GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?



"So what do you think?" The first sage asked him.

He didn't flinch due to the sudden appearance of the eye within the space of the core. He expected the first sage to come once he got access to it. Their meeting always happens when he has successfully cracked a puzzle. First, it was the mystery of the cards, then the time he cracked the law matrix of his arena, and now.

"I know you had an ulterior motive for this competition, but I am still shocked by the implications. You asked me to win the competition. Doing that will make me offend this other world god. Please tell me this competition is not serious and that the other world god is easygoing." Soverick asked.

The first sage didn't answer. He doesn't have anything to say to Soverick's question, and he doesn't think the question is worthy enough for an answer from him. 

Soverick sighed in resignation. Everything he knows points to the seriousness of this competition. This competition involves about 100 world fragments joined together to stage a battle between two different races. World fragments are very expensive. Origin gods will kill to have one, and yet, 100 of them were created for the sole purpose of this competition. 

World gods can make world fragments. But surely, it can't be that easy to make 100. Two world gods won't spend that much time and resources on a baseless competition. Millions of participants were then transported to the prepared arenas. The two different races that are competing are also sworn enemies. Battle sage monkeys have even managed to completely eliminate the Vipers from the Virut plane. 

As if the previous bitterness between the two races is not enough, they have also involved their child of the plane and their paragons. The conflict involves world gods, and it is being broadcasted on both planes for all their inhabitants to see. World gods are powerful, but there's no way they did all of this on a whim or for the fun of it. They are not that bored. He knows all of these, but he was hoping he was wrong about his conclusion. He was hoping that this competition would not be too serious. The first Sage's silence dashed all of his hope.

"Alright. That's a foolish question, I suppose. Let me make another stupid request. Please tell me that there's no stake in this."

The eye chuckled at him. "You know better than that, Soverick Ghastorix."

"Damn it." He swore.

Yes, he knows better than that. If the situation is serious, then there must be stakes. But he can also hope. He has to hope there are no stakes because any stake that involves the interest of world gods cannot be simple. Even the smallest stake, which is respect and bragging rights, is not simple considering that they are world gods of two different races. 

The outcome of this competition will shame one race or another. That is an entire race and an entire plane being disgraced. He wished he had gotten involved in it at all. World gods are terrifying enemies. And he will make a world god his enemy no matter the outcome of the competition. He will have offended the other world god if he wins. Worse still, he will offend the first sage if he losses.

Soverick groaned. Then he asked, "Please tell me you didn't bet using me as a stake or with anything related to me."

The first sage replied, "You can be certain that I did not do that."

Soverick felt relief. It is a bad thing to act against the interest of a world god. It is a worse thing to be one of the items that are at stake. But now that he is sure that he is not part of the stakes, he wants to distance himself from the competition. He can't explain his situation to the other world god. The only one he can convince is the first sage. 

So he said, "Your plan to lead me by the nose to fight for you has failed. I am sure you are not surprised. You probably planned for it too. So what is it that you will offer me to fight for you now? Will it be a boon or threat?" He asked the first sage.

The deal was that he would participate in the competition for the support of the racial council and that he would get to ask the world god for one thing if he won. He has participated in the competition and will get the support of the racial council as promised. Winning the competition is another thing entirely. Winning it is also offending a world god. One wish is not enough for him now. He would prefer if the first sage said he doesn't need to win anymore.

The first sage replied. "You are right. I expected it. I will offer you another request to encourage you to win this competition."

The sage didn't say he didn't need to win anymore. The sage upped the ante. The previous encouragement was the bait of knowledge. Soverick got a taste of it during their first meeting. He couldn't get a lot of that white space back then, but what he got was already valuable. It was when he entered the world fragment that made this arena that he realized the immense opportunity that he had been given. He first had to crack the law matrix, then the core, to regain access to the white space. The sage estimated that he would gain access to it after the fourth challenge.

The difficulty of the core was made that way. It was not to be impossible to crack within the period of the challenge, or Soverick won't try at all. It was supposed to be within his reach, so he will continue to try everything possible to gain access to it. Winning all of the challenges would have granted him access to the core eventually, but Soverick expedited the process by repurposing someone's consciousness as a means to attack the core. 

Now Soverick has gotten what he wants, and he doesn't see the need to offend a world god just to win. The sage has to encourage him with something else for him to win the challenge. It is another incentive to win.