David had no reason not to trust Melach and Torb but remained vigilant. His first experience with other human survivors had already been…difficult, and it wasn’t like David knew a lot about Dwarves and Elves.

“Your name was David, right?” Melach asked as they trekked through the destroyed city, “You’re a fighter, but you chose Cleric as your Basic Class. That’s rare.”

David shrugged, “It worked out well until now. I don’t have to fear infections and can mend most wounds while fighting.”

He’d cleansed the infection inflicted by the Giant Infected only after it reached stage two. There was no need to wait this long, but David did it, hoping it would increase [Cleanse]’s proficiency faster.

“That was a good call, I’d say. You humans have weak bodies. Your anatomy is weird, and your corpses are oddly attuned to the world’s Aether, ” Torb commented while carrying the Mutating Giant Infected’s skull in a thick leather bag.

So that’s why human corpses resurrect, while nothing happened to the Kobolds. They didn’t even transform after getting scratched.

“How does the infection work? You were scared earlier when the Giant Infected got you,” David asked Torb, whose cheeks burned red.

“I wasn’t scared, human!” He thundered.

Melach chuckled, but answered David thoughtfully, “Potent infections like those of the undead will kill us if they progress too fast, but they won't transform us into Infected. We were raised in Aether-dense worlds and are thus resistant to the Rise. That’s what we call the resurrection of the dead. Then again, our races are protected by multiple gods of the Pantheon. Their blessing is a powerful ward against the power of the Death God.”

They come from different worlds. That much…should have been expected. Magical creatures and foreign races have to come from somewhere. I shouldn’t be surprised about something like that.

“There are gods?” David asked, “Like real gods, or are we merely talking about overwhelmingly powerful creatures with abilities that cannot be fathomed?”

Melach slowed and turned to David. He stared at him for a few seconds, various thoughts flashing through his head.

“What are you getting at, boy?” Torb asked instead of the Elf, “I’ve got no clue what gods are supposed to be in your world, but gods are obviously incredibly stronger beings.”

The Dwarf glanced at David from the side with an irritating gaze, “What is the difference between gods and overwhelming powerful creatures in your opinion?”

David’s lips parted for a moment, but he didn’t have an answer.

“I…am not sure. How strong are we talking about? What’s overwhelmingly powerful? You mentioned the God of Death earlier. How strong is that god?”

Melach cocked an eyebrow but answered without any ridicule in his voice, “The God of Death is a major god. He is wherever you find life. Life and death belong together like the sides of a coin. Since I never met the God of Death, which I am very grateful for, I cannot tell you how strong he is exactly, but since he governs death and gains strength from every death – that’s what I was told when I was younger – you can probably imagine how strong he is.”

The explanation was helpful, yet not really. He couldn’t fathom how strong the God of Death was supposed to be, but if Melach’s words were true and the God of Death’s power increased with every death…he had to be incredibly powerful. The Earthen Union’s integration into the Pantheon must have killed billions already. And that excluded the animals and plant life spread across the Earthen Union.

“And this God is also part of the Pantheon?”

“He is one of their bigshots,” Torb snickered, but David didn’t feel like laughing. Quite the contrary. David felt sick.

Did the God of Death instigate the Earthen Union’s integration into the Pantheon to eradicate most of the Earthen Union’s life… To gain strength from all deaths?

Countless questions flashed through his mind. David wanted to ask them all, procuring the answers to clear his doubts and confusion.

“How much time do we have until we reach the System Sanctuary?” He asked cautiously.

“We can reach the outer perimeters in less than 30 minutes if we increase our pace a bit. Arc was created in the plains outside the city.” Melach answered, ready to increase his pace by a notch or two, but David shook his head subtly, “Is it okay if I ask more questions until we reach Arc?”

“I–” Melach glanced at Torb, “We don’t mind answering your questions. All of this must be a lot for you. I cannot imagine how you must feel now that your world is part of the Pantheon. It must be overwhelming.”

Overwhelming fit perfectly in the description. David was certainly overwhelmed.

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“Okay…” David murmured, trying to sort his thoughts. Where was he supposed to start? What was he the most curious about? What did he have to know?

“Were your worlds integrated into the Pantheon as well?”

“I don’t know about Torb, but I guess his situation is similar to mine,” Melach nodded, “The worlds of my race is said to have been filled with Aether since ancient times, but we were all alone. At first, at least. The Aether changed us. It altered our appearance to fit the environment we lived in. It changed everything and tore our folk apart. We split into countless tribes and waged war against each other.”

Melach sighed, “According to the ancient scripts, the Elven Wars lasted for centuries and would have continued if the Pantheon hadn’t arrived. Our race has always been close to nature, close to Aether. Magic came to us easily, even more so after the system appeared. However, the Pantheon’s arrival changed everything. Our worlds were nearly torn apart, and our race was nearly eliminated. However, in the end, the emergence of the Pantheon unified the elven tribes. It created powerful warriors. Even gods, who left to join the Pantheon.”

