Above a massive ocean, the storm raged. Powerful arcs of lightning slammed into the water, sending fountains of seawater shooting skyward where the bolts connected with the surface. The wind howled, and waves over twenty meters high rose and fell like titans wrestling beneath a darkened sky. Every few seconds, thunder crashed so violently it shook the air like a war drum and popped the ears of anyone unlucky enough to be caught inside the storm.

There was no land in sight, and from above it looked like nothing could possibly survive. But under the surface, the world told a very different story. The raging waves and currents churned plankton and food into swirling eddies, creating an ocean brimming with life. Schools of fish darted through the blue depths, pursued by massive reptilian predators with jaws wide enough to swallow a horse whole, while leviathan-sized whales drifted lazily in the distance.

One hundred meters below the waves, a colossal reef floated in the endless blue. Strange blue pearls sprouted in clusters across its surface, their glow sparking furious battles between sea beasts. Above the reef, an immense underwater palace hovered. Its light-blue walls gleamed, protected by powerful glowing runes. These runes sustained a massive air bubble within, though the beings who dwelled inside had no need of it.

They were humans from Veridara, a world currently fusing with Earth. Thalion had named them the Blue Robes. In this pure water tutorial, without land, they had been forced to adapt or die. At first, many struggled. Some still needed to swim to the surface for air, and countless poor souls drowned, unable to benefit from Veridara's dense mana or water affinity. Others were devoured, snapped up whole by predators as easily as a man swallowing a grape. Swarms of razor-toothed fish, like monstrous piranhas, turned the ocean into a nightmare where the thunder above and the jaws below promised only death.

Yet there was one person who found this entire ordeal nothing more than… boring.

Elowen Marquess, Queen of Veridara, reclined in a great tub filled with glowing blue pearls. Each pearl pulsed with power, surging through her body, tempering it again and again in rapid succession. From the moment she had arrived, her royal bloodline had awakened, elevating her far beyond all others. Where others saw giant sea monsters that could not be fought, she saw annoying flies buzzing around her head. The number of creatures that actually forced her to use her true strength could be counted on one hand.

It didn't take long for Elowen to establish herself as ruler. After all, she had been queen back on Veridara, and now she wielded so much power that no one could dream of challenging her. Some nobles had tried, men mostly, claiming that they were always the stronger sex and better suited to rule. That might have been true in the old world, but here things were different. They learned that lesson quickly. Elowen had no concept of mercy. She made every noble watch as she slowly skinned the rebels alive, peeling their flesh like bark from a tree. Some in the audience fainted at the sight, and after that, none dared to oppose her again.

Sometimes, one good show of strength and brutality was enough to keep everyone else in line.

That didn't mean life was peaceful, either for the nobles or the common folk. Elowen cared for only two things. That her rule was secure, and that the blue pearls kept flowing. Heads rolled, if not enough pearls or crystals were delivered to her. One subtle but invaluable trait of her bloodline allowed her to absorb natural treasures at an incredible rate. That side effect was already so good that it had earned her the divine blessing of Mazu, a powerful water goddess.

Months of cultivation revealed why. Her skin had taken on a faint blue sheen, and the power she gained simply by sitting near the pearls was greater than most in the tutorial could ever dream of. When she had arrived, she had been in her late forties. Now she no longer looked like a mature woman but rather a tall beauty in her late twenties.

Elowen had soft lips, long dark-blue hair, and piercing yellow eyes. She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman in the tutorial. Were she not queen, men would have lined up outside her chambers like beggars at a feast. But Elowen had no interest in men. She preferred women but unfortunately, the women here were all weak.

Elowen did not love, and would only share her bed with someone who matched her power, or at the very least her beauty. Needless to say, no one in this tutorial met her standards. Mazu had promised her a few slaves on New Earth, gifts of beauty to match her taste. Restrictions only bound power, not looks, and in Elowen's opinion that was exactly as it should be.

Not that sex was something she thought about often these days.

