Ding!
[Congratulations. You have unlocked the "GPS" function.]
A soft chi rang out across the empty plains.
A glowing orange panel materialized in front of Alex, just as the last of the orange light from the pedestal was drawn into his body.
His eyes narrowed slightly, tracking the flickering symbols and strange characters before the system translated it into sothing legible.
"Do you see that?" he asked quickly, pointing to the translucent screen hovering in front of him.
Kaelios gave a short nod, eyes focused and expression unreadable.
He didn't speak, but the way he leaned forward slightly made it obvious he was intrigued.
Whatever the "GPS" function was, it clearly wasn't just a title.
The [Creators] had ntioned that these functions wouldn't be ga-breaking powers, but they would serve as subtle tools, advantages that could shift the flow of battle when used wisely.
Alex reached out and tapped the panel.
[The "GPS" function allows the pair who owns it to detect ANY God or Chosen One within 5 kiloters of their current location, as well as the exact direction they are in.]
"...Oh."
Even Alex had to blink twice at that.
He hadn't been expecting sothing so... blunt.
And yet, it was exactly the kind of function that could save their lives in a place like this.
"No sneak attacks. No ambushes," he muttered to himself. "We'll know the second anyone cos close."
He glanced toward the open land around them.
Five kiloters wasn't a small range, but for beings like them, gods, demi-gods, and chosen who could close that distance in seconds, it wasn't that far either.
Still, knowing soone was coming was a major step above being blindsided.
Kaelios shifted his weight.
"It's useful. Enough to change outcos if we use it properly."
Alex nodded.
"Yeah. Makes wonder what kind of functions the others got. Maybe sothing that counters this? Sothing to trap us, maybe."
That was the problem with "advantages" crafted by the [Creators].
Every benefit could co with a hidden drawback, or at the very least, soone else's gain that would counterbalance your own.
In a place as twisted and well-balanced as the [Main Round], the battlefield wasn't just about strength, it was about staying one step ahead.
Kaelios looked ahead.
"Let's move. Now that we can detect others, our first priority should be shifting to terrain that hides us better."
Alex agreed without hesitation.
Open fields were death traps.
On flat land, anyone from five kiloters out would see them.
A more complex region would give them better odds.
Sowhere with cover, elevation changes, or at least sothing that could break sightlines.
With that, the two began moving, turning their backs on the [Creators' Altar] and sprinting across the plains.
Their footsteps were nearly soundless, barely disturbing the wind that raced across the golden grass.
Every few seconds, Alex would glance down at the GPS panel floating beside him.
Still no pings.
Still safe—for now.
Eventually, the endless grassland began to change.
The golden hue of the plains darkened.
Green and yellow faded away, replaced by dry, cracked dirt and patches of blackened, charred soil.
Ding!
[You have entered the "Scorched Lands."][As you have now successfully traveled from one region to another, the complete list of regions for this round is now unlocked.][Regions: Plains, Scorched Lands, Shattered Peaks, Crystal Depths, Whispering Marsh, Skyreach Expanse, Volcanic Abyss, Obsidian Ruins, Celestial Glade, The Main Domain.]
Alex glanced at the updated display.
Ten regions total.
So nas were self-explanatory, Scorched Lands, Crystal Depths, Skyreach Expanse, but others, like Celestial Glade or The Main Domain, were more ambiguous.
He wondered where the others had been dropped.
Even a few enemies in a space this unpredictable could an constant danger.
Still, there was no ti to dwell on it.
He and Kaelios began to sprint again, pushing their speeds far past mortal limits.
Their feet pounded across scorched terrain, then leapt into the sky as they reached the [Skyreach Expanse], a breathtaking region of floating islands hanging above an infinite void.
They didn't linger, too exposed.
Too unstable.
Just long enough to cross.
Next ca the [Crystal Depths], where frozen crystals jutted from the ground like icy teeth, the cold seeping into their skin despite their power.
