<h4>Chapter 121 New hurdles... </h4>


    "Then what is the usual method to select the children eligible to attend the ''Meeting of Gods'', moreover what''s the point of bringing children to a meeting of such strong people?" (Jin)


    Jin looked at Neo in confusion.


    He has known about the existence of the ''Meeting of Gods'' ever since he was an S-ranker, but aside from the SS-rankers, no one knows, how these meetings work and what happens during these meetings. (The children who attend that meeting are asked to stay quiet and not tell about it to others either.)


    At Jin''s question, Neo smiled and replied in a calm voice:


    "You see, many races attend the ''Meeting of Gods'' all of them are part of the alliance and thus it''s against the rules for SS-rankers to fight each other and show off their strength in front of the world." (Neo)


    "Thus, the most talented children of each race take part in a small tournament and demonstrate the dignity of their race, moreover the winners can get great rewards, so it''s beneficial for the children too…" (Neo)


    "Moreover, these are the children who end up bing the new SS-rankers in the future, it''s always a good thing to give them extra exposure and get them to know the world better…" (Neo)


    Neo nced at Raji who was sitting with a cold look on her face and said:


    "Last time, our little innocent Raji was one of the children selected to go to the ''Meeting of Gods'' and now she is an SS-ranker, time sure moves fast…" (Neo)


    "Tch, it was a horrible experience, Mr. Ashtel got into a fight with the Elf king and we were nearly disqualified… such carelessness…tch!" (Raji)


    "Cough! Cough!" (Ashtel)


    While Raji threw allegations at Ashtel he simply avoided them by not saying anything and sitting there like a statue. He seemed to be busy feeling the wind breeze… in a closed room.


    Jin tilted his head in confusion and nced at Neo.


    "Are we not on good terms with the current Elf king?" (Jin)


    "Cough! You will know when you go there…. Ashtel and that guy go way back… it''s a wide topic so let''s not talk about that right now… cough!" (Neo)


    This was the first time Jin saw Neo hesitating to tell something, it seemed that even a shameless guy like Neo sometimes felt awkward to tell some things.


    "Ahem! So What I was saying is… taking the most talented children of the current younger generation with you and showing them off is a way of getting an upper hand on the other races…" (Neo)


    "It''s like we are showing the world that we have many such talented kids, who will support the future of our race and it would be a bad decision to think of invading or forcing us on international matters… it''s a way of keeping the enemy''s prying eyes away…" (Neo)


    "People focus more on a race''s potential, it''s important to show that the future of humanity is not in decline. Any race that doesn''t have talented kids to show off is either in decline or they are weak, that''s the way of the world…" (Neo)


    Neo nced at the scenery outside and said withplicated emotions.


    "It is said that the alliance was created to wipe out the whole demon race from existence and during the ''golden generation'' this feat was nearly achieved…" (Neo)


    "…but no one knows what happened all of a sudden and the leader of the Alliance and the most strongest person of that time, King Allen Von Reinhart disappeared due to mysterious reasons and the war ended…" (Neo)


    "For the past thousand years there''s been no full-scale war against the demons and the peace has been maintained, but this peace has caused many changes…" (Neo)


    "…the purpose of the?''Meeting of Gods'' was originally to discuss counter-measures against demons, but now it''s just a ce to show off to each other…" (Neo)


    Neo shook his head in regret, he has been guarding the human race for nearly a hundred years now, he has seen many ups and downs, the other three SS-rankers are like children in front of him, even though Ashtel is the strongest among the four of them, Neo is the most knowledgeable among them.


    He has been working behind the scenes for decades now. He has seen the rise and fall of bright and talented people like Nics, with his own eyes.


    Neo got up from his seat and walked towards the window slowly, he looked at the horizon and said in a serious tone.


    "Jin you should take your post of guarding the port city ''Oaklum'' as early as possible, I have a feeling…. that something is about to happen there… and my instincts have never been wrong, since the day I became an SS-ranker…" (Neo)


    Jin looked at Neo and asked:


    "Then why not go there yourself?" (Jin)


    Neo shook his head and replied:


    "I have a much important thing to take care of right now…" (Neo)


    "My main body is not even in the human empire right now…. I am using a summoned beast of mine to talk to you right now…" (Neo)


    When Neo said that, his body turned into a slime monster and then reverted back to his form.


