile flying toward him or an activated talisman, the advantages immediately became obvious.

“Especially against ranged attacks and various artifacts…” Kael added in his mind.

With those thoughts, he removed the spatial ring from his finger and brought the distorted area into contact with the metal.

Almost immediately, the ring became noticeably lighter.

Then he reversed the effect, making it heavier.

Repeating this several more times and carefully monitoring both the mana expenditure and the change in weight, Kael nodded in satisfaction, noting mentally, “The limits of my weight manipulation have increased as well. Excellent…”

But at that moment, his attention was unexpectedly drawn to movement one floor below.

Looking over, Kael once again noticed the familiar girl with dark chocolate skin and long black hair.

The very same one who had witnessed his breakthrough just moments ago.

Having risen to her feet, she now slowly stepped back onto the ninth floor, squinting slightly in pain and casting wary glances at Kael from time to time.

At the sight, Kael immediately sprang to his feet.

Only then did he fully remember that his breakthrough had practically blown the girl off the platform, so he immediately inclined his head in apology.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you,” Kael said sincerely.

Hearing this, the girl looked slightly taken aback.

An awkward smile appeared on her face, and her gaze involuntarily drifted toward the token on Kael’s chest before she hurriedly replied, “Not at all… A breakthrough mustn’t be interrupted. Congratulations.”

She spoke as though she was not entirely sure how she was supposed to behave in a situation like this.

“Thank you,” Kael said with a smile, then, after thinking for a moment, added, “Perhaps I could reimburse you for some of the MMP you lost?”

At those words, the girl unexpectedly began waving her hands and shaking her head so quickly that it was as though the very suggestion had frightened her.

“No, no, it’s fine! Don’t worry! I have enough money.”

And almost immediately, the girl cautiously asked, “Are you going to continue training here?”

Hearing the question and noticing how she kept glancing at the platform she had recently been knocked off, Kael almost immediately understood the reason for her caution.

So, inclining his head slightly, he calmly replied, “No. I’m going higher.”

As he turned toward the platforms above, Kael added with a faint smile, “I only stopped because I felt the breakthrough coming. Once again, I apologize.”

With those words, he lingered no longer and, quickly crossing the distance between them, stepped onto the eleventh floor.

The girl watched him go, then let out a quiet breath as her shoulders relaxed.

“That was a breakthrough to Marked Mage…” flashed through her mind.

Remembering the surge of mana that only moments ago had practically thrown her off the platform, she involuntarily glanced upward, watching Kael rapidly move farther away.

“Even for someone from an elite squad…” she thought. “His strength still seems abnormal…”

✦ ✦ ✦

Kael, meanwhile, not wanting to make the girl uncomfortable with his presence, quickly picked up his pace and disappeared around the Tower’s curve.

Very soon, the tenth floor was left behind.

As he climbed higher and higher, Kael felt the pressure begin to increase at an ever faster rate. Yet even that did not make him slow down.

Easily passing the fifteenth floor and then the nineteenth, Kael soon leaped onto the twentieth platform, where the pressure once again increased noticeably.

But after taking a moment to gauge how he felt, he merely murmured, “Still manageable for now…”

Feeling that this was far from his limit, Kael’s amber eyes gleamed with excitement.

“Libero, we need to stabilize our breakthrough,” Kael murmured with satisfaction, resuming his ascent. “So let’s climb as high as we possibly can.”

Inside the Mana Core, the silver ant immediately raised his front legs, as though fully supporting the plan.

Seeing this reaction, Kael merely gave a quiet hum and, with a few nimble steps, leaped onto the twenty-first floor.

✦ ✦ ✦

And at that very moment, another veritable storm erupted outside the Tower.

Except this time, everything had been turned completely upside down.

Those who had only recently been rubbing their hands in satisfaction, anticipating an easy win, were now tearing their hair out, while the people who had already mentally said goodbye to their money were beginning to perk up before everyone’s eyes.

“How is this even possible?!” someone in the crowd shouted indignantly, jabbing a finger at the board. “He sat on the tenth floor for two hours, and now he’s suddenly jumping up a floor every few seconds?!”

And indeed, the number beside Kael’s name continued to rise rapidly.

