Of course there has to be a boss. Traversing a murderous scorpion filled desert for several days straight is not enough of a test. Clearly we o literally gatekeep the end with a fug boss fight!

  The massive scorpion turns in my dire and stares at me with numerous eyes.

  I stare back with my six.

  Pandora. If you hear my thoughts, please kindly go fuck yourself.

  The scorpion clicks all four of its massive pincers.

  Actually. Disremark the kindly. Just go fuck yourself.

  Eight stingers aim in my dire.

  Fuck Me!

  My arm rises up to block the first needle. It bouny gau, and I grit my teeth at the force that travels up my arm.

  Holy hell that hits like a on.

  The sed stinger I dodge to the side. Duck the third. Weave left on the fourth. Parry the fifth. Roll the sixth. Matrix dodge the seventh. Finally, I grit my teeth and block the eighth. The impact staggers me, allowing the ninth to puncture my abdomen.

  Wait, what? Ninth?

  Fog on one of the tails, I see a small bump traveling out the abdomen, up the tail, and then reloading the stinger with another needle.

  It reload its stingers! Why it reload its stingers? What evolutionary pressure creates scorpions with poisonous reloading crossbows?

  I dodge ahen block, only to be staggered. A needle grazes my neck.

  I o move!

  Growling, I force my tired legs to move. The moment I do, a needle whizzes past me. Running now, my ability to react to the projectiles improve. I dodge and weave while I circle the scorpion. The scorpion's aim is very accurate and lead its shots, but by stantly shifting my acceleration, I’m able to dodge effectively.

  Shit, my body feels heavy and I o figure out how to approach the damn thing. If I get too close, I may not react fast enough to dodge the needles. I o figure something out.

  I tinue dodging as I run while analyzing the scorpions every movement. Once my lungs are burning and after thirty more shots, I finally realize its weaknesses.

  It only shoot o a time. Once a needle appears on a tail, it takes approximately two seds to arm and release. The tails are always aimed at my rgest ter mass which is my chest. What tail shoots are not random. It cycles ily the same way every time. On at of its body, the front has a thick exoskeleton, but the tails are segmeo allow the ability to rearm itself.

  I think I get close to it, but breaking through that exoskeleton is risky. I could probably break a tail, but I doubt it would be a killing blow. Nor will it probably restrict its movements. I also doly have the stamina for any protracted effort. My lungs are burning, my body is heavy, and I may pass out the moment the adrenaline fails. If I somehow bleed it out and then find a safe pce to rest, then there is a ce. But where could I re- Oh. That could work.

  I grin as a pn pops into my mind.

  Yea, that could work. Time to put it into motion.

  Instantly I move from cirg to rushing the scorpion. As expected, the scorpion tis onsught. As soon as I see a needle appear, I swerve to the side ily one and three fourths of a sed. Though I struggle to react fast enough to dodge, I dodge preemptively before the shot is fired.

  I do this sistently until I’m now he scorpion. The scorpion, to my surprise, ceases to shoot me. Instead, It spreads its cws and opens its pincers with the io crush and grab.

  Just as I am in reach of the pincers. I bend my knees and put as much strength as I into my legs. Then I hop forward.

  Sand explodes as my body accelerates towards the scorpion a mere sed before the pincers sm at my former location. With the burst of speed, I practically glide uhe scorpion and quickly reach it’s behind.

  Without waiting a moment, I sm my hands iweeail segments. Then, using my strength, I rip, tear, and expand until there is a head sized hole in one of the tails. Immediately, I put my pn into a. I stick my head ihe hole and immediately activate [Shift].

  One sed I was a rampaging Fenrimorph, and the , I’m a adorable kitten surrounded by walls of flesh.

  It worked!

  Grinning from whisker to whisker, I take a breath and begin to travel dowail. Using the ability vested in my feline form, I squeeze deeper and deeper into the Matriarch's body until I feel I am firmly inside.

  Then I cel my transformation.

  ________________________________________________________

  Pandora eyeballs the audience of divine beings. A much smaller audienow. From Eighty-two champion down to fifty-one. All within a short amount of time and for a very specific reason.

  “I apologize for calling you here so early for anet together, but I believe it necessary to offer a warning and information.” He waves a swarm of tentacles. “Sihe st meeting, we ended with eighty-two god's. Now, that number has dropped to sixty-five. Seventeen champions perishing is far too many in such a short period of time. After looking into it, five of the deaths were acceptable, but all of the rest died withiower.”

  Pandora leans his trunk forward on the podium. His millioare at the levels of those present. Most are higher, especially Maa. The god of logic has catapulted his champion to level thirty-three already, while sed pce is tied by five gods at level twenty-four. Maa is also the only oo have cleared a tower. Impressive for a champion of such a level.

  “The towers are tests designed for individuals with a level in excess of fifty roups in excess of twenty-five.”

  “You bring a group?” One god interrupts.

  Pandora nods his skull. “Yes. If your champion has a job that allows subordihen those subordinates be brought iower with them. Normally, suformation would o be deduced, but on at of the mahs, I find it imperative that proper uanding of the risks these towers hold.”

  Pandora fps his seventeen butterfly wings. “I also reend you do not rush the towers. It will take a great deal of time for any individual to quer every tower. Which is why I reend you have your champion level and grow stronger first.”

  He twists the ball of his tail before flig it into spikes. “So that you articute this warning to your champions, I will allow you all to meet your champion the ime they sleep regardless of whether they have leveled or not. In the meantime, feel free to stay here or leave.”

  At his word, the only god to leave is Maa. All others disperse into various groups.

