King stared at the message interface, waiting.

The reply came almost immediately.

[The Almighty: My actions haven’t gone unnoticed by the God of Games. He’s not exactly pleased with how much I’ve influenced your progress. Apparently, he calls it "doing too much." Other Gods are beginning to complain about it too.]

King frowned, then replied.

[King: What does that mean?]

[The Almighty: In summary, I’ve been banned.]

King paused for a moment.

Banned.

His patron, the one entity that had given him the most powerful skill in the game, was being removed from the board.

[King: Banned? For how long?]

[The Almighty: Temporarily. The God of Games assured me it’s not permanent. I’m certain the All-Powerful is behind this. He’s been bitching about my involvement for a while now, complaining that I’m giving you too much of an advantage. He’s probably the one who pushed the other Gods to file complaints.]

King processed this information, thinking through the implications. No matter how he thought of it, the Almighty had been really helpful, and with her restricted...

another message popped up.

[The Almighty: Don’t worry too much about it. The God of Games actually enjoys watching you. He told me that directly. But he can’t encourage unchecked influence, not this early. If he ignores these complaints, the other Gods will think they can do whatever they want. He has to set a precedent.]

[King: So I’m on my own.]

[The Almighty: For now, yes. But honestly, King, you don’t need me as much as you think you do. You’ve already got the God’s Hand skill and a legendary gear. You’ve got a team as well. Use this as a chance to prove your worth without divine intervention. Show them you’re not just an overrated player I’m obsessed with.]

King leaned against the construct wall, staring at the message.

She was right.

He’d been relying on the Almighty’s sponsorship as a safety net, a guarantee that he’d have an edge over other players. But the reality was that he’d earned everything through his own decisions. The Almighty had given him the skill, but King had chosen how to use it.

And besides, it wasn’t like he entered the game with an assurance of her support in the first place, he’d always scaled the game by himself, this was a chance to remind everyone of who he was.

His confidence returned with that thought and texted back.

[King: Alright. I’ll handle it.]

[The Almighty: That’s the spirit. I’ll be watching from the sidelines. And when the ban lifts, I’ll make sure you’re rewarded for holding your own. Good luck, King.]

The message interface closed.

King stood and flexed his arms, it made a pop sound.

"Guess it’s time to remind these guys that I am the Omniscient Player"

He opened his interface and checked his Popular Points. The number had already dropped from 4,300 points to 3,300 points. The Almighty’s 10,000 fan value contribution was gone. And if the rankings updated now, he’d probably be sixth or seventh.

It was a shift he welcomed in all honesty, the questions it could raise would be infinite.

King gave a slight smile, dismissed the interface and walked back into the common room.

Vi was now sitting with Maya, the child was fast asleep resting on Vi’s thighs. Eli had returned to his room, presumably to rest before tomorrow’s journey.

King approached Vi and sat down beside her.

"Change of plans," King said.

Vi looked up, slightly surprised.

"What kind of change?"

"I’m going for the Red-Imp Talisman first," King said. "The dungeon’s in this region, only about an hour away. We can clear it early, and when we get back, I’ll head out for the magi-academy quest."

Vi blinked, surprised.

"Today? Are you sure?"

"Yeah," King said. "The talisman’s important, and it just became a lot more important for my other mission. If we go now, we can knock it out quickly."

Vi studied him for a moment, clearly sensing that something had shifted, but she didn’t press.

"Okay," she said. "I’m in."

King stood and walked toward Eli’s room, knocking twice on the construct wall.

"Mr. Eli," King called.

The door opened, and Eli appeared, already dressed and alert, he truly could never be taken by surprise .

"Master King?"

"I need you to stay with Maya," King said. "Vi and I are heading out to clear a dungeon. After that, we can both go our separate ways for the quests."

Eli nodded without hesitation.

"Understood. I’ll keep her safe."

"Thanks," King said.

He turned back to Vi, who was already standing and adjusting her gear.

"Ready?" King asked.

"Yeah, I’ll just get my armor" Vi confirmed, entering her room.

King knelt down in front of Maya, who was now awake and still clutching her toy.

"Hey, Maya," King said gently. "Vi and I are going out for a bit. Uncle Eli’s going to stay here with you. We’ll be back soon, okay?"

Maya nodded with that same cute smile on her face.

King smiled and patted her head before standing.

Vi returned fully dressed, then they exited the bunker together.

King opened his map interface and placed markers along the route to the Red-Imp Dungeon. The system responded immediately, generating glowing blue lights that appeared in the horizon of his vision. The lights marked each waypoint in real life, visible only to him.

"Follow me," King said, gesturing for Vi to stay close.

Vi fell into step beside him, and they began walking.

The terrain had changed dramatically since the topography shift. What used to be flat suburban roads were now rolling hills and dense forests. The dungeon was located near the southern edge of King’s claimed territory, nestled in a valley that hadn’t existed before the First Woe.

King led the way, navigating by the glowing waypoints that only he could see. Vi followed without question, trusting his sense of direction.

They walked in silence for the first twenty minutes, moving steadily through the landscape.

"So," Vi said eventually, breaking the silence. "What’s in this dungeon?"

"Imps," King replied. "Small, fast, and aggressive. They spawn in packs and use fire-based attacks. The boss is a Great Red-Imp. Bigger and stronger than the rest. It drops a talisman after death."

"Grants a passive resistance buff to a whole lot of things. I want to grab it now while we have time."

Vi smiled faintly.

"You really have this whole game memorized, don’t you?"

King shrugged.

"After a hundred playthroughs, yeah. Most of it’s muscle memory at this point."

They continued walking, following the glowing waypoints deeper into the valley.

The forest around them grew denser, the trees taller and older. The air smelled of damp earth and moss, and the distant sound of running water echoed through the trees.

King checked the map again. They were close.

"Almost there," he said.

Vi adjusted her step, becoming more cautious as she walked beside king.

They walked for another ten minutes before the terrain opened up into a clearing.

And there, at the far end of the clearing, was the dungeon entrance.

A massive stone archway jutted from the hillside, covered in ancient carvings and glowing faintly with red light. The entrance was dark, a gaping maw that led deep underground.

King stopped at the edge of the clearing, studying the entrance.

"This is it," he said.

Vi stared at the archway, her expression tensed a bit, but she remained firm.

"Stay close to me," King said. "Imps are fast, but they’re fragile. I’ll handle the crowd control. You focus on picking off stragglers. The boss is going to be the real challenge, so save your energy for that."

Vi nodded.

"Got it."

King summoned blue energy around his hands, ready to deploy constructs at a moment’s notice.

He took a deep breath and stepped forward.

They crossed the clearing together and stopped at the entrance to the Imp Dungeon.

King glanced at Vi one more time, then he stepped through the archway, and Vi followed.

The darkness swallowed them both.