The number of gods was much higher—it was at least several dozen tis greater than at the previous tree. Moreover, Kayden could also sense a higher number of mortals. There should have been almost no mortals in this place, but there were far more than at the other trees.It took Kayden only a few seconds to understand that all these mortals were rely accompanying the gods. There were no unaccompanied mortals; they were all following the gods.There were rchant ships everywhere. Kayden had heard in so conversations that traffic was low, yet there were still hundreds or even thousands of these ships, each one of colossal size, all filled with gods. But there were also a few with mortals and a single god. These ships seed weaker—but… if a god was able to carry that many mortals across the ocean without fear, it ant he was confident in destroying any attempt at invasion.
Many mortals clearly belonged to academies and large organizations. They carried themselves differently than other mortals. There was no fear on their faces or any sense of inferiority. On the contrary, they considered themselves superior to most gods in this place—and they were probably right.Kayden spent a few days just studying everything he could. Fishing for information about the locations of other trees was quite difficult. Maps of the Great Sea were available, but they were also expensive. This was knowledge passed down from ship captain to ship captain—most of them spent their entire lives in the Great Sea.This was ironic, considering that these gods had laws that symbolized the Great Sea or their life experiences within it. Kayden found that… extrely pathetic. They made the environnt the thing that shaped their lives—it didn't co from within them. They just accepted what the universe threw at them.
It took Kayden a few weeks to find a suitable ship. He didn't want to venture with weak people, but he also didn't want to get on a boat that was too powerful. He needed a middle ground. Besides, the ship also had to be able to cross the Great Sea in a direction favorable to him."Here's the deal, my friend." Kayden was now standing in front of a teenage god with a sowhat peculiar appearance.
The teenage god wore a wrinkled linen shirt and wide pants, with expensive sandals worn out from wandering aimlessly. His hair was tied back haphazardly with a satin ribbon, and his expression was one of pure boredom with anything that required effort. He had a lazy charm—typical of soone who lives in parties and considers any form of work a joke.
"I need to look after a bunch of brats and a baby dragon," Kayden wasn't able to sense the presence of any of them on the ship in front of him. It was a small vessel, but at the sa ti it exuded wealth. "I want you to spar with them and make sure the dragon doesn't kill anyone. In return, I'll let you accompany us as far as you want."
And that's how Kayden found himself inside the ship. It was far beyond what Kayden had imagined. From the outside, it seed only a few hundred ters long, but its base was expanded with spatial laws on the inside—it easily had a hundred thousand kiloters. There were separate houses for everyone, as well as trees and natural landscapes.
There were a total of 30 mortals and one dragon, also a mortal. Each of them was a prodigy. All were ten-ray mages without a shadow of doubt. In addition, each one had unique laws surrounding it. Kayden could tell he was interacting with the peak of a mortal organization.
"Co here," the ship's guardian, who had introduced himself as Lucius, said to Kayden. Everyone appeared within seconds in front of him. "This is the new instructor. Kayn, you're in charge from now on."
With that brief sentence and no further instructions, the god disappeared, leaving Kayden alone, facing 31 mortals. They didn't seem particularly excited to see him. Moreover, it seed this situation was already familiar to them. The theory that they ca from a highly developed place was confird by the tone in which Kayn spoke to Kayden.
"What's your na?""Kayden," Kayden replied shortly."Lucius probably didn't explain anything to you." Kayden nodded. "We're from the Rising Sun Organization, from the other side of the Great Sea. We're on a journey to learn a bit about Atherion. During this ti, so gods are invited to be our opponents—obviously while holding back their powers. Our goal is to learn more about the world."
ROAAAAAAAR!The dragon let out a roar that sounded like the end of the world. Along with it, golden flas shot from its mouth and surged toward Kayden without any warning. It was a high-magnitude attack. The boy had to admit that this would force a first-level god to actively defend—but…
"How exactly am I supposed to help you?" He didn't even raise a single finger. The dragon's flas clung to his body and burned the very fabric of reality around him. Yet Kayden didn't suffer even the slightest sign of a burn. Not even the edge of his clothing was scorched.
The carefree attitude was like a punch to the dragon's ego—but it was sothing everyone had already expected. A god shouldn't be easily caught by a mortal. Still, they expected at least that Kayden would have to defend himself. They weren't ordinary mortals.
"What are your abilities?" Kayn asked, unfazed by what had just happened."I'm a monarch. I specialize in laws in general and soul studies." The first part, combined with the last, made the mortals look at Kayden a bit differently.
A monarch god wasn't sothing extrely rare, but they weren't common either. They stood on a level far above the average by a wide margin. In addition, gods capable of manipulating souls weren't exactly rare—but those who listed it as a main skill possessed capabilities far beyond the expected.
"Are you here to be trained, or are you just trying to pass the ti?" Kayden asked, direct as a bullet.
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