“I believe that retreat is pertinent, my Host.”

  I cursed as I dodged another shockwave of concentrated force. I was only lasting as long as I was because Eric was toying with me. The only consolation was that whatever Eric used to control the other Aspirants didn’t work on me at all. I thought it was Noe at first, but it turned out that he was trying to manipulate the mana inside me, which, having no mana at all, did absolutely nothing. The unfortunate part was that Eric didn’t take his new magical abilities failing well. He started to unleash waves of raw magic, and although mana itself didn’t impact me, the wind, rocks, and trees that were sent flying due to it sure hurt.

  Yeah, no shit we should retreat, Noe, but there’s just the tiny problem of that fucking dome surrounding us.

  The wave of energy that I narrowly avoided rebounded off the huge magical barrier that Eric had constructed and struck me in the back. The force, although dissipated slightly, knocked me off my feet and I landed face-first in the dirt. I swore again as Eric laughed aloud from his position in the sky.

  “We can get through it with enough Luck Charges, my Host.”

  I checked my charges and frowned. Even though I’d been relying on my own abilities for the last few minutes, the amount that I had to work with was minimal, all thanks to that fucking ceremony that set my ass on fire.

  "I believe that the rest of you was on fire as well, dear Walter."

  I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes.

  Luck Charges: 330/1630

  Okay, other than knowing your sarcasm shard clearly works and exists, can you tell me how many charges we'll need to get out of this situation? And how much do you need, approximately?

  “500, my Host.”

  I ain’t surviving for another three hours, Noe!

  “It is only two hours and fifty minutes-”

  A huge boulder, easily the size of a truck, slammed into me, and I had to use all of my strength to avoid being crushed by it.

  Same thing! I don’t think I can go for more than ten minutes at this rate, and it’ll only be a matter of time before Eric here gets bored and actually does something! I’ll have to use my Secondary Form soon, Noe. At least I can make a portal out of here with that.

  “We are not out of options yet, my Host,” she answered calmly, “I am still analyzing how to access the new abilities of this body. I need more time. I suggest you hide for now.”

  I cursed again as I narrowly dodged a blast of wind that almost took off my legs. The sheer force of the attack decapitated trees and left a huge gash on the floor.

  And how do I hide, exactly? I cursed under my breath again. Dr. Walter’s like eight feet tall and he's glowing like a lava lamp now. He ain’t exactly stealthy!

  “I can use the last of the Luck Charges to hide your presence with the Perception Shard; alternatively, I can manipulate the emotions of the Aspirant so that he does not strike at you with his full force.”

  What’ll buy us the most time?

  “The Perception shard will hide us for about 33 minutes, but I anticipate that Eric will start to lash out at everything indiscriminately before that timer is up. The Emotion shard will use fewer Charges, thus lasting longer, but you will have to survive the Aspirant’s assaults.”

  I grimaced and felt blood as I failed to avoid another razor-sharp blade of wind. How much weaker is he going to get? Like, how mellow are we talking about?

  “Not very. To use a comparison, He will go from a very angry bull to a slightly smaller, yet equally angry bull.”

  I sighed. Then it’s the Perception Shard it is. Use it and hide us, and let’s pray that the half hour’s enough time to figure out what the hell’s going on with Dr. Watler.”

  I clenched my teeth as I ducked into a nearby brush and allowed Noe to do her magic. A few more force missiles missed me as I made myself as small as I could and I almost thought that my system’s abilities failed for some reason, but as the dust settled, so too did the relentless barrage.

  “Ah, there’s the trickster,” Eric muttered, “It seems that your master must be around somewhere… but they’re too cowardly to show themselves, eh?”

  I frowned. What the hell was he talking about?

  “I know your little pet monster’s still in here,” Eric continued, monologuing to nobody, “I can feel everything inside this barrier, I am a god in here! I might not be able to tell where it is, but I know it’s still here!” He laughed out of the blue. “No, it’s not just a pet monster, is it? You might be able to fool the others, but I am also Sponsored by a god, and that creature of yours has the smell of the divine.”

  I frowned. That must be the new blood in Dr. Walter’s body at play but I’m surprised that Eric was able to pick it up so quickly.

  “That thing’s your Artifact, isn’t it?

  Noe, what is he jabbering about?

  “I… I am not too sure, my Host. There is insufficient information about the Sponsorship Program for me to make an accurate assessment.”

  “Come out of hiding!” he screamed again, “Do you think your Artifact is indestructible? You should know as well as I do what the consequences would be if it’s destroyed, and trust me when I say that I can do so! Your worthless god can’t hide you forever!”

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  Artifact? Is that something all Sponsors get?

  “Once again, there is insufficient information, I would advise you to ask Big Bob about the Program when you can.”

  Yeah, but it’s clear that this thing’s important, and I’m guessing that these consequences he speaks of aren’t good.

  “That is a safe assumption to make. His own artifact is the Book that he is holding, I would advise that you seek and destroy it as soon as possible, since harming the Aspirant himself is well outside of our current capabilities.”

  Easier said than done, but at least it’s a better plan than to throw ourselves into him over and over again. Let me think of a way to actually do that without dying.

  “Additionally, it appears that Aspirant Eric is under the assumption that you are wholly separate from Dr. Walter. We can make use of that.”

