[Quest Completed: Pantheon Ascension!]
[Rewards: +10 Stat Points for all members. Gain a personal Realm for your Pantheon]
[New Quest: Pantheon Ascension!]
[Description: Your Pantheon is on the path to Tier 2. To complete the Ascension, meet the following requirements and interact with the Pantheon Registration tablet in the Temple.]
[Requirements: 6 members must reach Tier 2 (0/6), 250 Soul Tokens (223/250)]
[Rewards: +20 Stat Points for all members.]
[Congratulations! Ragnarok has reached Tier 1!]
[Opening Divine Realm Creator…]
Exile cocked an eyebrow at the notification as a smile spread across his face. He could not help but be happy since he knew no other Skardian Pantheon had reached this stage. However, he had another reason to be excited. His final chat with Parthus had revealed something interesting.
Exile was suddenly teleported high in the sky over Valheim. The entirety of the divine realm that governed Skardia appeared below him. Allowing him to see the lay of the land. ‘It’s bigger than I thought.’ Exile sighed as he glanced over the land.
[Please select the territory for your divine realm.]
Golden lines appeared on the land below, dividing it into many sections. Exile stroked his beard as he studied each one. ‘We need somewhere that can be defended.’ Exile’s eyes narrowed as he located several spots that suited his taste. ‘That one!’
Exile grinned as he chose a large mountain that had several flat spots. A great river that became several waterfalls ran down its side that faced Valheim. Exile thought it was perfect as a defensive area but also had amazing views and plenty of room for buildings.
[Thank you for your selection.]
Exile was then teleported to the large flat area at the tip of the mountain. The snow crunched beneath his feet as he peered through the clouds to Valheim in the distance. ‘It looks even better from here.’ Exile sighed as he shook his head. ‘We’ll need to be quiet about this for some time. Or maybe not. It’ll be quite hard to reach with all the beasts between here and Valheim. Not to mention the climb.’
He was tempted to announce that his Pantheon had its own realm. But he decided against it. The news would spread once another Pantheon reached the same Tier anyway. Until then, it would be best if they built the best base they could to strike awe in the other Pantheons.
[Removing 100 Soul Tokens to build the basic structures…]
Exile frowned at that notification. ‘I guess that’s why it was a requirement to obtain a minimum amount of them then.’ He sighed as golden lines appeared before fusing to create stone walls around the area with a large gate. A longhouse appeared that was built at the far bank of the lake that served as the source of the great river. Meanwhile, several other buildings popped up, along with a few defensive towers.
Finally, flags depicting Ragnarok’s emblem appeared on the walls and on either side of the entrance to the longhouse. Exile studied those buildings for a moment in silent contemplation. ‘That looks like a temple. And that one looks like a workshop. The longhouse is probably meant for meetings.’ However, he had no idea what the other buildings were for.
He took several minutes to inspect the buildings and discovered that each one had the minimum amount of decorations. Two of the other buildings turned out to be barracks. He assumed that was for the players to lie down in when they used the Avatar spell.
However, he was excited to see that he was right about the workshop. The tools did not look like they were of high quality, and he suspected the workshop would have to be upgraded as the Pantheon advanced in Tier. ‘Still, there’s a furnace and smithing tables. An anvil and whatever else a beginner craftsman might need.’
Exile grinned as he exited the building and searched the others. One of them seemed like it was meant for alchemy. There were plots outside of it that seemed ready for planting. Exile shrugged when he saw that. ‘Hopefully, someone in the Pantheon can make use of this place.’
The last building that he was unsure of turned out to be quite disappointing. Its walls were filled with empty bookshelves, and a table with golden etchings stood in the centre of the room. ‘What’s this room for?’ Exile pondered as he glanced around. However, nothing came to mind. Last but not least, he inspected the longhouse.
A throne stood at the far end of the hall while several tables and chairs filled the room. ‘It’s definitely meant to be for meetings and an operations room when fighting wars.’ Exile sighed at the thought of how useful it would have been if they had it before the wars.
