The God Contest Regina [Progression Fantasy, LitRPG-lite, Apocalypse]

"I believe in rules. Sure I do. If there weren't any rules, how could you break them?"

Leo Durocher, American Athlete (1905 – 1991)

"Okay… well, to start, there's a reason we have to wait until twelve teams show up to begin the Trial" Olive started, staring up at the four remaining tapestries. "The Trial by Fire is a race."

"A race?" Bethany asked curiously. "Like, a marathon?"

Olive shook her head.

"No, something more… how do I describe this? You ever watch reality television?"

"My father did. I used to watch from the top of the stairs sometimes, when he passed out and left the T.V. on," Bethany said, anxious from the memory. "Wait, are you telling me…"

Olive clapped her hands together excitedly.

"The God Agon is a big fan of those 'race around the world' reality shows," Olive explained, pointing to the second tapestry, which had an image of a man floating across the ocean in a hot air balloon. "And I mean a big fan. When Jules Verne wrote Around the World in Eighty Days, Agon wouldn't shut up about it. He was an obsessed fanboy. And when that concept was turned into reality T.V.? Agon binged watched every episode of every series ever created. Amazing Race and its spinoffs, Race Across the World, World's Toughest Race. All of them. He was downright giddy when Authority gave him permission to build the Trial by Fire around the same idea. A race around Regina!"

Olive moved to the third tapestry – a woven map of Regina. Bethany marveled at its incredibly fine details, able to see every street and building.

"There are twelve legs to the race, positioned at key landmarks across Regina," Olive continued. She took a deep breath and spoke with a haunting reverberation. "Twelve challenges to prove yourself worthy to wield the power of the key!"

She glanced at Bethany for her approval.

She's trying really hard. But she's so insecure. It's kinda sweet.

"I loved the voice," Bethany praised. "You really drove home how important this is."

"You think?" Olive beamed. If stone could blush, Olive would be magma. "Since I couldn't study the rules in advance, I worked on my super serious voice."

Bethany laughed and traced her finger along the map. "I don't suppose you can tell me which landmarks that race will go to?"

Regina's not that big, but I don't know the city very well. I wish Rocky and Emily were awake. They've lived here their whole lives.

"Well, you start at the Stadium," Olive answered with a sly grin, and Bethany playfully rolled her eyes. "After that, I only know the destination for the first leg of the race. I'm not allowed to tell you that, of course."

"Gee, thanks."

Olive chuckled and continued her description. "Each leg of the race contains a challenge designed by a different god. When you complete a leg, you are told the landmark for the next leg. You'll also receive a reward for completing the challenge."

"A reward?" Bethany asked curiously. "Like the silver Emporium coins we get from killing monsters, or the talents from the arenas?"

"Sort of," Olive answered. "The god responsible for that leg of the race judges your performance – how quickly you arrived, how elegantly you completed the challenge, and, um… how many casualties you sustained."

Bethany swallowed hard.

There are twelve of us. How many of us are going to make it to the end?

"Depending on your score, you'll be awarded points," Olive continued, holding up a single bronze coin the size of Bethany's fingernail. "You'll be able to spend these points at two locations during the race. You can exchange them for Emporium coins, new talent, equipment, or basic supplies, amongst other things."

That's a big advantage if we score the most points. But what happens if we fall behind?

"What happens if we finish last in a leg of the race," she asked, not sure she wanted to know the answer.

Olive's face fell. "The team who finishes last in each leg is eliminated from the race. There are… hefty penalties applied to any surviving members of the team."

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"What kind of…," Bethany started to ask, but Olive held up her clawed hand to interrupt her.

"It's against the rules for me to tell you about the penalties. I…"

A deep, ominous bell rang out across the complex, startling them both.

"Olive, what was that?"

Olive pulled Bethany over to the first tapestry. Bethany watched as the woven threads rearranged themselves – and the order of the teams suddenly changed. Ami's Adventurous Academics descended into second place, placing their team into the top spot.

"What just happened?"

"Their gargoyle told Dr. Ami's team something he wasn't supposed to," Olive gasped, as if the gargoyle had just committed a great taboo. "He just cost them their first-place spot. You want a high-ranked spot – they get a time advantage when starting the race."

The bell rang out again, and Dr. Ami's team descended into third place.

"Granite! What are you doing?" shouted Olive, horrified. Her stone eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head.