  ___________________________________________________________

  Yazu sips her drink while petting Mus on her p. The younger, mousey goddess blushes at Yazu’s touch. Mus is now the lowest level of all the gods. Which makes sense sidering her champion is stu an abandoned isnd. Yazu would like to help her somehow, but Mus has no idea where her champion is located.

  “Are you sure you don’t wish to form an allia will be us immensely. We share resources and information that is useful for the whole.” Leona, a goddess with a twenty four on her head expins. Leona is a humanoid predator akin to something of a lion. She is both lithe and muscur, with a very predataze. Behind the woman is a posse of eleven ods and goddesses. All are lower level than leona, but not by much. “It will only be until twenty towers are quered. Then the alliance will be disbanded.”

  Yazu finds the prospetriguing, and would be willing to join. Being in a group and w together will yield better and safer results. But, there is a problem. “Yazu will not join unless Mus is allowed to join.”

  Leona growls, which causes Mus to squirm in Yazus p. “She is weak. Her champion does not level and if the rumors are true, stu an unknown isnd. Her current situation will not be the group at all. It will only weaken us.”

  Yazu s her arms around the Mousey-girl. “Then Yazu finds your allianworthy of Yazu's presence.”

  “Unworthy!” Leona grins. “You think you survive without a pack? Do you think your champion survive alone?” She chuckles darkly. “Maa is the only one who deem such a thing on at of his level. But you, the same level as me? You are but a goddess of luck, and I will watch happily as that little luck run ou-” Leona pauses. Her face goes pale while her eyes are glued to the top of Yazu’s head.

  Yazu, notig this, gnces up to find the wenty five. Realizing what just happened, Yazu quickly opens her mouth to gloat, but her realization is too sloortal opens under her.

  “NOOOOOOOOOOOOO.” She screams in e.

  _______________________________________________________________

  Opening my eyes, I find myself in the realm of white, which only meahing.

  Waiting for a few seds, I see a portal open, followed by a screaming goddess. Yazu crashes face first into the ground. Then, to my surprise, anirl somehow even shorter than Yazu nds atop the goddess of luck.

  The shirl looks something of a mouse mixed with a human.

  I walk to the two groaning women.

  “Yazu, I didn’t expect you t a friend.” I told her.

  Yazu stops groaning at my words. Then she leans up to g the mousey girl.

  “Mus, why are you here?” Yazu asks.

  Mus frowns. “You pulled me with you.”

  “So, who is this?” I ask.

  Yazu blinks in tinued bewilderment. “Yazus goddess friend.”

  “So a god… that yht here?”

  “Yazu did not i Mus. Yazu was just holding Mus tightly while Yazu was going to gloat. Yazu finds your level-up timing very inve.”

  “Inve? Really?”

  Yazu nods. “Yes, Yazu was having a versation about alliances, and then you level and force poor Yazu to e here.”

  I pinch the bridge of my nose.

  “So, the gods are creating alliances. Smart in the short term, but detrimental ter. An alliance just means you’re cultivating petition that will have a good idea of your strengths and weaknesses. Unless you’re weak or you’re the leader of said alliahen It is a waste to joirimental even. I’d rather keep my anonymity for as long as possible.”

  Yazu grins. She grabs Mus and pulls her close. “Then Yazu will be the leader of the alliand Mus will join us.”

  The little mousey-girl squeals in surprise.

  “No.” I answer. “Needless risk, and I don’t think Mus will be me at all.”

  Yazu pouts and holds Mus even closer. “Yazu believes Mus is the best person for an alliance. Mus does not want to win. Mus just wants to have fun.”

  I raise an eyebrow towards the squirming mouse-girl. Just from a passive sense of the goddess, Mus is as young and as weak as Yazu. She also doesn’t seem deceptive.

  “What kind of goddess are you?” I ask.

  “I-i’m a goddess of magic.” She answers meekly.

  She is too weak to be a generalist goddess of magic.

  “What kind of magic?” I ask.

  “Nature.” She answers.

  Nature? Huh, that's actually not bad.

  Gods reted to nature in any form tend to be kind, g, and very ho. They avoid flid prefer to nurture and create instead of destroy. If you want someohat isn’t going to stab you in the back, then nature is one of the best choices.

  I y arms and stare at Mus. “You don’t want to win the god games at all?” I ask.

  Mus shakes her head. “I-I don't want to harm others.” She answers.

  After a long moment, I drop my arms. “Alright, fine. We’ll make an alliance.” I look at Yazu. “So long as I have final say over the members.”

  Yazu salutes gleefully.

  I return my attention to Mus. “Now then, tell me about your champion.”

  “My Champion’s name is hes and…

  For the several minutes, I listen to Mus expin her predit. A predit that just so happens to make this alliance useless.

  “I’m surprised Pandora would teleport a champion to an abandoned isnd.”

  “It wasn’t abahere was a catastrophe on the first day where meteors fell on my champions isnd. The isnd was shattered in two, with the poputed half falling down into the p.”

  Damn. That’s some shit luck.

  “And your champion has no idea where they are?”

  She shakes her head.

  “Any ndmarks? Something unique?”

  “Ughhh, there's a nearby isnd with a half destroyed castle.”

  “Right. Any specifiames?”

  Mus shakes her head.

  I sigh. “I’ll ask if anyone knows about a half destroyed castle. But first,” I turn to Yazu spag out, “I believe my goddess is fully prepared to give me a new css.”

  Yazu blinks. Her eyes meet mine.

  We stare at each other for a long moment.

  Then her cheeks turn bright pink.