It was beautiful and deadly, but just like before, they moved quickly, bypassing it before anything, or anyone, could find them.
Almost thirty minutes passed, and in that ti, they had already crossed three regions.
They weren't wandering.
They were searching, looking for anything of value, or signs of other competitors.
The terrain around them began to level out once again, though this ti, it wasn't a plain.
A large structure lood in the distance, rising like a black monunt against the darkened sky.
It was a castle.
Massive, foreboding, with towers that spiraled up into the clouds and walls layered in runes that shimred faintly.
They approached quickly, but just as they neared the gate, a ssage flashed before their eyes.
[This structure has already been overtaken by the "God of Darkness."]
Alex exhaled, not frustrated, but quietly acknowledging what it ant.
"So they got here first."
He turned back, not bothering to try and enter.
Whatever function or reward this castle offered had already been claid.
But that also confird sothing important, the [God of Darkness] and his Chosen One had received a function too.
Sothing similar to the GPS, maybe sothing completely different.
Maybe sothing more dangerous.
"They're not nearby," Kaelios said, as the GPS hadn't warned them of anybody.
"They were here, though," Alex muttered, narrowing his eyes at the castle one last ti. "Whatever they got, they've already moved on."
Just to be safe, he summoned two [Void Blasters] from beneath the ground, their blackened forms rising like silent titans before shrinking into sleek, cannon-like devices mounted to the air behind him.
He charged them to the first phase, nothing higher.
The second and third phases were too unstable. Too loud.
Their energy signatures would be like fireworks in the sky for anyone sensitive enough to notice.
But the first phase, that, he could manage.
Low energy. Low threat.
But enough to fire back if sothing ca.
"We move," Kaelios said, already turning.
Alex followed, the two vanishing into the horizon at high speed once again.
They weren't trying to hide forever.
They were simply buying ti, waiting for the right fight to co to them.
...
Far from their location, deep within the [Shattered Peaks], another confrontation was unfolding.
The Shattered Peaks were a harsh region, towering cliffs, sharp ridges, and jagged rocks scattered like the shattered bones of a fallen god.
Wind howled between the peaks, shrieking like lost spirits.
And now, in the middle of a high ridge, four figures stood facing one another.
"I knew I'd find you here," a voice said.
Two figures stood at the edge of the cliff, having just climbed it, both composed and calm.
The two who were already there turned around slowly.
One of them narrowed her eyes.
Her long hair shimred like starlight, and the aura around her radiated ancient strength.
"You," Elyssara, the [Primordial Goddess], said coldly.
Her eyes locked on the figure before her, and without hesitation, she summoned her blade, its divine edge burning with power.
Seren, her Chosen One, stepped forward beside her, already in her battle stance.
Across from them stood two more figures.
The first was tall and skeletal-thin, his long white hair dancing in the wind.
A sinister smile curled on his lips.
"Do not fear," the man said. "Your deaths shall be... peaceful."
It was Lich, wielding his scepter like a blade, eyes glowing with magical energy.
And beside him stood a being of undeniable weight, a pressure that made the air itself heavier.
Nocteron, the [God of Death].
His pale skin looked like ivory carved from sothing long dead.
Crimson eyes stared ahead, soulless yet filled with sothing darker.
He wore a fine black suit, though his hands betrayed his humanity.
They were pulsating, alive, hands made of black, beating flesh, like organs torn from a creature and given new purpose.
"You think we're the ones dying?" Elyssara laughed, lifting her divine blade.
Her voice was steady, but her aura pulsed like a star.
"You'll regret ever coming here."
"So be it," Nocteron said quietly.
He stepped forward, removing his cloak and letting it fall to the ground.
The sound it made as it hit the stone echoed like a final bell.
"My hands shall take your lives."
Lich raised his scepter, pointing it directly at the goddess.
The four of them stood in silence for a single heartbeat.
Then the wind stopped.
And the first true battle of the [Main Round] began.
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