Atticus's Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground

Chapter 1596  News

'I have to find a way to end this.'

Anastasia and Anorah would probably fight him on it, especially with how close they'd become over the past months, but he was determined. His gaze drifted to the dance floor, where the two of them were spinning about, laughing and giggling without any care.

'They're talking about me.'

He couldn't hear a word they were saying, but he just knew it, especially when they threw the occasional glance his way before breaking into another fit of laughter.

'Fuck this. I'm going to train.'

He rose from his seat immediately. They could nag him all they wanted later, but spending even a single second more here felt like an unforgivable waste of his time. Still, he wisely chose to move carefully, making sure no one noticed as he slipped away, emerging outside. "Ah, finally… you're here. I was starting to get tired of waiting."

Whisker was leaning casually against a wall with a bored expression. "You were waiting for me?"

It was strange seeing Whisker out here while a party was still raging inside. If there was one person he expected to be enjoying himself, it was him. "Unfortunately, yes. This is what happens when you're burdened with far too many responsibilities."

Whisker let out an exaggerated, weary sigh, looking like a man who had spent most of his life buried beneath obligations.

"…Responsibilities?"

"Tragic, I know. All this hard work is bound to pay off eventually."

"…"

Atticus was at a loss for words. Whisker was, without question, the laziest person he had ever met, and he never made any attempt to hide it.

"What responsibilities? What hard work?" "Y'know… this, that."

"That's not an answer."

"Hah."

Whisker suddenly laughed, brushing the question aside with a shameless grin.

"We shouldn't waste time on things like that. I didn't come here to chat. I've got news."

"News?"

Atticus stopped pressing him instantly. Whisker might be lazy, but he wasn't foolish, and he certainly wouldn't go out of his way to seek him out unless the matter was serious.

"Yeah. I dug around like you asked, and I found something interesting."

Atticus furrowed his brows. They hadn't been idle these past months.

After discovering and capturing a spirit faction territory, in an attempt to free Ozeroth's brethren and to strike at the spirit king, they had targeted every spirit faction territory they could locate and ascended the Span at a pace that would have shocked anyone watching.

 And though the structure of the Span forced them to clash with territories belonging to other factions along the way, their rapid advance had drawn in countless newcomers. Now, people who had been in the Span for years had joined their world.

But while the other leaders only saw more people to command and more territories to manage, Atticus had seen something else entirely. An expanding, almost limitless source of information, one he had instantly asked Whisker to help him tap into.

"There was a lot of jargon," Whisker said, rolling his wrist lazily, "but I managed to pull out something useful."

"What?" "A tournament."

"…Hm."

Whisker nodded, like it was obvious.

"It's presided over by the Eternal Span himself. The rewards are worth it."

"Like the Verge Games?" "Not quite. From what I heard, it's different. For one, only gods who've reached the mid parts can participate."

Just like anywhere else, the Span also its hierarchical structure. The lower parts, the mid parts, and the summit. They had only just crossed into the mid parts themselves.

"What do you think?" Atticus asked after a brief pause. Though the mention of rewards was tempting, entering a competition of that scale was just as likely to invite trouble as it was to bring benefit.

"Honestly? I think we should go for it."

Whisker shrugged, his expression unusually thoughtful.

"There are risks, sure. But there are benefits too. We need a transformation of pace. We've got too many enemies and barely any real information on them. And aside from the rewards, it's a good chance to mingle with the other gods and see what we're actually dealing with."

"Hm."

Atticus considered the words in silence.

'He's right.'

Even after declaring war on his enemies, he still knew almost nothing about them. Stepping beyond their usual path, even briefly, might not be a bad idea.

"Alright. We'll go after we finish capturing the territories tomorrow."

"Spectacular decision as always, my star actor. But why not before?"

"The veil drops tomorrow. How are we supposed to defend the territory while we're off competing?"

He gave Whisker a strange look, wondering if he'd missed something obvious, but the man only smiled wider.

"Oh. Did I forget to mention? Every participating god's territory gets sealed for the duration of the competition."

"Really…?"

Whisker nodded.

'That changes things.'

 If he didn't have to worry about his territory being attacked or destroyed, then there was nothing holding him back.

"Alright. Tomorrow."

"Great!"

Whisker's eyes ignited up, like an excited dog that had just been promised a ride. It was clear he was greatly anticipating the event.

…

"You can't do this! Every second we waste is another second our brethren suffer!"

"…"

Atticus frowned at the words. He was seated on his throne in the building Oberon had constructed months earlier. All around the hall were his closest people, along with the Eldorians and members of the resistance. He had thought it necessary to inform them of his decision to join the competition, since he would be absent for an unknown period of time. But the last thing he had expected was this kind of reaction.

The man who had spoken was the spirit god Ozeroth had first freed from the spirit king's control in the lower parts of the Span. The moment Atticus finished speaking, he had shot up from his seat.

At his outburst, the hall fell silent at once, every soul turning to stare at the man as though he had completely lost his mind.