Bethany's face lit up.

It's not an accident. Dr. Ami's team is doing this on purpose!

"Olive, tell me where we're headed for the first leg of the race," Bethany insisted, her mind whirling.

"What?!" Olive exclaimed, as if her world was falling apart. "I… I can't… I'm not allowed to talk about it."

"Because we'll receive a penalty, right?"

Olive nodded.

"What's the actual rule?" Bethany asked, her mind racing. "What does the wording actually say?"

Olive moved over to the final tapestry. Woven in its pattern was a summary of everything Olive had told her about the Trial by Fire so far. It was constantly expanding as Olive spoke.

Olive read off the penalty rule as it wove itself into the tapestry. "Um… if a gargoyle divulges restricted information to their team, that team's starter position shall be reduced by one for every piece of information divulged."

"So it doesn't stop you from telling me?" Bethany reasoned.

"Um… no, not exactly," Olive answered, uncomfortable with Bethany's questions.

If we ask the right questions, that information might be more valuable than starting the race earlier. Actually, I think being in first place is wasted potential. If I ask a question and we move down to second, we'll bump back up to first if Benton's team asks a question.

"We'll take the penalty," Bethany decided. "Olive, I want to know where we're headed for the first leg."

"You're… you're headed to the Royal Saskatchewan Museum," Olive answered reluctantly, her head lowered as if she expected to get scolded by a teacher.

The bell tolled again, only this time, it was so loud that Bethany had to cover her ears. She watched as their team descended a spot in the rankings, placing Benton's team in first.

Bethany beamed in triumph as the Royal Saskatchewan Museum lit up on the third tapestry, a small '1' appearing at its center.

I'll wait until Rocky wakes up to ask any more questions. We don't want to fall too far in the rankings, or we'll be scrambling to catch up. Every question counts.

"Any other major rules I should know about?" Bethany asked.

"So you can break them too?" Olive asked flippantly.

"If it helps," Bethany smiled.

Olive gave a little annoyed huff. "All the other rules are minor, and I'd rather wait until everyone is awake to go through them so I don't have to repeat myself."

"And because you don't know what they are?" Bethany asked without sarcasm. "Because I woke up early."

"Yes," Olive admitted with a sigh. "I really need a couple hours to get caught up."

Bethany's eyes fell upon the dark tunnel off the hall. "I can give you that time. Tell me about this dungeon."

"The dungeon? Already? Shouldn't you wait for the others?"

"Probably," Bethany admitted. "But it's not the first time I've been alone. And every second counts in a race, right?"

"I… suppose that's true," Olive said. The gargoyle led Bethany down the short tunnel to a thick iron door, barely visible in the torchlight.

"The dungeon is a series of interconnected tunnels that run under the complex. The entire area is seeded with monsters and treasures you can collect."

"Treasures?" Bethany asked, intrigued.

"All sorts of things. There are basic supplies, like food, but also Emporium coins and bronze race points. The further you descend in the dungeon, the better the rewards get. Oh, and the monsters can drop Emporium coins as well – same as in the city. This way, you don't fall behind while you wait for the race to start."

"What's the catch?" Bethany asked skeptically.

"It's dangerous," Olive warned. "And not just because of the monsters. All teams have access to the same dungeon, which means you might encounter your competitors inside. They might be friendly, which can be an opportunity to build alliances or share information. Or they might shoot you in the face. Given your experience with two of the four teams currently registered, the latter seems more likely."

All the more reason to head inside as soon as possible. If I go now, I might be the first inside and can get to the treasures before anyone else.

"I'm heading in," Bethany decided. "Wish me luck."

Olive unlocked the iron door, and it swung open with a rusty creak. Inside was lit by dim torchlight, and Bethany called upon her Hammer of Light in its ball-peen form to illuminate the way.

"Good luck," Olive said anxiously. "Please don't die in there. It would be really embarrassing to lose a member of my team before the race starts."

Bethany chuckled. "I'll do my best. If anyone wakes up before I'm back, can you let them know I'm okay?"

Olive nodded, and Bethany stepped into the dungeon.

"Oh, and Olive?" Bethany added as the iron door swung closed. "I'm glad you're our guide."

Olive gave a toothy grin, and the door closed with a resounding thud.

Leaving Bethany alone in the dungeon.