Second World



"You can do that?" Everyone asked after hearing Master's claim.

Master acted like the others didn't exist. His eyes never moved away from Jack.

"You need my help to do it?" Jack asked.

"Don't sound so happy about it," Master replied. "You just happen to have the ability to give this mission the highest success chance."

"In other words, you need my help to do it," Jack repeated.

Master decided to just not say anything this time. He had learned by now that Jack would just respond with something that irritated him.

"So, what difficult mission do you need my help with which your great Godly self can't do anything about?" Jack asked.

Master took a deep breath. He decided he just had to suffer this fool for now.

"Let's find someplace we can talk. It is too open out here," Master said.

Spring Crown took them into the clothing store he went into before. Inside was a back room with a meeting table that was still intact. There was even a whiteboard.

Jack, Grace, Spring Crown, and Master went into this room while the others stayed outside to keep watch.

"So, boss. What do you need us to do?" Spring Crown asked cheerily after taking a seat.

Master glanced at Spring Crown annoyingly. This guy didn't seem at all bothered by the situation they were in.

"Yeah, boss. Lay it out on us," Jack imitated Spring Crown's tone.

Master took another deep breath. He guessed it was his fault for creating a world that empowered these gamers. He decided to just cut to the chase. The sooner they resolved the situation here, the sooner he was free of these fools... Except for Spring Crown, he still had use for that one for a while longer.

"This world might be a constructed dimension with its own rules, but it's not perfect. I think whoever is in control of this place is using a power that is not originally theirs. Stripping us from using our equipment and skills took no small energy. It is like fighting against the rules laid down by the world system. Hence, the controller of this place employed hidden rune diagrams to maintain the restriction of our abilities."

"Hidden rune diagrams…?" The others asked. At this point, they were all familiar with rune diagrams already.

"Apart from being invisible, there is another reason why those of you who have mana sense didn't quite sense them," Master continued.

"Ho… You know about mana sense?" Jack asked.

Master ignored Jack. "These rune diagrams are there in every different world within this dimension we have been to. The matches, the sacrificial rounds, all of them."

"So, why can't we sense it?" Jack asked.

"Because it is the size of the entire world we are in," Master answered.

Jack realized then. Mana sense had a limited range. Without sensing the whole thing, most would just consider the mana as part of the environment. It was like an ant who stand inside a footprint made by an elephant. The ant won't realize that it was actually inside a footprint.

"Let me guess, you want my help in unraveling this rune diagram," Jack said.

"I've already started unraveling it the moment I set foot in this end match's arena," Master said. "I've studied every rune diagram in our previous matches. All of them used the same version. This end match is no different. It might have a slight variation but it is essentially still the same diagram. With this knowledge, I've no problem tracking the node points of this world's rune diagram. If we depower all these nodes, the rune diagram will stop working."

"If you are already working on it, why do you need me?" Jack asked.

"Wait! You said you are depowering the node points. Won't Aglea or whoever is controlling this dimension be aware of your doing?" Grace asked.

"As I said, this controller seemed to be using a power that is not their own. They are not fully in control. Aglea only appears at the start and the end of the sacrificial round, because that round is more complex. As for the matches before the sacrificial round, it is simple so she can accompany us all the time. And one thing to note is, she was not aware of what happened during the sacrificial round when she reappeared. Remember how she was surprised when she found us fighting after the first sacrificial round?"

"I remember we were not fighting. I was whooping your ass," Jack said.

"This proves that she was not monitoring the round when it was ongoing," Master acted as if Jack didn't say anything. "With the scale of this end match, the energy needed to operate it is even much higher. Because Aglea is not using a power that is her own, she needed all her attention to keep this world working. She will only stop when this constructed world informed her that the match has ended. That's how I can depower all the nodes without her realizing it. It has been proven when I deactivated the first node. Nothing came out to stop me."

Jack and Grace looked at one another. The two knew for a fact that the controller of this dimension, Euphosine, was indeed operating as Master had theorized. She was using Goddess Joy's divine essence to make this dimension, a power that was not her own.

Euphosine herself also told Jack that she only watched the recording of the sacrificial rounds after the rounds ended. That's why she was occupied for a few hours afterward, allowing Jack to talk to Talia during that time.

Jack, however, was more impressed that Master learned all this on his own. He was peeved though, because Master had kept all this from them until now.

"So, what makes you come here now? If you are so capable, why not just proceed to depower the diagram on your own?" Jack asked.

"Because the last node, the main one, is guarded," Master replied.

"Guarded?"

"I assume you have encountered the dark creatures that come out during the night, haven't you?" Master asked. "The last node is inside a high-rise building, and it is full of these creatures."