With the [Undead Lord] confirmed dead, or, more accurately, now under Lich’s control, Alex had no reason to remain in [Undead Land].
He had also secured the [Token of the Undead], which meant there was nothing left for him here.
He had far more pressing matters to deal with elsewhere.
Time was running out, and he couldn’t afford to waste a single second.
Alex quickly went over his priorities, the things the needed to do without fail before the timer hit 0:
1. Find the last two tokens needed to open the [Door of Destiny].
2. Deal with the major real-world families before they did something reckless.
He had the strength to intimidate them, but they needed to understand exactly how dangerous things had become.
3. Destroy the Hatred Sect before they figured out a new way to cause chaos.
4. Pressure the hostile races into submission using both his power and the angel’s influence.
5. Attend the Grand Mage Order meeting in two weeks and eliminate those who sided with the gods.
6. Upgrade his [Undead Lord] talent to A-Rank and then use the [Talent Upgrade Scroll] to push it to S-Rank before the [Chosen Games].
7. Kill Lich, this one was at the top of the list.
8. Handle the Primordial Dragons.
And finally, if he managed to do all of that within a month and a half, he would enter the [Chosen Games].
That would be the real endgame.
If he died in the [Chosen Games], it wouldn’t matter.
Most of humanity’s threats would be wiped out, and only one god would survive the competition anyway.
That meant nineteen out of twenty gods would be dead.
No more divine interference.
No more looming threats beyond comprehension.
Just humanity, and whatever future it could carve out for itself.
It was almost funny how impossible it all sounded.
Alex let out a small chuckle, shaking his head.
The sheer absurdity of what he had to accomplish in such a short time would’ve broken a normal person.
But he wasn’t normal.
Even if the odds were stacked against him, he would still try.
For now, though, the best move was training everything he currently had.
He needed to sharpen his skills, push himself to his limits, and ensure he was fully prepared for what came next.
Otherwise, he knew that all of this would have been futile.
He wouldn’t get a third transmigration, that was for sure.
And the best place to do that was the [Garden of Destiny] with Kaelios.
Without wasting any time, Alex opened his [World Map] and selected the [God of Destiny’s Domain].
A flash of blue light enveloped him, and in an instant, [Undead Land] was behind him.
He knew he would never return to it ever again, so it would simply be the [Undead King] coming back later on, if he survived too, that is.
…
Garden of Destiny
The moment Alex arrived, he instinctively followed the familiar path leading to the open-air structure at the center of the garden.
Nothing had changed.
The environment was as peaceful as ever, filled with a strange yet comforting energy that always made him feel a bit calmer.
He immediately noticed that the training dummy he had used last time was still there.
Kaelios had probably left it for him.
But more importantly, the God of Destiny himself was present.
Kaelios sat on a chair, casually watching a series of floating panels displaying various images from around the world.
Alex approached.
“What are you looking at?” he asked.
Kaelios didn’t glance away from the panels.
“Just keeping an eye on things. Making sure everything is going well.”
“Huh.”
For a brief moment, Alex considered something.
If Kaelios could monitor the world like this… then could he use those panels to locate what he needed?
Maybe he could find Lich, the Hatred Sect, or even the last two tokens?
But he pushed the idea aside for now.
He could ask later.
Right now, his focus was training since to even fight these beings and challenges, he needed strength.
“You up for a spar?” Alex asked.
Kaelios tilted his head slightly.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to confirm your strength first?”
“I want to test my new [Forbidden Skill] on you at least once,” Alex grinned.
Kaelios smiled faintly.
“Alright.”
With a snap of his fingers, the God of Destiny vanished from his chair and reappeared in the garden instantly.
Alex didn’t even react at this point.
He was used to these kinds of things.
Kaelios then flicked his hand, and the training dummy floated away from their location, clearing their makeshift arena.
The two of them stood across from each other, preparing for battle.
“You said you wanted to test your new [Forbidden Skill], so go ahead,” Kaelios said, “I won’t move.”
“We’re in my domain, so I can’t die anyway.”
Alex nodded, taking a deep breath.
There was only one [Forbidden Skill] he hadn’t tested yet: [Universal Orbs].
This skill was unlike anything else he had.
It was a combination of ten of his previous skills, ones he had willingly sacrificed to create something stronger.
He knew what it was theoretically, but he had never actually used it before.
Now was the time to change that.
Alex closed his eyes.
He focused, blocking out everything except himself and Kaelios.
The Abyss had taught him this, and Kaelios had reinforced it.
He needed to keep his focus on the present moment and erase distractions.
Let his instincts take over.
And then…
BOOM!
His aura exploded from his body.
A burst of energy surged outward, sending waves of power through the garden.
Fwish! Fwish!
UNIVERSAL ORBS!
A system notification flashed before his eyes as he activated his skill.
[A set of ten celestial orbs, each imbued with the essence of a powerful ability.]
[These orbs hover around the user, acting independently to attack, defend, or support based on their nature.]
[Their combined power rivals even the mightiest of forbidden skills.]
A second notification followed.
[Summoning all ten orbs…]
There was a ten-second delay, just like all other [Forbidden Skills].
And then, from Alex’s body, ten different colors erupted.
They were the remnants of his sacrificed skills, now reborn into something far greater.
The swirling auras morphed, twisting and shifting into ten distinct orbs, each glowing with a unique energy.
They hovered around him, rotating in a synchronized pattern, radiating an overwhelming presence.
Kaelios raised an eyebrow.
“Oh?”
Alex exhaled.
He had expected some kind of restriction, some massive drawback.
But there was nothing:
No special requirement.
No heavy mana cost.
Just pure, raw power.
“…A [Forbidden Skill] without a condition?” Kaelios mused, studying the orbs with curiosity.
“Yeah,” Alex said simply.
It was strange.
Most [Forbidden Skills] required something.
[World Cleaver] demanded 100 Destiny Points.
Varyn’s [Absolute Abyss] required him to be in the Abyss in his final form.
But [Universal Orbs]?
He could just activate it whenever he wanted.
‘How strong is this going to be…?’ Alex wondered, his fingers twitching slightly.
A wide grin spread across his face.
He glanced at the orbiting orbs, each displaying different colors and unique symbols.
“I’m going to fire it off now,” Alex called out.
Kaelios nodded, unfazed.
“Go ahead.”
It was time to test it.
Alex clenched his fist, and the orbs began to glow as power surged through him.