Chapter 385: The Puzzle with missing pieces... Part-1.


    ?


    A few minutes ago, Floor 1.


    "Tch, was I toote after all..."


    Standing at the same altar-like ce where Neo once came, Idri clicked his tongue, and a deep frown appeared on his face.


    Idri could see that the altar has long been destroyed, and whatever knowledge was stored inside of it has already been plundered.


    ''What are you trying to ''create'' with that kind of ''Forbidden Magic'' Neo Aldif... You of all people should know that crossing certain boundaries will earn you the hatred of certain ''Laws'' of the world...''


    The ''Laws'' of the world can be considered partially conscious existence; just like how they can favor someone and grant them ''Legendary Skills'', they can also hate someone and can even bestow immensely powerful curses too.


    Just as they have the power to bless anyone at random, they also have the power to curse anyone at random; provoking their hatred is one of the surefire ways to do so.


    One of the easiest methods to get cursed by the ws'' of the world is to use powerful forbidden magic that would interfere with the ws'' themselves; this will incur their wrath very easily.


    SS-rankers are the people who are most sensitive to the changes in the ''Laws'' of the world, and they know how vast the power of a ''Law'' can be; thus, even they dare not cross certain boundaries.


    Even SS-rankers will find themselves helpless if a curse of that magnitude is ced upon them.


    In fact, there are even some urrences of people being born with those types of curses from the very start.


    Legend has it that once you get cursed by the ''Laws'' of the world, that curse will directly affect your soul; in other words, even if you die and get born again, you will still be afflicted with it!


    Such types of curses are permanent! There''s no remedy for them!


    This is the reason why Idri is feeling very confused at this moment.


    ''If my guess is correct... then this altar likely had a forbidden magic rted to some kind of summoned beast mutation and evolution... I can''t think of anything that might motivate him to do all this...''


    Neo came all the way to the ''Dragon Valley'', and there''s obviously a very big reason behind it; no sane person will anger the dragon king for no apparent reason.


    ''I am more surprised that he even knew that there''s a hidden ce like this in the dragon valley, when even I myself didn''t know about it...''


    Dragon have lived in istion for a long time, and they didn''t even take part in the demon extinction war, which means there are only a few limited ways the information could have leaked outside.


    Idri will need to track down these leaks, and he will be able to figure out what Neo is actually aiming for.


    [Ding! All Conditions met!]


    [Ding! The practice trial has ended!]


    [Ding! Starting ejecting all participants...]


    ''Hmm? Practice Trial? What is that?''


    Just like Rio had assumed earlier, aside from him, no one received that practice trial, and no one even knew about it; even Idri was oblivious to its existence.


    ''So it''s time to leave... Forget it; I have found nearly all pieces of the puzzle by now anyway...''


    Idri shook his head and stopped worrying over this matter too much.


    The teleportation portal appeared below his feet and teleported him outside.


    ...


    The rest of the group also got teleported, and all of them were spewed out by the portal like a cannon firing cannonball.


    All of them were in high spirits, so theynded without falling.


    Riya was clinging to Link''s neck in her ''Astral Form'' so this time she didn''t mess up thending either.


    Only Rio was the one who found himself staggering today, as his head seemed like it was spinning all around.


    Lia put his hand over her shoulder and supported him; the small golem sat on his shoulder and looked at everything with great curiosity.


    Although Rio''s eyes blurry at the moment, he noticed Link standing nearby.


    "Oh, so you were fine, Link? I thought you would get turned into a sieve by those spear traps... How did you dodge them, by the way?"


    Liam was also curious how Link dodged those spears; he only dodged them because he could detect them with the help of his ''Mana Field''; if not for that, he couldn''t have done so.


    Upon hearing that question, Link scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment.


    Riya deactivated her astral form and jumped down from his back.


    "Er... uh... That''s a long story... Let''s talk about itter..."


    Link was feeling embarrassed that Rio and Liam survived with their own powers, and he used Riya''s help to survive, which was external help.


    For a proud warrior like him, getting helped by someone else is not really something he can be proud of, so he can''t boast about it either.


    ''I can''t possibly say that I hid behind the warm embrace of my girlfriend and she protected me


    all along!''