It was as though all this time he hadn’t been up against his limit at all, but had simply stayed put for some reason.

“This has to be some kind of scam!”

“I told you not to change your bet!”

“No, you’re the one who convinced me!”

“How could anyone have known he’d start climbing again?!”

With each new number, the faces of many mages grew darker.

Some were literally stomping the ground in anger, while others furiously waved their arms, trying to prove to their friends that they were the ones to blame for their lost MMP. One particularly emotional man nearly got into a fight with the companion who, several hours earlier, had convinced him to place another bet to recoup his losses from the first.

At the other end of the square, however, the mood was exactly the opposite.

“Ha! I told you not to underestimate the lunatics from the Doomgrin Squad!”

“Come on, kid! Ruin them all!”

“The thirtieth floor! He’ll definitely make it to the thirtieth!”

But there were also those who had long since forgotten about their own bets.

Now their gazes were fixed solely on the board.

The numbers continued changing one after another: “25… 26… 27…”

Each new floor made the crowd fall increasingly silent.

Even the loudest among them gradually stopped arguing, glancing more and more often at the line bearing Kael’s name.

“Is he even planning to stop?” someone muttered incredulously.

Even Barbaros, standing beside his table, stared with his mouth slightly open as the number changed yet again.

“Damn…” he breathed. “Just who the hell is this kid?”

But the moment those words left his lips, a stern female voice with a slight rasp sounded nearby: “Morkroft has been assigned an interesting subordinate…”

The voice was quiet, yet the area around them instantly grew still.

Barbaros flinched so sharply that it was as though he had been caught doing something illegal, then hurriedly turned around.

“Good afternoon, Captain Astrid!” he immediately exclaimed.

As though she had appeared out of thin air, a tall woman with long scarlet hair woven into a braid stood before Barbaros.

Her features were so perfectly proportioned that her face resembled a statue carved by a master, and even the scar running through the left side of her upper and lower lips did nothing to mar the impression. If anything, it gave her face a certain stern, finished quality.

Her appearance made everyone considerably more “restrained.”

Only a few seconds earlier, people had been loudly discussing bets, arguing, and nearly fighting over lost MMP, but now most preferred to keep quiet, casting furtive glances toward the Captain.

Yet none of what was happening around her seemed to concern her in the slightest.

With a casual motion, the woman adjusted the long scarlet braid falling almost to her waist, calmly leaned on her cane, and narrowed her eyes slightly as she continued watching the board.

Squinting and paying no attention to the subdued crowd, Astrid continued observing the board.

By this point, the number thirty-three was already glowing beside Kael’s name.

For several seconds, the woman silently watched as the line slowly climbed upward, then gave a barely perceptible hum.

“His pace slowed after the thirtieth floor…”

She said it more to herself than to those around her, but the silence was so complete that everyone heard her words.

Watching the board for a few more moments, Astrid calmly finished her thought, “But not enough.”

Hearing this, Barbaros involuntarily parted his lips and asked, “Do you really think he can reach the floors in the forties on his first attempt?”

The woman did not even turn her head, but answered with complete seriousness, “I did. As did the other Captains.”

A quiet murmur swept through the crowd at that answer.

Several people exchanged incredulous glances, until someone finally couldn’t help but ask in astonishment, “Do you really think this new recruit has as much potential as you do?”

Astrid merely murmured thoughtfully, “Why guess when we’ll soon find out for ourselves?”

After those words, silence once again settled over the square.

Several of the more avid gamblers visibly fidgeted in place, clearly tempted to make another bet or two, but under the Captain’s gaze, no one dared approach Barbaros. So the crowd simply continued watching the slowly changing numbers.

Astrid herself, thoughtfully biting her lower lip near the scar, kept her gaze fixed on Kael’s line.

“The pace of his ascent…” she noted to himself. “It’s faster than mine was during my first visit.”

Narrowing her eyes slightly and clicking her tongue almost imperceptibly, Astrid muttered under her breath in displeasure, “Why did General Salazar assign the boy to those lunatics instead of me?”

Barbaros, standing nearby, instantly pretended he had heard nothing.

Though judging by the way several people nearby suddenly became intensely interested in their own boots, none of them had “heard” her either.