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"What do you think?" The largest one smirked at him arrogantly from behind a thick cloak that obscured his face entirely.

Kain let out a low growl as he glared at their position, baring fangs that were every bit as sharp as the swords pointed at him.

He started to inch closer to their spot until suddenly, there came another strange noise, this time, much like wind chimes, yet also high-pitched and eerie. It made Kain want to cower under the trees instead of moving toward them further. When it finished playing for the first time, it began again only slightly differently, and it went on repeating in an endless loop. It sounded both mournful and sad, and it drew out his anger even more than the fear it had caused before.

"Stop!" His voice echoed off into the darkness as he stomped his foot in frustration. "You can\'t make me fight you! You have nothing I need...nothing worth fighting for."

The cloaked figure didn\'t seem to notice anything different about the dragon\'s words or demeanour before continuing with a laugh that made Kain\'s skin crawl. "Oh, but you have something we want, old man."

It was true enough, but without Kain, perhaps they would never know where the blue orb was hidden. If he could just get them talking long enough, maybe he might be able to slip away without too many questions asked. But how did these men know what happened? Surely, Ulfer hadn\'t told them? Had someone else? It couldn\'t have been Mikijah since he was on a job.

"Don\'t call me \'old\'," Kain snarled, readying himself for whatever action they\'d take next. "I\'m still quite young at heart. And besides..." He grinned wickedly as a puff of fire burst from his jaws. "Why do you think I\'ve been lurking out here all alone in this forsaken forest?"

Meanwhile, Colt coughed as he exited the gaming capsule. He felt groggy, and his body was weak as he headed for the showers. Not wanting to show weakness to anyone, he tried not to stumble along the way. Once there, he took care to clean himself up and fixate on what Clara had told him after rescuing him to keep his mind off everything that had happened with Mikijah. When that failed miserably, he went about getting dressed as his hands trembled until there came a knock on his door that made him jump. "Hey kid, you okay in there?"

Colt hurried to answer it, only realizing once it opened who it was standing before him when the person spoke. "You don\'t look so good."

Paul sighed as he studied Colt\'s trembling hands and the haunted look in his eyes. "I dunno whether to be grateful that Clara rescued you before you could lose your stats or curse Mikijah for torturing you for so long." Paul slammed his fist against the door frame. Colt flinched slightly at the sudden outburst from Paul. "What was all that even about, Paul? That didn\'t seem like a pissed-off member of another Pantheon, and I still don\'t understand how he could suppress me." "Well...Mikijah isn\'t just any ordinary player." Paul folded his arms across his chest as he looked down on the boy. "He\'s on another level to you guys right now, which means he can do things most players wouldn\'t even be able to imagine!"

Colt took this information in for a moment while letting it sink in. He thought over what he knew about Mikijah after suffering at his hands for several days in-game. Then something finally clicked into place and Colt gave him a troubled look. "He\'s using something similar to your Domain technique, isn\'t he?"

Paul nodded as he continued to stare back at Colt. The two remained silent as they considered their options. After a few moments passed, Colt glanced up at the door where the mirror was set. "Paul?"

Paul immediately knew what Colt wanted to ask, but he could only sigh in response. \'Giving him this knowledge now would hurt rather than help his development. He hasn\'t yet reached a sufficient mastery over the Domain technique.\' He frowned as he decided to opt for being blunt with Colt.

"The Domain technique is only the beginning of what I\'ve been teaching you guys. It\'s the first step to exerting your full potential in deep dive games." Paul sighed while rubbing the back of his neck. "Most folks never stumble across it. Unless they find someone like me from the early generation of deep-dive gaming. Back then, it was all about bringing your imagination to life."

"After a while, there were too many complaints about it being unfair. Future projects were scrapped, and they took a more traditional approach with stats." Paul paused for a moment. "However, the technology from the first generation is still used in games today. Even though it\'s needed to make the games, the developers started adding code to make it impossible for players to access that potential. But, parts have still shone through. It\'s impossible to completely cut it off, but the restrictions stop new players coming across it themselves."

Colt let out a long sigh as he listened to Paul\'s explanation. "If the Domain technique is only the beginning, what are the other stages, and what did Mikijah use against me?"

"Let me be clear, Colt. Knowing won\'t help you in the short term. You have to gain mastery in the Domain technique before attempting to progress, ok? I\'ll let you know when you reach that level, but I want your word on it. If you break your word, I\'ll resign as Ragnarok\'s trainer. Do we have a deal?" Colt didn\'t need time to think about it, as he replied with a solemn expression. "Deal."

"Good," Paul chuckled. "You already know about the Domain technique. It lets you take control of your in-game spells and direct them. However, that\'s only when they\'re still close to you. You start to lose control the further away they get. Which is why you created your targeting runes, correct?"

Colt nodded as he raised his eyebrows. "The next step is called Dominion. It\'ll let you take control and manipulate your opponents\' spells when they\'re within your controllable range. Not only that, but you\'ll learn to manipulate your stats." "Manipulate my stats?"

"Mm, your stats represent pieces of your whole being. Once you learn Dominion, you\'ll be able to stack your stats to increase your power. In other words, you\'ll be able to trick the game system into believing two or more stats are actually the same one."

Colt swallowed as he considered the insanity of that. \'It would be impossible for anyone who had no knowledge of this to fight against it. It would be difficult to pinpoint the user\'s exact stat values, and they could force my spells to miss them or hit other targets.\'

"Is that what Mikijah used against me?"

"No," Paul groaned while shaking his head. "Well, partly. Considering what happened to you, he\'s able to use the basics of the third and final step. Domination."

Colt\'s eyes widened at the ominous-sounding technique. He couldn\'t imagine something being more powerful than Dominion.

"Domination is as nasty as it sounds. Masters of it can prevent your spells from activating or take full control of them once used. What\'s worse is that once they take control of it, the game recognises it as their spell rather than yours. So your spells can be used against you."

"That sounds nasty," Colt replied, finding it difficult to come up with a more suitable word.

"That\'s only half of it." Paul sighed. "Users can trick the game system into believing their opponent\'s stat values are part of their own. But this varies depending on how much of the player\'s influence they can overwrite with their own. Imagine a player that gets more powerful with each enemy targeting them. It\'s like throwing fuel on a fire. Only another Domination master has a chance against them." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Colt groaned just thinking about it. \'Mikijah can use the basics of Domination. Then, there\'s Clara, who saved me. She must be able to do the same or even be more advanced in it than Mikijah! That\'s two players minimum in Skardia who can wipe the floor with me whenever they choose!\'

"I hate to break it to you, Colt." Paul\'s lips curled up slightly. "You may be a big fish in the pond of normal players. But, you\'re insignificantly small compared to the real powers in the vast ocean of players."

Colt nodded without any enthusiasm. His eyes had been opened to a severe threat lurking below the surface. Powerful players were hiding in the shadows as they watched the struggles of those who didn\'t know any better.

"Well, it was only a matter of time before they focused their attention on Pantheon Online." Paul chuckled with a grim expression. "It\'s the first game in so long that has no restrictions on these abilities. If I had to guess, they\'ve been laying low and testing their limits. But they\'ll probably start making their moves soon if they haven\'t already. I guess this game is quite suitably named."

"What do you mean?" Colt asked.

"Well, what would you call a player who has mastered these techniques?"

"Gods," Colt whispered in shock.

"Exactly. To be more precise, compared to the other players in the game, I\'d call them True Gods."

Bet you all thought this volume was only named after the True God status of Tier 2. Haha, so, did anyone see this coming? Antihero