A Bet With God

Rygeth looked up into the air, "You're next!"

He had completed the Trial, so he had to put a bit of fear into the Immortals' hearts. He needed more time.

He had already known they were being watched by the Crimson Immortals. Except when he looked up he noticed the Runes were still there!

He snapped his head towards the Sorcerer, she was dead! So why was his Immortality still revoked?

The answer was that this was the plan of Kan'na! In case the party could not kill Rygeth within five minutes, she created a spell that would convert her life force into mana when she died.

So the law remains!

A set of footsteps was heard, Rygeth looked over the origins. A cloaked man walked forward, Rygeth couldn't sense his presence or strength. What unnerved him was the singular dot mask.

The figure spoke, "I finally tracked him down. . . to die by the hands of an Immortal. So this is why I never heard your name before."

Rygeth asked, "Who are you?"

"It matters not. I came here to test my strength and his, but you shall suffice."

A dark mist extended from the individual, "I guess I can avenge you, slime."

Rygeth shot forward, with the power he had it didn't matter!

A pressure descended on him, he felt his body weaken. He frowned, "Is the time limit already over? No, this is a War Sight!"

~ ~ ~

Akiol opened his eyes, around him was a gray area. Occasionally around the background a set of gears would be visible. Every 1.5 seconds they jerked and make a ticking sound.

A voice sounded, "So. . ."

Akiol looked towards the direction the voice came from. A man wearing a robe was sitting down, his face rested on his fist. His sitting position was casual.

He continued, "You died."

"I am aware of that."

"No, your one of the strange ones who can come back to life. The difference is, you aren't coming back this time."

"Why is that?"

"Rules of the world."

"I see."

"Honestly I think it's unfair you know? Why must you die by some Psuedo Second Stage?"

"We already had the ability to come back, something that many cannot have."

"Oh? Your quite humble, yet you do realize because of this same reason your strength gaining is slowed and limited. It evens the playing field."

"I am sure many others would be willing to slow their progression in exchange for not dying."

"Well it's not like you're Immortal like some people I know."

The two remained silent for a moment before Akiol asked, "Who are you?"

"You aren't aware? I am Quolith, one of the Gods of this world."

'Quolith? That name seems familiar.', Akiol pondered the name for a moment.

"So why am I speaking with a God?", he instead asked.

"Asking the good questions here, because you need to be reborn. This death you cannot come back from."

"As a God surely you have a way."

"I have no reason to do so."

Akiol pondered for a moment, he had no reason to do so. . . Does that mean it's possible? He then asked, "Can I see the place I died?"

Quolith waved his hand and an oval appeared, there Akiol saw Rygeth watching something. Upon seeing a figure appear he grinned, "Hey. . . do you want to make a bet?"

Akiol remembered who Quolith was. He was the God of Fortune, Misfortune, and Luck. Quolith was one of the very few Gods who held multiple titles of God over.

Because of this Quolith was often worshipped at casinos, a statue or shrine of him was guaranteed to be somewhere.

Stars had informed him about the Gods during his training, to pass the time of the mind dulling work.

Quolith raised an eyebrow, "Sure, what are you betting?"

"Whether or not that guy can kill the Immortal."

Quolith scrutinized the two before exclaiming, "I can't tell that person's power. . . interesting!"

He turned over to Akiol, "So, what do you want if you win?"

"For us six to be revived."

Quolith leaned back, "I cannot do that."

"A God can lie?"

Quolith paused for a moment before saying, "So you noticed, allow me to rephrase. There is no reason for me to do that."

"Why?"

"If I win the bet, there is nothing you can give that I want."

"Surely even a god wants something."

"What is it you have that I don't?"

Akiol pondered for a moment before holding out a hand, "The only thing I can offer."

"I have no want of you."

"You misunderstand."

A singular strand floated above Akiol's hand. Quolith was shocked upon seeing it, "This is-! But how?! How does a mortal even have such a powerful item?!"

Akiol then asked, "So will you take the bet."

'So he isn't aware of the power that holds? I guess I don't mind taking advantage of this situation. Besides Rygeth's strength is beyond First Stage currently. . . If he is familiar with the masked individual there's a chance I can lose this wager. Yet it's too tempting!'

Quolith grinned, "You have my interest. That is quite the wager, to the point to where I am impressed. Very well, I shall accept this bet. If the Immortal Rygeth wins, you hand over that strand. If the mysterious individual wins, I will revive you all."

The gears ticked and a mysterious force rippled through the strange space.

Quolith turned his attention to the fight, "Now, let us see who wins."

~ ~ ~

The man sighed, "It seems like the first is a fail. Perhaps if he obtained more Strands. . . No, he simply doesn't understand the power behind them. It's a shame he will lose it upon being reborn."