    Jin''s eyes widened in surprise.


    He is an SS-ranker himself and still, he wasn''t able to sense anything amiss in Neo''s body, he genuinely thought, that this was his main body, but who could have thought, that Neo had such abilities, that could even fool the senses of an SS-ranker.


    Jin looked at the other two and found out, that they weren''t as surprised as him, to them, it seemed like a regr urrence.


    "Tch! He''s as cunning as always! He always runs off somewhere to avoid work…" (Raji)


    "I have seen this so many times now, that I would feel weird if his real body was here instead…" (Ashtel)


    Raji and Ashtel both were aware of Neo''s tricks from the start, after all, it''s been several years since they started working with him.


    Neo ignored the remarks of the two of them and continued exining:


    "Putting the topic of ''Meeting of Gods'' aside for now, the way of selecting the children is rather simple, first there''s a group activity, like the ''Group Survival Test'' which we already did, then there would be a ''Dungeon conquering'' test and thest would be to assign a ''mission'' to them.." (Neo)


    "This is a simple and effective method… now with this, we have finished this topic too, and the rest is just misceneous topics… shall we discuss them after a little tea break?" (Neo)


    Neo looked at the three and went back to his seat. The butler outside arranged the tea for all of them and the atmosphere became rxed.


    Neo nced at Jin and smiled in satisfaction.


    ''It seems we have gotten a reliable newbie this time… I just hope that I don''t have to see more newbies dying unnecessary deaths…'' (Neo)


    ''Sigh~, Nics my friend, you indeed have left a huge burden on my shoulders, you left all your work to me, I wonder how long I would be able to keep doing what you asked off me…'' (Neo)


    …


    (A past Lore: Neo and Nics became SS-


    rankers around the same time, they both fought in the ''50-year Orc war'' and used to be good friends. Neo was born one year before the war started and he ascended to SS rank at the age of 45, while Nics was born when the war was already going on for 20 years.)


    (Nics ascended to the SS rank after two years of Neo''s ascendance.)


    (Eventually, Nics chose to sacrifice himself, to finally put an end to this long war and decided to leave all the burden of humankind to Neo.)


    (He trusted Neo and put the heavy burden of guarding the safety of humanity on Neo''s shoulders. Neo is still guarding humanity because of the promise he made to Nics.)


    (Nowadays, Neo''s summoned beasts have spread to each border of the human race and monitor the neighboring nations for potential threats. Neo''s main body mostly only appears, when a new SS-rank dungeon gate has opened in the human empire.)


    (Past lore ends)


    …


    …


    Academy, Boy''s dormitory, Rio''s Room.


    Unaware of the oing dangers and events, Rio stood near the window and sipped his tea in peace.


    ''The stealing session was a great sess once again it seems, I should do it every once in a while, to increase my arsenal…'' (Rio)


    While thinking about that, Rio nced at the ck-colored ring on his index finger, and he smiled in satisfaction. (He is smiling in his mind, his facial muscles don''t move so often…. He thinks he is smiling but he isn''t.)


    ''Well, it was surprisingly much easier to obtain this artifact, than I expected it to be…'' (Rio)


    After Rio defeated Aidel a portal opened and Rio entered it to exit the ce. He got teleported back to the same ce, he used that scroll on. After confirming his gains, Rio simply flew back on his sword and boarded a flying bus to ride it home.


    He did all the things in just one day. The ''favor of Nics'' still had some time left before it expired.


    (If you are thinking what its use was? Then let me tell you that, only the one who has the ''Favor of Nics'' can use that scroll, if Rio didn''t have it, then that scroll would not have worked. It''s just that simple.)


    …


    …


    Author''s Notes.


    Yo! Your beloved author is here! It''s the 13th day of the continuous upload session. Let''s go!... Have you noticed that the SS-rankers are slowly entering the stage now?… the plot and world-building are expanding slowly, be sure to keep track of it all, otherwise you might miss some hidden details…


    Question of the day.


    Would you be able to keep your promise, if your homie ended up leaving like Nics?


    1. Yes (Anything for the brotherhood.)


    2. I have no homies or friends. (That''s some high level of depression...)


    3. Other (Tell me in thements.)


    By the way, don''t forget to use those power stones and also leave a review if you like the story. Comment your opinion about the chapter. Your support is my motivation.