"How long have we been walking?" Shiroe asked.

At the moment, they were traversing through the green plains. There were some birds here and there, clouds filled the sky and grass as far as the eye could see.

"You've been walking for 5 days nonstop if I remember correctly. Do you not feel tired?" replied Ket.

She was in the form of a green slime, sitting on his shoulder. She was eating small pieces of Stellaron. Rather, absorbing.

"Your blessing took care of my stamina. As long as I have enough mana, my stamina stays the same. And I am feeling quite confident with my mana level. Plus, my [Trance] skill levelled up and evolved. Right now, it's [Nap] which means I need a short sleep once a month or so. I want to raise it to [Cognizant], but there are not enough hours in a day to stay awake".

"I swear, you've lost your sanity somewhere. No one would even dream of not sleeping. Even dreams require sleep"

"Who in their right mind would challenge a God the moment he laid eye on them? Plus, there are some things I don't want to remember, and nightmares usually comprise them".

"True..."

"Anyways. Ket. Do you have a map? I'm bored of just walking. Even Ein and Zwei spend their day sleeping around"

"Let me check for a moment"

As soon as she said that, the green slime became inanimate. It completely stopped any movement, and stayed still, as if it stopped living. Ket's consciousness had left the vessel.

After a while, the slime became animate again. It hopped off Shiroe's shoulder and landed on the ground, before turning into a woman. The woman was none other than Ket.

In her hands was a discoloured piece of paper. She took a look at it for a moment, turning it and tilting her head in the meantime. After a while, she nodded and told Shiroe where they were right now.

"We're in the middle of Nowhere" she stated.

"Pardon?"

"Nowhere. We're in the middle of it"

"I see... You don't know where we are"

"On the contrary, I know. We're in the middle of Nowhere"

Confusion grew on his face. He had a feeling that there was a miscommunication between them. He also had a hunch about that Nowhere, but he wasn't sure. As such, he asked.

"Is Nowhere a place?"

"Obviously," she said, "It's the centre area of the Endless Plains. And the very middle point is..."

She pointed towards a direction and continued, "There".

In the direction she was pointing, there was a piece of rock about a metre in height. A rusty sword was stabbed into the rock, with a wooden sign attached to the hilt.

"Welcome to the Point of No Return, Nowhere, Windless Land, Endless Plains". He couldn't believe what he just read.

So they were at the Point of No Return, the midpoint of Nowhere. Nowhere is located in a large 'sector' of the plains called 'Windless Land'. In the Endless Plains. That's a hard pill to swallow.

"Oh!" uttered Ket as she clapped her hands once, "I remembered an old saying. I think it's like..."

"Please no"

"Should you be trapped in a Windless Land, look for the Point of No Return. North of the Point was where the sun never set. Opposite of it was where things go Sour. I can't remember the rest..."

"What does that suppose to mean?"

"So. North of the Point was where Celeste Kingdom is located. And to the south is Cytrus Kingdom. I forgot the East kingdom, and the West had a desert".

"I swear, that saying... Celeste, which means heavenly... The sun is Holy Magic, isn't it? And when thing's to go south, it means that things to sour"

"So that's what it means by that. I see..."

"Now, where do we go, oh Ket?"

"I suggest going to Cytrus first. Celeste, that woman... Doesn't really like other gods"

"Alright, we'll go to Cytrus. But before that-"

Both of them turned in a direction. They could hear faint mumbling voices a distance away from them.

