The strange phenomenon didn't show any signs of stopping or even slowing down, but on the contrary, it seemed to increase in intensity, giving one the impression that the World Tree was preparing to try for a breakthrough into the next realm.

"Could it be that it's evolving to the second level? Wouldn't that mean that the world itself will reach it as well? What the fuck is going on?"

Then, the unwanted answer arrived...

A total of 9 different types of magic have been recognized on Midgard!

Initializing the Job Change system...

Congratulations!

Once a being on Midgard will reach Level 10 in body refinement and Tier 1 in soul refinement, the compatible jobs will be presented to chose between! Congratulation Midgard for commencing its evolution to the second stage! Analyzing current Midgard's situation... Four total suitable locations were found! Analyzing the four locations and comparing them based on requirements...

One suitable location confirmed! Beginning Midgard's transition to the second stage...

I stared with my mouth agape at the flurry of messages covering the red-tinged sky. There were a total of five different pop-up windows which were probably enough to cover a couple of square kilometers each, blinking in and out of existence.

I turned my head and saw the elves staring at the same thing as I was and was scared shitless once more when I realized that they could hear and see the notification as well.

Before I could say or do anything else, everything around me went fully dark before I found myself in a familiar room.

"You've got to be kidding me..."

[Is that how you greet old friends?]

"What dogshit 'old friends'!? What the hell did you do this time? What's this second stage transition and why the hell do I get the impression that it's way shittier than anything else you've thrown my way so far?"

[...mostly because it is...](Reaper)

I felt the blood in my veins freeze with that reply and realized that, maybe for the first time since we’ve met, this shitty game God was actually serious. That in return made me frown...

"That bad, huh? Hopefully this time you can at least give me some details and not some Lao Zi-type bullshit."

[Mhm! This time you need to know what you are dealing with. I guess we should start from the very beginning. Do you remember our first conversation when I asked you about what do you think a God is?](Reaper)

"Yeah... Simply put, when one or more people think about a phenomenon and they attribute it miraculous abilities, if there is sufficient belief, a God would be born. Something like that, right?"

[Indeed. However, that's not the only way to ascend to godhood...](Reaper)

"What!? There are other means?"

[Unfortunately, yes. Otherwise, the Gods would become tyrants that people are forced to depend on and not the other way around. For example, there are worlds where humans ascend to the divine level through continuous fighting and devouring of each other's energy, a similar method from which the Adventurer System was created. In other worlds, one can ascend to godhood only by being selected as a God's successor and receive divinity that will restructure his body. Yet another type of world, allows all type of breathing creatures to cultivate the energy of the universe, which in return pushes their strength higher and higher, until they leave the contraints of mortality. There are as many methods as there are stars in the sky and there are just that many more worlds...](Reaper)

"Then..."

The sudden influx of information caught me unprepared and I stared in shock in the starry eyes of the divine being in front of me. If I am currently the God of a world and I have access to both the faith of my followers and a way to level up and increase the tier of my soul, which path...

[...there isn't a path that's right or wrong. All of them are viable to walk upon and there isn't a difference between their strength. The only difference is made by the individual. It has always been like that and it won't necessarily change any time soon.](Reaper)

"I see... And I'm guessing this situation has something to do with the other Gods from the other worlds. And that doesn't refer to the other 999 from your little game, right?"

[Right and wrong... Haaaah! This is way too early than I anticipated it would be. I was prepared to have this conversation with you only after about 1000 years have passed and you have matured as a God somewhat. Anyway, what do you know about duality?](Reaper)

"Duality?"

I shot the game God a strange look, but I abstained from making any snide remarks and pondered for an answer when I saw how serious he was. I think I already know where this was heading...

"The concept of duality signifies that everything in the universe has at least two sides to it. Like a coin for example, heads or tails. Even if in its truest meaning it also has the sides that can be considered as the third part, the concept remains to prove that there are at least two meanings to everything. At the same time it's a way to show the opposing nature of humans, black and white, one and zero, good and bad…"

[…and there you have it...](Reaper)

"So it's like that after all... Let me guess: there's a good group of Gods and a bad group. And I am somehow caught between the struggles between them?"

[More or less. Honestly speaking, Gods aren't the highest level one can reach. In a way, it can be considered just the beginning. Above Gods there are many other stronger creatures which power you can't even fathom...](Reaper)

"Ancients and Supreme Ones..."

The moment those words escaped my lips, a look of intense fear and hatred flashed through Reaper's eyes, pinning me on the soft sofa. I couldn't move even a finger...

[Why do you know of them!?](Reaper)

"Would you believe me if I'd say I dreamed about it?"

[Like hell, I would!](Reaper)

"...it's the truth though..."

