Chapter 53: Chess Challenge!
Chess Dimension.
When Soren heard this name, the first thing that came to his mind was his encounter with the Demigod Giant in the Frozen Kingdom, where it also mentioned a chess game, which seemed to be a popular simulation game during the time of the Arcane Empire. The Arcane Empire had a splendid civilization, and among the many popular recreational activities, chess games seemed to be one of them.
However, this did not appear to be a simple game; just by looking at the structure of this dimension, one could tell that this game could potentially be lethal!
“Should we take it down?”
The voice of the Fallen Witch echoed in their minds through telepathic communication: “Although the Tower Spirit has legendary-level combat power, the three of us teaming up against it shouldn’t be difficult.”
Soren glanced at her and slightly shook his head: “Wait a moment.”
After saying that, a faint glimmer appeared before his eyes. This was a special ability acquired after taking on a divine form. Combined with his previous detection ability, he could roughly analyze a portion of the enemy. From the Tower Spirit before him, Soren felt a trace of divine power. This Tower Spirit 13 was definitely not a simple creature; it could be considered the administrator of this dimension.
“Extracting 1 point of Divine Power Value.”
“Conducting data analysis simulation on the target! … Analysis completed! … Partial information on the target acquired! …”
………………
“Name: Tower Spirit 13 [Activated Tower Spirit] [Demigod Elemental Giant] [Virtual Deity]”
“Race: Alchemical Construct Life.”
“Level: Level 20 Activated Construct Tower Spirit / Level 5 Demigod Giant / Level 5 Archmage [Seventh Tier]”
“Abilities: Unknown.”
“Domain: Unknown.”
“Alarm! Alarm! Alarm!”
“The target creature possesses a virtual deity in its dimensional space! … Divine template activated! … Calculating target virtual deity! … Target creature possesses a virtual deity of [Lower Divine Power]! …”
………………
Soren’s heart sank, and he immediately said: “Don’t make a move! The target possesses a virtual deity!”
“It is the administrator of this dimension! … Here it can mobilize the entire half-plane’s power against us! … Our chances of victory are quite slim! …”
It turned out to be a Demigod Giant.
In an instant, Soren discovered what familiar divine power meant. The Tower Spirit before him had indeed infused the divine essence of the Elemental Giant during its creation. He didn’t know what kind of archmage was capable of creating such a level of Tower Spirit. However, it seemed that it had already been assimilated by this dimension. Such a non-divine unit wanting to possess a virtual deity could only be accomplished by merging itself with the laws of the entire half-plane. It seemed that its creator had designed it as an assistant to manage the half-plane.
A virtual deity is a power granted from the outside.
Many Demon Lords possess virtual deities mainly because they have assimilated part of the Abyss’s power. This ability only functions in the Bottomless Abyss, and once outside of it, they lose this divine power. Some powerful spellcasters can temporarily acquire virtual deities, but only within the half-plane they created. Forcibly merging with a virtual deity would imprison oneself within the half-plane, essentially making them part of the half-plane, possessing great power but finding it difficult to leave.
It seemed the Tower Spirit before him could not leave this half-plane either; otherwise, with its impressive level of 30, it should have taken over the Wizard Tower in the Shadow Plane long ago.
Hiss!
A faint red light emerged, and Tower Spirit 13 turned its gaze towards Soren, speaking in an still calm voice: “Are you preparing to challenge me?”
“Challenging me is the highest difficulty task!”
“Defeating me will grant you the [Plane Key], and you shall become the master of this half-plane.”
“However, I do not recommend you do so. I was created as a Demigod Giant, and now I am the administrator of the plane’s Element Pool, possessing the power of [Lower Divine Power]. Your success rate in challenging me is less than 3%! …”
“I suggest you attempt a challenge of normal difficulty.”
………………
Divine Kingdom!
When Soren heard Tower Spirit 13’s words, the first thought that sprang to his mind was the Divine Kingdom.
Deities are nearly invincible within their Divine Kingdom, as unless the Divine Kingdom itself is destroyed, the deity’s power is virtually limitless. The Demigod Tower Spirit before him is a similar existence; this half-plane belongs to it. It directly controls the Element Pool of the half-plane, and all power is in its hands. As long as the Element Pool continues to operate, its power will never be exhausted. The most effective and straightforward way to deal with it is to breach this half-plane from the outside to destroy it.
“What to do?”
