"This is the first time you are stressing yourself over a player." Zinnia's concealed presence is revealed, and the door behind Zyros shuts on its own.
Zyros wasn't too surprised to see Zinnia in his bedchamber without his permission; because of his height and small stature, she often disrespects him by treating him like a kid. Because of this, he had learned to use all sorts of strong magical artifacts to aid his magic circle for blocking Zinnia away from his room. He looked to the side of his door and confirmed another broken magical treasure, a relic. It had the form of a staff; it took him over a hundred years to hunt for it, and now it was broken in two.
"Are you the only one who noticed that I messed with magic displaying the players' activity?" Zyros picked up his broken staff and sighed. At the side of his room, there were multiple screens displaying every player and their activities.
'Perhaps I should give up on trying to stop her,' he thought. Zinnia's arrogance came from her strength; she was the second strongest among them.
Zinnia let out a loud laugh. "Everyone who was watching the game except for Dustan is aware of your silly trick."
Zyros's hands folded into a tight fist. He knew that he was weak, but for his weakness to be easily revealed in front of the others felt humiliating. The only reason Dustan didn't know of his act is because he considered the early part of the game boring and didn't bother to watch it. He only watched it when the true action starts, and that was when the one who had been chosen as hero by the system realized who the villain is.
Zinnia walks away from Zyros's bed and strides over to him. She places her slender pale finger over his hand and smirks at him as she easily fixes his artifact. Although Zinnia has a cruel nature, she was playful and easily became softhearted when it came to Zyros. Most times he suspected the reason why she was so kind to him was because she saw him as a living toy. Each of them knew each other for years and had been ordinary saints together before achieving god status. One of the reasons Zyros was chosen was because of his rare type of magic. Although he saw himself as someone who was weak, Zinnia had told him once that he was strong, but he couldn't bring himself to believe it.
"Thanks." Zyros mumbled out reluctantly and walked away from Zinnia to an open cabinet where he kept all his unique magical artifacts.
"I knew that you didn't want the kid to die when you stopped Thalric from killing him. The magic you wasted on him today will find its way back to you within two to three days, no doubt."
Zyros could feel his vein popping in anger at the smile he could hear in Zinnia's voice. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by novel※fire.net
Whenever a player dies, the magic energy that has been given to them returns back to the god whom the magic belongs to. The only exception for when the human will be able to keep the magic energy for themselves and make it their power is when they win the game and the 12 gods acknowledge them and their efforts.
"I won't be the only one whose magic is going to return to them during the game." Zyros glared at Zinnia, annoyed by her whole being invading his space. "The villain magic always comes from you; soon when the hero figures out who the villain is, he's going to be dead."
"She." Zinnia corrected with a lazy expression on her face. "The villain this time is a girl. Guess who she is." She moves in circles around Zyros, her voice taunting.
Zyros's mind went to the two girls who had partnered with Lucian, and although Luna had a dark appearance, he couldn't imagine her as someone who could be compatible with Zinnia. "No way." He thought out loud as he then thought of Nova. She was so nice to Lucian at the start of the game that he should have noticed.
A human who was compatible with Zinnia magic was someone who had a cruel heart and would prey after the weak for entertainment. This was why Zinnia was so sure that Lucian was fated to die soon.
"Yes." Zinnia grins and stops her movement. "I have a good feeling about this season's villain. She's going to win the game; with that innocent pretty face, there's no way that idiot of a hero won't lose."
Zyros clenched his teeth and wished that there was something he could do to warn Lucian and let him know that he was being deceived. But he has interfered already and was caught in the act because of his weakness; if it was someone like Thalric, Zinnia, or even Dustan, no one would notice a change.
"Am I going to be punished? Or are you guys going to punish the kid?" Zyros asked, shadows casting over his face as he lowers his head down.
"Stop being so stiff, Zyros." Zinnia folded her arms around her chest and looked at the screen showing the players. Her eyes followed her favorite player, Nova. "It's understandable that you are excited because the boy is compatible with your magic; he's too insignificant for us to be worried about. Besides, you let him step into Hlasked; that's the greatest punishment he can get for being useless." She turns to Zyros. "Don't try doing anything again for the boy. It was funny the first time, but it won't be if you try that again."
The threat in her voice made Zyros lose confidence in facing Zinnia. The only reason they were letting him get away with what he did is because Lucian was a nobody who could never change no matter what.
"If that girl makes it, you are going to lose part of your precious magic forever."
"Why do you think Dustan is so strong?" Zinnia asks. Her voice filled with irritation as she spoke of her rival. Since they have gotten to the god level in their cultivation, they have been stuck and couldn't cultivate their powers anymore. This game, other than being made for their entertainment, was a way to make the humans grow some of their powers for them, and when the human dies, their powers return, but the ones who truly benefit from the game are the gods whose powers get taken away, creating a huge gap in their mana core that makes them cultivate again and become stronger than before. They couldn't freely release their powers to cultivate for greater strength; it had to be taken away by someone who was compatible, a human.
Zinnia scoffs, "I can't expect someone like you to understand. Just stop trying to act cute because of a kid, Zyros."
The door to the room automatically opens for Zinnia, and she steps out.