His eyes focused on me, seemingly trying to discern if I was speaking the truth or not. It's quite hard to explain how I dreamed about a story the voice in my head narrated, in which Lucifer AKA the devil himself, was asking about Pandora's Gifts... which the next day appeared in my Status Page.

"Oh wow... it does sounds batshit crazy..."

[Okay, fine! I will believe you for now... There are three divine major factions, out of which two are the strongest: the Gods and the Devils. Ironic, right?](Reaper)

"You have no idea..."

[Well, those two factions have been at war since longer than anyone can remember. But even then, throughout the millennia the numbers of both factions dwindled considerably and the higher ranked divinities perished as well. Seeing the two factions decrease in strength so badly, the neutral faction proposed a game between the Gods and the Devils: they were supposed to fight using civilization they nurtured from scratch, that they will throw at each other. So far, a total of 848 rounds occurred and believe it or not, it's a tie.](Reaper)

A tie? 848 rounds? Doesn't that mean that the factions that warred against each other with their civilizations 848 times so far? How many worlds does that mean? How many souls died? Actually...

"Can a God die as well?"

[Of course it can. Just the last couple of rounds we 'played' have been particularly costly. Last round for example, which we lost by the way, ended with more than half of the Gods in our faction dying. Countless civilizations have been wiped out as well. Obviously we did the same to them as well in the previous rounds...](Reaper)

"And is this round supposed to be the last one or something?"

[Not really, no. It's just one of the many that will happen. However, this time all the participants under myself are new to the game. I wanted to use the next thousand years to properly prepare them for the game, but you kind of ruined that for me.](Reaper)

"How come?"

[The first stage of the game is like a tutorial after the tutorial. It allows the players to get accustomed with how to lead their civilization, so at the point when the game truly begins, they will know what to do. The second stage, represents the true start and with it, the Devil faction will also invade...](Reaper)

"Invade? As in, come over to our worlds?"

[Precisely! In the past, they were the defenders and we were the invaders. Unfortunately the higher-ups lost the coin toss and now we have to play defender twice in a row... ](Reaper)

"I am going to do my best to ignore how some absolute divine beings decide the fate of the universe with a mere coin toss, but why is there such a difference between the defenders and the invaders?"

[It's always easier to attack than it is to defend. At the point where the second stage begins, the Adventurer System comes in play and evens out the playfield. At the point where both forces are on the same level, but have different numbers, which one do you think will win? Not to mention that if the invaders catch a proper foothold, any attempts at erasing them will be neigh impossible. Imagine the invaders having a civilization more advanced than yours, on the same planet and them continuously attacking you. Do you think you could win with less numbers?](Reaper)

"Fucking hell no! What the fuck!? How can it be so unfair towards the defenders?"

[It's not actually. However, it depends on the missions and how successfully you can complete them. As you know, in order to increase the numbers of your civilization members, Soul Points are required. The Game System will automatically generate a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly mission. If you complete it, you get more point. With more points, you get more people. With more people, you get better and harsher missions, but with better rewards. And from there on...](Reaper)

"It's just grind and repeat. What about those missions?"

[They change every round, so there is no meaning in me telling you what they were in the past.](Reaper)

"What's your divinity ‘rank'? Since you have the other Gods under you, are you an Ancient?"

[Ancient? Hahaha! Nope! I am just a slightly stronger God. I guess you could say that I am at the peak of strength at the God level, but I am not anywhere near breaking through the next level. The type of divinity I am, requires that my underlings become stronger and the stronger they are, the more chances I have to progress.](Reaper)

"Interesting... What sort of rank do you have in the God faction?"

[Star Lord. The classification of the leaders in charge of Gods and their worlds is as follows: Star Lords with 1000 Gods and their worlds under them; Moon Lords with up to 5000 Gods and their worlds, while the highest ranked are the Sun Lords with as much as up to 10000 Gods and worlds under their watch.](Reaper)

"I am guessing there are benefits for winning in a game round for you as well, right?"

[Yup. But it depends on the ratio of the worlds that are successful in defending or attacking which I control. If 25% or less defend successfully this time, I get to keep my rank. If there's 50% or less, I get automatically promoted to Moon Lord and finally, if there's 75% or higher, not only do I get promoted to Sun Lord, but I will receive help in breaking through the next divinity realm.](Reaper)

"How did you do in the last round?"

[I didn't exist last round... Remember that I was brought into existence by this generation's Gods, in an attempt to conserve their own lives, by using their own divinity as fuel. As result, not only does that make me an artificial divinity, but also the other Gods and I depend on each other. If I die, they die as well and if more than 50% of them die this time... I will join them.](Reaper)

"Huh!? Then, if you die..."

[The others as well...](Reaper)

"Then, I shall also?"