"Let's see what are they up to," he said.

~~~~~~~

"Where are we, Sir?" asked the guard. He was donning a light iron armour, mixed with some leather ones.

"I do not know. But I feel like we are in the middle of Nowhere" replied another man. He too wore iron armour, but a heavier one. It covered most of his body, except his head. He was the commander of this group of guards.

In the middle of the group was a horse carriage. The horses were grazing on grass and a wheel of the carriage had simply broken in half. A few boxes were placed under the carriage to keep it stable.

"But Sir" uttered the guard, "We have just passed Nowhere five minutes ago".

"Is that so... Then, I do not know where we are".

The commander walked to the carriage and lightly knocked on the door. The window drooped, revealing several people inside.

"Pardon my intrusion, Master," said the Commander, "But it seems like we would be here for quite some time".

He stepped back and the door opened. From the carriage, a tall handsome man hopped off. He had bright red hair and with refined chin. His hair was short, and he wore clothes befitting nobility.

He helped someone else down the carriage. It was a woman, donning a yellowish dress. It was laced with cloth flowers and a bit of jewellery. She had a hat covering her long deep purple hair, with a veil over her back. And in her arms was a baby, wrapped in a yellow cloth.

"I am very sorry for this accident," said the commander as he bowed to the man.

"No. It's fine. It wasn't expected at the very least" replied the noble.

He looked around at some crates and asked his wife, who was carrying their son, to take a seat. He, along with some other guards and the commander then gathered around to assess their situation.

It was then that a guard suddenly spoke. "Who is that?" he asked as he pointed in a direction.

In the distance, a silhouette of someone was walking towards them. As that person got closer, the guards could see the appearance of that person clearly.

It was a man in a beige trench coat. He donned a white shirt, buttoned up to the neck and a dark grey tie. His face was... Passable... With a slightly refined chin. It was more of a modern take on the standard noble's clothing.

The guards surrounded that man, and he raised his hands up. "Hello there" the man uttered.

They examined him from afar and confirmed that he carried no weapons. The noble, along with the commander walked up to him. They didn't drop their guard at all.

The commander opened his mouth and asked, "Who are you? On what purpose do you come here?"

"Me?" uttered the man, "The name's Shiroe. I heard some commotion from afar, so I came to check it out".

There was not a single waver in the man's voice. It was as if he wasn't even a bit shaken by the guards around him. He looked around and dropped his hands down.

"So. Sir Shiroe-" uttered the noble before he was cut off.

"Shiroe is fine," said the man.

The commander grabbed the hilt of his sword and said, "You better watch how you speak-". He stopped when the noble raised his right hand, ordering him to stay put. While glaring at Shiroe, he sheathed his sword back.

"So... Shiroe, where do you come from?" asked the noble.

"I don't even know where. It's just a nameless village. I just roam these plains for no reason" Shiroe replied, "But before that, may I ask for your name?".

"I am Clifford. Clifford Rufus, of the Rufus Family"

Shiroe flinched when he heard the name. It seemed like Clifford didn't notice it.

"Though I want to ask, Shiroe" uttered Clifford, "Do you roam the Endless Plains with those... Equipment. Mistake me if I am wrong, but I don't see you carrying any weapons".

"You're right. I don't carry weapons. And yes, I walk around in these"

The guards started to feel suspicious of the man's answer. It just didn't sit well with them. How can someone without equipment traverse the gruesome grassy plains of the Endless Plains?

"Do you not encounter any monsters, Shiroe?"

"I see... There are monsters lurking in the plains at night" Shiroe uttered as he nodded.

"That is why we're surprised that you don't encounter any of them. They would attack people who stayed stationary for too long, including those who camp in these plains" Clifford explained.

"I think that's the reason, then. I didn't camp out here"

"Where did you sleep, then?" asked Maurice. He was the Captain of the guards guarding Clifford.

"That's the neat part. I don't"

"You stayed up for a few days?" Clifford asked.

"No," Shiroe said, "I just don't need sleep. That's all"

"Pardon?" uttered the two in unison.

Shiroe was lying on a tree branch, playing with Ein and Zwei in their slime form. He suddenly heard a howl coming from afar. He noticed the guard welding their weapons and donning their armour. He then noticed Maurice ordering the guards.

"You. Take the South. Don't let them flank us!" he ordered.

The guards nodded and rushed to their positions. The mages gathered around the carriage, and Clifford stood beside Maurice. His wife and son had hid in the carriage.

Shiroe hopped off the tree and landed beside them. He then asked what happened.

"Shadow Wolves. It seems like they've picked up our scent. We've been roaming this plains without a guide for a couple of days already" Maurice explained.

Clifford then added, "Shadow Wolves are only E-rank monsters. Even a civilian could take care of one easily. However, when they come in teams, it's a whole other story".

As they explained it to Shiroe, one of the guards shouted, "They're here!". The three men swiftly looked in the direction the guard pointed.

Sure enough, a dozen or more dark grey wolves were there. Their size was the same as normal wolves, with the addition of sharper teeth.

In the middle of the pack was a huge world, a couple of metres in height. It had a single stroke of silver on its face, running through its eyes.

Maurice uttered under his breath, "The leader is here"

Shiroe deducted that the large one must obviously be the leader. He then asked, "If that leader is gone, how are the other wolves?"

"They'll run away" Clifford replied.

"Well, that's convenient. Makes my job a lot easier" uttered Shiroe.

"But that's a C-rank monster. You can't think to"

Before Maurice could stop him, he was already walking towards the wolves, passing the guards.

Shiroe stood in front of the wolves. All of them were baring their fangs at him, but he didn't budge. If it was someone else, they would be scared pale now, but he just shrugged.

He opened his mouth and calmly suggested, "Why don't you go back?" as he crouched.