The man leaned back in his chair, the leather on it made a groaning sound as his body shifted. The machinery creaked as the chair moved back, for it had not been oiled since it was bought.

The man closed his eyes, "I will have to wait for another then."

A faint voice was heard, "Hey. . . do you want to make a bet?"

The man raised an eyebrow, a bet with one of the Gods? What could they possibly be betting about?

Upon a quick look he understood, "Does he have ties with that man? No, I remember a specific developer mentioning they fought once. Faith in an enemy?"

Yet once he saw that the slime had wagered the Strand of Existence a smile spread on his face, 'You wagered that! That is something that everything in the game would kill to obtain. You don't know this, but you offered the one thing a God would accept as a wager! How interesting! Your existence is as strange as that masked individual! It's people like you that get my heart riled up. Now, will your bet pay off?'

~ ~ ~

Travis dodged a blow, his heartbeat accelerated. Ever since the incident with Flinnder, he suddenly no longer craved battle with ordinary strong enemies. If he lost he would lose a little experience. But with battles with foes like these. . . his everything was on the line. It truly got his blood pumping. He began enjoying battles with high risks. After all he believed these same battles will help him break his limits!

'This guy is crazy! This is nearly peak Second Stage strength!'

"So if I kill him my strength is on par with a peak Second Stage?"

'No, this is Psuedo strength similar to a Berserk ability. It lacks the qualitive change, so a proper Second Stage could defeat him, but they would have to be talented.'

"But if I beat him my strength is at the very least Psuedo Second Stage?"

'I could agree to that.'

"That's good for me being only at First Stage!"

'The beginning of one at that.'

Travis angled his sword downwards. It blocked a fist from Rygeth, but sent him flying back and upwards.

'Yo! Try not to block any more! That hurt! I might shatter if I block anymore.'

"I'm aware of your limits Abe, you trust me right?"

'Not when you are battling! You have a sick tendency to go beyond when you fight! I am worried for my safety!'

"That's why you chose me as your wielder though right?"

'. . .'

Travis wasn't wrong. All of the twelve swords enjoyed being wielded by strong people. After all it was only by strong people they could fully showcase their power. Abe specifically chose Travis due to his strange way of shattering his limits and pushing himself beyond. He also didn't want to be in a Abyssal Royal's collection.

Rygeth thrust a palm forward. Through Travis' skill [Truth: Revealing] he was able to see the attack sent towards him. Travis eyes narrowed, Rygeth was forcing mana to his will. So his attacks were powerful, but lacked depth.

Using [Truth Twofold: Existence] he teleported behind Rygeth and swung his sword. The Immortal formed a sword in his hands and spun in one smooth movement, causing the two swords to clash.

Rygeth grit his teeth, he didn't have time for this! The effect of the blood drop was running out. His time in it was limited, that was why he finished the Trial so fast!

The two swords danced through several attacks. Travis flicked his sword and deflected Rygeth's. With a turn of his wrist he thrust the sword forward. Rygeth slid his foot and rotated, letting the sword fly past harmlessly. He then gripped the sword, "Who are you-?!"

The sword turned into a mist and Travis slammed a fist into Rygeth's jaw. The Immortal stumble from surprise. The sword reappeared in Travis' hands as he slashed across, aiming for the Immortal's throat.

Rygeth leaned back and held up an arm subconsciously to dodge. The sword slashed cleanly through, blood spurting out.

The lines on Rygeth's face began to fade, "You-!"

Travis began to aggressively attack. His sword strikes would be only a blur to ordinary players. Rygeth defended, each strike he blocked caused his bones to vibrate!

'It looks like this guy's power up is finally fading.'

"A shame, I really wanted to test myself this time."

'. . .'

Rygeth's power up finally vanished. Upon blocking Travis' strike he was sent tumbling through the snow.

Travis sighed, "This was. . . a disappointing match."

Rygeth recovered from the tumble and held up a hand, "W-Wait! Let's talk things out-!"

Travis disliked such outcomes. They had fought aiming to kill him, why should he spare them?

Rygeth's head flew off and he dropped dead.

Travis eyed the notifications, but mainly saved them for later. Two things drew his attention.

First the runes in the sky, he believed that it would only be through a War Sight in order to temporarily "unimmortalize" a Crimson Immortal.

The other thing was what Rygeth dropped. The Crimson Immortals were incredibly difficult to kill, regardless of their strength. So of course a player would be rewarded generously for their efforts. So when an Immortal was killed, they would drop a chest full of items that could skyrocket a players strength.

Travis walked over to the chest to open it when something made him hesitate. . .