No, she was far more addicted to power than to anything else. For Elowen, there could never be enough to satisfy her hunger. Her greed for strength was like a bottomless pit. No matter how much she grew, her desire was never filled.

The special quest of her tutorial had been dull. Nothing but a treasure guarded by an ancient leviathan. She slew the beast in a quick fight. The hardest one so far, yet still not enough to truly test her. The treasure itself was far more valuable. To her, it made no sense why such a weak guardian had been placed over it.

The reward allowed her to choose a special item from the system shop. Now, a blue diadem with a radiant crystal rested upon her brow, the Diadem of the Everqueen. It endlessly fueled its wearer with power while simultaneously accelerating body-tempering. It was unimaginably valuable, and with the diadem alone, the strength of her skills increased by nearly forty percent. That kind of amplification was madness, like giving a starving fire a mountain of oil. On top of that, it improved energy flow and body refinement. No wonder it was a divine-rarity item.

Even though she rarely needed to fight in this tutorial, most enemies died after a few spells. She still purchased multiple information crystals on battle momentum, ensuring that if someone of equal strength appeared, she would be ready. And that day was drawing near. The end of the tutorial was close, and soon multiple powerful individuals would descend upon the new planet. The system events in particular would test her true strength.

The scrolls were not her only source of growth. She had held countless meetings with her patron Mazu, learning much about combat and the art of fighting all manner of foes, from assassins to mages to towering tanks. Mazu was prepared for every opponent and had even shared hidden tricks sharp as poisoned daggers. Those lessons had given Elowen perhaps even more than the stat boost from the divine blessing itself. Mazu was among the stronger gods, which meant her blessings were magnitudes greater than most. That Elowen had gained a percentage amplifier on her most important stats was nothing short of insane.

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In recent weeks, however, her patron had grown increasingly upset, no furious even. Elowen's faction lived close to the undead, which normally wasn't an issue since Mazu specialized in slaying them. But Mazu had revealed that in another tutorial, an apprentice of a long-dead god was destined to be revived during the special quest. If successful, it would give the undead faction terrifying new power. What enraged Mazu most was that those she had blessed were failing her, contributing little to stop this ascension. Worse—Elowen's own daughter had killed many of Mazu's chosen and renounced the goddess's blessing entirely.

Elowen had never loved her daughters, and now her indifference had twisted into pure hatred. How dare her own blood spit on the hand of her goddess? How dare they shame her? She would find Seraphina, and when she did, she would make her pay.

But that would have to wait until the special quests were finished.

The upcoming test promised danger. Not only would the new planet's powerhouses participate, but the entrance fee meant geniuses from multiple planets would be drawn in as well. That would create a battlefield where even elites like Elowen could die like foot soldiers trampled under a giant's heel. The beginning of a new era always brought change, but this time felt different.

The gods themselves were stirring. They were no longer only empowering their chosen. They were starting to move against each other. Mazu had told her the Spider Queen was preparing to strike the most powerful Blood Witch in the multiverse. And that was only the beginning. The vampire clans, too, were preparing to rebel against their leader, something utterly uncharacteristic for their kind. Vampires almost never killed one another openly. It was as if they lived by an unspoken code. Kill in secret, manipulate from the shadows. For them to attempt open slaughter was like wolves turning on their alpha in broad daylight.

For Elowen, this was good news. If the vampires fought among themselves, conquering would be far easier.

The only real danger she foresaw were the elves. There was another human-inhabited planet, but its mana density was so low that even with divine blessings, they would never catch up to her.

Elowen was eager to leave this stagnant tutorial behind. She longed to hunt powerful beasts, to sharpen her edge, and then to dominate the system event. After that, it would be time to conquer the planet.

The others had no idea what storm was coming.

<--

Tension was rising across the multiverse. Factions large and small who had secured a place in an incursion, or were waiting for their god's chosen to open a portal to their world, were preparing for war. New lands would soon lie open for conquest in the name of their gods.

But they were not the only ones sharpening their blades. A single, very special tutorial had shaken the heavens themselves, sparking disputes even among the gods. Two deities had already been weakened by massive backlash, something that usually only befell young, inexperienced gods without a faction.

