I hit the ground hard, gasping for air as Kallus stumbled back, growling like a wounded beast. His eyes flared brighter, twin infernos threatening to consume everything around him. I struggled to sit up, my head spinning, as I caught sight of the one who had intervened.

Godfrey stood tall and unyielding, his blade gleaming as if forged from pure light. His normally calm demeanor was replaced by fierce determination, and his piercing gaze locked onto Kallus.

“You’ve made your point,” Godfrey said, his voice steady but laced with authority. “Now step back before I carve you out of this world.”

Kallus straightened, his fiery hair flickering like an uncontrollable blaze. He smirked, but the blow had clearly shaken him. “So the lapdog decides to bite, does he?” His voice was mocking, but I could see the tension in his stance. “I was wondering when you’d show up, Godfrey. Always playing the protector, aren’t you?”

Godfrey didn’t flinch. “And you’re always the bully, Kallus. Some things never change.”

As they squared off, the tension between them crackled like a live wire. Kallus shifted his weight, flames licking at the edges of his armor as if waiting to be unleashed. Godfrey raised his blade, a shimmer of energy coursing along its length.

I tried to scramble to my feet, but my limbs still felt weak. “Wait!” I croaked, my voice rough from the earlier choking. “What’s going on? Why are you both—”

“Stay out of this,” they said in unison, not breaking eye contact.

Great, I thought. This was spiraling way out of control.

Kallus let out a low chuckle, his molten eyes fixed on Godfrey. “You really think you can stop me, little knight? I’ve killed demons and slain wyverns, and you think you stand a chance.

You’re just a glorified babysitter.”

“And yet,” Godfrey said, stepping closer, “here you are, wasting your time throwing tantrums. What are you so afraid of, Kallus? That he might actually surpass you?”

Kallus’s smirk vanished, replaced by a dangerous snarl. “Afraid? Of him?” He gestured at me dismissively. “He’s not even a shadow of what he could be. If I wanted, I could wipe him out with a flick of my wrist.”

“Then why haven’t you?” Godfrey challenged, his voice sharp as steel.

For a moment, Kallus hesitated, and in that pause, something shifted. His fiery bravado faltered, revealing something deeper—something almost vulnerable.

“I’m trying to prepare him,” Kallus finally said, his tone quieter but no less intense. “The gods won’t coddle him. This world won’t coddle him. If he doesn’t harden up now, he’ll break when it really matters.”

“And choking him to death is your idea of preparation?” Godfrey shot back. “He needs guidance, not whatever twisted boot camp you’re running.”

Then I heard Greg’s loud voice: “This is the team we are going for. We have a de-buffer/support in the flame mage with his new amulet. We have the strongest red damage dealer in the first anni fest. We have a taunt unit in Godfrey that has some control effects, and we need another unit, preferably one with some type of healing.”

“Do y’all happen to hear that voice in the sky? Also, why is your armor back? Weren’t you naked?” I asked in confusion.

Both Godfrey and Kallus paused, their heated standoff interrupted by my outburst. Their heads snapped toward me, twin expressions of disbelief painted on their faces. For a brief moment, I thought they might actually stop glaring daggers at each other, but the tension was still palpable.

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“You hear that too, right?” I asked again, more insistently this time. My heart was still pounding, and Greg’s voice booming from nowhere only added to the chaos swirling in my mind.

Godfrey’s blade lowered slightly, his piercing gaze now fixed on me instead of Kallus. “What are you talking about?” he asked cautiously.

Kallus frowned, his fiery aura dimming just a fraction. “A voice in the sky?” he echoed. “Are you losing it already, Karlos?”

“No, seriously!” I pointed upward, gesturing vaguely toward the endless expanse of corrupted data. “Greg. The voice. He’s talking about us. About our team composition. He’s planning… something.”

Kallus exchanged a look with Godfrey, his molten eyes narrowing. “The sky voice?” His tone was mocking, but there was a flicker of genuine concern underneath. “You mean him?”

“I don’t know,” I said, trying to collect my thoughts. “It’s Greg. He’s—wait.” I squinted at Kallus. “Did you just say ‘him’ like this is normal?”

