That question stumped Soverick. He thought and thought about it but he can't figure out what it could be. The sage is right. He is very ignorant about world gods and how they live their life. He doesn't even know what might be common to them because he is only pretending to be capable of wearing their shoes. He is an ignorant pretender.
"Is it about the era of conquest?" He tried something that he thinks might be right.
"No, and that wasn't a proper answer. You need to tell me what kind of favor it is.
"Is it about the realm lord's project?"
"No." The sage replied. He didn't lie this time. They never bet about the realm lord's project as the reward. That was just fortunate happenstance that the first sage gained extra slots to the project.
Soverick gave several attempts but he failed every one of them. Legion has seen a lot of things but they are not old enough or powerful enough to know what makes world gods kick. He was thinking of giving up when he remembered something.
"What about Chaos blood?" He asked.
"No." The sage lied. "Those are too valuable to wager."
Chaos blood was actually one of the items that the first sage won. But he never made an oath about being honest so he doesn't have to be truthful. He will lie, cheat, and kill to get his way. There's no way he will let himself lose in a negotiation.
"What about cosmic energy?"
"You must be joking. At least Chaos blood can be acquired. Cosmic energy cannot be acquired without stealing it from the universe. And that requires taking it from the stars. No one is foolish enough to risk such a precious commodity. So no." The sage said trustfully.
"I give up."
Soverick gave up on guessing what they bet on but he didn't give up on trying to get something good. He tried and tried but the sage didn't let him have his way. He had to settle for a world engine for both of his requests. So instead of getting a single world fragment for a single request, he had to make do with getting a single fragment for two requests.
In summary, he got a world spark, information about the era of conquest and how it is related to the realm lord's project, and finally a world engine. These are his rewards for acquiring victory in the Unified Skill Index.
Soverick said with resignation. "You're cheating me."
"No, I am not and I will very much like you to refrain from slandering an old pious man without proof. Do you agree to the terms or not?"
"Fine. I agree. So when do I get what you owe me?" He asked the first sage. "You should remember that we set a time and you have an obligation to fulfill your own side of the bargain before a week is up so you can't stall me if that is your plan."
"No. I won't do that. I don't plan to stall you or else word will spread around that I am not honorable. You can come and get what we agreed upon now in the void outside the realm tree."
Soverick nodded. "Great, I'll see you soon then."
Then he forcefully withdrew from the Sage's mind space. He didn't wait for the sage to let him go. It might be rude but it is pleasurable to remind the first sage that he is not at his mercy.
His mind returned to his new body in the Virut plane. His face became cold. His jovial aura and his recent subservient demeanor disappeared. He is very angry with the sage. He is not the only angry one either.
The sage got him killed him and would have surely eliminated him one way or the other regardless of his participation in the competition. It was so that Salvini would get his title. But that wasn't enough of a blow. The sage had to sully his name and make a mockery of his death too. Then the sage made him die again just so he could collect his rightful reward.
"What a joke. Salvini couldn't beat me even when I was in my base form. She could never beat me when I was boosted by my connection. She had no chance of ever defeating me." He muttered angrily.
He has a lot of reasons to be angry at the sage but one that makes him most angry is the story they weaved of his defeat at Salvini's hands. It is a wonder that people believed it. He hasn't shown his full power but the things he did is enough to allow people to make an informed decision about who will win in a fight between them. But they believed the made-up story. That just goes to show how much faith and trust they have in the lineage of the sage.
Salvini could never beat him without his title. He had the stats of a Sovereign and he was very skillful. The boost from his title brought him to the level of an Origin God without the Authority of one. And he was just a king of law.
Yet, people believe that Salvini defeated and killed him. It was the same Salvini that cowered before some Paragons while he fought and killed 6 of them alone even under the suppression of the world fragment. They saw all of these and yet they believed the bogus story. It is honestly a wonder.
He is very angry. But he reined in his anger.
He sighed and shook his head. "I am weak. World gods are powerful. I tried my best."
He told himself the reason why he has to go through everything he did. He was forging peacefully in his forge when he was dragged into this. His peace was forfeited and so is his forge. He was killed and disgraced in his death. If he had not been prepared for sabotage, he would have lost his life permanently.
He has the right to be very angry. He would like to go on a rampage throughout the plane but he can't because the person behind everything is a world god. He is weak and world gods are very powerful. The best he can do is just to keep himself alive despite the machinations of a world god to have him dead.