The three people present exchanged glances, seemingly considering how to respond.
They knew almost nothing about this half-plane. However, since the original master had already fallen, it should operate according to its past settings; perhaps further understanding of this half-plane could reveal an opportunity.
“Let me try.”
Soren glanced at the Teleportation Array before him and told the two individuals beside him: “Stay alert to your surroundings, and if there’s any unusual situation, move immediately.”
Gloria nodded immediately and said, “Okay.”
A series of Spell Lights emerged, and the two legendary witches were ready for battle at any moment.
Soren looked up at the Tower Spirit 13 ahead, which had remained calm throughout. Only after Soren stepped onto the Teleportation Array did it speak in a cold voice: “The chess game begins!”
“The number of challengers is 1.”
“The challenger’s strength is at the legendary level! The challenge difficulty is automatically set to the highest level, and Tower Spirit 13 takes command! …”
“Opening tactical simulation map.”
………………
An unusual radiance emerged.
Soren’s figure disappeared from the original spot and directly appeared within the stone pillar formation of the array. Following that, he felt a whirl of reality, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself in another world.
No!
This wasn’t his body; all of this was an illusion.
As a divine being, Soren instantly understood the essence of this space. He saw his true self standing in the center of the stone pillar formation amidst the mist of the skies, while the body he currently possessed was merely a dream-like illusion or some inexplicable power that he could not comprehend.
“How is this possible?”
Gloria exclaimed in surprise, murmuring: “What kind of ability is this? Why does this situation arise?”
In their line of sight.
A half-virtual, half-real world was rapidly taking shape, which could be said to be quite vast, likely approaching the size of a country. Yet in this half-plane, it only appeared as a mirrored surface. Soren’s figure remained in front, but another version of him appeared to exist in some dreamy realm.
“This is a simulated dream world!”
The High Priest’s figure had no idea when it passed through the Teleportation Array and appeared before them, her expression serious: “A tactical simulation ability from the time of the Arcane Empire! A board game that creates real illusions, applicable in many practical situations.”
After realizing that this half-plane was not simple.
Soren quickly sent a telepathic message for her to come over. Although her powers as a Mind Sorcerer were not as reliant on research as those of wizards, judging from their earlier encounter with the Spider Queen, the High Priest also understood many things from the Arcane Empire.
Tactical simulation.
This knowledge was something the High Priest had learned somewhere. She thought such abilities had long been lost; however, she never expected to see it again in this half-plane. What lay before her was a peculiar ability that was close to a real dream, more advanced than what she had encountered before, created directly from the power of the half-plane to form a virtual world.
“Challenge begins!”
“Tactical simulation map creation complete! … Upon completing the challenge, you will obtain partial permissions for the first layer of the Chess Dimension! …”
A glimmer of light appeared in Tower Spirit 13’s eyes, and it spoke in a cold voice, almost narratively:
“You are a common civilian.”
“Born in a quiet and peaceful village, but suddenly one day, that peace was shattered. A Fallen Wizard passed through here, summoning terrifying demons, using the entire village as a sacrifice to the demons.”
“A great fire burned everything.”
“Your homeland turned into a sea of flames, and all around were the slaughtered corpses of ordinary citizens; in the distance, the excited laughter of demons could be heard.”
“You face a difficult choice!”
“Will you stay and defend your homeland, or flee from here to escape the danger?”
“The enemy is a powerful demon, while you are just an ordinary person! …”
………………
Accompanied by the calm narration, everything before Soren changed rapidly.
In front, a great fire blazed, and faint sounds of battle could be heard. The ground was littered with the corpses of ordinary citizens, and occasional terrified screams could be heard from the other side of the village.
Soren stood at the entrance of the village; moving forward would allow him to escape, but returning would mean facing demons.
The scene before him was somewhat reminiscent of his previous encounter with the Demigod Giant, which had given him his first test in the form of a multiple-choice question. Now he faced another similar choice.
Soren still looked the same.
Only now he was dressed in simple cloth, without any weapons; he appeared to be just an ordinary civilian.
His powers seemed to have vanished, and Soren could not feel the explosive strength contained within this body. Everything in the dream felt so real, so much so that he could lift his hand and touch his not-so-strong arm.
In the flickering flames!
A group of Coward Demons appeared, having spotted Soren standing at the village entrance. They screeched and chirped, followed by a frenzied rush towards him.
………………(To be continued ~^~)
