Atticus felt the cold rush of intense winds whipping at his body.

'Where am I?'

The blinding light engulfing his eyes cleared, and he found himself staring at an endless sky.

'I'm falling.'

His hair and clothes lashed wildly. He glanced down and fixed his gaze on the endless sea of forest beneath him.

'The Ascension Games.'

Atticus narrowed his eyes and acted swiftly. He reached for his waist and confirmed his katana was still there, then did the same for every other one of his powers.

'My will and mana are all intact. No restrictions.'

He scanned his surroundings next.

'There are others…'

Numerous dots littered the skies from every direction. Other gods.

'I can't tell who's who.'

He tried, but failed to spread his will. Though he could still feel and use it, something was blocking it.

'The Verge.'

Atticus gripped his katana, and his eyes turned cold.

The Ascension Games had begun, and any slip up would mean death. It would mean losing everything he'd achieved until now.

'I can't let my guard down.'

He fixed his eyes on the endless forest below.

'Moving through it is the best option for now.'

Every god was participating. Atticus was confident in himself, but even he knew a viscount was still out of reach, talkless of a count or marquis.

He needed to orient himself. Think, plan, and execute. He needed cover.

Leaning forward, he dove head first. With a burst of force, he shot down like a missile, entering the forest and landing softly.

'They're massive.'

He swept his eyes around. The forest was unlike anything he'd ever seen before.

The trees appeared like titans, and their leaves were colossal. The sun shone down but only patches of light pierced the forest.

Confirming there was no threat, he narrowed his eyes and focused on the matter at hand.

'What are we supposed to do?'

Each Ascension Games had separate rules, all depending on the Great Verge. The speech he'd given earlier was supposed to be about the rules, but he mentioned nothing about what they were supposed to do.

'Maybe…'

"Rules…" he whispered.

As though the world responded, the air before him rippled, and a list of rules materialized. He read it all with a glance.

'Kingdom building.'

The rules weren't much and were quite simple. It was termed kingdom building, and just as it sounded, their goal was to capture territory and expand their reach. But of all of them, one rule captured his attention.

'There're different layers…'

Though the Verge claimed every god must participate, he hadn't meant they would be on the same playing field. There were different layers for each rank of participating gods.

'The Verge played us.'

Right now, there are only baron rank gods in this world. Only by advancing could he enter the viscount layer, and the layers after that.

'So… only barons.'

He stared around coldly. If that was the case, then his next course of action was decided.

He turned towards a certain direction and took off. From the rules, each participant was given the power to sense the closest territory around them.

He moved at a measured pace, scanning his surroundings carefully.

He'd discovered that the vastness of their will had been limited from the rules. Though it did nothing to dampen its thickness or potency, the usual reach their will had was shortened.

'100 meters.'

Atticus could imagine the rule was put in place to keep things more interesting, as gods usually had reach spanning worlds.

Now that he'd oriented himself and his movement was decided, he finally focused his mind on something he'd been holding back for a while. His loved ones.

'Four others besides me are participating.'

He remembered the great Verge's words. Only the top five of each world would participate.

'Top five… me, Ozeroth, Noctis, Whisker, and… Grandpa.'

Atticus clenched his fist.

He remembered what Whisker's had said. Magnus was ahead of the other Eldorians, which made him the fifth strongest.

'I need to find him fast.'

Magnus was strong and could take care of himself. But the uncertainties were far too many. The Eldorians were still not up to par with the standards of the middle plane. The possibility of meeting a strong foe was high.

Atticus doubled his speed, zipping through the forest. His legs barely hit the earth; he appeared as though he was gliding.

'I need to capture a territory.'

It was paramount. From the rules, capturing a territory would expand his reach across its entirety and a large area around it. Then it would be easier to search for Magnus and the others.

A sudden sound made his eyes narrow.

'Movement… left.'

Atticus gripped his katana then blurred left.

The next moment, he sighted a man running in the same direction. The man's eyes widened in shock as Atticus appeared high in the sky.

"How did you discover me?" He stopped running, then shook his head. "It doesn't matter anyway! I'm so glad I found you first! Now I ca—"

A streak of light, and his head flew off his body in a spurt of blood.

Atticus landed and flicked blood from his blade.

'Easy.'

His will had cut right through the man's and severed his head. Atticus had also noticed that his speed was incomparable to the man's.

'So this is how it feels to have a greater will than other gods.'

His true will gave him an advantage over gods with more worlds than him, and this was the first time he would actually face a weaker god.

His will spread out from him and absorbed the will of the dead god.

'Only three minor worlds…'

That brought the total under him to ten minor worlds.

'Forty more till viscount rank.'

This was the boundless opportunity Whisker had claimed. The Ascension Games brought about a chance they wouldn't get anywhere in the Verge, a chance to fight and kill gods without consent.

Though his goal right now was searching for Magnus and the others, overall, he aimed for the peak.

'I'll reach and surpass the marquis rank.'

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