Atticus's Odyssey: Reincarnated Into A Playground

Chapter 1610  Absurd

As control over his body returned, Atticus opened his eyes. His grip was already tight around his katana as he instinctively scanned his surroundings.

'No threats.'

An endless wasteland of cracked ground stretched out before him. The sun bore down mercilessly from above, the heat so fierce that the air shimmered. Atticus turned his attention towards himself next, checking carefully and confirming that everything was intact.

'Not all.'

The Span's final words echoed faintly in his mind. His life weapon was still present, as were his other abilities, but his will felt… different.

'I can't feel Eldoralth anymore.'

It was as though the connection to his world had been cleanly severed. The endless stream of will and energy he had constantly drawn from Eldoralth was gone, leaving him with only his own finite reserves.

Atticus frowned deeply. His will was far stronger than most could imagine, and while he didn't believe he would be unable to hold his own, there was no denying that this was a significant weakness.

'I have to watch my will.'

Without access to his world, his will could be depleted, and if that happened, he would be left with no way to fight.

Atticus released a slow breath and forced himself to composed down. The restriction applied to everyone equally, which meant no one held an inherent advantage in that regard.

'What about the others…'

He spread out his senses. Without a connection to his world, his will range had shrunk drastically, limited now to only a few kilometers, but his bond with Ozeroth was strong. He found him almost instantly, only to frown a moment later.

'He's on the other side of the world.'

The distance was far greater than anyone would reasonably expect. Atticus didn't bother searching for Whisker or Ozerra, knowing there was no direct connection tying them to him. Still, a quiet sense of relief settled in his chest.

'At least I don't have to worry.'

The people he had brought with him had already proven that they could more than handle themselves in battle.

 For the first time in a long while, Atticus felt free of the burden of having to protect or rescue anyone, unlike during the Ascension Games.

With that concern set aside, he finally turned his full attention to the present situation. The Span had brought them here without providing the rules outright, which meant the information was meant to be discovered. Remembering how things had worked during the Ascension Game, Atticus cleared his throat and spoke aloud.

"Rules."

A panel of light appeared instantly before him, and his eyes moved across its contents.

"Rules.

You have been transported into a randomly selected world along with other participants.

Your objective is to move toward each resource point and claim them. Resources can be located by the yellow pillars of light in the sky.

A spherical dome covers the entirety of this world and will shrink periodically. Any participant who enters the areas no longer covered by the dome will have their will steadily depleted until it is exhausted, resulting in death.

The ultimate winner will be the one who captures the flag. The flag will only reveal itself when the plane will shrinks to its final stage."

'Hmm.'

The rules were straightforward, and Atticus found that he preferred it this way. Still, one detail lingered in his mind.

'A flag…'

The object meant to decide the victor would only appear once the dome reached its final state. That implied it would likely emerge somewhere near the center of the world.

'I can't be sure. There's no telling how the dome will shrink. It could favor one side over another.'

Thinking it over a bit, Atticus decided his next course of action. 'I expect a perfect win.' The arbiter said suddenly. 'That was always the plan.'

'Then try not to embarrass me.'

He didn't bother responding. Clearing the panel, Atticus moved his gaze toward the horizon. A vast crimson dome loomed in the distance, curving across the world. In the distance, multiple pillars of yellow light pierced upward into the sky.

'Resources.'

With no way of knowing what kind of resource each location held, Atticus chose the closest one and moved toward it without hesitation.

Before long, his eyes settled on a yellow dome standing alone in the middle of the wasteland. Its interior was completely obscured, preventing him from seeing what was inside.

'There's only one way to find out.'

He pushed his speed further, only to narrow his eyes as several streaks of light appeared in the distance, racing toward the same destination.

'Three enemies.'

They reached the dome ahead of him, stopping a short distance away as they eyed one another warily. Moments later, they noticed Atticus's approach and turned their attention toward him, their gazes locking onto his figure.

"Ah, there! It's him!"

"Atticus Ravenstein…"

"I'm lucky… unbelievably lucky."

Their eyes lit up with glee as each of them drew their weapons. But the excitement quickly gave way to tension as they exchanged narrowed looks among themselves.

"He's mine!"

"No chance. I saw him first, he's mine!"

"Enough, you idiots," the third sliced in sharply. "We take him down together first. We can settle the rest after. He's almost here."

The other two hesitated only briefly before nodding, then turned toward Atticus with wide, eager grins.

"Your luck runs out here, Atticus Ravenstein! Prepare to meet your—"

A flash of light was all they saw, and Atticus vanished from their sight.

"Wha—?"

"He's gone!"

They spun around in panic, only to freeze when they saw him already behind them, calmly moving toward the dome as though they didn't exist at all.

"Behind us—!"

"What—wait—"

One of them stretched out a hand, when thin lines suddenly appeared across their necks, then traced cleanly down their bodies. Their bodies split apart, breaking into countless pieces that rained down and doused the cracked earth in red.

Atticus didn't bother sparing the result a glance. He came to a stop before the dome and studied it briefly.

'Do I just touch it?'

After a quick check for any instructions, and finding none, he followed his instincts and placed a hand against the surface. The dome shattered in a blinding flash of light, and as the brilliance faded, Atticus's eyes settled on a massive pile of white, softly shimmering crystals.

'Life stones.'

And a lot of them.

He reached out and stored the entire pile within his will storage, then turned back to the fallen gods, scanning what remained of them for anything of value.

'The armors are completely destroyed… but their weapons.'

Two swords and a single dagger, each of Duke level quality. They were useless to him personally, but in the hands of his people, they would be invaluable.

With that done, Atticus absorbed their will without hesitation and quickly left the area, already moving toward the next resource.

…

Within the hall, the Archdukes watched the scene in silence. Their stares were all focused on a single screen displaying a white haired boy streaking across a desolate wasteland.

Contrary to Rhexan's expectations, most of the Archdukes present had been fully aware of the restriction and had prepared accordingly.

The competition had begun only moments ago, and all of them had been waiting to see how the absence of World Will would affect Atticus.

He hadn't even encountered any of their successors yet, and still, the struggle they had expected, at the very least, never came. What they witnessed instead was a swift, merciless slaughter.

'It's his weapon,' Eras thought grimly. 'It ignored their defenses and cut them down directly. But his speed… how were they unable to react at all?'

A deep frown settled on Eras's face. His master would not like this.

All of them were already aware of Atticus's divine weapon that was capable of cutting through stronger wills, yet that alone didn't explain what they had just seen. Without World Will, Atticus's movements should have been slower.

And yet, he had moved faster than the others could respond.

'Is there something we don't know?'

Eras's thoughts raced through countless possibilities… another hidden artifact, weaker opponents, unseen interference, anything that could explain it. He had dismissed the simplest answer without a second thought.

That Atticus's will was simply stronger than theirs?

The idea itself was too absurd to seriously consider.