Martin saw the notification that Jasper was making new skills as they were flying. It was typical of the man to make both a reading skill and a reading comprehension skill. Even so, Martin couldn't help but consider making his own. The only real input he had given when they had discussed skills outside the game was that bows and guns should use the same skill, instead of two different skills. Some of the others had complained that it wasn't realistic, but Martin had pointed out that they had just been trekking through caves for days without ever needing a break. Their game wasn't about realism, but rather the power fantasy that this setting inherently provided.

  The god of dungeons padded the carapace of his mighty steed while assigning one of his Energy to create a new skill.

  Text from Image:

  New Skill Created!

  Trickshot

  Effect: This skill governs your ability to perform impossible feats of precision with ranged weapons. Your level determines how many degrees any projectile you fire can curve, ricochet, or otherwise alter its path mid-flight toward your intended target. This equals your skill level times two.

  At level 25: You get a ghost path that shows you a number of ricochets equal to your skill level divided by 10, when aiming. (Rounded down.)

  At level 50: Hitting a target you called as your target grants you an additional 50% XP for a hit. 250% if it is a oneshot kill.

  At level 75: You can fire multiple projectiles at once, equal to your skill level divided by 20. (Rounded down.)

  At level 100: Any trick shot you perform will automatically hit a called target's most vulnerable point.

  He smirked at the skill. Martin liked doing trickshots, it was part of the reason why he had liked the Range Domain. There was something about obliterating something at a distance that they could not perceive, and from an angle that they had no hope of predicting, that appealed to him. Looking over his options, Martin realised that he actually had 8 Worship left, and he could make a new Sniper Skill Frame. That being said, there was still one skill that needed to be created for the Sniper to make sense.

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  New Skill Created!

  Perception

  Effect: Perception determines the clarity and range of your sight. Each level increases the maximum visible distance by 1 meter and improves your ability to perceive fine details, motion, and hidden elements in your surroundings.

  At level 25: You can perceive portions of the infrared and ultraviolet spectrum, allowing you to see recent heat signatures and faint magical residue.

  At level 50: You can see through thin obstructions such as foliage and fog.

  At level 75: You can perceive people's aura, this includes magical training and if they hide their true form.

  At level 100: You see in all directions at once within a radius equal to your skill level x 5 meters

  Martin was quite happy with the version of Perception that he had made. It wasn't designed for people fighting at range, but it was definitely the most useful for them. However, any rogue worth their salt would want the level 100 perk. Being able to see around yourself for 500 meters was amazing, and while one's vision would definitely be better in whatever direction that you were looking, since you could easily see your normal distance plus another 100 meters at almost perfect clarity. All in all, it was pretty amazing.

  With that in mind, he dedicated two of his eight worship to creating a new Skill Frame.

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  New Skill Frame Created!

  Sniper

  Requirements: Level 60 Trickshot, Level 50 Perception, Level 40 Stealth, Level 45 Bow/Gun Skill

  Effect: You automatically perceive an optimal vantage point within a radius equal to your range of vision. When firing from such a vantage point, your chance to crit is increased by a percentage equal to your stealth level.

  It might just be a bit too strong, at least in Martin's opinion, but he just knew that his fellow gods would be making equally as strong Skill Frames and Frames.

  Before he could complain any further, they had reached the edge of Letho. Thick mushroom trees were standing in their way, and Jasper looked like he was about to collapse. The poor guy was clearly missing his Endurance Domain.

  "Wow! Did you know flying is super hard?" The man was gasping for air, inhaling quite a bit of mana-rich dust with each breath that he took.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Martin didn't answer, instead focusing on the strange monument before them.

  What had once been one of the anchor points that Ewen had used for his ascent had been turned into a defiled monument. The ancient scriptures in some flowing elvish language could still be seen, and Martin didn't have to ask to have it translated, knowing that Jasper wouldn't be able to keep himself from explaining it.

  "I think that is Ewen's dogma," Jasper said, spitting out a mixture of dust and spit before reading. " Magic is a stage above wisdom, which can only be achieved through painstaking study. The possibilities of magic are endless, and your only limitations are the knowledge of the magic you wish to perform and your talent."

  Jasper read from the first pillar on the west side of the anchor point, before moving to the eastern pillar. "Think before you act, discuss the circumstances, and draw no hasty conclusions. Ill-considered decisions often end in disasters and war. All sides of a matter must be studied carefully and considered thoroughly. Knowledge must be shared. Learn from others, and pass that learning on. Be a part of the magic! "

  "That cannot be his dogma", Martin said, feeling like the rug had been pulled from under his feet.

  "No... no, that is his dogma. Remember that Ewen's ascend was in part due to a betrayal by his own son." Jasper explained, taking a step back. "I think that the last part of his dogma became part of the spell, meaning that the man was infused into the magic sphere."

  Martin stepped forward, running his fingers across the broken floor, which felt warm to the touch. A massive spell diagram of some sort had been carved into the broken stone, and yet he didn't recognise it. Before Jasper could inform him of why the binding circle was some kind of interesting magic, Martin asked a question he actually wanted the answer to.

  "Has this been used recently?"

  Jasper's hands quickly weaved a pattern across the stone, and soon the broken spell circle was buzzing with power. Energy flowed through it as though it had never been broken.