    Link can already see that the two of them willugh mockingly at him if they know about this. Link can''t afford to reveal this embarrassing story to his rivals!


    While Link was hesitating, Fenix and Sin also came out of the portal.


    Sin nced at Rio and Lia; seeing them so close, she misunderstood that they were already being lovey-dovey in broad daylight; thus, she only nodded her head at them and didn''t


    bother talking.


    In the end, it turned out that everyone made it alive out of that dangerous ce.


    Idri waved his hand and opened a portal before saying,


    "Everyone, follow me... I have important things to discuss... Fenix, you carry Rio sh back to the dragon pce and ask Aria to have a look at him; we can''t afford to have our guests suffer any injury when they are in the dragon valley."


    Although Idri doesn''t really like the rest of the bunch aside from Link, they are still ''Guests'' after all; it would ruin his reputation if something happened to them.


    Fenix nodded his head and followed the orders; by now he has already carried Rio two times, so he was already experienced at this.


    Lia had a look of concern on her face, but she had no choice but to follow the rest of the group.


    As Fenix left via another portal, Idri took the rest of the group to apletely different ce


    with him.


    ...


    Dragon Valley, Southern Area,


    Draconic divine tower of prophecies.


    The Divine Tower of Prophecies is a peak SS-grade auxiliary type artifact that the dragon race


    once won from conquering a dangerous SS-rank dungeon.


    As it is too big to keep in a space ring all the time, they ced it on a secluded ind two hundred kilometers from the maind in the middle of the ocean.


    Here the water dragons guard this ce with utmost caution; this is one of the areas of the dragon valley that no one can enter without the dragon king''s permission.


    A portal appeared on the rooftop of the divine tower. Idri and the rest of the group walked out of the portal and were momentarily stunned after seeing the amazing scenery of the ce. You could see the vast ocean from here, and the setting sun has turned the water surface slightly red along with the sky.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    It looked amazing; if Rio was here, he would have been mesmerized by it.


    Idri ignored the group and walked over to a strange pir located at the center with various mysterious magic circles engraved on it.


    He ced his hand at the pir and then nced at Link before saying, "Embedding your mana in this pir can give you prophecies about the future; ask your pathetic friend to cut his finger a bit and drop his blood on this pir..."


    "We will need his blood to see Neo''s Aldif''s future; after all, he''s Neo''s legitimate son..."


    An awkward atmosphere appeared; the group was stunned that Idri referred to Liam as


    ''Pathetic''.


    Link himself has never dared to disrespect Liam like that.


    Although he always bickers with Liam from time to time, he has genuine respect for Liam''s


    strength.


    Aside from Rio, only Liam can go toe to toe with him.


    Before Link could argue with Idri, Liam shook his head and walked over to the pir himself.


    He brought out a knife from his space ring and cut his finger a bit to drop the blood on the


    pir. He''s already used to insults; there''s no point if Idri throws more at him, and he doesn''t want the rest of the group to get involved in this matter. (Good thing Rio isn''t here; he would have unsheathed his sword by now...)


    Idri didn''t care about the small things and embedded his mana in the pir; the magic circles


    on the pir lit up brightly.


    "If my guess is correct, then this pir will not be able to give us any prophecies at all..."


    The group was a bit confused at Idri''s words, but before they could ask, the magic circles on


    the pir dimmed and fell inactive again.


    Idri''s words turned out to be true; there were no prophecies in the end.


    Sin, who was the most knowledgeable about the divine tower, frowned deeply and asked,


    "But how can this be... I have never heard about the divine tower ever failing like this, W- what''s going on, Father?"


    Hearing that question, Idri sighed and stared at the setting sun for a moment before


    speaking.


    "The divine tower only fails to deliver prophecies in two conditions: either that the person we


    are trying to look for is ''dead'' in the present or in the future..."


    "Or the power of a ''Law'' of the ''World'' has interfered with the working mechanism of the


    tower..."


    ...


    ...


    Author''s Notes.


    Yo! It''s your beloved author here!


    Question of the day.


    Would you fight an SS-ranker if they insulted your friend?


    (Tell me your thoughts in thements)


    By the way, don''t forget to use those power stones!!