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Kaelios clapped his hands together, and more panels flickered into existence, surrounding both him and Alex.

"I don't know all the rules yet," Kaelios said, his usual grin fading into a cold, unreadable expression.

"Most of them will only be revealed when it actually begins, but this should be the basic information."

Alex's eyes narrowed, "How do you not know the rules?"

"Weren't you gods the ones who created this whole concept?"

"Or do some gods have more information than others?"

Kaelios simply shrugged, "None of the other gods know either."

"Then how...?" Alex trailed off, his mind running through possibilities.

The gods were the absolute strongest beings in Universal Descent, or at least, that's what he had always assumed.

The only way they wouldn't know something like this was if there was something, or someone, higher than them.

Before he could voice that thought, Kaelios cut in.

"And no, there aren't any beings above us," he said, exhaling slightly.

"It's just that each of us selected a possible trial for the [Chosen Games], decided the rules, structured how it would work, and then..."

His voice drifted for a moment before he sighed.

"We erased those memories from our own minds to keep it fair."

Alex blinked.

"The fuck, why?"

His confusion deepened, and he tilted his head.

"And are you sure every god erased their memories?"

"Yes, I'm confident," Kaelios said, his expression still impassive, "Which means that, just like you, I'll only find out what's happening when the event begins."

Alex didn't respond right away.

He simply stared at Kaelios, his instincts screaming that something was off.

And then—

[LIE!]

His [Cursed Eyes of Truth] activated on their own, revealing the truth behind Kaelios' words.

He was lying.

But how much of what he said was a lie?

Was it just a partial lie, or was he deceiving Alex completely?

Alex clenched his jaw.

'What's the point of lying to your own Chosen One?'

If Alex lost, Kaelios would be in danger as well.

The gods might be powerful, but losing half their strength would put them at risk of being killed by the others.

Even if Kaelios had his own plans, lying at a time like this didn't make much sense.

But instead of calling him out, Alex stayed quiet.

There had to be a reason for this.

And honestly, it didn't change anything.

The [Chosen Games] were coming, and whether or not Kaelios was telling the truth, Alex needed to be strong enough to survive them.

That was his focus now.

Even with all the power he had accumulated, with all the enemies he had defeated, he knew he wasn't ready to face the gods.

Just the mere sight of their silhouettes in the panel Kaelios summoned earlier had made him uneasy.

Even Kaelios, with all his usual playfulness, had sent a chill down Alex's spine when his expression turned serious.

That moment when Kaelios had casually summoned his swords?

It was the first time Alex truly felt like he could die in this world.

"I need more," Alex muttered to himself.

"Much more."

Kaelios suddenly stood from his chair, stretching slightly as his grin returned.

"Well, I've got nothing more to say," he said.

"And nothing more to show you, either."

"So, if you want to survive, do everything in your power to get stronger."

"I know," Alex started, but Kaelios kept talking.

"...But," the god continued, his smile widening, "you already have two forbidden skills."

"That alone should be more than enough."

"That's probably why I was so surprised to see you back." Discover hidden content at My Virtual Library Empire

"That kind of power is overwhelming, after all."

Alex remained silent.

He had three.

But there was no reason to say that.

Not when [Hatred's Fury] couldn't be activated under normal conditions.

Even he had no idea what it truly did.

Still, now that he had the information he needed, there was no reason to stay here.

He turned to leave but stopped himself at the last second.

He glanced back at Kaelios.

"Hey," he said.

"Hm?" Kaelios tilted his head.

"Can you summon another one of those invincible dummies?"

Kaelios blinked.

"You want to test your abilities?"

"Yeah," Alex nodded, "That should be enough training for now."

Kaelios smirked.

"Well, I was going to suggest a training method for you, but I guess you beat me to it, at least you're motivated."

"Least I can do," Alex replied, "The other gods and Chosen Ones should be training too, right?"

Kaelios' eyes gleamed slightly at those words.

"True, which reminds me... I should get to training as well."

With a snap of his fingers, a training dummy appeared on the grassy field outside the open-air structure.

"This dummy is immortal in my domain," Kaelios explained, "And you can set it to have a percentage of my power."

"If you manage to defeat it when it's at 80% or above, we'll be more than ready for the [Chosen Games]."

Alex studied the dummy for a moment.

He had no idea how difficult it would be to defeat something with 80% of Kaelios' strength.

But he could work his way up.

The main reason he asked for this dummy wasn't just for training, though.

He needed to test his new skills.

He needed to build strategies.

And if he wanted to win, if he wanted to survive, he needed to push himself past his limits.

'If I'm serious about being the strongest and saving humanity, then I should be aiming to defeat this thing at 90%, if not 100%,' he thought, "That's my real goal."

Was it even possible to beat Kaelios?

Especially in just a month and a half?

He didn't know.

But that didn't matter.

The [Chosen Games] were approaching, and if he wasn't strong enough by then, he would die.

Kaelios snapped his fingers again, opening a golden portal.

He stepped through without hesitation, most likely heading to a place where he could test his own abilities.

And just like that, Alex was alone in the [Garden of Destiny].

He let out a slow breath.

Everything happening around him was overwhelming.

Anyone else in his position would probably feel nervous, or outright terrified.

But Alex?

He only had one thought.

Let's get this done.

He still had enemies to deal with.

Loose ends to tie up.

But right now, none of that mattered.

His main focus was on the [Chosen Games].

This was the final countdown before the real endgame of Universal Descent.

He needed to be ready.

And so, without hesitation, he walked out of the structure and stepped into the field, heading toward the [Dummy of Destiny] that Kaelios had created.

He positioned himself in front of it, a new panel appearing before his eyes.

[Give me instructions. Inside of this domain, I can do anything.]

Kaelios must have set it up so that Alex could control the dummy's settings.

"Alright," Alex muttered, a grin forming on his face.

"I don't want you to do anything except tank my attacks."

[Skill training mode initiated…]

[The dummy will not retaliate.]

"Good."

Alex took a few steps back, creating some distance between himself and the dummy, about twenty meters.

Then, his grin widened.

"It's time to test my new skills."

And with that, he unleashed his power.