  "Define recently." Martin could hear the smug smile in Jasper's voice, so the ork just waited for his friend to continue. "It hasn't seen much use. It was cracked about a couple of aeons ago, meaning that it was probably the point when Ewen ascended. Then it was used again, about two hundred years ago, which lines up nicely with the demon war timeline."

  Martin sighed. "I am just taking a wild guess here. The anchor point still has a strong spatial connection and can be used to open a portal between worlds without the insane number of sacrifices that is usually required. So if you had to put down a demon portal, this would probably be one of the areas?"

  Jasper's eyes narrowed. "How could you... Did you read the logs?"

  "I read the logs" Martin's grin was massive, stretching from ear to ear and filled with tusks and sharp teeth.

  Both men laughed a little at their back and forth, before Jasper went back to focusing on the spellwork. Martin, in the meantime, was taking out some kind of werewolf creature that kept trying to sneak up on them. He didn't really get a close look, as his weapons were practically auto-aiming thanks to all these divine powers. It wasn't a drain on his resources, and the creatures were turned into a fine mist with every hit he sent their way. It was nice to see that he had some firepower after his scuffle with the Archdemon.

  Jasper was the first one to interrupt the steady rhythm of cannonballs smearing creatures into jelly. "How much do you know about the world creation myth?"

  Martin stretched, the booming sound of his shoulder-mounted cannon stopping only for a second as it pivoted 183 degrees in an effort to not hit its owner in the face, and then slamming a pair of triple shots into the horizon.

  "Honestly, not much. I think you forgot that you are the game director and I am the code monkey you hired to do your dirty work." Martin said with a smile.

  "Man, I need to return you to the freaking circus then, but I am asking since the way that Ewen has been making these anchors kind of interferes with this creation myth." Jasper stood up, his eyes glowing with power.

  "Uh-uh ah-ah", Martin made exaggerated motions mimicking a monkey before raising both hands in the universal hand sign of not understanding.

  Jasper gave him a look that brooked no arguments. "I am being a bit serious here."

  "Oh, my bad. What are you thinking?" Martin was instantly focused on the problem at hand.

  "In short, I believe that the AI has made up a creation myth that is threatening to give this entire world an early collapse," Jasper explained. A short pause later to allow Martin to ask any probing questions that he might have, and Jasper took it as his signal that he could continue. "So, the world creation myth says that in the very beginning, there were two forces of energy. One positive and one negative. Fairly standard stuff. Though these energies had physical forms, as in they were living beings. One clash later, and they created Armandos, though we are referred to as the forgotten god of gods, The Wanderer and The Scribe."

  Martin furrowed his brow. "That doesn't align with the timeline at all." He said, and Jasper's eyes lit up with joy.

  "YES! Exactly! It doesn't line up! Meaning that the AI is doing some light redaction of the early days of our quest, but I kind of fear that the longer the AI gets to run, the more it will start to catch up, retconning and redacting fairly new seeding cycles, to the point where it will catch its own tail, and effectively, start making a completely different experience than what we have designed." Jasper explained, his movements almost frantic as he used his arms to help underline the severity of what was happening.

  "And we wouldn't be able to perform rollbacks, since it would just happen during the next cycle. At best, we could lose months of progress if we don't limit the AI in some way." Martin concluded.

  Jasper nodded eagerly, clearly happy that his co-worker had come to the same conclusion as him.

  "Yeah... that is bad. I will raise a support ticket when we get out, and we might have to slow down the number of years being generated. Or speed it up. I won't pretend to be an expert on this AI model, but it is not that smart. So maybe we can trick it into thinking that it has already skipped the point of self-consumption." Martin said with a shrug. "But... uhm, what was even doing that pulled your mind into the creation myth?"

  Jasper shrugged. "Honestly, it wasn't that bad. He was doing some funky stuff with Kallean, the good energy, trying to tap it for power. He didn't want to use Misrush, since that was the energy Daikia had made a deal with. So instead, he tried to tap into the good energy. However, it turns out that he found the energy of everything kind and good... and it has been killed, becoming the Archdemon of Hatred."

  Martin didn't really seem suitably impressed. So the team lead gave a big sigh.

  "You haven't been reading my newsletters... have you?"

  "YOU CALL THEM INTERLUDES! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THEM?!?" Martin said, only being a little defensive.

  "It is so you know that you should read them between your normal workflows. Is this why you haven't taken the security training yet? Are you just dumping my emails into some spam folder? I swear, I am going to- You know what... We can pick this up when we get out of the game." Jasper said, feeling like he was using the course he had taken in conflict de-escalation quite handily. "Whatever the case, The Archdemon of Hatred is this monstrous being that nobody knows the origin of. However, his son, Ballator, maybe you have heard of him?"

  Martin rolled his eyes, though he didn't interrupt.

  "Ballator is a demon lord. That means the child of an Archdemon. Ballator might be able to match an Archdemon blow for blow, thanks to his parent being the Archdemon of Hatred. That was why, despite having so many armies and people to help them, the people of Kalish couldn't really stop him." Jasper explained. "However, being the spawn of the greatest Archdemon around, he moved to open the demon portals, using these anchor points. Something that he could probably do quite easily, being effectively attuned to their targets already."

  Martin nodded along. "But you said that the demon portals were made in A'kastin, right. Why would their origin be here?"

  Jasper smiled. "I think you just found the next question that we should try and get an answer to."