Laia was halfway through her third cheese sandwich of the day when the academy messenger knocked on her door, holding a gilded envelope sealed with the Pantheon's crest.
She opened it, and her eyes went wide.
Pantheon Realm Competition InvitationTo: Laia Hayes, Greater GodPrize Pool: 1,000,000 gold. Winner takes all.
One million gold.
Laia dropped the sandwich on the table, staring at the number. That was more than enough. Enough to rent the little shop on the corner she'd been eyeing for months. Enough to buy the best oven, the best cheddar, the crispest bacon. Enough to open her sandwich shop tomorrow.
She'd dreamed of this for years. And it was right there.
She didn't even hesitate. She scribbled her signature on the reply form, handed it back to the messenger, and then hurried to send a note to her realm. She wanted to tell her followers the good news, and remind them to keep it low-key for the competition. She didn't want to scare the other contestants, after all.
She wrote the note quickly, messy handwriting as usual:Great news! We're joining the Realm Competition. The prize is enough for my sandwich shop! Everyone, just take it easy, don't do anything too crazy, okay? We don't want to stand out too much. If we win, I'll treat everyone to a big feast!— Laia
Then she sent it off, and went back to planning her shop. She was already drawing little sketches of the menu, the tables, the little sign that would say "Laia's Cheese Sandwiches".
Inside the realm, the twelve overlords gathered around the glowing note, their faces solemn.
Kane read it out loud, his voice low. "A big feast. She's going to reward us after we unify the Pantheon. And she said 'don't do anything too crazy, don't stand out too much'."
He looked up at the others, his eyes sharp. "That's the order. She wants to hide her true power. She doesn't want the other gods to know she's an Overgod yet. This is the first step of her grand plan to take over the entire Pantheon."
Elara's eyes filled with tears. "She's been hiding her power for so long, just to protect us. And now she's finally ready to move. And she's going to reward us with a feast, after all we've been through."
Mephis slammed his fist on the table, flames flaring. "Finally! We get to show those Pantheon brats what happens when they mess with our god. I'll tear through their armies in ten minutes."
"Wait." Torin held up a hand, his dragon scales glinting. "She said don't stand out too much. We need to hide our power. I'll build a hidden energy core, so the realm's aura looks like a normal Greater God realm. Borin, you build the defense system hidden under the ground, so no one can see it. Kael, you go scout the other contestants, find out their weaknesses, so we can take them out without anyone noticing."
Borin nodded, already grabbing his hammer. "I'll build a star-core barrier, hidden. It can block any Overgod attack, no one will see it. And I'll add hidden turrets all along the border, just in case."
Rokar was already out the door, roaring. "I'll clear the eastern plains! We need space for the army! And the farmland, so we can feed everyone for the feast!"
Jax was already doing inventory, muttering. "We need enough supplies for the army, enough for the feast, enough for the long march after the competition. I'll stock up everything, just in case."
Wolfric slipped into the shadows, already heading for the other realms. "I'll take out any assassins that try to sneak into our realm. No one gets to hurt our god before the competition."
Lira the seer nodded, staring at the stars. "I've already done the divination. The other contestants have been planning to gang up on our god. We need to be ready."
They split up instantly, moving faster than ever before. They were going to build the perfect hidden realm, strong enough to take over the entire Pantheon, but weak enough on the surface to not stand out. Exactly what their god had ordered.
Three days later, Laia checked her realm panel, just to see how her followers were doing.
She blinked.
Realm Size: +100,000 acres.Defense Rating: Overgod Level.Army Size: 1,000,000 elite soldiers.Divine Rank: Greater God → High God.
Laia stared at the screen, her mouth hanging open.
Wait. What?
They'd only had three days. And they'd turned her tiny pocket realm into… that? And she'd jumped another rank? Just from preparing for a competition?
She shook her head, grinning. Wow. Her followers were really hardworking. That was amazing. If they worked this hard during the competition, they'd win for sure, and she'd get her million gold, and open her shop.
She didn't notice that across the Pantheon, all the other contestants were checking her realm, and their faces were white with terror.
"Her realm's defense is Overgod level?!""Her army? A million elite soldiers?!""That's not a student. That's a hidden Overgod!""We can't beat her. We have to surrender before the competition even starts."
Laia, meanwhile, was still drawing her menu, trying to decide if she should add tomato soup to go with the sandwiches. She had no idea that the entire Pantheon was already preparing to bow to her, and that the Realm Competition was about to turn into the coronation of the new Supreme Overgod.
All she wanted was to open her little sandwich shop.