[Nope. You are the wildcard and I pretty much bet everything I had on you this time. That is why I gave you the Manual Mode.](Reaper)

"So the others didn't have this option to begin with?"

[Nope. Quite unfair of me, isn't it? However, is not that I don't want to give them that option. I can't... Only one Manual Mode per each 1000 Gods under one’s supervision. Therefore, you can say that you are quite the favorite child in my faction this round. If even you can't hold on and defend, I can't hope for the others to...](Reaper)

"Can the members under you join hands and help each other?"

[Are you thinking of Eternity?](Reaper)

"Maybe..."

[Yes. However, at the point where you do, the difficulty of the missions you both get goes up as well. Not only that, but the number of attackers goes up by 25% for each member of the alliance you have set up.](Reaper)

"So that's why you said is quite rough for the defenders. With rules like that, is as if the attackers are favored, while the defenders got the short end of the stick... Nevertheless, if we can join hands the pressure might decrease even if the number of attackers increase. What about communication between faction members? Will we have that?"

[I will open a channel to do so.](Reaper)

"So game-like... Can we intervene for one another? Can I bring my troops over to defend for another player?"

[If you have sufficient leeway to do so, sure.](Reaper)

"What about the attacks? How do those occur?"

[Once per month you will be attacked at a random time, while you will also be given the option to attack once each two months as well.](Reaper)

"..."

From what he told me so far, things will get messy real-fast. I need to quickly bolster the level of my elves and since they have the option of picking Jobs now, it should make things easier. Not only that, but I need to focus on the technological development even more than before. With sufficient defense and powerful weapons, numbers will be irrelevant. Moreover, if we know about the attacks in advance...

"Right! Will there be a notification about the day of the attack?"

[There will.](Reaper)

"Figures… Then even if there will be a 25% increase in number of attacking troops, as long as we can support each other properly... Will all the attacks happen at the same time for everyone?"

[Nope.](Reaper)

"Excellent! Hmm? What's with that look?"

[Others thought as you did before... But in the end, most Gods were humans or were created by humans, therefore showcasing their personality. Would every human back on Earth throw itself in harm’s way for somebody else?](Reaper)

"True... Haaaah… Never mind! I will help those who will help me and even go as far as stretch my hand to those I can reach. I won't promise you anything, but since I am a God myself, I will do the best that I can for my faction, I guess…"

To deal with the invaders and I also have the monsters to deal with starting next year... Wait... 'Four suitable locations'???

"Piece of fuck! How wasn't I able to tell earlier!? The invaders will use the dungeons?"

[Yup... Originally, I planned to give you a thousand years to get accustomed with how they work and how to defend against monster waves that will occur. But someone ruined that for everyone else...](Reaper)

"How the hell was I supposed to know that just by having 9 types of magic will suddenly break in the second stage!?"

[It's not just the different types of magic. It is the mana concentration of the atmosphere, the number of dungeons and the average number of floors, the highest level of the strongest person of your world and then there is also the types of magic available. Just that last one is stupidly hard to achieve... How the hell did you get summoning type of magic and necromancer magic within less than a month!? That's way too stupid!](Reaper)

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO MADE THAT DROP IN THE DUNGEON YOU USELESS GAME GOD!!!"

[Yes, yes, yes... It's my fault! Now what are you going to do about the game?](Reaper)

"My best to freaking survive... Ugh! When's the first attack going to happen?"

[In about two days. It will take that long for your world to break through the first level. A word of advice: you can still use the three dungeons on your continent, but without sufficient strength, don't even think of the other one.](Reaper)

"It's there where the base will be for the invaders? And let me guess... at the lowest level?"

[Bingo!](Reaper)

"You suck so much!!! What about the other civilizations? I am the only one that has dungeons at the moment..."

[When I took over this group, I selected the option to provide the 'simulators' to my Gods as the benefit I was able to choose. Given that I am connected with the others, I can simply pass to them the knowledge I have. Obviously, beside the major dungeon that belongs to the Devil faction, each world will have another three just as you do. For training purposes...](Reaper)

"That's good I guess. Anything else I should know?"

[For now, it should suffice. Everything else will become clear as time goes on...](Reaper)

"Still acting mysterious and shit... "

[Okay, time for you to be on your way then. Buh-b... Oh, right! The levels of everybody will reset to zero, but the civilization advances will remain. Hahaha! Buh-Bye!!!](Reaper)

"Motherfucker!!!!!!"

By the time I stopped yelling I was already back on Midgard at the dinner table, with many pairs of eyes looking quite dumbstruck at me...

"Ahem! Sorry about that! We are to prepare for an emergency meeting ASAP! Everybody will participate and gather after dinner near the World Tree. Soon, huge chances will occur and we will need everyone to perform at 200% in order to be able to survive... Be prepared!"