Small rifts widened into gaping wounds, leading to a conflict between the Spiderqueen and Morgana, two gods who normally had no dealings with each other. The fact was not widely known, but among the stronger deities, whispers spread like wildfire. One divine pair in particular was eager to seize this chance.

The web of the Spiderqueen was not hers alone. Her daughters, wrathful gods in their own right, expanded the net endlessly to conquer new lands. In the last two eras, the threads of that net had crept dangerously close to the domain of Eryndor and his wife, Isis.

Eryndor, a god of devastating magic, was known as the patron of Sylas. He was also a key member of the alliance against the undead, who pressed near his borders. Isis, his wife, was a healer, gentle but formidable in her own way. She had once blessed Evelyn, and though she had little means to attack, she could heal any wound and empower fighters to godlike strength.

The only reason they had not already struck at the net was the Spiderqueen herself. Her daughters were powerful, but that was within Eryndor's reach to crush. After all, he had once fought the Spiderqueen directly. Their battle ended in a draw, but since then, her web had never dared creep toward his realm. It was a fragile truce, like two predators circling the same carcass, neither willing to risk the first strike.

Now, though, the time had come to remind those spiders why he was still counted among the strongest gods of the multiverse.

Yet Eryndor and Isis would not march alone. They commanded a mighty faction with many gods beneath them. Certainly not at the very top of divine hierarchy, but high enough to be feared. Many of the most ancient powerhouses remained factionless, and in Eryndor's eyes, that was a waste, especially with newly integrated space ripe for the taking. His many subordinate gods blessed figureheads across countless tutorials, forming a web of influence of their own. When the threads connected, they would birth a faction of terrifying strength.

Now, however, Eryndor would need his gods for war. He himself was powerful, yes, but there was no need to gamble his life alone. Together, they could tear vast sections of the Spiderqueen's net apart. Inside the net, the spiders enjoyed overwhelming advantage, but outside it, they were far easier to slay, provided they did not ambush their prey.

Normally, such a strike would risk an eternal war. But the Spiderqueen was different. She knew no mercy. She was wrath itself, veiled in silk. She would come for him and Isis sooner or later regardless, so why not strike first?

Still, the Spiderqueen remained an enigma. She had never made a misstep, growing ever stronger over countless eras. And now, she had left her net behind, granting Eryndor the chance to inflict catastrophic damage. A web that had taken millions of years to weave could unravel in days under fire.

But why was the Spiderqueen truly attacking Morgana? Her daughters had already captured several of Morgana's witches across the eras. Was the Blood Witch hiding something so valuable that it was worth sacrificing pieces of the net?

Morgana herself was a tempting target. Feared far and wide for her blood magic and ritual mastery, she stood alone. Her only ally, the strongest vampire, was preoccupied with threats of his own. None of the other gods trusted her, and few would shed a tear if she fell. Otherwise, Eryndor might even have considered aiding her to weaken the Spiderqueen.

For now, though, he would take the safer path. Destroy the net, cripple the Spiderqueen's expansion, and see what came of it. He suspected he would not be the only one attacking. With multiple factions striking at once, they might finally gauge the true number and power of the spiders lurking inside. To this day, no one knew the fate of the conquered planets. No whisper, no soul, no light had ever escaped them. It was as though they had been swallowed whole, digested by the net like flies trapped in endless silk.

Eryndor gripped his staff, which pulsed with violent, crackling energy. Preparing for the final teleport to his army's frontlines, he asked himself whether this was merely the first stage of something greater. Could someone exploit his absence to strike at his own domain?

No. They would not dare. He was fighting for them as well, and should he lose treasures or strength in the battle, the Spiderqueen might truly gain the upper hand, even beyond her net. But if anyone tried to steal from him, he would retaliate without hesitation, and one more enemy would be born.

No, such thoughts were weakness. He would not entertain them.

"I am Eryndor," he told himself. "I am too powerful for most factions to even dream of crossing. And if they did, the multiverse itself could spiral into chaos."

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