Godfrey sheathed his blade, the energy dissipating as he folded his arms. “You’re hearing the player,” he said calmly, as if that explained anything. “The entity controlling this world. It’s rare for mortals to perceive their commands directly.”

“The god?” I repeated, staring at him.

Kallus rolled his eyes. “Oh, great. Now we’ve got another existential crisis on our hands. Listen, kid.” He jabbed a finger at me. “This ‘Greg’ of yours is one of the gods. They’re the ones running this whole mess. Controlling us, planning strategies, treating us like pawns in their game.”

“It’s not entirely like that,” Godfrey interjected, his tone measured. “The players give us purpose. Direction. Without them, we’d be… lost.”

“Oh, spare me your sermon,” Kallus snapped, throwing his hands up in exasperation. “The gods use us to win their little wars. That’s all this is.”

I barely heard their bickering. Greg’s voice continued, rattling off terms that were both familiar and alien. Debuffer. Taunt unit. Red damage dealer. Team composition—they were all very familiar terms. But then he began listing names and skills I was unfamiliar with.

“John the Herbalist, SR base unit. Luna Wolf, SSR base unit…”

Greg’s voice changed. “Why is he level 1 still?” he mused aloud, sounding puzzled. “Didn’t I give him an experience potion? That should’ve been enough to level him up to 65.”

I blinked, suddenly remembering the small vial I’d received earlier. So it’s an experience potion? I thought. I had never seen one like it before; the bottles themselves seemed to evolve as you held them.

I glanced between Godfrey and Kallus, an idea forming. “Wait,” I said, pointing at Godfrey. “He’s right. You were naked!”

Godfrey gave a strangled cough, clearly not expecting that remark. Kallus froze, his expression shifting from smug superiority to sheer indignation.

“I wasn’t naked!” he barked, his fiery aura flaring up again. “I was—strategically unarmored. There’s a difference!”

I couldn’t stop myself from laughing, despite the sheer absurdity of the situation. “Strategically unarmored? That’s what you’re going with? I was talking about Godfrey, by the way. Why were you strategically unarmored?”

Kallus turned to Godfrey, glaring daggers at him. “Are you going to let him talk to me like this?”

Godfrey glared back. “Why shouldn’t he, you backstabbing devil?”

While they argued, I opened the vial. A sweet, intoxicating scent hit me, making me pause. This smells way too good, I thought, panic prickling at the back of my mind. Beautiful things are always poisonous in the wild…

Before I could second-guess myself, I downed the entire potion in one gulp.

The moment the liquid hit my tongue, I felt a rush of warmth spread through my body, followed by a sudden, overwhelming surge of energy. My vision blurred, then sharpened, and my pulse hammered in my ears like a war drum. The world around me tilted, as if the very fabric of reality was shifting to accommodate the change.

“Karlos!” Godfrey’s voice was sharp, alarmed. He lunged toward me, but before he could grab my arm, a barrier of light exploded outward, forcing him and Kallus to stumble back.

“What did you do, you reckless fool?” Kallus snarled, shielding his face from the radiant wave that emanated from my body.

“I… drank it,” I managed to choke out, though it felt like my voice was coming from somewhere far away. My knees buckled, and I collapsed to the ground, my hands clawing at the dirt as my body underwent a transformation I couldn’t fully comprehend.

Greg’s voice boomed in my mind again, clear and smug. “There we go! Experience potion successfully consumed. Let’s boost those stats, unlock those skills, and—oh, what’s this? Bonus attributes? Jackpot!”

My head spun as information flooded my mind—stats, abilities, skill enhancements. I felt like I was being downloaded into, a vessel for data I couldn’t yet process. My body pulsed with raw power, and my hands glowed with an unfamiliar energy—a mix of crimson and gold, like fire and sunlight intertwined.

“An ascension,” Godfrey muttered, his tone heavy with both awe and concern. “He’s undergoing an ascension… and at this rate, it’s going to tear him apart.”

Kallus crossed his arms, watching me with a calculating gaze. “If it tears him apart, then he wasn’t strong enough to handle it. But if he survives…” He smirked, his molten eyes gleaming. “Well, maybe the kid’s finally worth training.”