William didn''t have to turn around to see the person behind them, but he did anyway so he wouldn''t seem like a weirdo. The man was dressed in simple overalls and ck leather boots that were caked with mud, while his face was squarish and had three distinct scars crossing vertically on his right cheek until they touched his lower eyelid.


    "That''s fine, I think we can manage on our own." William replied, returning his attention to his friends.


    They had a Tribtion Transcendence me Dragon and Space Magic at their disposal, if they couldn''t reach the Faction, who could?


    "Really? You have a way to deal with Ascension Realm Poisonous Miasma?" the man looked surprised.


    William turned to face the man again, "What do you mean? There''s nothing on our map that says anything about a miasma, when did it appear?"


    "Ha! That viin scammed you. The map in your possession might show all the cities andndmarks of the Continent, but it mentions nothing of the dangers!" the man replied.


    William nodded in understanding. He noticed that fact, but this map was the best they could get for the time being.System, what does this man mean by miasma? Is there really a danger?


    -Request requires 6550 Potential Points. Yes/No?


    So much, for a question like this? It seems there really is more to what the man is saying. Confirm.


    -To answer your question, I must first tell you a story. Over forty thousand years ago, a Cultivator named Duon wanted to turn the World— then unnamed— into a holynd for Cultivators by improving the quality of thend past its limits.


    -To do this, Duon spent many years of his life replicating the Ascended Portal''s workings, realizing that the quality of the Ascended Realms'' Mana was greater than this World''s. He was very close to seeding, but suddenly gave up on his mission, much to the dismay of many others.


    -A few decadester, one of Duon''s Disciples discovered his notes on the project and continued the work despite dozens of warnings that Duon had written inter. The tests continued for hundreds of years, until one day the Disciple eventually opened an artificial portal that connected to the Realm above.


    -Unfortunately, the portal connected to the Realm of Poison, which leaked its Mana over the entire Continent, killing the Disciple and all life within a radius of thirty thousand kilometers.


    -The portal was unstable and copsed on its own a few dayster, but the damage had already been done. Millions of humans, and billions of Magical Beasts and insects died, even their souls corroded by the Poison Mana that shouldn''t exist in this World.


    -Time passed and life returned, but there is still much to heal before the Continent returns to normal. The native Magical Beasts of the Continent have grown incredible resistance to poison and poison-rted abilities, while humans'' souls became stronger and more resilient, turning thisnd into a Soul Cultivation holy ground for those capable of utilizing the more powerful Techniques.


    -Having learned how to mitigate the effects of the Poison with routine cleansing operations and other measures, Cultivators eventually began to harness the remaining Poison, harvesting it and creating walls of miasma that kept others out of their territories.


    -Each of the six Factions on the Velos Continent have separated theirnd this way, isting themselves from the rest of the Continent, while doing the same for some of their most secretive locations. Given time and some necessity, the upation of Miasma Navigator emerged, meant to bypass the restrictions of other Factions'' defenses and transport materials from one area to the next.


    Following the System''s exnation, William nodded. "You''re a Miasma Navigator?"


    What about this Faction, then? Wouldn''t they be able to bypass the miasma through sea or overhead like we did?


    -The shoreline is not protected by the miasma, but further ind is the real edge of the Revista Faction''s territory. You haven''t entered it yet. Flying over it is possible, though, but there are still traces of miasma in the air and it''s very hard to see in small amounts.


    -If you''re not careful to dodge, one of your friends might be seriously injured or worse. I suggest you ept the man''s request.


    The man looked surprised and returned the nod, "Where did you hear that term? It''s not something outsiders usually know about."


    "I studied a little bit." William replied simply. "If you don''t mind, I''d like to hire your services. How much will you charge for the six of us?"


    "That''s quite a few people, but I''ll do it for a thousand Gold Coins each. I''m Gro by the way."


    William stifled augh.Gro? I hope he''s joking.


    The man didn''t smile orugh even after a few seconds had passed. It seemed he wasn''t joking.


    "You''re not scamming us too, are you?" he asked.


    -Stop trying to save money, you''re not going to need it when you Ascend anyway.


    "Of course not! I am reputable!" the man looked a little hurt, but he understood how William felt considering how they were treated elsewhere.


    Fair point. "We ept." he sorted through his Space Ring and handed Gro six thousand Gold Coins.


    "Good, do you have somewhere to stay? I rmend the Brighnar Hotel in the center of town. They''ll probably still overcharge you, but it''s better than nothing."


    "We''re not leaving now?" William asked.


    "I live here, and this was supposed to be my vacation time, but I can''t pass up on some good customers, can I? I still have to make some preparations and inform my wife, though I''m sure she won''t be happy."


    William nodded. He brought his friends to the Brighnar Hotel as advised and paid for two rooms at a whopping twenty Gold Coins each per night, then they left with Gro in the morning.


    "Here, take this. It will help with the miasma in the thickest parts, but you still shouldn''t touch it, these medallions aren''t cheap and will onlyst you a few seconds before the miasma takes over." Gro gave them each a special golden medallion made from a metal William''s cksmithing Talent recognized as Aurenite, which seemed to enhance their poison resistances to a whole new level.


    Even William''s A-Rank Poison Resistance Talent couldn''tpare to these effects, which exined the extreme cost of being escorted through the Miasma. If the Aurenite medallions couldn''t protect them for more than a few seconds, his Poison Resistance wouldn''tst a second.


    While the Poison Affinity, Ascended Recovery, and Hard Body Talents would likely keep him alive even in the worst scenario, who knew how much damage it would cause beforehand?


    System, just in case I''d like to upgrade my Poison Resistance to X-Rank. William gave the order mentally, opting not to put his life in the hands of an expensive medallion.


    ———


    TALENT UPGRADED


    Poison Resistance: (SSR --> X)


    Effects: Resistance to all forms of poison and their residual effects +4800% >> +9600%


    X-Rank Bonus Effects:


    -Poison Body: When your body is even slightly affected by poison, increase the power of your Poison Magic by 100%.


    -Poison Absorption: Bathing in poison for an hour increases your immunity to that specific poison by ten percent.


    Next rank up: Requirements Locked. Ascend or upgrade the System to A-Rank to unlock the next Rank.


    ———