Pantheon Online

Chapter 37 - Even Gods Die

The game system had supplemented the next piece of information that he had received. Allevia had shared details on how Gods could die. At first, he did not think much of it until the game's notification came in. When one of the following things happened, a player's account would be permanently banned from the game!

So, first off was the obvious. When a God lost all of its believers, they would die. But, there was a quicker way than to hunt down every believer. That was to just wipe out all of their Oracles!

The reasoning was simple, without an Oracle, there was no way to make their will known to their believers! With each Tier that a player obtained, they would gain an extra Oracle slot. Making for seven in total if a player made it all the way to Tier 6.

If an Oracle died of natural causes, then the player could name a new Oracle to take their place. But, if they died in battle or were assassinated, then it would take three months in real-time before they could name a new Oracle!

So, no matter how powerful a player became, they would always have a weak spot! So it meant that the players really had to pay attention to the NPCs. Just when he thought that was the end of it, he had been hit with another method.

When a player's stats could no longer support their Divinity, then they would die! So say a Tier 3 God lost enough stats to be comparable to a Tier 2 God. Well, then their stats no longer supported their Divinity, and they would be eliminated!

Essentially, this meant that every player was at their most vulnerable when they had just ascended to a new Tier! A Tier 2 God close to reaching the next Tier might take three or four deaths for them to actually die and be banned. But a brand new Tier 3 God would be eliminated from receiving even one death!

Colt felt a headache brewing when he realised how difficult this game would actually be. It was almost impossible to survive as a solo player. 'The format is definitely for professionals. Casual players won't stand a chance in this game.' Colt's eyes briefly glittered when he thought about how huge this would be!

This game would become a streaming sensation for sure. There would be no telling for the audience when their favourite players might get eliminated. It gave a sense of tension that they could not find anywhere else!

'The developers have been smart with this. The game obviously has a lifespan. It could be pretty short or quite long depending on how many people they invite to it at general release.' Colt began to second guess his plan to make money selling information on the game.

It was apparent he could make more if he took it seriously instead. The problem was that he had no team behind him for support anymore. 'Hm? Wait, she didn't mention anything about guilds!'

Colt swore when he realised a piece of vital information was missing. It would definitely be what most teams would focus on. However, the question that they would all want to be answered was whether there was a limit on how many members they could have. If Colt had to guess, then he would say that there was.

'It's almost like an open tournament in a strange way. Which means that there must be prizes involved.' Colt had been in the circuit for years, and games designed for competitions always had rewards available.

Colt began to realise that he stumbled on a veritable treasure trove. Knowing this information even slightly earlier than the competition would give him a considerable edge. A few players had already fallen victim to thinking that they could revive infinitely and started with PK right away. 'That player who attacked me in the Mortal Realms is probably banned then. I wonder how many others have already become victims of this system?'

"Now, you have received everything that I have to offer. You may take your time collecting the items in the chests but be warned. The Lost Souls outside of this tomb will throw everything they have at you to try and seize the First Flame fragment." Allevia said with an uncaring voice.

"What about the other two I came in with?" Colt asked as he sensed that their conversation was almost over.

"They have been rewarded for their performance. Once you leave this room through the way you entered, you will find yourself back at the entrance to the tomb. I wish you luck, young God. May the Heavens be forever in your favour." As Allevia finished that sentence, her phantom faded away. Leaving Colt alone in the silent room.

He sighed as he glanced around the room before choosing the first chest to open. Inside he found 8 Gold coins. He felt a little underwhelmed by that as he stored them in his Inventory. The next chest held several weapons, but the system marked them as Quest items that he had to hand over to Jarxos.

The same thing happened with the next couple of chests which annoyed him. However, when he opened the last chest, he discovered a round shield inside. The shield was made of wood, with a silver rim around its edge and a protruding spike in the centre.

[Common Skardian Shield]

[+2 Endurance]

[Description: Common item once wielded by weak Skardian Gods.]

Colt frowned when he read the description that came with it. It was almost as if the text was meant to piss him off by deliberately inferring that he was weak! 'Tell me something I don't know!' Colt sighed.

Indeed, he was weak when he considered the various powers that players could gain as they advanced through the Tiers. The only question that lingered in his mind now was… How far could he go?

Colt equipped the new shield as he bowed to the marble monument that now stood silent. The room definitely felt like a grave now. Colt then steeled himself for the fight that was to come. After all, he still had to make it out alive…