  I nodded slowly. I suppose that made sense; there was no way that anyone in their right mind would believe that the monstrosity that was Dr. Walter could be an Aspirant. Hell, even Jae-Hyun had a tough time believing it when he first saw me transform, and I’m pretty sure that man has seen everything in the Trials. However, the fact that Eric was under the false assumption that the main threat was still outside was beneficial to me. He didn’t consider Dr. Walter to be a threat, and I doubt he’d waste too much of his energy trying to kill me if that were the case. I’ll just have to reinforce that idea.

  Noe, help me project my voice a bit.

  “Acknowledged,” she said, “Speak when you are ready, dear Walter.”

  “Eric,” I said, and true to Noe’s words, my voice echoed all around me, making it impossible to trace my location, “You can’t find me, all I have to do is wait until you’re exhausted and out of mana, and the villagers will deal with you. I don’t have to even show myself!”

  He laughed. “Finally, an answer.”

  “I have the advantage here,” I said again, “I can hide from the village indefinitely, you can’t!”

  More laughter erupted from Eric as he sent a wave of force all around. I had to dodge out of the way from some of that debris. “That is true, if you hadn’t sent your creature here that is! You were careless!”

  Good, he was getting more and more overconfident. Let’s rile him up a bit more and see if I can’t get him to spill some more information about himself.

  “Nonsense, my artifact is safe with me now. That creature's not related to my Sponsor!”

  “Thanks for confirming my theory, you moron! Did I mention that my god can detect lies?”

  I pretended to sound upset. “But you said-”

  He smirked. “You don’t need the Sponsorship of a Trickster god to know tricks.” He shook his head. “I am glad that you’re so stupid though, because while your god might be able to hide you and your tool from my sight, I know for a fact that it is still trapped in my dome. I might not be able to pinpoint its location, but I know that nothing has escaped my prison.”

  Huh, are you manipulating his emotions, Noe? He’s willingly giving up a lot of crucial information on his own here.

  “I am not, my Host. I believe that Aspirant Eric is simply overconfident due to his huge boost in strength.”

  Fair point.

  “Or he is simply stupid. I lean toward the latter,” Noe continued with snark. “I suggest you keep him talking. I am fast approaching an understanding as to why your new powers are not working. I need a bit more time.”

  That I can do. This guy’s ego must be through the roof, getting him to chat should be a piece of cake.

  “I believe that he is also quite insecure at the moment now that he realizes that he is nothing but a tool for his god. He will want validation, or at least the perceived superiority that he desires.”

  Way ahead of you, Noe.

  I cleared my throat and made sure that I had the perfect voice of someone who was caught off guard. “B- but that’s impossible! My god told me that nothing could get the best of me! You’re lying!”

  A smile started to creep up Eric’s face. “I’m not lying on this point. Did you know that gods are separated into tiers? That not all gods are equal?”

  “My god must be on the highest rank then!” I stuttered.

  He let out a mocking laugh. “No, you imbecile! Your god is nothing but a minor deity, a lesser god! Nothing in the face of my Patron!”

  “You’re lying again! There’s no way that someone like you could become the Patron of a god stronger than mine.”

  Eric’s grin turned into something truly vicious. “My god is the mighty Thoth! Through him, I know everything, I see everything, and I can control all of the mana around me! Your god is nothing before Him!”

  Noe, do you have any idea who this Thoth guy is?

  “I only have access to your memories, my Host,” she answered, “and you have not been paying attention to the small gods of Earth. We have its name; that is enough for now.”

  Right, I’ll have a word with him once we’re all done here…

  “Keep him talking, I am almost done.”

  I cleared my throat and tried to sound confident. “I don’t believe you, and it doesn’t matter! You say that you can see everything, but it’s as clear as day that you can’t find my summon!”

  “Are you sure that it is wise to goad him like that, my Host?” Noe asked.

  I mean, what can he do? It’s not like he can actually find-

  A huge gust of wind slammed a few feet away from me and I almost cried out.

  “I might not be able to find it,” Eric said with a grin, “But I can find the spot where I can’t sense any mana. Like I said, nothing in this barrier escapes my notice.”

  Ah… Another concentrated wave of energy was sent my way, and I had to book it out of my hiding place to avoid the resounding explosion. It was a good thing that Dr. Walter’s body was so damn sturdy that nothing short of a direct hit would hurt me, otherwise, I’d have been dead ten times over from just the aftershocks. The only saving grace was that he couldn’t find my exact location, but that also meant that I had to constantly move around to avoid getting blasted into pieces.

  It wasn’t easy since the guy looked like he could sling magic around endlessly, and worse yet, the ground around me was slowly turning into a mire of sludge and detritus. I felt my feet and hands getting caught up in the loose dirt and blasted rock, and it’d only be a matter of time before I couldn’t outpace his barrage.

  Noe, please tell me we have some good news. I thought as I scrambled through a particularly destroyed patch of ground. I’ll be buried alive in mud at this pace.

  “I do have information about the nature of the new ability.”

  Great, what is it?

  “The transformation of Dr. Walter is only semi-complete, my Host. You will not be able to access the Divine Transformation until the Ceremony’s conclusion.”

  Of course that’s the case. How long until then?

  “35 minutes.”

  And how long until we run out of Luck Charges?

  “28 minutes.”

  I turned my attention back to Eric and the sheer amount of energy that he was flinging and cursed. Great… I’ll have to survive 7 minutes versus that thing without any Luck Charges? Let’s hope he’s not pissed off in half an hour, here’s hoping for the best then.

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