‘What’s that?’ Exile frowned as he noticed there was a room behind the throne. When he entered it he noticed a luxurious bed with furs spread over it. A desk and chair and some wardrobes. He started laughing when he realised the function of that room. ‘It’s my own private room!’
Upon closer inspection, Exile discovered several other private rooms that were not as luxurious. ‘These’ll be for the officers.’ He smiled with satisfaction at gaining a proper base. He took a moment to himself to appreciate how far they had come, going as far as to sit on the empty throne. Exile gasped in surprise as a new menu appeared in his vision.
[Purchase Buildings.]
[Purchase Decor.]
[Building styles.]
‘I wonder what’s available.’ Exile chuckled to himself as he scanned the options of the first two menus. ‘I should leave these until everyone is here so we can decide together what we need. Exile hummed as he navigated into the Building Styles menu.
However, his eyes went wide when a list of the buildings appeared and different styles available for them based on the races that worshipped Ragnarok. Exile chuckled as he changed the walls to have dwarven architecture, then the buildings into hybrids between Dwarven and Skardian styles.
He smiled to himself as the longhouse changed to having smooth stone floors and walls, while intricate Skardian runes appeared on the stone and woodwork. ‘Now it resembles our Pantheon.’ Exile grinned as he left the throne to step outside.
The buildings appeared sturdier with the dwarven stonework, and the walls and towers looked formidable. He had to admit that he was rather pleased with it. ‘Wait til the others see this!’ His eyes moved to the temple that had undergone a transformation as well.
The building held a few surprises that he was sure would get the others excited. ‘That’s about it then.’ Exile sighed as he walked inside the temple to the altar. He gazed at the other features briefly before placing a palm on the altar.
[Please select your destination.]
[Valheim]
There was only one option for now, but that got Exile excited. It meant in the future there would be other destinations they could travel to.
[You are trying to teleport to Valheim. Teleportation failed. Please set a name for your Divine Realm.]
Exile frowned for a moment. He had not been expecting that, but he figured it made sense. ‘What should I call it?’ He struggled to think of a suitable name. He knew it had to sound grand, as it was likely to appear in Skardian lore once the NPCs found out. He wanted to take inspiration from something, but everything he thought of sounded too dark.
Several minutes passed before he finally settled on a name. Once he entered it, a golden light enveloped his body and he found himself standing in Valheim’s temple. ‘I wonder how the others will feel about the name.’
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Divine Lands, a figure stood over more than ten orbs left behind by players. The man showed a bored expression as he turned toward the man behind him.
“Merlin, was this really necessary?”
“Arthur, you know it was. With this, we’ve brought every Pantheon here under our control.” Merlin chuckled as he watched the members of Camelot finish off the remaining players who had refused their rule.
Arthur wore a solemn expression as he watched that scene with his old friend. ‘We’ve done nothing except force them to bend the knee.’ Arthur sighed as he watched players plead to be left alone. ‘This isn’t what I envisioned for Camelot.’ Arthur shook his head at that scene as he paid attention to Mordread’s and Morgana’s battles. .
‘They’re still lacking.’ Arthur turned his gaze to the horizon as he thought about Colt. ‘You would never miss this. I know you’re out there somewhere.’ Arthur let out a soft smile as he recalled the fond memories of fighting side by side with Colt. ‘It’ll be fun when we find each other.’
Merlin suddenly cursed from behind him, which drew Arthur’s attention. “What’s wrong?”
Merlin’s eyes bulged as his face turned scarlet. Arthur noticed Merlin’s knuckles turning white as he gripped his staff and cursed under his breath. He could only wait patiently for Merlin to explain himself. However, he soon realised there was a notification that he had not noticed while lost in his memories.
Arthur’s eyes went wide, then he began to chuckle. ‘Well, well, well. Looks like I won’t be too bored. A new challenger has appeared.’ Arthur scanned the notification again to make sure he was not imagining things.
[A Player has reached Tier 2. Pantheon Online will close down in 12 natural hours to undergo maintenance. Please log off before then.]
End of Volume 2: Advent of the New Gods