Naturally, conquering the Sky Citadel would be no easy feat, even for the most elite team in the game. When it came to fighting chaos beasts, they could be seen as something of an expert, but their resources and abilities only went so far. For instance, it was fairly easy for them to find the library, as it was close to the entrance. However, how were they meant to find the hidden control room at the heart of the citadel?

For hours, the group fought, clearing room after room. Every time they hit a patrol of wandering beasts, they quickly lept into action. Yet, they never saw any sign of the control mechanism.

“Maybe there was something about that throne room?” Crystal muttered to herself as they walked forward. They had seen the throne room even before they arrived at the library, but had passed it over. There was not a single monster inhabiting the room, and no obvious furnishings, save for the throne itself.

As a test, Logain had even sat on the throne, to see if that was the ‘clear condition’ for the dungeon. To his dismay, however, nothing happened. They were forced to wander aimlessly through the citadel, relying only on their scout to direct them on which rooms were up next.

By now, much of their equipment had become ragged. Especially their fire-resistant armor, as those monsters had been quite common within the previous rooms. It was even looking like Legion would have to return from their expedition for a while, long enough for them to conduct repairs. Which meant that monsters might end up respawning, and they’d have to start all over…

So naturally, when their scout approached with a bright smile, the rest of the group immediately got excited. “Did you find the core?” Logain asked in a hurry. As the tank of the group, his own equipment had suffered the most damage.

“Ah, no.” The halfling shook his head. “But it’s almost as good. I found a workshop up ahead.” The expressions of the group instantly darkened, as they had already found several such workstations for various crafting skills. At least until his next words came out. “And this one looks like it’s for a spellsmith.”

Crystal stepped up immediately, placing herself between Logain and the scout. “Aiz, please tell me it’s functional.” While not as bad as the team leader, Crystal’s gear had taken some damage as well. And, given that she wore cloth armor or robes, that meant that the ‘damage’ would be far greater, her body becoming more exposed with every battle.

Aiz gulped as he looked at the dangerous light in Crystal’s eyes, nodding his head. “Y-yeah. I didn’t see any signs of damage. And there’s just one monster inside. But it’s a Lord.”

Crystal’s face went pale. Chaos lords were one of the strongest types of chaos beasts, and they had a humanoid shape. Fighting one, even with the elemental advantage, would be difficult. Especially when they were trying not to damage the room. “What element was it…?”

“Light…” Another rare modifier, as light-type chaos beasts were incredibly hard to find. A light-type lord, however… it was possible that this was the first one discovered.

Yet, Crystal actually revealed a look of pleasant surprise when she heard that. The light-resistant gear of the group was perhaps the least damaged, meaning that there would be less risk of their weapons and armor breaking in the middle of the fight.

Of course, this also went to show the value placed in this one room. Crystal immediately swapped to a midnight-black robe, retrieving her Voidcaller’s staff. Similarly, the rest of the group gathered their best equipment for the battle as well. “I’ll kite him out here.” Crystal said as she stepped forward, surprising the others.

Just as Logain was about to speak up, she shot him a look that made him freeze. “I’m not going to risk damaging that room. So get ready for an ambush…”

Saying that, she walked over to stand in front of the closed door of the workshop, taking a deep breath. “I call through the void, to the land of endless darkness.” Crystal’s mana began to pulse, black lines beginning to appear along her skin. “Come forth, the shadow of space. Capture the light before me, and and send it where I desire.” With her spell ready, she brought one foot up, and kicked the door in front of her wide open.

Inside, there was a humanoid construct, made purely of shining light. It was hard for Crystal to even focus her eyes on it. And, as soon as the door opened, it was flashing towards her, arms outstretched like giant blades. But her spell had already been prepared.

The black lines across her skin shot forward, weaving together like a net to wrap around the lord of light. Meanwhile, Crystal decided on her next course of action. Turning towards the group… she began sprinting as fast as she could. “Iiiitt’s coommiiing!” She called out during her run, knowing that the shadow net would only slow a creature like that down for a few moments at most.

Sure enough, by the time she saw her group at the end of the hall, she could see her shadow stretching out before her. A bright light had appeared at her back, and she knew that her spell had been broken. Waving her staff, she quickly stepped into the void to cover the last bit of distance, simultaneously transferring the aggression from the monster to them instead.

Seeing the monster sail straight past her to attack her party, Crystal stepped out of the void, taking a deep breath of relief. Now the battle was in full swing, and she held her staff forward. She no longer needed the long, complicated spells at this point, and fired condensed blasts of dark magic directly towards the back of the monster.

