My attributes are increasing infinitely

Chapter 444: The game of the gods

The suns of the White Sand Shelter were unrelenting, casting long, sharp shadows across the ivory dunes that stretched toward the horizon. Ethan stood at the edge of the tall grass, the transition zone between the safety of the human hub and the lawless wilds of the First Sanctuary.

On his head, the Emperor Slime shifted its weight, its translucent purple body catching the light like a polished amethyst.

To any observer, Ethan was a tragic sight. A boy with no armor, no weapon, and a beast that looked like a discarded dessert. But inside Ethan’s mind, a complex web of strategy was being spun. He wasn’t just here to survive. He was here to rebuild a legacy that spanned across the stars.

The status panel hummed in his consciousness, a translucent blue screen only he could see.

[Name: Ethan Di Raizel]

[Rank: Tier 0]

[Beasts: 1. Emperor Slime (1 Basic Gene) | 2. Nine-Tailed Fox (0)]

He looked at the talent descriptions again.

The Emperor Slime possessed Devour and Space Manipulation. The latter was locked until Tier 3, but Devour was the ultimate cheat. It didn’t just provide sustenance. It allowed the slime to mimic and steal the essence of what it consumed.

Then there was the Nine-Tailed Fox. Charm and Time Manipulation. Even locked, the potential was staggering. If the galaxy knew a single boy held the keys to both Space and Time through his soul-linked beasts, the they would stop at nothing to either enslave or execute him.

”Patience,” Ethan whispered to himself. ”We build the foundation first.”

He moved deeper into the jagged grass. The stalks were sharp, capable of drawing blood if he wasn’t careful.

Soon, he heard a dry, scratching sound.

A Sand Rat emerged. It was a vile creature, its skin looking like cracked leather and its teeth yellowed and jagged. It hissed, its small red eyes locking onto the purple blob on Ethan’s head.

Ethan didn’t wait.

He reached up, grabbed the slime, and tossed it toward the rat.

The slime didn’t fall like a stone. In mid-air, it expanded. It turned from a small ball into a wide, thin sheet of purple film.

It landed on the rat like a wet blanket.

The creature’s muffled shrieks lasted only a few seconds. The ”Devour” talent was efficient. It didn’t just eat. It disassembled the target at a molecular level.

[Basic Sand Rat consumed. +1 Basic Gene Point.]

[Evolution Progress: 2/100 Basic Gene Points.]

Ethan continued this pattern for hours.

He stayed close to the perimeter, hunting the weakest inhabitants of the plains.

He watched as his counter ticked up: 3, 4, 5... all the way to 10.

But when the slime enveloped the eleventh rat, the notification changed.

[Basic Sand Rat consumed. Maximum points for this species reached. 0 Gene Points awarded.]

Ethan halted, wiping sweat from his brow.

”So the Master was right about variety. The Sanctuary won’t let me just farm the weakest thing forever. It demands growth through diversity.”

He retreated to the shelter as the dual suns began to dip, painting the sky in bruised shades of orange and violet.

He needed a plan.

The rats were no longer useful. Tomorrow, he would have to go deeper, perhaps into the rocky outcrops where the ”Horned Rabbits” or ”Stone Lizards” resided.

.....

Ethan was standing in the Land of the Ancients, the heart of the Daemon World.

Beside him stood Rose, her presence a silent comfort, and Ryugu, the Daemon prince who looked at Ethan with a mixture of respect and brotherly affection.

”Brother, we have arrived,” Ryugu said, gesturing to the landscape.

The world was impossibly beautiful.

Floating islands of emerald moss hung in the sky, connected by waterfalls that flowed upward.

The air itself felt like a tonic, rich with a faint divine resonance that made Ethan’s skin tingle.

”Yumiko,” Ethan thought, addressing the AI system embedded in his soul. ”Who is the strongest being in the Daemon race?”

[Everyone above Absolute Continuum beings were sealed off in the divine realm or killed.] Yumiko’s voice echoed in his mind. [Currently, a Grade 5 Absolute Continuum being acts as their Supreme Leader. They are powerful, but they are shadows of the true Ancestors.]

Ethan nodded.