The wolves growled at him and he continued, "Look. I don't want to hurt you. So please just skedaddle away from here. Off you go".

Feeling like they've been disgraced, the wolves attacked him. One of them jumped onto him, opening its maws wide. Shiroe blocked it with his bare arm.

Even if they were E-ranked monsters, they're still wolves. Their bite should easily rip off a chunk of flesh. That was why everyone rushed to Shiroe.

Technically speaking, that was what should've happened. However, not a single drop of blood could be seen. The others stopped a distance behind him.

"I see..." uttered Shiroe as he stood up. The wolf was still biting into his arm. "You've made up your mind. Don't say I didn't warn you" he continued.

He grabbed the wolf at the back of its neck and just tore it off his arm. Not a single bite mark was there, except some broken teeth. With a whip, he threw the wolf to the other wolves.

The wolf struck a few others, causing them to tumble down like bowling pins. Shiroe cracked his neck and asked, "Who's next?"

Shiroe heard someone connecting into his mind as if it was a Discord VC. There's only one person who did that to him. He asked under his breath, "You're up?"

With a groan, the one inside his mind replied, "Yeah... Did I miss anything?"

He shook his head to that question. "The Wolves ran back with their tails behind their backs" he uttered.

"Wolves? Oh, them. What happened?" Ket asked.

Right now, Shiroe and Clifford's Group were travelling across the plains. Their destination was the same as his, which was Cytrus Kingdom.

From what Shiroe had heard, they ran away from a district in Celeste. The power struggle was too much for Clifford, moreover between his siblings. He had seven siblings, and each wanted the rank of Marquess, which belonged to their father. Clifford gathered his most trusted subordinates and escaped, not wanting to join in the struggle. They should've moved in a convoy but after the mysterious fog, they were separated.

"Oh yeah," Ket uttered as they were talking, "I just remembered something about that baby".

Shiroe, who was following the group from behind glanced at the carriage. He had garnered the trust of Clifford and Maurice after 'playing' a bit with the wolves. Sure, the wolves suffered shattered... No... Rather, disintegrated bones, but still, it's nothing they couldn't handle.

"What's about that kid?" Shiroe asked his God.

"That kid is... You know what? Just use [Eye of God] on him and you'll see"

Shiroe just nodded. They were nearing their lunchtime, so they would stop anytime soon. He'll use that chance to sneak a glance.

During lunch, he stole a glance at the baby with [Eye of God]. Unlike [Appraisal], there was no screen visible for everyone. Instead, the screen appeared in his eyes, as if he was wearing smart glasses.

——————————

[Henry Rufus (Kirigaya Kazuto) ]

Level 1

HP: 100

MP: 100

Attributes:

[Hero Candidate], [Reincarnator]

Skills:

[Retribution] Level 1

[Fast Track] Level 1

[Enhancement] Level 1

[This Incarnation worships the god (Judge of Righteousness)]

——————————

"Hold up. Wait a minute" uttered Shiroe in his mind, "That's a lot to digest"

"Take your time. It's not like we're going anywhere" Ket replied.

"So he's a [Hero Candidate]"

"Yeah"

"And a [Reincarnator]"

"Correct"

"Define his skills"

"[Retribution] is an Ultimate Skill. Obviously. It grants the user immense strength and dexterity for a set amount of time. However, the skill only works when the user defines its target as an enemy, with the approval of their God"

"And that God is Judge of Righteousness?"

"Yeah. Heard of him. Some powerful god. Played a big role in the Divine Destruction. Can't remember anything else"

"Now" uttered Shiroe, "What on Astra is Divine Destruction?"

"A war. I'll explain later. So now. [Fast Track] is a skill that allows the user to quickly understand things. Like, fast learning a technique or something. The higher the level, the faster they could learn. [Enhancement] is... Well. You buff things. It does more damage. That's it".

"I see... Now what is Incarnation?"

"Someone that a God chose to support. Incarnations would get skills and blessings from their God. Not to be confused with Emissaries. Emissaries are direct subordinates of a god. Someone who had direct connection with their God, and could borrow the divine power to an extent. They too would get special blessings and skills, based on who are their gods. Their number is significantly smaller than Incarnations, and each one was stronger than the tier below them".

Shiroe left the baby and stood a distance away from the group, gazing at the wide blue sky. He continued listening to Ket's explanation.

"Above Emissaries are Priests. Rulers of the mortal world. Their position is the highest one can achieve with a God. They are directly under a God, receiving almost a quarter of a God's powers. They are the only people that gods can use to descend onto this world. Gods who had Priests are ranked higher than the other deities. Priests are a mark of absolute faith and power"

"Then," Shiroe asked, "Which one am I?"

With a giggle, Ket replied "None"

"What do you mean? Am I not important to you at all?"

"No. Just. Those ranks aren't enough for your position"

"Elaborate"

"You are a Sovereign. Higher than Priests"

"Another rank? How many are there?"

"There's three. This rank I made this just now, specifically for you"

"What does a Sovereign do?"

"They are God's Right Hand – unrestrained by any limits, except for the system of course. The gods could give them as much power, at the cost of Probability"

"The hell is Probability? And why are you info dumping right now?"

"So that I could forget it in future chapters-. Ehem. In the future. Probability is the likeliness of something to occur. A balancer for the system, in simpler terms. That is the thing that blocks Gods from directly rampaging this world. I created it after the Divine Destruction to nerf those imbeciles. If something impossible happens, the Probability would play its role to balance things out. No one wants to feel the Aftermath of Probability"

"How come I'm not affected? Like, isn't it unbalanced and impossible for me to be here?"

"Ask the System yourself"

It was then that a message appeared in front of his eyes. It was in the form of a CMD, with a black screen and green text.

[System: Mama's friend is my friend]

Mama must be referring to Ket, he thought.

"I'm your mother's friend? How about other gods?"

[System: Mama doesn't have friends. Other gods don't know Mama exists. They only know me. So you are Mama's first friend]

"Oi" uttered Ket in slight annoyance.

[System: Plus, Mama is scary]