Once I was done setting Tsubaki up with her world spirit, I promptly logged off. Once I did so, I sat up in my bed and pulled the visor off, a small smile on my face. Now that all of this was taken care of, I would be able to create avatars that could enter the game for me directly. I wouldn’t have to solely devote myself to one task.

As a test, I created a world spirit avatar, and promptly had it use its planar shift power. When the avatar reappeared, he was hovering high in the sky above a shattered grassland. Five small mountains seemed to erupt from the ground, or maybe crashed into it, going by the cracks and craters surrounding them.

Turning my head, I could see a floating palace in the distance, looking like a nearly perfect copy of the Sky Citadel. There were a few flaws here and there, but mostly minor things, such as the colors of certain windows, or the types of plants in the upper garden.

Unfortunately, it seemed like I wasn’t able to channel my divinity through this avatar. Instead, it was restricted simply to the skills that had been unlocked by players within the game.

I shook my head, sending my avatar out to practice its new skills while I focused elsewhere. I wanted to check how the event was going, and moved to the computer.

While I was certain that there would be some coverage of the event happening by now, I was somewhat surprised to find that Legion was the one currently occupying it. I knew that they were a fairly prominent group, thanks to the Mad King fight, but still… It didn’t seem right for one group to monopolize all of the unique content.

In the long run, it might not be so bad, as this was still relatively ‘early game’ content. But that also meant that this was the period where the opinions of the people would shape the future the most. If one group takes all of the good ‘content’ from the world, other people won’t be able to enjoy it as much.

Well, I suppose I can at least be thankful that they are broadcasting it. I thought inwardly, knowing that that would at least spur people on, making them aim for an even higher place.

Shaking my head, I watched as the ‘show’ ended for the day. After their fight with the light creature, a voice spoke up on the screen. “That’s all for today, everyone! Legion is going to repair their equipment and resupply, and we’ll be back first thing in the morning!”

As the broadcast ended, I felt a voice entering my mind. Looks like it shouldn’t be long now. It was Aurivy that spoke up, seeming to have a hopeful tone to her.

Cheering them on? I felt my lips tug upwards at that thought. It seemed like Aurivy had become a fan of this group at some point.

Well, I mean… maybe? I think that they have a lot of untapped potential. Watchful Aiz is actually a great thief in real life, having put his mastery of stealth to use as a pickpocket until his sister, the player of Jade Hand, convinced him that he could make more money through honest work in their group. Then you have Burmir.

Sure, he’s a bit of an oddball, preferring to play female characters in any game he comes across. But in reality, he’s a skilled blacksmith and devout cleric following the entire pantheon. I bet he’d even pray to you if he could. He personally crafts all of the weapons and armor he makes in the real world first, ensuring the he properly understands them.

Logain… well, he might be the hardest to believe out of all of them. Logain is actually the second in line for the throne of Rokindrol, only after his sister, the crown princess. Prince Roland is a natural when it comes to gathering talents, and hand-picked several of the starting members himself. Despite having the funds of a prince at his disposal, he has refused to accept the kingdom’s money. He believes that he should not have a share of the kingdom that rightfully belongs to his elder sister.

I could go on and on about them, but really… I think that Legion is a gathering of great talents from the current generation. And more than that, they’ve all managed to become friends in real life.

I couldn’t help but chuckle as I listened to her giving character descriptions. It was clear that she had definitely become a fan of the group, speaking about them like they were her idols. A somewhat ironic thing, coming from a Goddess, but also oddly fitting for her.

Ryone? I called out towards the Goddess of Magic, feeling like it should be time to make another big move. I couldn’t really call the current ingame event a move of my own, as it had been orchestrated by Vivi.

Yes? Her response carried a curious tone to it, seeming unsure what I wanted from her.

Are you ready for your own territory? I spoke rather playfully to her in my mind. Out of all of the gods and Goddesses, five currently had their own worlds. Of the ones that were left.. I thought it was most fitting for Ryone to get it next.

There was a long moment of silence from Ryone, to the point where I started to wonder if she had heard my offer. However, it was rather clear that she had, once she responded with an overwhelmingly energetic, Yes!

I gave a small nod, stepping through a mirror to sit at my throne in the main hall of the citadel. I’ll give you the time to set up whatever settings you want for your world, so just let me know when you’re ready to start.

I could practically hear the papers rustling, and picture Ryone running through her room, going from one bookshelf to another as she began frantically taking notes and writing down her plans. She did say that she wanted a present… I wasn’t just going to settle for giving her a new spell.