Infinite Range: The Sniper Mage

Chapter 696: 696: What Gives You the Right to Control My Fate?

A flash of blinding light filled Orson’s vision. Around him, streaks of energy flowed like a great river as he plummeted faster and faster.

The world below became hazy, as if reality itself was fading. At the same time, his body grew unnaturally heavy—even lifting a hand felt like trying to move a mountain.

“If I’m seeing this right… that’s a planet down there?”

Orson’s heart pounded in disbelief. A dark-blue planet was growing rapidly larger in his line of sight. Sparks burst from his War Supreme robe, trailing behind him like a fiery comet as he pierced the atmosphere.

Thanks to his phoenix bloodline, the descent didn’t hurt him. But Usher wasn’t nearly as lucky. The party HUD showed his HP plummeting fast.

Team Channel:

Orgod: “Got any defensive skills?”

Usher: “Flame Spirit’s Blessing!”

Usher glared at him through gritted teeth. Suddenly, his boots flared with a radiant glow as a pair of flame-like wings, no larger than the span of a hand, flared to life.

The fire across his equipment vanished, granting him temporary flight and resistance to burning damage.

A moment later, Usher raised his hand and summoned the spectral image of a water-blue staff.

A soft blue sheen spread across his armor, clearing the suffocation debuff and slowly restoring his HP.

“Damn… the Flame Spirit King’s relic boots, and the Water Spirit King’s staff?”

Orson was stunned. “The guy’s stacked with legendary gear like it’s nothing.”

“Where did this portal throw us?”

He turned his head, frowning. The Abyss tunnel behind them had vanished.

They were caught in a gravity field they couldn’t escape. Even if they got back on their dragons, they were still falling straight toward the blue planet.

“She’s down there. Follow me.”

Usher’s eyes turned cold as he pulled the reins of his dark dragon, manually adjusting its descent to target a specific landing spot.

Orson nodded. Aeloria swept her claws and grabbed him, diving after the dark dragon like a pair of blazing meteors.

Boom!

The two dragons plunged into a deep lake, then burst from the water into the sky again, scanning their surroundings.

“You have discovered: [Lost World – Resting Grounds].”

A gray notification appeared in their vision.

Orson looked around in surprise.

The area around the lake was thick with trees, cloaked in mist, serene and calm—almost unnaturally so.

Usher remained on edge, his fingers curled tightly around his bowstring, but no ambush came.

“This isn’t a dungeon,” Usher muttered.

Orson raised an eyebrow. If this wasn’t a dungeon, then they’d been teleported to an entirely unknown planet.

He immediately pulled out a fixed-point teleport scroll.

Relief flooded him when the scroll linking to Celestial Fortress still worked. If needed, they could warp back to the Abyss at any time.

“Her coordinates haven’t updated in minutes. If we cross that mountain ridge over there, we should find her.”

Usher pointed toward a distant chain of rolling hills.

He was about to move when Orson stopped him.

“Wait. Don’t you think something’s… off about this place?”

Usher blinked, then scanned the environment again.

That’s when it hit him—the silence was wrong.

Aside from the gentle waves slapping the shoreline, everything was dead quiet.

No wind.

No birds.

No signs of Heaven Demon attacks.

Just dense, unbroken silence.

Orson’s God-Emperor Earrings shimmered faintly. He summoned the Magic Eye Mirror of Folding and guided it carefully over the terrain.

The Mirror relayed the images back to the Magic Eye.

What it showed made their stomachs twist.

There, behind the direction Usher had pointed—a sea of gravestones.

An uncountable number of ancient markers, embedded along the inner cliffs of the mountain ridge, stretching for kilometers.

“The Resting Grounds… are literal graves?”

Orson’s expression grew grim.

He studied the markers.

Each was carved in bizarre styles, many of them inscribed with strange geometric symbols that looked more alien than linguistic.

And yet, amidst the chaos, he spotted a few he recognized.

“Divine Weapon: Dust-Silenced Mountain.”

“Era of Immortals.”

“Divine Weapon…”

His breath caught.

These were tombstones of fallen Era of Immortals powerhouses.

Most had died fighting the Heaven Demons.

Some, however, had perished due to failed modifications… betrayal… internal conflict.

Just as the two were still processing it, the ground trembled.

More gravestones rose from the earth.

At the same time, spatial rifts opened above the soil.

Silver-white particles streamed out and burrowed into the dirt, forming new burial mounds.

Fresh markers emerged.

Most inscriptions remained unreadable—alien symbols.

But Orson’s eyes caught a familiar name:

Ligal.

The very Archangel he had executed not long ago.

“Divine Weapons’ resting place. The gods are just so damn merciful,” Usher sneered.

Apparently, under the Infinite Dimensions rule system, any humanoid weapon that died would automatically be sent here.

How generous of the gods.

Die, and you get a headstone.

A patch of dirt.

A divine blessing to rot in peace.

Orson turned toward the latest coordinates for Snow Dream.

In the distance stood a large, ancient stone platform, veiled by a strange, glowing aura.

He tried to push the Mirror of Folding closer, but it was gently repelled by a soft energy—repeatedly returning to its original spot.

“Now it’s getting interesting,” Orson murmured with a smirk.

He immediately set out toward it.

They weren’t far. Within moments, they reached the perimeter of the stone platform.

“You have discovered: [Infinite Dimensions – Awakening Battlefield #x9120].”

The system notification hit again.

Orson’s eyes twitched.

He remembered what Endless Rift once told him—

Only adventurers who reached King-tier had the right to become humanoid weapons.

But even then, the transformation wasn’t guaranteed.

You had to survive the divine trial first.

And from what the gravestones showed, several Earth adventurers had already died trying.

Hence the distinction between Divine Weapons and Era of Immortals Kings.

Suddenly, two beams of light shot down on Orson and Usher.

“Earth adventurer Usher, you are not qualified to enter the Awakening Battlefield!”

“Please leave immediately.”

A deep, commanding voice echoed from above.

Usher frowned, fists clenched in frustration.

He’d earned the Domain Lord-Class title after slaying hordes of Heaven Demons.

But King was still far out of reach.

“Earth adventurer Orgod, your adventurer classification is…”

“Unrecognized.”

“Unknown error.”

Orson raised a brow.

The Tiamat Chaos Cauldron appeared silently in his hand, releasing a gentle haze of chaos that veiled his presence.

The divine battlefield’s scan failed to penetrate the mist.

“Well played, Master,” came a familiar laugh.

At that moment, the glow above the stone platform dissipated.

A beautiful figure stood at the center of the platform, smiling faintly.

“You shouldn’t have taken what wasn’t yours,” Usher growled.

Orson let out a quiet sigh.

There she was—his greatest headache.

Snow Dream.

He instinctively activated Ancient Sage’s Eye, but as always, the scan gave only minimal data.

She released no aura. No pressure.

And yet her presence screamed danger.

And she stood atop the Awakening Battlefield.

That meant she had reached King.

But how?

Orson had only gotten there by risking everything—wiping out every Heaven Demon left in the shattered Cycle Gate and the ruins of the Immortal Era.

Snow Dream… had bypassed all of it.

“You mean this?” she said sweetly, raising a small, glowing object in her hand.

The final Node Device.

Snow Dream shook her head with a playful scoff.

Her voice remained soft, almost amused.

“You got to take it. Why can’t I?” she said calmly.

“What gives you the right to think you control my fate?”