He was about to ask Ryugu about their living quarters when a sudden, piercing coldness struck his heart.

It felt as if a giant eye had opened in the center of his brain, staring down at his very essence.

[Master! Warning! Warning!] Yumiko’s voice turned into a shrill alarm.

[The eyes of the Creator of the Fate Race are on you right now. He is weaving a web around your destiny. I can detect a malicious intent.]

Ethan froze.

Ryugu noticed the change and stopped. ”Brother? What is it?”

”Wait,” Ethan said, his voice low and dangerous.

[Master, the consciousness of a Proto-Deity Ascended realm is trying to force a mental bridge,] Yumiko reported.

[They are persistent. What is your command?]

”Let him talk,” Ethan said. He wanted to know the face of his enemy.

Immediately, a voice that sounded like grinding tectonic plates echoed in his skull.

It was ancient, heavy with the weight of eons, and dripping with unearned arrogance.

”Hello, little anomaly. How are you?”

Ethan didn’t flinch.

He narrowed his eyes, looking at nothing in particular.

”Who are you?”

”Oh? Pretty calm, aren’t you?” The voice chuckled, a sound that felt like a mountain crumbling. ”I am your god. I am the one who writes the lines you speak and the path you walk.”

Ethan scoffed, a dry, mocking sound.

”Nice joke. Now tell me who you really are. I don’t have time for games or guessing.”

The voice sharpened.

The arrogance remained, but a sliver of irritation peeked through.

”I won’t argue with my creation. Let me give you an offer. I want you to become a ’Player’ on my behalf. Represent me in the Game of the Gods.”

”And if I refuse?”

”Then the ’Fate’ I write for your family will be a short, bloody tragedy. They will die. Every single one of them. But if you win the first prize, I will remove them from my radar forever. They will be free of me.”

Ethan felt a surge of cold fury, but he suppressed it.

He was powerful but against a Proto-Deity, he was currently a gnat.

He needed time.

”What kind of game are we talking about?” Ethan asked, his mind already calculating the risks.

The voice erupted in a boisterous, mocking laugh.

”Hahahaha! I knew you loved your family. Humans are so vulnerable when they have something to lose. I like that. It makes you easy to steer.”

The voice continued, its tone becoming more clinical.

”The game is a trial of the highest order. Every God Clan sends their best candidates to the World of the Trial. It takes place in the Transcended Tower.”

”The Tower has 10,000 floors,” the voice explained. ”Every floor is a completely different world with its own rules, its own physics, and its own dangers. You will be reincarnated into each floor. You will live an entire life there, perhaps a hundred years at a time. Your task is to find and win the Divine Artifact sealed within that floor and then ascend.”

”10,000 worlds?” Ethan asked. ”That would take millions of years.”

”In the Tower, time is a suggestion, not a rule. You will live those lives, gain that experience, and when you reach the top, the final winner will receive a Supreme Treasure, the collection of all the artifacts combined. You hand that treasure to me. You can keep the rest of the spoils. Not only that, but I will grant you a place in a God Clan. Beside you can awaken a law of your own or I can give you a law before the trial, which will be extended to 10 trillion kilometers, the length of a Proto-Deity’s law strand. It is an opportunity for a worm like you to become a dragon.”

The voice paused, letting the weight of the offer settle.

Ethan went silent.

The offer was a double-edged sword.

To represent this being was to be a slave, but to win the trial was to gain power that could eventually allow him to kill the very person holding the leash. Besides his law needed a boost in power. So it was really a good opportunity.

He thought of his family.

He thought of his sister-in-law, who was currently caught in the political nightmare of the Apocalypse Race.

”I don’t need your artificial law,” Ethan said, his voice firm. ”I will build my own power. But I have a condition. My sister-in-law is with the Apocalypse Race. If you use your influence to protect her and ensure her safety until I return from the Tower, I will play your game.”

There was a long silence.

Then, the ancient voice laughed again, this time with a hint of genuine interest.

”A bold brat. You reject the gift of a god but negotiate for the life of a woman? Hahahaha! Very well. I agree to these terms. Your sister-in-law will be untouchable. In exchange, you are now my piece on the board. Prepare yourself.”