David listened intently to everything the Elf said. He was not overly interested in the elves’ history, but it could be useful to compare the integration into the Pantheon from other races with the current situation.

His eyes drifted to Torb, who shrugged, “I never paid much attention to our history. All I know is that I’m the Patron of the Dwarven’s Fortress. He is our Guardian God. No idea if he’s part of the Pantheon, though. Probably not, since he always travels our world, or so my mother once said.”

“Patron…” David tilted his head, “Am I right to assume that your Guardian God was interested in you and gifted you some Skill Runes?”

“Boy, it’s not that simple. I don’t have the same Basic Class as the rest. Thanks to my Patron, I’m a Shield Warrior. I was given the [Crush] and [Charge] Skill Runes as my Class’ Basic Skills instead of [Slash] and [Parry]. That’s why I’m wielding a shield and a mace.”

Torb’s case is different compared to mine. That’s reassuring…I guess? Either way. Back to the topic!

“Okay, so he shared some of his power to give you new skills and a different Class. That’s…interesting,” David forced a smile upon his lips. He couldn’t tell what Melach and Torb thought of him. They seemed nice and answered his questions, but their presence irked him.

It wasn’t because he was confused by their appearance. No. What bothered David was that an Elf and a Dwarf left their world to invade the Earthen Union. They acted like they belonged to this world, as if they were part of it, but that wasn’t the truth. They belonged to other worlds; worlds that had been integrated into the Pantheon a long time ago. Their strongest specimens were, in fact, part of the Pantheon.

“I don’t want to sound rude or anything, but why are you guys here in the first place? You don't have to be here if your worlds have been integrated into the Pantheon before. There is no need to come to the Earthen Union.”

“You don’t know why we’re here?” Torb’s thick eyebrow arched in surprise, “You really have no clue, do you? Yet you’ve fought by our side and helped us.”

He chuckled, “What a nutjob.”

Percy’s eyes turned colder by a notch, and his hands pulled subconsciously to his makeshift sheaths.

“Calm down, human,” Torb said, waving his hand. I think you’re mistaken about something.”

Melach cleared his throat, “We came with Arc.”

The Elf acted like that was enough to explain the situation. It took him a good five seconds to realize that wasn’t the case.

“The Pantheon uses already integrated worlds to help in the creation of System Sanctuaries. The Sanctuaries are places the natives can use to find out more about the Pantheon, the System, and the Gods. There are countless facilities in the System Sanctuaries, including libraries, shops from around the Pantheon, and training places for all kinds of Classes. Someone has to run and protect these facilities.” Melach explained.

“We aren’t part of the workforce in the Sanctuaries, but we joined the System Sanctuary as protectors. We cull monsters in Arc’s perimeters, ensuring the Sanctuary won’t be put in danger. Our mission, for example, was to kill the Mutating Giant Infected. It was considered a threat to Arc and all lives in the Sanctuary’s perimeter.”

Everything Melach had just said would mean that the Pantheon didn’t want the Earthen Union to end. In fact, if they kept the threat in the System Sanctuaries low, it’d mean they were trying hard to protect everyone seeking asylum. They’ve created a safe zone for those who couldn’t defend themselves while also helping those who were weak but willing to fight to look for weaker monsters.

Suppose the strongest heinous creatures in the surroundings are being killed by the ‘Protectors’, we can learn how to fight the weakest creatures first before exploring the areas outside the System Sanctuaries’ protection. That is… Does that make any sense?!?

“And why did you leave your worlds?” David asked, trying to put the pieces together.

“To grow stronger and make my family proud,” Melach answered immediately, his eyes glimmering vibrantly, “Completing the Pantheon’s missions has always been rewarding, but doing so in a newly integrated world is even better. Of course, newly integrated worlds are more dangerous, but they offer the greatest opportunities for growth. The Pantheon invests heavily into their newest additions.”

Torb nodded, but his expression was sour, “I needed money. My family did…stuff. It doesn’t really matter what they did. The System made a deal with my Patron, offering to pay my debts if I became a Protector in a newly integrated world. Here I am.”

“But why does the System Sanctuary need protection in the first place? Aren’t the gods powerful enough to repel powerful undead and the like if they don’t want them to get close to the Sanctuaries?”

Melach and Torb looked at David for a while but didn’t say anything. Maybe they didn’t have an answer.

David learned a lot from talking to the Elf and the Dwarf, but he also understood that there was much he couldn’t grasp. Many questions had been answered, but every answer unraveled more questions.

Even though the unlike duo was silent and uncomfortable with every question he threw at their heads, David couldn’t help but ask one more thing.

“Why is the Pantheon forcing itself on so many planets? Why are we forced into a situation like this?”

Torb remained silent, but Melach turned to him again.

“Only the gods know,” He shrugged, “But there has to be a reason. If not, the Pantheon wouldn’t do it, right?”

David pressed his lips together, “...Right…”